WMS Picking Quantity Entry Modes Discussion

Rather than focus on buttons on the screen, it would be really cool if there were a way to use barcodes for this.  I’m pretty sure there is a Set Qty action barcode, and you can then scan a quantity...the problem is having every possible quantity as a barcode, as I believe scanning a barcode with a number on it completes the Qty entry.  So in the example above, “Legacy”:

1. Scan the Shipment Number
2. Scan the Location
3. Scan the Item => (Quantity Picked: 1 of Quantity 5)
4. Scan “Set Qty”
5. Scan the 5 Barcode.  The scanner typically appends a tab or enter after each scan, so this completes the quantity selection.
6. Confirm Shipment

What I’d love to see is the addition of a Qty Complete barcode action (basically an Enter or tab), but have the system eat the enter or tab fed by the scanner.  So if I need to pick qty 15 of the item, I’m able to:

1. Scan the Shipment Number
2. Scan the Location
3. Scan the Item => (Quantity Picked: 1 of Quantity 5)
4. Scan “Set Qty”
5. Scan 1
6. Scan 5
7. Scan “Complete Qty”, which notes that 15 of 15 have been picked.
8. Confirm Shipment

I know it’s backwards from the idea of reducing scans...but scans are infinitely faster than taps on a screen.

I believe that 2 makes it more confusing while not reducing the work. 

4 is prone to user error, as they might confirm while not realizing the QTY is off. 

3 is the best option in my opinion. 

Hello Jeff, thank you for your response. I agree that mandatory quantity input seems to be the most useful option. I would also like to implement separate settings for pick, pack, and return modes, as this would allow different input behaviors during picking and packing, which could be useful.

What do you think about applying these quantity input modes to other WMS screens as well, such as Receive and Put Away?

Hello, could you please provide a brief explanation of this business process.

1. Is it related to picking or packing?
2. Are mobile devices or the web application used? You mentioned taps on a screed, so there is no physical keyboard? 

I’d like to better understand the scenarios in which entering quantities via different numeric barcodes would be useful.

Option 3 is the most clear option and little risk compared to 2 and 4.

I would add this … using a full screen device with browser version of Pick Pack Ship it is really easy to see the progress, what is picked and what is left to be picked. On mobile app, however, having to go back to the Review button is really awkward and time consuming and leads to people accidentally escaping out of their current pick. Then the format of the Review screen (Picked Items in this case) is extremely hard to read.at the summary level and you have drill into each item to really understand what is picked or still to be picked.

Adding some sort of small label that persists during the picking to show how many picked and how many open of the current item/location would save a lot of time. I realize there is not a lot of real estate on typical mobile screen, but seeing more clear data without going back to the Review screen would be very beneficial. Alternatively, maybe some sort of more straight forward button that is always visible to go into a more concise Picked/Open listing.

I think that it should be applied to all screens.

Just check fhe Weight Item box on the stock item and the quantity can be entered directly without having to use Set Qty, I don’t care for Option 4, I want the operator to confirm what they are picking. If needed, just print a barcode for the qty on the picklist/packing slip.

Good find ​@dgodsill97  - for some reason when I originally tested that setting we had to scan each item / only a qty of 1 each time. That setting must have evolved, but I just tested it and at least it is working on Pick Pack Ship. I will look at it on the other scan screens as well. Thank you.

Yes, this mode will work similarly to weight-based items, but its behavior will depend on a setting defined per operation type (for example, separate settings for picking and packing).

I did confirm this works across all scan screen for items, however I only tested with non lot and non serial items, which could bring around other complexities. But this changes my approach at least for non tracked items.

The Weight Item was always an undocumented feature and has worked since at least 24R2.

Thanks for noticing. It is not undocumented, this setting enables mandatory quantity input in all warehouse operations. 

Do you mean that this additional quantity input mode is not actually needed, because all items could simply be configured as weight items?

Who reads the help if you’ve been working with Acumatica a long time:) We did that for a client to set it for all items and they were very happy,

Okay, this is useful. So the question is do we need an ability to control this behavior per-screen, not only per-item?

I believe we do. The weight-item logic is used only in the Pick, Pack and Ship process, and there are other behavioral differences in more complex scenarios - not just mandatory quantity input.