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Picking Jobs

Picking Jobs are used in conjunction with Load Vans to get stock ready for Deliveries/Couriers.

They can be used and set up in many different ways and it will require consultation before use so it can be configured correctly for your business.

Picking Jobs would be used to get stock ready in a Pre-load location as a step before Loading Vans.

Picking Jobs allow for picking by location instead of by engineer/courier. It works by checking the list of all items which are due to be going out on a selected date, ordering them by location, and then allocating X number of items for a user to pick, these items are then excluded from any future picking jobs raised. This allows for more efficiency when picking stock, especially where multiple operatives are picking stock at the same time.

If you feel this feature may benefit your business please contact Admin to arrange a consultancy call with the Implementation Team.

Creating a Picking Job in NCompass

Picking jobs are raised from the Field Call Enquiry in NCompass. Find the calls you want stock picked for, then use the option to create a picking job from the selected calls, or from every call in the list. The window that opens lists all the items that could be picked, and lets you filter that list, decide how many items go on a job, and choose who the job is assigned to.

Choosing where the stock is picked to

The Pick to list decides the target location the operative is sent to for each item on the job:

  • A goods out location – the item is picked to the normal goods out area.
  • A preload location – the item is picked to the preload area belonging to the engineer the call is booked for.
  • Specific location – you choose one stock location and everything on the job is picked to it.

Preload locations

A preload area is a location where an engineer's stock is gathered ahead of time, ready to be loaded onto their van. Each engineer's preload area is held against their record in NCompass under Administration > Salespersons, in the Preload Location box on the engineer details. Any stock location can be used, and an engineer may be left without one.

When A preload location is chosen:

  • The list of items is narrowed to items on calls for engineers who have a preload location set, and which are not already sitting in that location. Items for engineers with no preload location are not offered – either set a preload location against the engineer, or pick those items with one of the other options.
  • A single picking job can only send an operative to one target location, so on creation NCompass splits your selection by preload area and creates one job for each area. Picking for three engineers who share a preload area produces one job; picking for engineers in two different areas produces two.
  • In NCompass WAS, each item on the job shows its target location as that preload area, so the operative picks and puts away in a single pass.

Removing an Item from a Picking Job

If an operative cannot pick an item – it is not where the system thinks it is, it is damaged, or it needs equipment they do not have – they can remove it from the job in NCompass WAS. The item returns to the pool of stock so it can be picked on a later job, and the reason it was removed is recorded against it.

Rather than typing a free text note, the operative chooses a reason from a drop-down list. The list offers every removal reason that has not been expired or deleted.

Managing removal reasons

Removal reasons are maintained in NCompass under Administration > Picking Removal Reasons, with the usual add, edit and delete options. Each reason has:

  • A Description – the wording the operative sees in the drop-down.
  • A list of email addresses to notify when the reason is used. Several addresses can be listed, separated by a comma, a semi-colon or a new line. Leave it empty where nobody needs to be told.
  • An Expired tick box, which takes the reason out of the drop-down without disturbing the history of items already removed for it.

When an item is removed and the chosen reason carries notification addresses, an email goes to those addresses automatically.

Picking only the items that were removed

Items that have been removed from a picking job are held back from ordinary jobs. An operative raising a new job in NCompass WAS is not shown them, so the same unpickable item is not put in front of the warehouse again and again.

To go back and deal with them, use Pick on removed reason only under Additional options when creating a job in NCompass WAS, and choose the reason. The job is then built only from items that were removed for that reason; items which have never been removed are left out, and the other filters chosen on the screen are ignored apart from the date.

The configuration setting Picking jobs - allow creation of job for removed items (default No) controls whether that option appears at all, so it can be given only to the sites and users who need it. Find it in NCompass under Tools > Configuration.

A typical use: reasons such as Needs a forklift or Blocked in let the warehouse gather all the awkward items into one job for the person with the right equipment, while a reason such as Cannot find emails a manager the moment it is used.

Finding removed items

Removed items can be looked up in NCompass under Products > Stock Location Management > Picking Job Removed Item Enquiry, where they can be searched and filtered by date and by removal reason. This is the place to answer questions such as "why has this item been sitting in the warehouse for a week" or "how often are we failing to find stock in that aisle".

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