Copyright © 2009
NETcellent System Inc
4030 Valley Blvd. Suite 100
Walnut, CA 91789-0931


 
Elliott's Warehouse Management


Warehouse Management is essential to most distribution and manufacturing businesses. Maintaining your warehouse will effectively increase operation efficiency and accuracy.

Elliott Business Software offers powerful warehouse management functions to help your company achieve these goals. Elliott's Warehouse Management System is a powerful solution that will help automate your inventory handling process, key to your order fulfillment process. Elliott offers various barcode printing and scanning solutions, including real time inventory management through a wireless Tablet PC or portable scanner.


System Wide Support

System Wide Item Barcode Scanning Support

Elliott allows scanning of an item barcode anywhere it prompts for an item number. Item barcodes can be an Item Number, UPC Code, EAN.UCC-8, 13, or 14, or Manufactures Item Number. This allows warehouse personnel to effectively collect inventory data by using the barcode already on the box without needing to create a barcode based on the Elliott Item Number.
 

GTIN (Global Trade Item Number) Support

Elliott supports GTIN, sometimes called the 14 digit UPC code or EAN.UCC-14 or SCC-14, where the leading digit determines the package quantity. GTIN is derived from the UCC-13 or UPC (12 digits) which have no package size information. In certain areas of Elliott, the package quantity is associated with the scanned GTIN. This includes Sales Desk, Shipping Verification and Physical Count.

Tablet PC Operation

Where Elliott prompts for an item number, the user can either enter the item number or scan the barcode of the item (i.e. UPC code) and it will be converted to the Elliott Item Number. This function makes Elliott a suitable application to run in the warehouse. Some users have already used a notebook on a cart or a lightweight tablet PC in the warehouse with great success. Typically, they will have the warehouse set up with Wi-Fi access. Since covering the entire warehouse with Wi-Fi can be expensive, some only cover a portion (i.e. receiving area) with Wi-Fi by purchasing a single wireless router.

The barcode scanner can connect to the computer's PS/2 or USB port by wire. For ultimate flexibility, the scanner can connect to the computer through another wireless connection (i.e. Bluetooth). This type of scanner does not have a screen or keypad since they are simply a keyboard wedge scanner to feed scanned data to Elliott. They are not expensive compared to a mobile scanner, really a computing device with a screen, keypad and memory.

You may consider using this kind of solution for Receiving, Shipping Verification, Physical Count, Inventory Transfer (especially for Multi-Bin operations) or simply Stock Status Inquiry.


Receiving Support
Warehouse Receiving

This feature allows for faster PO receiving. Warehouse Receiving has advantages over the traditional PO Receiving functions in the following ways:

(1) Warehouse Receiving is simplified and allows scanning operation. No G/L account entry is needed and cost fields are skipped by default. This makes the Warehouse Receiving function ideal for the warehouse operator. This will speed up the receiving process and improve productivity and accuracy.

(2) Warehouse Receiving offers a CSV File Import option. If you are an importer, most likely your overseas vendors can provide you with container details in a spreadsheet format as soon as the ship departs the port. This data can be imported into Warehouse Receiving Transaction tables, which saves you data entry time.

In Elliott V7.4, both the traditional Receiving and Warehouse Receiving transaction quantities will be displayed in PO Inquiry and in the F5 window of the PO Line Item Maintenance as pending. Both can work with the Vessel file for batch control. If you change the vessel arrival date, all corresponding receiving transactions' scheduled receiving date will be changed as well (and reflect in the ATP details). Users can enter the receiving transactions in advance and place the vessel on hold for posting. In addition to the visibility of the PO data on the ATP, the un-posted (on-hold) receiving transactions will appear giving customer service better visibility of the goods on the ocean. This On Ocean ATP information will have a more accurate arrival date than those ATP transactions for a PO.

Therefore, if you are an importer, you can consider importing the spreadsheet data provided by your overseas vendors as warehouse receiving transactions. This will give the Goods on Ocean ATP visibility to customer service. Upon the actual arrival of the container, you can let the warehouse personnel verify the already imported receiving data against the actual receiving. If it is consistent, the vessel can be released and the warehouse receiving transactions can be posted. This results in a much more streamline, productive and informative receiving method.


Warehouse Support
Inventory Transfer With Barcode Scanning Support

This feature is designed for the warehouse personnel to transfer inventory from one warehouse location to another without having to enter the distribution accounts. If used with Multi-Bin, it lets the warehouse enter bin information through the "Inventory Transfer" process. A dispatch process is introduced in Inventory Transfer providing an easy-to-use user interface. The Transfer ticket now comes with a pre-designed laser form template that supports item and bin barcodes. Data collection by the warehouse can be made much faster and more accurate by scanning barcodes.

Multi-Bin

This add-on feature is designed for a warehouse with a multiple bin configuration. The Multi-Bin process can be either a one-step or two-step process. The two-step process introduced in Elliott V7.3 eliminates the burden of office personnel entering bin data. Instead, the warehouse should enter the bin data, streamlining the multi-bin process.

Bin Inquiry
With the Multi-Bin option, the Bin Inquiry allows you to specify a range of bins to discover how full they are by looking at weight, volume and quantity. Drill down to a bin and a list of items that are currently occupying that bin will show up. This screen can be used to determine available bins for received items. It can also be used to perform an ad-hoc warehouse audit.

Bin Inventory Report
With the Multi-Bin option, this report prints from the bin point of view and list the items in the bin. You can also use this report to determine empty bins so users can decide which bins can be used to store received items. An option to block out the quantity information can be used by the warehouse to inventory the bins during slow periods.
Barcode Scanning Support for Physical Inventory Count

The Physical Count Tag entry program has been enhanced and is now suitable for barcode scanning. Regular items or serialized items can be scanned efficiently. The multi-bin function is also supported.

Physical Count Import & Export Utility

Physical Count supports exporting to a CSV file so the count tag information can be edited as a spreadsheet and the import function will update the Physical Count Tag File. Users can utilize the "Create Count Tag" utility to first create the count tag file and then export it to a spreadsheet to allow easier editing. With the ability to edit count tags in a spreadsheet, it greatly improves the time required for physical count data entry.


Shipping Support
Shipping Data Update

This function allows the warehouse personnel to update the shipment tracking number, shipping date, freight, misc. charge, freight pay code, shipping instructions, comments, weight, bill of lading number, etc. The administrator can turn off and on each of these fields based on your security policy.

Many organizations do not allow the warehouse to access the Order or Billing screens due to security concerns. However, the extra step of having the warehouse write down the necessary information on a picking ticket and the accounting department entering it on the order is not efficient. This feature will streamline the data collection for the warehouse. In addition, the warehouse can immediately print a packing list after the order data has been updated through this window.
Shipping Confirmation

This is an alternate method of performing billing selection. It can be used by both the office and warehouse personnel. It is designed primarily for the warehouse personnel due to the security restriction of not allowing changes to the order header screen.

The line item screen in Shipping Confirmation is more user friendly than the Billing Selection Process. This function can also be useful for the office personnel if they do not need to modify order header information. Upon completion of Shipping Confirmation, the user can print an immediate packing slip or invoice to go with the package.

Shipping Verification

This add-on feature is more sophisticated than Shipping Confirmation and supports barcode scanning to ensure the shipment content and quantity are accurate. It also collects package level data so you can use this function to produce an EDI ASN UCC-128 label. The package level details are viewable in order or invoice history inquiry.

Shipping Verification can optionally bring up the "Shipping Data Update Window" to allow the warehouse personnel to finish the order data collection. Once the order is verified, the system can also perform billing selection to streamline the whole shipping process. The packing list, or even an invoice, can be automatically printed immediately.
Shipping Manifest

Elliott Business Software integrates with Starship Shipping Manifest. It supports UPS, FedEx, USPS and more.

Immediate Printing of Packing Slip

Traditionally, most Elliott users use the picking ticket as the shipping document since the process of taking the picking ticket to the office for billing selection to produce the packing slip is not efficient. On the other hand, the drawback of the picking ticket is the warehouse manually writes the shipped quantity and it does not look professional.

Since Elliott V7.3, we have made improvements in different areas so the warehouse can participate in the ship quantity update. This includes Shipping Confirmation and Shipping Verification. The system now supports a laser packing slip and can be printed immediately after shipping confirmation, verification or billing selection. These changes favor the packing slip as the default shipping document, which looks more professional than the picking ticket.