Navigator Solutions

Receipting Stock (2201)

Navigator's Receipting Process


Receipting is the process by which Navigator's inventory levels are increased when goods arrive from a supplier. Navigator supports two methods of receipting: Ad-Hoc and Planned. In both cases, stock is received by scanning barcodes on the cartons or on the items themselves and entering either a quantity or serial numbers (if applicable to the product scanned).
 
To run the receipting program, run transaction 2201 - Receiving, on the barcode scanner.

Ad-Hoc Receipting (Backorder)


In an ad-hoc model, Navigator has no prior knowledge about the goods to be received. In this case, the operator uses their scanner to create a receipt document, then scan each item they have received. As Navigator does not know what is expected, it cannot double check the received items against an order. Once the receipt has been completed, inventory levels are increased.

Incoming Goods Requests

Navigator refers to all documents listing stock which will be received in the future as an Incoming Goods Request. This document might be:

 

Incoming Goods Requests (IGRs) might be pre-imported into Navigator via a batch process (e.g. if your accounting system is not SQL Server based), or may be created dynamically when your goods arrive at the dock, and Navigator performs a real-time lookup into your accounting system.

 

Once the goods have arrived at the warehouse, Navigator allows the creation of one or more receipt transactions.

 

IGR documents can be found by going to the Warehouse Operations -> Incoming Goods Requests. You may search by supplier and/or purchase order to locate a specific document.

 

When you have located the request, you can open the request to review details about items expected. Navigator shows the quantity expected along with the received quantity. This screen shows a summary across multiple receipts. If your purchase order arrived over two days across three shipping containers, the data displayed on this screen relates to the purchase order as a whole. To review detailed information about the items received (e.g. batch numbers, expiry dates, serial numbers, pallet numbers or receiving locations), click on the link next to the receipt document at the bottom of the page.

 

This page also allows a supervisor to approve a batch of received stock before it is uploaded to the accounting system. To release the receipt, press the 'Approve' button at the bottom of the screen. Note that you must have the appropriate permissions to be allowed to perform this function.

 

Navigator allows you to close the receipt to prevent it from being displayed on the scanner screen (e.g. if the supplier partially fills the purchase order but does not backorder the remainder). To do this, click the 'Close' button at the bottom of the screen.

 

Planned Receipting

 

In a planned model, Navigator is integrated to your accounting system to assist in verifying that goods received match those ordered. Unlike picking, Navigator does not (by default) download a list of purchase orders in advance. Instead, Navigator allows the warehouse staff to search for active purchase orders in your accounting system as the goods arrive at the receiving dock.
 
Navigator links the receipt to a purchase order and displays the expected and actual quantities to the receiver. Navigator also allows the user to search for items without barcodes by item code or description.  

 

 

Creating a New Receipt

Run the receiving program from the main menu (2201 - DCS Receiving)
 
Press F3 to create a new receipt.

Select the Supplier

Filter the list of suppliers by typing part of the supplier's name or code. Press ENTER to select the supplier.

Select the Purchase Order

Filter the list of available orders by typing part of the order number. To review the order press F4. This action will show the first ten items from the order.
 
To create the receipt and link it to the purchase order, press F4 and enter a reference number (e.g. supplier's invoice number).
 
To create a receipt without a linked purchase order, press F3 to create a backorder and enter a reference number. Using this model, Navigator will not be able to check that items received are correct / valid for a particular purchase order.
 
Once the receipt is created, you may commence the scanning process (see below).

Review Items on the Order

To finish reviewing the purchase order sample, press ESCAPE.

 

Re-opening an Incomplete Receipt

Incomplete Receipts

 

  • Run the receiving program from the main menu (2201 - DCS Receiving)
  • Navigator displays a list of incomplete receipts. Note that until the receipt is finalised, either via the scanner or via the web interface, the document will remain active with the ability to add/remove transactions.
  • To re-commence receiving for an existing document, select the document and press ENTER.
 
 

Receipt Menu

 

Once a receipt is loaded into the scanner, Navigator displays the receipting menu. From this menu you may:

  • Review items on the receipt
  • Add new items to the receipt
  • Finalise and 'post' the receipt transaction.

Reviewing Receipt Lines


From the Receipt Menu, press F4 to review a list of items on the current receipt. You may search through this list by typing part of the part number or description. Navigator will filter the list as you type.
 
As you scroll through the list of items, the description of the stock item is displayed at the bottom of the screen.
 
To clear your search, press ESC (escape).

 
 

Receipting Items

 

  • Press ENTER to start receipting.
  • Scan the item you are going to receive.
  • If the item has no barcode, you may type the supplier's code or your own part number into this field. If Navigator cannot locate the part number of the item, you can also go to the Review screen, search for the product by description and press ENTER to select the stock code.
  • To search for a stock item by description, press F4 from the product prompt.

  • If the barcode scanned is not on file, but the item is valid, you may press F3 to run the "Product Barcode Assign" screen and create a new barcode for the item in addition to any carton-level barcodes.

  • Navigator checks to ensure that the product entered is valid and displays the item's part number and description.
  • Navigator checks to ensure that the product can be found on the purchase order. If the product cannot be found on the order, the operator is notified and is prompted to cancel (and scan a different item), or to add the item to the receipt.
  • If the product can be found on the purchase order the number of expected items is displayed, along with the quantity of items already received.
  • If the product has a unit of measure of KG and a valid EAN128 label is scanned into the product field, Navigator will automatically process the item and you will not be prompted for a quantity (since this field is in the barcode). In this case, each carton must be scanned. If the product is flagged with the 'batch tracking' option, Navigator will print a label containing the product code, description, best before / expiry, batch number and a product checkdigit.
  • Navigator prompts for the quantity of items to receive. The quantity entered is multiplied by the 'carton quantity' (displayed as "Qty (x18)") assigned to the barcode they scanned. For example, if the outer carton barcode (18 units) is scanned, and the user enters '2' as the quantity, a total of 36 units will be recorded.
  • EAN 128 Processing

    • If items received into your warehouse contain a valid EAN 128 label (e.g. fresh produce, meat/fish etc), you may scan this label to record the receipt.

    • Navigator will split the barcode and search the products list based on the GTIN number, if it can be found.

    • The batch number and expiry date or best before date fields are captured, but only recorded if the field "request batch" is ticked against the stock item.

    • The 'serial number' field (21), is captured and used to ensure that the same carton is not scanned multiple times. 

 

  •  Serial number processing
    • If the item scanned is flagged as being serial tracked, Navigator will ask the user to scan every serial number received for the item.
    • Navigator will give an error message if the same serial number is scanned twice.

    • To print a barcoded label for each item, press F5 and Navigator will print one label for each item scanned, containing the product code and description, as well as the serial number.

 

If Navigator is not configured to request a destination location, the receipt line will be saved and is immediately visible via the discrepancy report under Inbound Warehouse Requests from the Warehouse Operations menu.

 

 

Additional Shortcuts

- Press F3 from the product prompt to assign a barcode using the Product Barcode Allocate screen.

- Press F4 from the product prompt to search for products by description or part number.

Unexpected Items

 

  • If the product was not expected on the order, the operator is notified. They are prompted to add the item or ignore the scan and re-enter a different product.

  • Navigator does not create new stock items for 'invalid' items.  These must be created in your accounting system first before Navigator will import them.

Label Printing

  • If the user has entered (or selected an item from the review screen) a product code rather than scanning, Navigator prompts the user to print barcodes for the items. The user may enter the number of labels to print. These will be sent to the user's selected printer.

 

 

Configuration:

Prior to receipting the stock, you must:

  • Make sure you have a Bartender format file suitable for printing product labels. A sample file is supplied with Navigator.

  • The label must take its data from a CSV file.

  • You must have added the label to Navigator's web interface. Take note of the LABEL ID field.

  • Add a new system variable called PRODUCT_FORMAT_ID, with the value of the LABEL_ID field from above.

 

The labels will print to the user's selected printer. To change this printer, use transaction 993 (Change Printer) on your barcode scanner.

Cancelling Receipted Items

While scanning, it is possible that items may be scanned in error, or a quantity is entered incorrectly. If the operator detects this, receipt lines may be removed. There are two processes required to complete this task.
 
Step 1. Removing the Receiped Item
 
Changing to the receipt review screen and select the 'Detailed' view option. This will show individual scans on the receipt. To delete a receipt line, highlight the line to delete and press the DEL (delete) button on the scanner's keyboard. The operator is prompted to confirm that the item should be removed.
 
Step 2. Adjust Inventory
After the item is removed from the receipt, you will still need to perform an inventory adjustment. If the stock was received to a pallet, the 263 (Pallet Transfer Off) function should be used to move the items to an Adjustment location.
 
If the stock was received into a location, the 243 (Inventory Transfer) function can be used to move the stock from the location into an Adjustment location.
 

Entering the Destination

Navigator requests the destination for the items after the quantity is entered and also displays the current pick location for this item in the warehouse. The destination may be:

  • A new or existing container (where stock is received into a tub, to be put away at a later time)
  • A new or existing pallet (where stock is received into a pallet and will be carried away by forklift)
  • A staging location (the name of the location where the receiving takes place)
  • The picking location for the item.
  • Any other bulk location in the warehouse.

 

The decision between which of the options listed above you use will depend on the requirements of each individual warehouse, for example:
  • If the warehouse is large, with enough spaces for each pallet, the items can be scanned onto a container label and a forklift driver can use the container transfer function to put the goods in a bulk shelf.
  • If the warehouse aisles are too narrow for the forklift, goods can be scanned into a trolley or small container, which can be put away using the directed putaway function.
  • The goods might be scanned into a staging area, with a "put away from location" function implemented.
 
Navigator will give an error message if the item scanned is neither a location or a container.
 
To create a new container label, press F3. This will load the container creation screen to generate and print container labels.
 
Once the container label or location has been scanned, Navigator records the receipt line transaction.
 
Once the receipt has been finalised, inventory in this location/container will be increased. Note that if the ALLOW_REALTIME_RECEIPT flag is set to '1', the inventory will be available straight away.
 
Cross Docking
If the Cross Docking function is enabled, Navigator will immediately display a list of pick slips which require the item receipted. For more information on this function, please see here.
 
Configuration:
- To prevent entry of the destination location, set the system parameter 'RECEIPT_REQUEST_DESTINATION' to '0'.

Finalising the Receipt

 

Once you have complete checking off items from the container/truck, press F5 from the Receipt Menu. Navigator runs through all of the receipted items and increase inventory levels in the bin locations (or containers) scanned. Note that until the receipt is finalised, stock is not available for picking and does NOT appear in the inventory master unless the system-wide parameter 'ALLOW_REALTIME_RECEIPT' is set to '1'.
 

Put Away

The putaway process in Navigator is controlled via a separate screen - 224 - Putaway via Container. For more information, please see: here

 

 


Reviewing Receipts via the Intranet Interface

There are two methods of locating received items within Navigator. You may search by purchase orders (Warehouse Operations -> Inbound Warehouse Requests), or by receipts (Warehouse Operations -> Receipts). Inbound Warehouse Requests (WHRI) are a carbon copy of the purchase order stock was received against. Reviewing these transactions will provide a variance report by product with expected and actual values shown separately.
 
A receipt document is a detailed listing of the items received against a WHRI. Note that receipts may also be "ad-hoc", in which case there is no linked WHRI document. Receipts display detailed information about the inbound shipment including the user who performed the receipt, the serial numbers of items or cartons, individual weights and the location or container into which stock was placed at the time.
 
To locate a receipt open the Navigator Intranet interface, log in, and select Warehouse Operations -> Receipts. This screen allows you to search for receipt documents matching your specified criteria:

Searching for Receipts

Search for receipts via the Warehouse Operations -> Receipts.

 

Storage Client Filters the receipt by the owner of the stock.
Site The warehouse stock was receipted into.
Receipt Type Searches by the reason code specified by the operator when the receipt was created.
Receipted By The employee who created the receipt document.
Receipt ID Search for a specific receipt number. Navigator will show this receipt at the top of the screen if the 'Return Rows' parameter is more than 1.
Reference Filters receipts by the reference number entered by the user when the document was created.
Containing Part Number Searches for a given part number (in combination with the Storage Client).
Containing Serial Number Shows receipts containing the supplied serial number.
Shipping Container The shipping container reference entered by the operator during receipt creation.
Start Date The date must be formatted as YYYYMMDD - shows receipts created on or after this date.
End Date The date must be formatted as YYYYMMDD - shows receipts created on or before this date.
Return Rows Specifies how many receipts should be displayed - defaults to 100.

Click 'Filter' to commence the search. A summary of receipt documents is shown along with related information for quick reference including the site at which goods were received and the number of items on the receipt document. To view more details about the receipt, click on the View link.

Reviewing a Receipt Document



Navigator displays the receipt document for review in two sections - Receipt Header/ Lines and Purchase Orders. The following fields appear on the Receipt Header screen.
  
Receipt ID: This uniquely identifies the receipt number in the database.
Receipted By: The user who performed the action.
Comments: A free text field for notes on the transaction.
Inbound Request: A link to the source document (e.g purchase order).
Export ID: The transaction reference for the return of this information to an external system.
Receipted Into Location: The location in the warehouse where stock was initially placed. This is typically (but not necessarily) a staging area.
Receipted Into Site: The site at which the goods were received.
Storage Client: The owner of the stock.
Receipt Reason: The receipt reason code selected by the user when performing the receipt.
External Reference: The sender's reference to trace the origin of the inbound goods. This may be manually entered in the case of an "unexpected" receipt.
Shipping Container: The shipping container number the goods were received in, if applicable.
Finalised On: The date on which the receipt was completed and inventory transactions created.
Inventory Transactions: A link to the bin level inventory transactions created by this transaction.

Receipt Line Information

 
The list of items recorded against the receipt document may be customized but generally includes the following fields:

Part Number:

 Part number of the item receipted.

Part Description:

 Description of the item receipted.

Serial Number:

 The serial number of the product received. This field will contain data only if the product is marked as being tracked by serial number in the WMS.

Qty Received:

 The number of units received of the given item.

Location:

 The location into which inventory was received..

Container:

 The pallet into which inventory was received.