Keep this in mind! On the issue of warehouse automation
The warehouse of the company, shop, factory is often perceived as something inviolable, secret. Almost like a cave with treasure or holds with gold on a pirate ship. In Soviet times, the warehouse manager would always be a bird of high flight, as he could “get” and “fit” the necessary thing that you would not find on the shelves. Now the importance of this position has decreased, which, nevertheless, does not exclude old habits. The worst thing is that often, from audit to audit, the life of the warehouse remains secret even for the company's management, while illiterate warehouse management or negligence can lead to substantial losses. At the same time, it is easy to make warehouse accounting transparent - it is enough to fully automate the processes and monitor the distribution of goods online.
Since warehouse management is a rather specific topic, let us tell you a little about how the warehouse works. Of course, it is impossible to imagine a universal scheme, since each company has its own characteristics and scales: from two rooms at a retail store to huge warehouses with avenues that loaders drive and where a huge number of smart and powerful machines help people. However, in general, the work of the warehouse looks like a commodity movement, secured by need and closed with a set of documentation.
The tasks of the organization of the warehouse:
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There are two main methods of warehouse accounting: varietal and batch. When choosing a warehouse automation system, it is important to pay attention to the fact that the system supports the method you are using. Varietal warehouse accounting method assumes that the goods are stored and accounted for by name. Each type of product is assigned an item number (article), the new product is attached to the goods of the same name. MOL (financially responsible persons) keep records of goods in physical terms (pieces, kilograms, blocks, etc.). Accounting is conducted on the basis of receipt and expenditure documents. With batch accounting, each new batch is stored separately from the goods already delivered to the warehouse. A registration card is entered on the received batch with the indication of the goods, their quantity, the date of receipt. The method is used in cases where, for example, only one type of product enters the warehouse.
If the range of goods is significant, then it is better to organize an address storage system. At the same time, the entire warehouse is divided into cells with unique numbers (alphanumeric designations can be used) and the address on which it is stored is indicated in the item accounting card. This method allows you to quickly find the desired products, as well as facilitates the inventory. A warehouse automation system or storage module in xRM must necessarily take into account the possibility of working with cells.
For example, we in Ruli24 implemented it like this. When organizing a cellular (address) account after registering a receipt order, the goods are delivered to the warehouse specified in the document in the acceptance area. For further movement of the goods in the desired cell, you need to use the document movement through the warehouse, which is the movement of goods through the warehouse between the warehouse cells. After the document is registered, the goods will be moved between the cells and this will be reflected in the warehouse status section. When organizing a cellular (address) accounting at a warehouse, it is possible to automatically distribute the goods among the cells. Free spaces of cells by weight and volume are recalculated automatically.
From the warehouse, goods are released on invoices; any movement of goods must be documented. In the future, all warehouse documents are transferred to the accounting department, where they are checked and the goods are registered or debited (depending on whether the receipt or expense document).
An important aspect of warehouse operation is permanent control. Periodically, a full inventory of the warehouse (at least annually). In the inventory process, the actual availability of goods is checked and records are entered into the automation system (CRM, xRM, ERP) data on the availability of goods. The presence of discrepancies should be a signal to check for inconsistencies, including in order to identify theft, organized by the warehouse staff (alas, this is not uncommon).
The warehouse may occupy a different place in the chain of the company's business process. For example, if a manufacturing company, the warehouse provides components and materials for production. If we are talking about a trading company that has retail stores, then the warehouse accumulates and transmits at retail ready-made goods from the range. Accordingly, the tasks of warehouse management are different. In the case of production, it is important to take into account the availability of the necessary spare parts, analyze the balances and send orders to suppliers in case of lack of the necessary items. If we are talking about a warehouse, it is important to take into account the balances and additionally analyze the structure of purchases in retail in order to timely supply demanded items and identify items of the nomenclature, the demand for which has fallen, and remove them from the range. If you do not manage the assortment, you may encounter overstocking and then writing off overdue / illiquid goods, and this is a potential source of loss for the company.
The added value of warehouse management is especially felt in the modern world of developed retail, when several suppliers (dozens, hundreds of suppliers) form the warehouse stock of a trading network. But even more, warehouse management systems are needed by online stores that have their own warehouses and delivery points, which are nothing more than a warehouse. The importance of on-line and accurate inventory control for online retailers is due to the need to quickly and fully ensure the formation and dispatch of orders to customers. Therefore, the management of modern warehouses without automation and the appropriate software is almost impossible.
Automate a warehouse is easy. And this is serious. Simply, because all the processes in the warehouse can be described by the standard scheme and the intervention of outside forces in their course is difficult, unlike, for example, from the advertising department or the development department. The main thing is to properly prepare for the implementation and correctly implement the stages. Preparing for the implementation should be an important process within the company, since its results will determine the change in the quality and speed of operations, as well as the cost of operations in an important and key division for many companies.
The key functions of the warehouse automation program are as follows:
When should you not implement warehouse automation? There are also such situations - we honestly declare this if we encounter them.
In other cases, as a rule, automation solves colossal problems, greatly facilitates the work of warehouse workers, helps to redistribute the burden on staff and get rid of the many confusing paper magazines and books of accounting. You will not believe it, but there is still accounting in many warehouses of stores, during which the receipt and consumption of goods is recorded in a lined notebook with a ballpoint pen. And this happens not in remote villages, but in companies of million-plus cities.
When we developed the warehouse management module, we set important tasks for ourselves.
Include warehouse automation in a comprehensive automation system for all business processes of the company. Despite the fact that Ruli24 is fairly easily integrated with 1C and the “My warehouse” service, we came to the understanding that xRM should still be a single IT infrastructure for management purposes. We managed to build a system of integrated enterprise management, starting from the management of contacts and sales, ending with HR-functionality. Obviously, it was strange to imagine such a complex without a warehouse program.
To improve the quality of service for the internal (in the case of production) and the external customer due to the rapid formation of orders, taking into account the fact that the order picking is the most time-consuming and expensive operation in the warehouse, especially in the case of an online store. By the way, keeping order history also has a positive effect on customer loyalty.
To increase the responsibility of MOLs (materially responsible persons) and at the same time facilitate the work of the warehouse personnel. When real-time electronic accounting is conducted, the chances of theft are reduced, but the productivity and the number of operations per unit of time increase, according to users, to 30%. At one time there was such a case: there was a chronic shortage in the warehouse of enamelled, metal and plastic dishes. Inventories and checks did not help, moreover, constantly had to write off enamel with external chips. After the accounting system was implemented in the warehouse, bar codes and surveillance cameras were installed, the marriage rate dropped dramatically, shortages dropped to almost zero, and the warehouse manager preemptively quit. A little later, when communicating with the manager and storekeepers, it turned out that she was actively “taking from the warehouse”, and she organized the chips, to write off the dishes and sell them at a reduced price. Next to the accounting system, her “old-fashioned business” ceased to burn out.
Implement maximum capacity for warehouse accounting: work with serial numbers, bar codes, part numbers; batch accounting and cell accounting; work with trading equipment, price lists, discount cards; the formation of the entire package of necessary documentation for admission to the warehouse and further product movement.
Provide integration with online stores and Bitrix24 for those who prefer to use their corporate portal + CRM and our warehouse module. We have successfully implemented it through the API.
In the course of solving problems, new ones arose, we actively tested the solution and as a result we got a rather deep inventory accounting system that fit perfectly into the rest of our xRM Rule24 modules . In Ruli24, you can maintain an unlimited number of warehouses, you will always have access to information about balances in real time, and for internal and external customers there will always be provided with a quick set of orders.
The setup and operation of the system is quite simple - all data is stored and processed in tables, information is entered into the system using clear forms with a set of required fields. To work with the warehouse module Ruli24, you need minimal computer knowledge and the ability to work with input devices, mouse and keyboard.
At the very beginning of work in the warehouse module materially responsible persons are registered, which are assigned to the warehouse. Then, depending on the type of warehouse management, the rules for storage and placement of goods are determined. So, with the cellular organization of storage, you can not only bind the goods to the cells, but also determine how the goods movement in the warehouse will be organized, with what priority will be placed in the cells (in free, in uniform goods, filled not fully completed, etc.) .
This product can be entered into the system by a bar code (more popular) and by serial number.
In the direct relationship with the warehouse functions is a section of the nomenclature, the data of the nomenclature directories are used in all the tasks of the system, in which the accounting and registration of movements of inventory items and services is carried out. Ruli24 Warehouse allows you to keep records of the nomenclature according to its characteristics, the nomenclature is understood as the sum of the names and parameters of any items, goods, products, and so on.
Separately, it is worth mentioning the possibilities of batch accounting in Ruli24 , which, as a rule, is used for goods with a limited shelf life, for example, food products. The Ruli24 Warehouse system allows you to keep track of batches of goods through the “Party Card” document. A party card is indicated when a purchase order is issued or it is created automatically when a corresponding attribute is installed in the credit order. The availability of goods is stored in the “State of the Warehouse” register by lots. In the expenditure documents, when entering the quantity of goods with the sign "Party accounting" by the FIFO method, the quantity by lots is automatically calculated and recorded in the detailed table "Quantities by lots" in basic units, while there is a possibility of manually specifying lots and quantities by them.
Thus, commodity cards (batches of goods) are formed within the system, on which you can easily find the right items, place orders, and take inventory.
All actions with the goods are accompanied by the documents stipulated for the purposes of warehouse accounting: acts of write-off, invoices for sale and relocation, inventory lists. Directly in the system, orders are processed and goods are sold (both wholesale and retail), goods are returned and reservations are made if there is such a need. And of course, we will make a reservation once again that the Rule24 Warehouse module is part of an integrated automation system, which means, in practice, it allows you to control the flow of goods based on the transaction, customer, order structure or production features.
At the time of our grandmothers there was such a thing - “to rent a warehouse”. In any organization, from the construction to the dairy, these simple words were synonymous with the giant rumble, with the necessary subsequent disassembling, shortages, surpluses and write-offs. The reason for this is most often the same - the thirst for profit and the desire to deceive the head. It sometimes happens that the automation of a warehouse for some time causes confusion in the work and sometimes it even seems to employees that there is more work. This goes as it adapts to the new information environment. The effect of warehouse automation can be seen immediately: in assortment and value terms, in optimizing the work of workers. If the company is faced with sabotage warehouse program, it is a signal that something is wrong. And there is only one right step: to automate warehouse accounting, train employees and see positive results. In short, do not allow unscrupulous personnel to catch fish in the muddy water of a manual inventory control.
Some warehouse theory
Since warehouse management is a rather specific topic, let us tell you a little about how the warehouse works. Of course, it is impossible to imagine a universal scheme, since each company has its own characteristics and scales: from two rooms at a retail store to huge warehouses with avenues that loaders drive and where a huge number of smart and powerful machines help people. However, in general, the work of the warehouse looks like a commodity movement, secured by need and closed with a set of documentation.
The tasks of the organization of the warehouse:
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- operational uninterrupted supply of production / external customers with resources: materials, components, finished products, etc.
- assessment of the availability of goods, balances, information on the movement of goods
- ensuring the safety of goods and components, building a system of control over materially responsible persons (MOL)
- revaluation of goods depending on a set of factors affecting the cost
There are two main methods of warehouse accounting: varietal and batch. When choosing a warehouse automation system, it is important to pay attention to the fact that the system supports the method you are using. Varietal warehouse accounting method assumes that the goods are stored and accounted for by name. Each type of product is assigned an item number (article), the new product is attached to the goods of the same name. MOL (financially responsible persons) keep records of goods in physical terms (pieces, kilograms, blocks, etc.). Accounting is conducted on the basis of receipt and expenditure documents. With batch accounting, each new batch is stored separately from the goods already delivered to the warehouse. A registration card is entered on the received batch with the indication of the goods, their quantity, the date of receipt. The method is used in cases where, for example, only one type of product enters the warehouse.
If the range of goods is significant, then it is better to organize an address storage system. At the same time, the entire warehouse is divided into cells with unique numbers (alphanumeric designations can be used) and the address on which it is stored is indicated in the item accounting card. This method allows you to quickly find the desired products, as well as facilitates the inventory. A warehouse automation system or storage module in xRM must necessarily take into account the possibility of working with cells.
For example, we in Ruli24 implemented it like this. When organizing a cellular (address) account after registering a receipt order, the goods are delivered to the warehouse specified in the document in the acceptance area. For further movement of the goods in the desired cell, you need to use the document movement through the warehouse, which is the movement of goods through the warehouse between the warehouse cells. After the document is registered, the goods will be moved between the cells and this will be reflected in the warehouse status section. When organizing a cellular (address) accounting at a warehouse, it is possible to automatically distribute the goods among the cells. Free spaces of cells by weight and volume are recalculated automatically.
From the warehouse, goods are released on invoices; any movement of goods must be documented. In the future, all warehouse documents are transferred to the accounting department, where they are checked and the goods are registered or debited (depending on whether the receipt or expense document).
An important aspect of warehouse operation is permanent control. Periodically, a full inventory of the warehouse (at least annually). In the inventory process, the actual availability of goods is checked and records are entered into the automation system (CRM, xRM, ERP) data on the availability of goods. The presence of discrepancies should be a signal to check for inconsistencies, including in order to identify theft, organized by the warehouse staff (alas, this is not uncommon).
The warehouse may occupy a different place in the chain of the company's business process. For example, if a manufacturing company, the warehouse provides components and materials for production. If we are talking about a trading company that has retail stores, then the warehouse accumulates and transmits at retail ready-made goods from the range. Accordingly, the tasks of warehouse management are different. In the case of production, it is important to take into account the availability of the necessary spare parts, analyze the balances and send orders to suppliers in case of lack of the necessary items. If we are talking about a warehouse, it is important to take into account the balances and additionally analyze the structure of purchases in retail in order to timely supply demanded items and identify items of the nomenclature, the demand for which has fallen, and remove them from the range. If you do not manage the assortment, you may encounter overstocking and then writing off overdue / illiquid goods, and this is a potential source of loss for the company.
The most honest employee warehouse - automation system
The added value of warehouse management is especially felt in the modern world of developed retail, when several suppliers (dozens, hundreds of suppliers) form the warehouse stock of a trading network. But even more, warehouse management systems are needed by online stores that have their own warehouses and delivery points, which are nothing more than a warehouse. The importance of on-line and accurate inventory control for online retailers is due to the need to quickly and fully ensure the formation and dispatch of orders to customers. Therefore, the management of modern warehouses without automation and the appropriate software is almost impossible.
Automate a warehouse is easy. And this is serious. Simply, because all the processes in the warehouse can be described by the standard scheme and the intervention of outside forces in their course is difficult, unlike, for example, from the advertising department or the development department. The main thing is to properly prepare for the implementation and correctly implement the stages. Preparing for the implementation should be an important process within the company, since its results will determine the change in the quality and speed of operations, as well as the cost of operations in an important and key division for many companies.
- Development of the main stages of implementation and scheduling of work on implementation, the establishment of responsible and their responsibilities at each stage.
- Collection of requirements from owners of business processes related to the warehouse (accounting, logistics, transport, manufacturing, sales department, etc.). In fact, all business processes related to the flow of goods must be subjected to a detailed audit.
- The choice of automation systems with special attention to the equipment that will be necessary for integrated automation (cash registers, POS, label printers, barcode readers). In case the warehouses among themselves or warehouses and shops / production are separated from each other, consider how the work with the automation system will be organized. For server solutions, these are features using VPN, for cloud solutions everything is much simpler - you only need an Internet connection.
The key functions of the warehouse automation program are as follows:
- automation of warehouse operations: acceptance, order picking, accounting in terms of storage locations (including managing distributed warehouses), shipping goods and forming closing documentation, working with defects
- quick and timely accounting of material values, their arrival and movement
- accurate maintenance of all warehouse documentation
- timely and convenient keeping of the warehouse magazine (cards)
- availability of all necessary tools for correct inventory
- warehouse system presentation and processing
- warehouse management
- analysis of the warehouse process and selection of the best option for organizing business processes linked to the warehouse
- tracking warehouse performance and analysis of goods flow
- increasing the productivity of warehouse workers
- improving the quality of warehouse operations due to high precision processing and a significant reduction in human factors
- collection and processing of data on warehouse operations and the possibility of influencing warehouse management (motivation, etc.).
When should you not implement warehouse automation? There are also such situations - we honestly declare this if we encounter them.
- The warehouse works with the same type of goods, the movement of goods in the warehouse is simple and linear (one name).
- The warehouse of goods is very small and reliable people work on it. In the case of a small warehouse, the implementation of the system may not pay off.
In other cases, as a rule, automation solves colossal problems, greatly facilitates the work of warehouse workers, helps to redistribute the burden on staff and get rid of the many confusing paper magazines and books of accounting. You will not believe it, but there is still accounting in many warehouses of stores, during which the receipt and consumption of goods is recorded in a lined notebook with a ballpoint pen. And this happens not in remote villages, but in companies of million-plus cities.
How is the warehouse management system implemented in Ruli24?
When we developed the warehouse management module, we set important tasks for ourselves.
Include warehouse automation in a comprehensive automation system for all business processes of the company. Despite the fact that Ruli24 is fairly easily integrated with 1C and the “My warehouse” service, we came to the understanding that xRM should still be a single IT infrastructure for management purposes. We managed to build a system of integrated enterprise management, starting from the management of contacts and sales, ending with HR-functionality. Obviously, it was strange to imagine such a complex without a warehouse program. To improve the quality of service for the internal (in the case of production) and the external customer due to the rapid formation of orders, taking into account the fact that the order picking is the most time-consuming and expensive operation in the warehouse, especially in the case of an online store. By the way, keeping order history also has a positive effect on customer loyalty. To increase the responsibility of MOLs (materially responsible persons) and at the same time facilitate the work of the warehouse personnel. When real-time electronic accounting is conducted, the chances of theft are reduced, but the productivity and the number of operations per unit of time increase, according to users, to 30%. At one time there was such a case: there was a chronic shortage in the warehouse of enamelled, metal and plastic dishes. Inventories and checks did not help, moreover, constantly had to write off enamel with external chips. After the accounting system was implemented in the warehouse, bar codes and surveillance cameras were installed, the marriage rate dropped dramatically, shortages dropped to almost zero, and the warehouse manager preemptively quit. A little later, when communicating with the manager and storekeepers, it turned out that she was actively “taking from the warehouse”, and she organized the chips, to write off the dishes and sell them at a reduced price. Next to the accounting system, her “old-fashioned business” ceased to burn out. Implement maximum capacity for warehouse accounting: work with serial numbers, bar codes, part numbers; batch accounting and cell accounting; work with trading equipment, price lists, discount cards; the formation of the entire package of necessary documentation for admission to the warehouse and further product movement. Provide integration with online stores and Bitrix24 for those who prefer to use their corporate portal + CRM and our warehouse module. We have successfully implemented it through the API.In the course of solving problems, new ones arose, we actively tested the solution and as a result we got a rather deep inventory accounting system that fit perfectly into the rest of our xRM Rule24 modules . In Ruli24, you can maintain an unlimited number of warehouses, you will always have access to information about balances in real time, and for internal and external customers there will always be provided with a quick set of orders.
The setup and operation of the system is quite simple - all data is stored and processed in tables, information is entered into the system using clear forms with a set of required fields. To work with the warehouse module Ruli24, you need minimal computer knowledge and the ability to work with input devices, mouse and keyboard.
At the very beginning of work in the warehouse module materially responsible persons are registered, which are assigned to the warehouse. Then, depending on the type of warehouse management, the rules for storage and placement of goods are determined. So, with the cellular organization of storage, you can not only bind the goods to the cells, but also determine how the goods movement in the warehouse will be organized, with what priority will be placed in the cells (in free, in uniform goods, filled not fully completed, etc.) .
This product can be entered into the system by a bar code (more popular) and by serial number.
In the direct relationship with the warehouse functions is a section of the nomenclature, the data of the nomenclature directories are used in all the tasks of the system, in which the accounting and registration of movements of inventory items and services is carried out. Ruli24 Warehouse allows you to keep records of the nomenclature according to its characteristics, the nomenclature is understood as the sum of the names and parameters of any items, goods, products, and so on.
Separately, it is worth mentioning the possibilities of batch accounting in Ruli24 , which, as a rule, is used for goods with a limited shelf life, for example, food products. The Ruli24 Warehouse system allows you to keep track of batches of goods through the “Party Card” document. A party card is indicated when a purchase order is issued or it is created automatically when a corresponding attribute is installed in the credit order. The availability of goods is stored in the “State of the Warehouse” register by lots. In the expenditure documents, when entering the quantity of goods with the sign "Party accounting" by the FIFO method, the quantity by lots is automatically calculated and recorded in the detailed table "Quantities by lots" in basic units, while there is a possibility of manually specifying lots and quantities by them.
Thus, commodity cards (batches of goods) are formed within the system, on which you can easily find the right items, place orders, and take inventory.
All actions with the goods are accompanied by the documents stipulated for the purposes of warehouse accounting: acts of write-off, invoices for sale and relocation, inventory lists. Directly in the system, orders are processed and goods are sold (both wholesale and retail), goods are returned and reservations are made if there is such a need. And of course, we will make a reservation once again that the Rule24 Warehouse module is part of an integrated automation system, which means, in practice, it allows you to control the flow of goods based on the transaction, customer, order structure or production features.
At the time of our grandmothers there was such a thing - “to rent a warehouse”. In any organization, from the construction to the dairy, these simple words were synonymous with the giant rumble, with the necessary subsequent disassembling, shortages, surpluses and write-offs. The reason for this is most often the same - the thirst for profit and the desire to deceive the head. It sometimes happens that the automation of a warehouse for some time causes confusion in the work and sometimes it even seems to employees that there is more work. This goes as it adapts to the new information environment. The effect of warehouse automation can be seen immediately: in assortment and value terms, in optimizing the work of workers. If the company is faced with sabotage warehouse program, it is a signal that something is wrong. And there is only one right step: to automate warehouse accounting, train employees and see positive results. In short, do not allow unscrupulous personnel to catch fish in the muddy water of a manual inventory control.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/274945/
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