Purpose of this document

Food Banks can create one or more Inventory Pick pages and reports per Agency Order. This document typically provides staff with guidance on selecting the Items needed for pre-orders. Generally, the Picks should be created and assigned by Zone within the warehouse, honoring a Bin Ranking.

When multiple picks are created, food banks need the capability to manage the way picks are assigned for purposes of alignment with Voxware, Appian or ADCS.

This document outlines the inventory pick process, pick generation enhancements, and the necessary setup. 

Ceres Object release 5.00.00 is required for the functionality described in this document.

• Pick Generation Overview
• Location Setup
• Zone Setup
• Bin Setup
• FBC Storage Requirement Setup
• Generating Picks
  • Generating a Single Pick from an Agency Order
    • Single Pick with Create Pick By = Blank
    • Single Pick with Create Pick By = Zone
    • Single Pick with Create Pick By = FBC Storage Requirement
  • Generating Multiple Picks
    • Multiple Pick Documents where Create Pick By = Blank, with all Bin Policies Pick options = Yes with the following filters
    • Multiple Pick Documents where Create Pick By = Zone, with all Bin Policies Pick options = Yes with the following filters.
    • Multiple Pick Documents where Create Pick By = FBC Storage Requirement, with all Bin Policies Pick options = Yes with the following filter.
• Allow Pick from Storage Bin
  • Default Pick Bin
  • Drop on Demand (Pallet, Lot, Bin) Assigned on the Agency Order Line
• Pick Document Lines
  • Pick Document Lines created with Create Pick By = Blank.
  • Pick Document Lines created with Create Pick By = Zone. 
  • Pick Document Lines created with Create Pick By = FBC Storage Requirement.
• Processing Pick Documents
• Pick Document Reports
  • Picking List Report Setup
  • Picking List Report
  • Wave Pick – Inventory Picks
  • Wave Pick – Agency Orders
• Related Topics

Pick Generation Overview

The pick generation process was modified to still allow a single pick per Agency Order to be generated or for groups of picks to be generated by Zones or FBC Storage Requirements for a day’s activities.

Options include:

• Ability to link a pick number series to the Zone and FBC Storage Requirement Tables.  This way a different number can be assigned to the different types of picks, such as PKD for Dry product and PKF for freezer product.  If a specific number series is not assigned to the Zone or FBC Storage Requirement, the standard inventory pick number series will be used.

• Ability to select how picks will be generated on a Location by Location basis.

• Ability to define the sort order in which the picks will be generated at runtime. The order is based on Create Pick By option that is selected.

• The ability to filter on all fields that end up on the Pick Header is required when running the routine.

• Ability to select or control which Zones or FBC Storage Requirements will be sent to Voxware. Fox example, food banks may want to exclude the Freezer Zone because Voxware or other equipment may not function properly in the freezer.

• Ability to select or control when a new page prints on the Pick List. For example, food banks may want to print cooler or freezer product on separate pages when a single pick is generated for each Agency Order.

• Creation of a Wave Pick List by Zone/Storage Report.

Various components must be setup before the enhanced pick generation functionality can be deployed. The setup is outlined below.

Location Setup

The Location List can be accessed from Departments à Administration à Application Setup à Warehouse à Locations. The fields that can have an impact how picks are generated are outlined below.

Warehouse FastTab

Require Pick: The Pick functionality only pertains to Shipping Option 2, this field must be checked to indicate that pick documents are required for this Location.

Directed Picking Option:  Select the level of picking direction desired when you are using ADCS Handhelds or manually processing picks. This field is optional.

Base - This option pertains to ADCS and manual picking. With this option Ceres will make fully qualified inventory suggestions: Location, Zone, Bin, Pallet (for palletized items), and Lot on pick documents as well as on ADCS mini-forms. Note that fully qualified inventory suggestions can differ depending up other Locations settings as described in this document. It is always possible that Ceres will not be able to make fully qualified inventory suggestions when sufficient inventory does not exist.

Drop on Demand (ADCS) - This option pertains to ADCS Handhelds only. With this option Ceres will not display fully qualified suggestions on the pick document or the handheld mini-form. Instead, a single line (per item) will be created which represents the pick document’s overall requirement per item. The mini-form displayed on handheld allows the user to scan a particular pallet, input the quantity to pick and submit an update to Ceres. Ceres will then “explode” the single line to a new line complete with fully qualified inventory information. This process is repeated until each original pick document line’s demand has been fully qualified.

Drop on Demand (Manual): This option pertains to manual handling of pick documents only. As with the Base option, this option will direct Ceres to make fully qualified inventory suggestions on the pick document. However, the suggested Pallet (for Palletized items) and Lot information will be suppressed on the Picking List report. Users will pick using the Pick List report to annotate the inventory and then update the pick document within Ceres if there are differences.

Create Pick By:  Select the manner in which you would like Ceres to create pick documents. This option applies to Shipping Option 2 only.

Blank - With this option Ceres will create a single pick document per Agency Order for inventory having a quantity. Additional pick documents can be created if new items are added to the Agency Order and the create pick process is run again.

Zone Code - With this option selected Ceres will create a new pick document per Agency Order and per Zone based on the full qualified inventory suggestions. Additional setup is required to utilize this option. See related topics for more information.

FBC Storage Requirement - With this option selected Ceres will create a new pick document per Agency Order and per FBC Storage Requirement based on the full qualified inventory suggestions. Additional setup is required to utilize this option. See related topics for more information.

Pick Creation Sort Order: Select the default sort order for pick document creation when running the Create Invt. Put-away / Pick process. The selection here is mirrored (defaulted) on the Create Invt. Put-away / Pick request page but can be overridden if desired. Select a sort order if desired from the options below. This option applies to Shipping Option 2 only. 

Blank 

Route-Leg-Stop-Appointment Time

Appointment Time-Route-Leg-Stop

Appointment Time-Order Handling Group-Order Routing Group

Note: The setting of the Pick Creation Sort Order on the Location Card requires that the Create Picks By setting be other than Blank. Ceres will present an error message when a user attempts to set the Pick Creation Sort Order to other than blank if this is the case.

Note: The use of the Pick Creation Sort Oder on the Location Card as the default setting on the Create Invt. Put-away / Pick process is dependent on the “Use Pick Creation Sort Order” being enabled on the Location FastTab of the Inventory Setup page. See Related Topics for additional information.

Pick Line Sort Order: Select the default sort order for pick document lines when running the Create Invt. Put-away / Pick process. This option applies to Shipping Option 2 only.

Blank – Default line sequence will be used. This is normally by zone and bin.

Item Gross Weight – This will sort the lines on the pick placing the heaviest items by gross weight first on     the pick to the lightest items at the bottom.

Require Invt. Pick on Transfers:  This option pertains to Shipping Option 2 only. With this option selected, Ceres will require a pick document to be created and handled prior to posting the transfer order with the Ship option. If you would like to bypass the creation and handling of the pick document, do not place a check mark here. Not requiring a pick document can provide for better efficiency when processing transfer order; especially where ADCS Handhelds are concerned.  This field is optional.

Suggest Full Pallet from Put Away:  This setup option pertains to Shipping Option 2 only. With this option selected, Ceres will first attempt to make fully qualified inventory suggestions from put away (storage) bins during the pick creation process. This setup option is dependent upon other Location setting as described in this document. Additionally, certain criteria must be met in order for Ceres to suggest a full pallet. Refer to the related topics section for additional information. This field is optional.

Drop Full Pallet to Pick:  This setup option pertains to Shipping Option 2 only. This option is used in conjunction with the Suggest Full Pallet from Put Away option. When the latter is enabled, the Drop Full Pallet to (pick) bins will dictate whether Ceres will create a WAP suggestion line for full pallets. If selected, a WAP suggestion will be created and will be available for handling either via ADCS Handhelds or manually. If not selected, the full pallet suggestions will be translated to the appropriate pick documents during the pick creation process. Refer to the related topics for additional information. This field is optional.

Bin Policies FastTab

Consider Pallet Full %:  This field is used to determine what constitutes a full pallet for use in full pallet processing. For example, setting this field to 90% indicates that a pallet must have 90% or more of its original quantity still left to be considered full. Any quantity less than this percentage will exclude the pallet from consideration during full pallet processing.

Always Create Pick Line:  A checkmark in this field indicates that Ceres will create a pick line even if it cannot find an appropriate Zone and Bin in which to pick the Item.

Allow Picks when WAP Exists:  This option applies to Shipping Option 2 only and must be enabled when the Location allows default bin picking; otherwise it is optional. Place a check mark here to allow an Agency Order to be reopened (for the purposes of adding or modifying lines) when it is represented on the WAP and to allow pick documents to be created with WAP lines exists.

Allow Default Bin Picking:  This option applies to Shipping Option 2 only. Place a checkmark in this option if the Location processes picks using Default Bin Picking. Default Bin Picking provides for improved efficiency during the fulfillment process. With this methodology, Ceres will provide for the creation of pick documents against inventory that is recorded in the WAP but has not yet been physically dropped to a pick bin (e.g. WAP lines still exist). This allows for a reduction in warehouse movements as the inventory can move directly from put away (storage) bins to staging or delivery. Additional setup is required to configure Ceres for Default Bin Picking. See related topics for additional information.

Default Pick Bin Exception: This option applies to Shipping Option 2 only and only when Allow Default Bin Picking has been enabled. Select an option for how Ceres should handle the suggestion of the To-Zone Code and To-Bin Code when creating WAP entries for an item that does not have a Default Bin configured (e.g. no Item Location Default Bin record exist or an Item Location Default Bin exists but no Bin Code has been specified).

Use WAP Suggestion: Select this option of have Ceres automatically suggest the “To” Zone and Bin based on the WAP Template suggestion.

Use WAP Suggestion with Confirmation: Select this option of have Ceres provide a confirmation dialog before suggesting the “To” Zone and Bin based on the WAP Template suggestion. Select ‘Yes’ on the dialog to have Ceres create the WAP entry or ‘No’ to halt the processing with error (see Halt with Error below for sample of error message).

Make no Suggestion: Select this option of have Ceres automatically suggest blank values for the “To” Zone and Bin. The “To” Zone and Bin can be manually updated after the Create WAP process concludes.

Make no Suggestion with Confirmation: Select this option to have Ceres provide a confirmation dialog before suggesting blank values for the “To” Zone and Bin. Select ‘Yes’ on the dialog to have Ceres create the WAP entry or ‘No’ to halt the processing with error (see Halt with Error below for sample of error message).

Halt with Error: Select this option to have Ceres halt the Create WAP process with error.

Prompt for Suggestion Handling: Select this option to have Ceres provide a menu option of how to handle missing Default Bins on a WAP line by WAP line basis.

Use WAP Suggestion for To-Bin: Click the OK button with this menu choice selected for Ceres to continue the WAP processing by suggesting the “To” Zone and Bin based on the WAP Template suggestion.

Make no Suggestion for To-Bin: Click the OK button with this menu choice selected for Ceres to continue the WAP processing by suggesting blank values for the “To” Zone and Bin.

Cancel: Click the Cancel button to halt WAP processing with error (see Halt with Error above for sample of error message).

Allow Pick from Put-Away Bin:  This option applies to palletized inventory only for Shipping Options 2 and 3 only. Place a checkmark here is the Location allows for the specification of put away (storage) inventory directly on the Agency Order line. Ceres will carry the put away inventory specifications on the Agency Order through to the pick document (inventory pick or shipment). Once the pick document has been created, the put away inventory on the pick document can be manually overridden with other inventory in put away or pick bins.

Zone Setup

Zones for a Location can be accessed from the Location List by navigating Departments à Warehouse à Administration à Setup à Locations. The fields that can impact how picks are generated are highlighted in yellow below.

Exclude from Whse. Doc.:   Do not put a checkmark in this field for any Zone you would like to create a pick document for. A checkmark in this field indicates that this Zone is excluded from requiring a pick document to be created when the “Require Pick” flag is checked on the Location. For example, the “Exclude from Whse Doc” field may be checked for a Shopping Zone within a Location that is setup as “Require Pick:”

Location Requires Pick:  There must be a checkmark in this field to create pick documents for this Location. By default this field is set from the Require Pick field on the Location Card.

Invt. Pick Nos.: Select a number series that will be used to automatically create unique pick numbers by Zone when the Create Pick By field on the Location Card is Zone. If a Zone specific Number Series is not linked, the No. Series in the Inventory Setup is used. This field is optional.

In the screen shot below, a different Inventory Pick Number Series was linked to select Zones (Cooler, Dry, and Freezer). You can link the same Number Series to more than one Zone.

Invt. Pick Printing Option:  Select an option to include/exclude the printing of items in this Zone on the Picking List and/or the Wave Pick List by Zone/Storage.

Both (pick and Wave Pick) – Select this option to print Items in this Zone on the Pick Wave Pick Documents.

Pick Document Only – Select this option to print Items in this Zone on the Pick Document Only.

Wave Pick Document Only – Select this option to print Items in this Zone on the Wave Pick Document Only.

The setting of this field is either applied or not applied when printing either report based on the selection of the Apply Invt. Pick Printing Option on the request Page of either report, as shown below.

New Page on Pick List Report:   A checkmark in this field will cause a new page to be printed for each Zone on the Pick List Report when the “Create Pick By” field on the Location Card is blank. By design, pick documents created by Zone or FBC Storage Requirement already print on a new page.  This field is optional.

The setting of this field is either applied or not applied when printing the Pick List report based on the selection of the New Page Option on the request Page of either report, as shown below. The options are Blank, Zone, or FBC Storage Requirement.

Exclude from Voxware:  A checkmark on this field will exclude pick documents for this Zone from being exported to Voxware. This field is optional.

Staging Area:  Select a default Staging Area for this Zone. This will be the suggested Default Staging Area on a pick document when the Create Pick By field on the Location Card is set to Zone. This field is optional.

Bin Setup

Bins for a Location can be accessed from the Location List by navigating Departments à Warehouse à Administration à Setup à Locations. The fields that can impact how picks are generated are highlighted in yellow below.

Bin Type Code: Only Items in Bins with a Bin Type Code indicating that the bin is a pick type bin will be suggested on the pick document.

Picking Sequence No.:  This field is used to identify the preferred picking sequence and controls the order in which pick document information is sent to Voxware, and the sequence in which the items print on the Wave Pick List by Zone/Storage Report.

Bin Ranking: This field indicates the ranking of the Bin. With all other inventory attributes (Bin Process Order, Expiration Date, Consume by Date, Received Date) being equal, Ceres will suggest inventory from the Bin with the highest ranking. This field is numeric only. This field is optional.

Since Voxware cannot sort the data imported from Ceres, this field allows Voxware to present pick transactions in a sort order that provides for efficient warehouse navigation by the warehouse employees. This field is optional.

FBC Storage Requirement Setup

FBC Storage Requirements can be accessed from the Location List from Departments à Financial Management à Administration à Setup à Food Bank Number Codes à FBC Storage Requirements. The fields that can impact how picks are generated are outlined below.

Invt. Pick Nos.: Select a number series that will be used to automatically create unique Pick Numbers by FBC Storage Requirement when the Create Pick By field on the Location Card is FBC Storage Requirement. If a FBC Storage Requirement specific No. Series is not linked, the No. Series in the Inventory Setup is used. This field is optional.

In the screenshot below, a different Invt. Pick No. Series was linked to select FBC Storage Requirements (DRY, FROZEN, and REF). You can link the same No. Series to more than one FBC Storage Requirement.

Invt. Pick Printing Option:  Select an option to include/exclude the printing of items in this FBC Storage Requirement on the Picking List and/or the Wave Pick List by Zone/Storage. 

Both (pick and Wave Pick) – Select this option to print Items in this Zone on the Pick Wave Pick Documents.

Pick Document Only – Select this option to print Items in this Zone on the Pick Document Only.

Wave Pick Document Only – Select this option to print Items in this Zone on the Wave Pick Document Only.

The setting of this field is either applied or not applied when printing either report based on the selection of the Apply Invt. Pick Printing Option on the request Page of either report, as shown below.

New Page on Pick List Report:   A checkmark in this field will cause a new page will printed for each FBC Storage Requirement on the Pick List Report when the “Create Pick By” field on the Location Card is blank.  By design, Picks created by Zone or FBC Storage Requirement already print on a new page. This field is optional.

The setting of this field is either applied or not applied when printing the Pick List report based on the selection of the New Page Option on the request Page of either report, as shown below. The options are Blank, Zone, or FBC Storage Requirement.

Exclude from Voxware:  A checkmark on this field will exclude pick documents for this FBC Storage Requirement from being exported to Voxware.

Staging Area:  Select a default Staging Area for this FBC Storage Requirement. This will be the suggested Default Staging Area on a pick document when the “Create Pick By” field on the Location Card is set to FBC Storage Requirement. This field is optional.

Generating Picks

In general, there are two ways to generate pick documents in Ceres that support the Pick Generation Enhancements. Directly from an Agency Order or from the Create Invt. Putaway/Pick function. With Shipping Option 2, pick documents can only be generated for Agency Orders that have been released.

There are many different factors that need to be considered as to how and when pick documents are generated and processed. This section of the document covers how to generate pick documents only. Please refer to other documents, such as WAP, Movement Worksheets, Agency Order Processing, Vox Integration, etc. for more details related to the picks.

Note:  Creating pick documents from an Inventory Pick using the Source Documents function are not supported with these enhancements.

Note:  As explained above the Create Picks By setting on the Location Card can configure Ceres to group items together on separate pick documents according to their Zone or FBC Storage Requirement. Under this configuration, Ceres will use the Invt. Pick Nos. number series for the Zone or FBC Storage Requirement to assign pick document numbers. This however only applies to pick documents for which Ceres is able to suggest pick-able inventory. In the case where Ceres is unable to suggest pick-able inventory (and is configured to do so according to the Always Create Pick Line setting), Ceres will create an “empty line” utilizing the generic Invt Pick Nos. number series as specified on Inventory Setup. All “empty lines” will be combined on a singular generic pick document on a per Agency Order basis.

Generating a Single Pick from an Agency Order

A pick document can be generated directly from an Agency Order from Home à Create Inventory Put-away / Pick. Generally this option is used to create a single pick on the fly.

From the Create Invt. Put-Away/Pick Page set filters on the Options FastTab based on how you want to sort the pick documents, and on the Warehouse Request FastTab which Agency Order you want to generate the pick document for. Since a single pick document is being generated in this example, the Pick Creation Sort Order is relevant.

Further if the Location Create by Pick option is Blank and a user selects a Pick Sort Order other than blank, the below error message will appear.

If an Item exists in a Physical Inventory Journal based on the Calculation Method of Physical Inventory, the below error message will appear when generating pick documents. The Physical Inventory will need to be posted or the Items deleted from the Journal before a pick document can be created.

Note:  You can do cycle counts when there are open pick documents as long as the Calculation Method of Cycle Count was selected when ran the Calculate Inventory function in the Physical Inventory Journal.

Once a pick document has been created. The Outstanding Picks field on the General FastTab of the Agency Order is updated to reflect how many different pick documents exist for that order.

Pick documents can be accessed directly from an Agency Order from Navigate  à Invt. Put-away Pick Lines à Warehouse Activity List à Card.

The pick document can also be accessed from Departments à Warehouse à Goods Handling Order by Order à Lists à Inventory Picks.

The screen shots below are a simple example based on the different Create Pick By options for a single Agency Order with two different Zones (Dry and Freezer) and two different FBC Storage Requirements (Dry and Frozen).

Single Pick with Create Pick By = Blank

A single pick document is created with seven lines for all Zones and FBC Storage Requirements.

Single Pick with Create Pick By = Zone

Two different pick documents, one for Dry and another for Freezer, were created with a total of seven lines all with different pick numbers. Different pick numbers were assigned based on the Invt. Pick No field in the Zone setup.

Single Pick with Create Pick By = FBC Storage Requirement

Two different pick documents, one Dry and another for Frozen, were created with a total of seven lines all with different pick numbers. Different pick numbers were assigned based on the Invt. Pick No field in the FBC Storage Requirement setup.

Generating Multiple Picks

 Multiple picks can be generated at once from Departments à Warehouse à Planning & Execution à Create Invt. Put-away /Pick.

From the Create Invt. Put-Away/Pick Page, set filters based on how you want to generate the pick documents. 

Options FastTab

Sort by Appointment Time:  Optional - Place a checkmark in this field to sort the Picks by Appointment Time when they are generated. This only applies when the Create Pick By option is Blank. Appointment Time is built into the keys when the Create Pick By option is Zone or FBC Storage Requirement.

Pick Creation Sort Order:  Required - Select from one of the options. This determines how the pick documents will be sorted based on the when they are generated. The options are:

Blank – This option is only valid when Create Pick By is set to Blank.

Route-Leg-Stop-Appointment Time – Picks will be generated in the order listed in this key.

Appointment Time-Route-Leg-Stop – Picks will be generated in the order listed in this key.

Appointment Time-Order Handling Group-Order Routing Group – Picks will be generated in the order listed in this key.

If Inventory Setup has been configured to enable the “Use Pick Creation Sort Order” option and the Location is configured to Create Pick By other than the blank option, Ceres will default the configuration selection of the Pick Creation Sort Order from the Location to the pick creation process. It is important to note that while the Pick Creation Sort Order as viewed on the Request Page of the Create Invt. Put-Away / Pick process will display as blank, Ceres will use the sort order as configured on the applicable Location.

Additionally, when Inventory Setup has been configured to enable the “Use Pick Creation Sort Order” option a singular and valid Location Code filter is required for the Create Invt. Put-Away / Pick process when the Create Invt. Put-Away / Pick process is being run across multiple Agency Orders to create a batch of pick documents.

The absence of a Source No. filter on the Warehouse Activity FastTab indicates that the create pick process will apply to all eligible Agency Orders. A Location Code filter is required in order for Ceres to obtain the “Pick Creation Sort Order” for the Location and use it as the default for the Create Invt. Put-Away / Pick process. Ceres will present the error message below as applicable.

Providing a Location Code filter in this scenario will allow the create pick process to proceed without error. However, the process will only apply to orders meeting both conditions of the Source No. filter and the Location Code filter.

Note: Whereas you can create Inventory Picks for multiple Locations at once, it is recommended that Location Filter be set so all the Inventory Picks are created in numerical sequence for specific Location.

Warehouse Request FastTab

On the Warehouse Request FastTab select which Location, Order Handling Group, Shipment Date, Shipment Method, etc. you want to generate pick documents for.

The screen shots below are based on the different Create Pick By options for a single Agency Order with two different Zones (Dry, and Freezer) and two different UNC Storage Requirements (Dry and Frozen).

If an Item exists in a Physical Inventory Journal, the below error message will appear when generating pick documents. The Physical Inventory will need to be posted or the Items deleted from the Journal before a pick document can be created.

Once a pick document has been generated the Outstanding Picks field on the General FastTab of the Agency Order is updated to reflect how many different pick documents exist for that order.

Pick documents can be accessed directly from An Agency Order by drilling down on the Outstanding Pick field on the General FastTab. An Agency Order from Navigate à Invt. Put-away Pick Lines à Warehouse Activity List à Related Information à Line à Card. Pick documents can also be accessed. From Departments à Warehouse à Goods Handling Order by Order à Lists à Inventory Picks

The screen shots below are based on Agency Orders that have been released with for Location KAN with a Shipment Date of 03/01/20..03/20/20. Because many factors can impact how pick documents are generated not all iterations are represented below.

Note:  Pick documents are generated based on the Location Code on the Agency Order Lines. Thus you will want to make sure the Location Code on the Shipping FastTab of the Agency Order is the same as the Location Code on the Agency Order Lines.

Multiple Pick Documents where Create Pick By = Blank, with all Bin Policies Pick options = Yes with the following filters

Two different pick documents were created, one for each Agency Order, with a total of 12 lines. By default the Picks are sorted by Shipment Date, Agency Order No. The secondary sort is Appointment Time. The pick numbers were assigned based on the No. Series in the Inventory Setup.

Multiple Pick Documents where Create Pick By = Zone, with all Bin Policies Pick options = Yes with the following filters.

Three different pick documents were created; one for each Agency Order, with a total of 12 lines. Within each Zone, the pick documents are sorted by Shipment Date, Appointment Time, and Agency Order No. The pick numbers were assigned based on the Invt. Pick No. Series in the Zone setup.

The sort order the Inventory Picks may be different based on the Pick Creation Sort Order and other setup when the picks are created.

Multiple Pick Documents where Create Pick By = FBC Storage Requirement, with all Bin Policies Pick options = Yes with the following filter.

Three different pick documents were created; one for each FBC Storage Requirement per Agency Order, with a total of 12 lines.  Within each FBC Storage Requirement, the pick documents are sorted by Appointment Time, Order Handling Group, Order Routing Group. The pick numbers were assigned based on the Invt. Pick No. Series in the FBC Storage setup.

The sort order the Inventory Picks may be different based on the Pick Creation Sort Order and other setup when the picks are created.

Allow Pick from Storage Bin

When the Allow Pick from Storage Bin is checked on the Location Card, the number of pick documents that are generated can be impacted by whether or not the WAP has been run. The pick documents that are created will still be based on the Create Pick By option. Typically Pick from Storage is used for Full Pallet Orders, not case level picks.

In the below example, A quantity of 70 was entered on the Agency Order for Item 10018R.  Item 10018R has a quantity on hand of 437; 37 of that quantity resides in a pick bin and the remaining 400 in four different storage bins.   With the Create By Pick = FBC Storage Requirement, pick documents will be created as follows:

If the WAP has not been run, two different pick documents will be created. One pick document for 37, the quantity in pick bin 04-121-A, and a second pick document for 33, the quantity in storage bins.  The Pallet, Lot, Bin will be blank on the second pick document, indicating that Item needs to be moved.

Alternatively the Pallet, Lot, Bin can be selected on the line. The pick numbers that are assigned will be based on two different Number Series. The pick document (IPD-02764) with the quantity of 37 is based on the Invt. Pick No. Series in the FBC Storage setup, whereas the pick document (PCK-01366) with the quantity of 33 is based on the No. Series in the Inventory Setup.

Note:  Only the Pick Lines where the Pallet, Lot, Bin has been suggested will be sent to Voxware. 

Default Pick Bin

The Warehouse Activity Plan and Default Picking Bin documents outlines the setup and process for generating pick documents with default pick bin setup. Below are examples as to how pick documents will be created with default pick bins.

A quantity of 70 was entered on the Agency Order for Item 10018R Item 10018R has a quantity on hand of 437; 37 of that quantity resides in pick bin  04-121-A and the remaining 400 in four different storage bins.  A Default Pick Bin of 04-121-A was set up on the Item Card. With the Create By Pick = Zone, pick document will be created as follows:

If the WAP has not been run, two different pick documents will be created. One pick document for 118, the quantity in pick bin 09-117-A, and a second pick document for 32, the quantity in storage bins.  The Pallet, Lot, Bin will be blank on the second pick document, indicating that item needs to be moved.

Alternatively the Pallet, Lot, Bin can be selected on the line. The pick numbers that are assigned will be based on two different No. Series. The pick document with the quantity of 118 is based on the Invt. Pick No. Series in the FBC Storage setup, whereas the pick document with the quantity of 32 is based on the No. Series in the Inventory Setup.

If the WAP has been run but not posted, a single pick document will be created with two lines. One line for 37, the quantity in pick bin 04-121-A, and another line for 33, the quantity in storage bins.  The Default Pick Bin 04-121-A will be suggested on the second line along with the Pallet and Lot. The pick number that is assigned is based on the Invt. Pick No. Series in the FBC Storage setup.

Note:  Only the Pick Lines where the Pallet, Lot, Bin has been suggested will be sent to Voxware.

Drop on Demand (Pallet, Lot, Bin) Assigned on the Agency Order Line

The Full Pallet documentation and the Warehouse Activity Drop on Demand Procedure outlines the setup and process for generating drop on demand pick documents and therefore is not covered in this document.

Pick Document Lines

When the Create Invt. Put-away / Pick function is run, Ceres uses the key “Bin Process Order, “Lot Expiration Date”, Lot Consume by Date”, “Received Date, “Bin Ranking” , “Pallet No.”, “Lot No.” for ordered selection of inventory to suggest on pick document lines for FEFO purposes.

The lines are then sorted and presented on the pick documents by Activity Type, Location, Picking Sequence No., Bin Code, Item No., and Line No.

Below are examples of how the picks document lines are sorted.

Pick Document Lines created with Create Pick By = Blank.

Bins 04-121-A and 159 both have a ranking of 0 show they show first on the pick. Bin 159 list first because it’s picking sequence of 1 is a higher priority than bin 04-121-A which has a picking sequence of 6. Next, bin 03-122-A is listed with a ranking of 3 and then the remaining dry bins which all have a ranking of 10 and a picking sequence of 6. Lastly the Freezer zone is printed after the DRY zone using the same logic.

Pick Document for items on Agency Order AO-00493

Pick Document Lines created with Create Pick By = Zone. 

Bins Picking sequence is altered here to show the picking sequence within Zone. Refer to the Warehouse Activity Plan and Default Bin Picking and Warehouse Activity Plan for more information on Bin Ranking, etc.

Dry Pick Document for Agency Order AO-00493.

Freezer Pick Document for Agency Order AO-00493.

Pick Document Lines created with Create Pick By = FBC Storage Requirement.

Pick by FBC Storage requirement functions the same as by Zone.

Dry Pick Document for Agency Order AO-00493.

Frozen Pick Document for Agency Order AO-00493.

Processing Pick Documents

Once the pick documents have been created, they should be reviewed and/or updated before the Pick List Reports or the Wave Pick List by Zone/Storage Reports are printed. Once the product has been picked, these same pick documents will need to be reviewed and perhaps updated.

General FastTab

Staging Areas:  Input where the product will be staged. This is a free-form text field. Refer to the Staging document for more details.

Posting Date:  Update this field to reflect the date the pick document was posted.

External Document No.:  Free-form text field where additional document information can be inputted.

Assigned Id:  Select the user who is assigned to this pick document. For those food banks using Voxware, this field will be updated automatically along with the Picked By field. If the User Id that Voxware sends back does exist as a warehouse employee in Ceres, a Voxware error will be logged.

Picked By: Select the user who picked the inventory for this pick document. For those food banks using Voxware, this field will be updated automatically. If the Assigned Id or Picked by fields are left blank, they will automatically be updated with the User Id who posted the pick document.

Pallet Count:  Input the number pallets associated with this pick document. This field must be filled in before the Shipping Tag will print. Refer to the Staging document for more details Refer to the Staging document for more details.

Start/End Date and Start/End Time:  These fields are automatically updated by the handheld for those food banks using ADCS.

Lines FastTab

Qty to Handle: Update this field to reflect the quantity that was actually picked.  To autofill this field, click Actions à  Autofill Qty. to Handle. When the pick documents are created, the Qty to Handle field automatically defaults to the Quantity field for those food banks using ADCS or Voxware, this field will be updated automatically.

Note:  The Qty to Handle field cannot exceed the Quantity field.  If a greater quantity was picked than was suggested on the pick document, the Agency Order will need to be updated and a second pick document created. Therefore it is recommended that the quantity that is suggested be picked.

Pallet, Lot, Bin:  A Pallet, Lot, and Bin will be suggested when the pick documents are generated. Select a different Pallet, Lot, and Bin you want to fulfill the inventory from. For those food banks using ADCS or Voxware, this field will be updated automatically.

After the lines have been updated you are ready to post. The posting function will allow you to post just the shipment or the shipment and invoice at the same time. If any required information for posting the invoice is missing, you will only be able to post the shipment, and the posting of the invoice will need to take place from the Agency Order. To post the shipment click Actions à Post or Post & Print.

Choose from “Ship” or “Ship and Invoice” and press OK.

Note: The option selection (Ship or Ship and Invoice), is configurable in Ceres via the "Invt. Pick Default Posting Opt” located on the Posting FastTab of the Inventory Setup page. The setting of this field will determine which option users are presented with on the dialog shown above but can be overridden if desired.

Note: Ceres will allow the Ship & Invoice option if one or more additional related pick documents exist. For example, consider that the current pick document being posted is IPD-02545 and is related to agency order AO-00493. If other outstanding pick documents exist for AO-00493, Ceres will present the warning message as shown below. This edit is intended to prevent stranded (orphaned) pick documents. The pick and invoice will post but the order and remaining picks will remain and must be posted separately. This will result in multiple invoices for the agency order.

Note: Ceres will not allow the Ship & Invoice option if no other additional pick documents exist but the AO has one or more lines that have a Qty. to Ship. This situation can occur if an Agency Order line was added but a pick document for the line has not yet been created. In this situation, Ceres will present the error message as shown below.

Note: Ceres will display a message (information only) when the Ship & Invoice option was selected, validated to be allowed, and will result in its related Agency Order not being invoiced in its entirety. As an example of this scenario, consider that two lines exist for a given Agency Order; each with its individual pick document. The first pick document was posted with the Ship only option. The second pick is posted with the Ship & Invoice option. Ceres will ship and invoice the related line(s) on the Agency Order but not the entire Agency Order. This is true because second pick document does not apply to all of the Agency Order lines. In this scenario, Ceres will present the message shown below. The purpose of the message is simply to inform the user so that he or she is aware that the Agency Order will need to be invoiced.

The display of the message above (whether it displays or not) is configurable in Ceres via the "Agency Order Invoice Warning” configuration option located on the Posting FastTab of the Inventory Setup page. Select ‘Yes’ to continue posting or ‘No’ to halt with error.

Note: Ceres can be configured to Ship and Invoice Agency Order lines of Type G/L Account when posting an Inventory Pick with the Ship and Invoice option. This configuration setting is controlled via the “Auto-Post G/L Account Lines” which can be found on the Posting FastTab on Inventory Setup.

When enabled, the “Auto-Post G/L Account Lines” configuration setting provides for increased efficiency in order processing by:

• Reducing the steps/time required by staff to process the documents through the distribution process.
• Resulting in a single invoice document containing lines of type Item and G/L Account according to the Agency Orders transactions.

Pick Document Reports

Once the pick documents have been updated they can be printed from the Picking List Report and the Wave Pick – Inventory Picks or Wave Pick – Agency Orders reports.  All reports support the enhancements outline above.

Picking List Report Setup

The pick documents printed can be selected by specifying the report on the Ceres Report Inventory Selections page. This page can be accessed here: Departments à Administration à Application Setup à Warehouse à Inventory à Tasks à Ceres Report Selections Inventory.

The Page has 2 options “Invt. Pick”, “Invt. Put-away” and “Agency Pallet Tag”. Select “Invt. Pick”.

On this page specify the report to print for pick tickets. There are 2 options to choose from “14012290 – Ceres Picking List-Landscape” and “14012291 – Ceres Picking List – Portrait”. If you have a custom picking list report document, your implementer can provide the correct report ID.

Picking List Report

The pick documents can be printed from:

• Departments à Warehouse à Goods Handling Order by Order à Documents à Picking List 
• Departments à Warehouse à Goods Handling Multiple Orders à Documents à Picking List. 
• An Inventory Pick by clicking Report à Picking List.

The Pick List Page will display where users can set filter criteria based on how they want to run the report, such as Shipment Date, Shipment Method, Order Handling Group Codes, etc. Update the Options FastTab as needed

New Page Options:  Select from one of the option as to how you would like the Items to print on the Picking List

Blank - All Items on a pick document will print on a single Picking List. If the pick documents were Created By Zone or FBC Storage Requirement, such as Dry, Cooler, and Freezer, items will print on separate Picking Lists because separate pick documents exist.

Zone - Select this option to print separate Picking Lists by Zone. Generally this option would be selected when a single pick document is created yet you want separate Picking Lists to print by Zone. The New Page on Pick List Report field must be checked in the Zone Setup before separate Picking Lists by Zone will print. See the Zone Setup section above for more details.

FBC Storage Requirement - Select this option to print separate Picking Lists by FBC Storage Requirement. Generally this option would be selected when a single pick document is created yet you want separate Picking Lists to print by FBC Storage Requirement. The New Page on Pick List Report field must be checked in the FBC Storage Requirement Setup before separate Picking Lists by FBC Storage Requirement will print. See the FBC Storage Requirement Setup section above for more details.

Sort by Route:  Place a checkmark in this field to sort the Picking Lists by Route.

Apply Invt. Printing Options - Place a checkmark in this field to apply the inventory printing options from the Zone Setup or FBC Storage Requirement Setup. The Invt. Pick Printing Options tell Ceres whether to include/exclude in the printing of items in the Zone or FBC Storage Requirement on the Picking List and/or the Wave Pick List by Zone/Storage Report. 

In the below example, are two different Picking Lists that were printed by Zone from a single pick document.

Wave Pick – Inventory Picks

The Wave Pick – Inventory Picks Report was designed to print the picks by Zone or by FBC Storage Requirement. The Report can be run from Departments à Warehouse à Reports and Analysis à Planning & Execution à Reports.

The report is designed to run with Ship Option 2 where Inventory Picks are generated for Agency Orders.

Picking Pallet Wt. Limit (Lbs):  Input the weight a pallet should not exceed. If the pallet weight exceeds this limit, text will print on the report indicating as such indicating to begin a new pallet for this line.

Print in Ascending Order (Bin Sequence):   Place a checkmark in this field to print the item on the Wave Pick in ascending Bin Sequence.

Apply Invt. Printing Options - Place a checkmark in this field to apply the Inventory Printing options from the Zone Setup or FBC Storage Requirement Setup. The Invt. Pick Printing Options tell Ceres whether to include/exclude in the printing of items in the Zone or FBC Storage Requirement on the Wave Pick report.

New Page Options:  Select from one of the option as to how you would like the Items to print on the Wave Pick:

Blank - All Items will print on a single Wave Pick report and will not be grouped or sorted by Zone or FBC Storage Requirement. Zone or FBC Storage Requirement must be selected for the proper grouping.

Zone - Select this option to print separate Wave Pick by Zone.

FBC Storage Requirement - Select this option to print separate Wave Pick by FBC Storage Requirement.

Below are excerpts of the Wave Pick – Inventory Picks printed by Zone. Items where the Pallet, Lot, or Bin was not assigned will print first.

Wave Pick – Agency Orders

The Wave Pick – Agency Orders Report was designed to print the picks by Zone or by FBC Storage Requirement. The Report can be run from Departments à Warehouse à Reports and Analysis à Planning & Execution à Reports.

The report is designed to run with Ship Option 1 where no Inventory Picks are generated for Agency Orders. Shipment of Agency Orders is accomplished directly from the Agency Order.

Picking Pallet Wt. Limit (Lbs):  Input the weight a pallet should not exceed. If the pallet weight exceeds this limit, text will print on the report indicating as such indicating to begin a new pallet for this line.

Print in Ascending Order (Bin Sequence):   Place a checkmark in this field to print the item on the Wave Pick in ascending bin sequence.

New Page Options:  Select from one of the option as to how you would like the Items to print on the Wave Pick:

Blank - All Items will print on a single Wave Pick report and will not be grouped or sorted by Zone or FBC Storage Requirement. Zone or FBC Storage Requirement must be selected for the proper grouping.

Zone - Select this option to print separate Wave Pick by Zone.

FBC Storage Requirement - Select this option to print separate Wave Pick by FBC Storage Requirement.

Below are excerpts of the Wave Pick – Agency Orders printed by Zone. Items where the Pallet, Lot, or Bin was not assigned will print first.

Related Topics

1. Agency Order Overview
2. Appian Overview and Integration
3. Inventory Short Handling
4. Bin Overview
5. Item Overview
6. Location Overview
7. Order Handling Groups Order Routing Groups
8. Warehouse Activity Plan - WAP
9. Warehouse Activity Plan and Default Bin Picking
10. Warehouse ADCS Barcode Processing
11. Voxware Overview and Integration
12. Zone Overview