Navigator Solutions

Despatch

Once picking is completed on an order, Navigator allows the warehouse to record information about the method of despatch of the goods. Navigator supports two methods of despatch - direct (where the picker is also the packer and will create a parcel for despatch) and indirect (where the picker leaves the goods for another employee / packer to complete the despatch).

The despatch stage is typically the trigger for Navigator to alert your accounting system that an order is complete, and that an invoice should now be produced.

Indirect Despatch for Repacked Items

This is the most common method of using Navigator when your shipments are made up of cartons and the occasional pallet. While the processes are slightly different depending on whether your warehouse uses voice or scan confirmation, the net result is the same:

• Goods are picked and placed into an identified 'container' (e.g. tote or bucket) by the picker and deposited at the despatch area.
• The packer works off the pick slip overview screen to determine which orders to despatch next. Typically this will be based on the courier's cutoff time. Once they have determined which order to pack next, they will locate one or more containers holding the order.

The packer may also select a container at random and scan this to identify the order and customer details.

Once the order has been selected, the packer sees the customer information in addition to any notes passed from the sales staff. The packer may also choose to 'top up' picked items if they are aware of goods which are in stock, but were 'short picked'.

The packer then places the goods into cartons/pallets/satchels and types or scans the consignment information into the Navigator despatch screen. Note that a mobile version of this screen is also available.

Once the 'Accept and Despatch' button is pressed in Navigator's web screen, Navigator will either (depending on your configuration):

• print a discrepancy report (for accounting systems which cannot be automatically updated); or
• send a notification to your accounting system that an invoice should now be produced.

At this point, Navigator's processing of the pick slip is complete and the system will archive the document. If an alteration is made to a pick slip which has already been 'despatched', Navigator will bring the pick slip back to the available pool of work.

Direct Despatch for Palletised Orders

Under a 'direct' despatch process, the picker of the goods will also create the pallet and calculated dimensions and weights for use by the freight system. As soon as the pick is completed, the operator is presented (on their scanner) with a screen to enter despatch information including:

• weight of the consignment
• number of pallets
• number of loose cartons
• consignment note number

Once the operator completes this screen, Navigator will send a notification to your accounting system that an invoice should now be produced.

Despatch by Carton

Navigator supports a "despatch by carton" methodology. This is typically applied to a zone picking environment in which goods are packed as they are picked, across multiple zones. As each carton is processed, consignment labels are produced and information for the 'current' carton is added to any open consignment for a given delivery address. This process may take place via the Web interface or on a voice computer.

Further details of Despatch by Carton on voice are available here.

Vehicle Loading

Using a pick and load scenario, the picking process will result in SSCC labels being produced for each carton / pallet being shipped. A separate "loading" transaction allows a forklift operator to review a list of orders which have been picked, but not despatched, along with the associated freight company (carrier).

When a freight company arrives, the next order to load is selected and the list of SSCC numbers for the pick is displayed. The forklift operator scans each SSCC barcode, which marks the container as "dispatched", with the date and time. When the truck is full, the operator may "close" the load. If all pallets for the order are loaded, the load is automatically closed.

Once a load is closed, Navigator exports the contents of the pallets loaded against the pickslip. This allows invoices to be produced for the goods despatched on the truck. The remainder of the invoice can be produced at a later stage once remaining pallets have been loaded.

	Despatching the Pallets   Pallets may be despatched in one of two ways: Directly loaded to a truck following picking; or Loaded from a staging area   If the despatch screen is run stand-alone (from the main menu), Navigator provides a list of pick slips to the operator which have been completed and are ready for despatch. The operator must select the order to review a list of pallets linked to the order. The current location for each pallet is also displayed.   If the despatch screen is run directly from the picking screen (in place of staging the pallets), Navigator allows the operator to select and confirm all pallets linked to the pickslip.
	Navigator shows the pick slip which is about to be despatched, including confirmation of the carrier, customer name and sales order number. Press ENTER to start the despatch process.
	If the truck is loaded pallet at a time, scan each pallet. The pallet will be marked as despatched, and the current location for the pallet will be cleared.   Once the truck is full, the load may be closed (even though not all pallets have been loaded). Select the 'Close Truck' function to generate a despatch notification for export to your ERP system.
	Once all pallets for the current order have been loaded, a despatch notification is automatically sent to your ERP system for the pallets loaded in the current session.