Re: BPCS Pick Release & Pick Confirm with Scanner

Lorenzo,

In answer you first question, many BPCS users have implemented the use of
barcode scanning in shop floor processes. This can be as simple as
attaching a keyboard wedge or blue-tooth scanner to a shop floor PC and
using that to input data into BPCS green screen session or as complex as
designing and building an application in-house to support the use of barcode
scanners. Another option is the purchase of a third-party software package.
In the interest of up-front full disclosure, we are third-party barcode/RFID
BPCS system integrator with a proven product, a long track record of success
and substantial BPCS client base.

In answer to your second question?

In the ideal world, you would:

1. Use BPCS OLM (Outbound Logistics Management) to assemble customer
orders into shipments (loads) that meet requested customer delivery dates
while minimizing freight costs, maximizing trailer cube utilization, etc.
2. Pick release by load in BPCS allowing BPCS allocate items using its
alphanumeric location logic
3. Actually use the BPCS pick list for picking because the BPCS
inventory is 99.9% accurate and the items to be picked (allocated items) can
actually be found in the locations that BPCS auto-allocated them in.
4. Pick confirm by load making the very rare necessary corrections to
allocations to reflect the actual warehouse/location/quantity picked.
5. Ship confirm by load

In the real world, however, this is rarely the case. We have found that the
use of OLM to pre-build loads is not the norm. Nor is 99.9% inventory
accuracy. Thus, the majority of the headaches and non-productive man-hours
arising from the BPCS pick confirmation processes are due to the need to
manually enter/over-ride BPCS allocations with actual picking data. Some
BPCS users address this issue by having a single location in a warehouse.
The advantage of this is that everything is allocated and picked from the
same location and no corrections are necessary. The disadvantages are many
and include the fact that (1) the BPCS pick list is worthless, (2)
informal/manual systems (E.g., Excel spreadsheets) must be used to actually
locate inventory within the warehouse and (3) inventory accuracy is poor
causing stock-outs, missed deliveries, customer dissatisfaction, the need
for more frequent physical inventory counts, and often large write-offs.

And in response to your third question - Yes, the ?deleted? pick list can be
reprinted using the BPCS Document Regeneration ORD798 option from the BPCS
ORD menu (page down as needed).

The use of barcodes aside, it appears that there is room for improvement in
the way that you are using available BPCS processes. The pick release of
all open orders by warehouse and the use of the ?F19 - Confirm by Pick?
option is obviously complicating the picking and pick confirmation processes
by:

1. Creating an un-manageable pick list that is actually not used by the
order pickers in the picking process
2. Creating an unmanageable list of allocations that must be manually
sorted through, edited and corrected using hand-written pick lists prior to
pick confirm

You could, at least, shorten the lists by pick releasing and pick confirming
by order.

I'll send you a direct e-mail to tell you how TransitionWorks can help.

Regards,

Debbie Shropshire
Operations Manager

Office: 336-885-1373 x12
DShropshire@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


Transitioning your data to information!

-----Original Message-----
From: bpcs-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:bpcs-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx] On
Behalf Of Larenzo Alexander
Sent: Wednesday, October 19, 2011 1:19 PM
To: BPCS Forum Post
Subject: [BPCS-L] BPCS Pick Release & Pick Confirm with Scanner

Hello All,
 
We are using BPCS Pick Release (ORD550D), Pick Confirm(ORD570D), Ship
Confirm(ORD590D) but users would like to simply the process and use a
scanner to scan part numbers and the system automatically pick confirms each
one because the users say it's like a easter egg hunt to look through the
entire warehouse list in the Pick Confirm to select the parts that was
confirmed.  So I'm looking for feeback to see if its possible and how other
company handles the picking process. This is how it is handle so far.
Normally the person doing the picking will do a Pick Release for all open
orders under warehouse example 'SA'. Then they dont use a pick list but find
parts put in shipment box while writing a list of those parts on paper along
with qty in box. So after they fill all shipment boxes the user then goes to
BPCS Pick Confirm and enter warehouse 'SA' and F19 - Confirm by pick. Then
user has a large list of all the items that was released for picking and
then users goes through writing list of parts pick for certain shipment and
search through list and confirm each with option 11. Sorry for the long
email but here are my questions:
 
1. Does any of your companies use Scanner for this process?
2. Should the Pick Release be used to release only what you expect to pick
for certain shipments instead of release every open order in warehouse so
user can user can use pick list to pick instead of writing parts down. And
when use uses pick confirm his list of parts will not be so long if he uses
the pick number?
3. If pick release have already been generated and deleted. Is there a way
to re print pick list?
 
So in general I'm trying to see if we are using the current BPCS Picking
Process in the most efficient way and then I'm trying to see if its possible
to create an application to implement a scanner to do some of the picking
process.
 
 
Thanks