Receiving against a purchase order

Purchase orders are maintained in the WMS system after they have been sent to the vendor. Upon arrival of a shipment, receivers simply identify the PO# (RMA# or Transfer #) and begin to receive product against it. Best practices suggest that all boxes are off-loaded to the receiving area and license-plated (bar-coded from a roll of preprinted labels). Each license plate is then scanned and a product and quantity is associated with it. This practice eliminates any chance of double counting the same product. 

In order for any warehouse management system to operate effectively, all products within a warehouse must be bar-coded. Ideally, each item or minimum shippable pack size would have its own bar-code, but this is not always realistic because either vendors are unwilling to bar-code individual pack sizes or, in the case of small bulk items, it is impossible to affix bar codes. As a minimum requirement, there must be a product identifier bar-code associated with each line item on a purchase order. When a product arrives without any bar-code, the receiver will be required to create product identification labels prior to receiving. It is suggested that these labels be printed prior to beginning the actual receiving. A single label can be associated with any quantity of products. For instance, one label can be affixed to a large container and then a quantity assigned during receiving. 

As each package is received, it is automatically verified to the purchase order and counts are maintained and updated in the host system. In the case of an unknown product, the operator will be asked to rescan the item to ensure that the product ID was not entered incorrectly (wrong bar-code read). If the product remains unidentifiable, the operator will be asked for a short description of the product. The product ID and this description will then be displayed on a problem resolution screen to be dealt with prior to receipt. If the product has been substituted by the vendor for one of the PO lines, it can be accepted and then the PO will be changed on the host system in the final reconciliation. If a new bar-code is to be associated with a product, Pinpoint Warehouse:Solutions' data will be updated and transmitted to the host system. As each problem is resolved, the products will be cleared for put-away.  

Once a shipment is completely received, the products and quantities are communicated to the host system for reconciliation. Any back-order arriving at a later date will simply apply against the existing balances on the PO. POs with balances remaining or with substituted stock can be adjusted and closed on the host system. If a PO is closed on the host system, it will cease to exist in Pinpoint Warehouse:Solutions at the same time.