| Oracle® Retail Store Inventory Management Store User Guide Release 16.0 E76179-08 |
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| Oracle® Retail Store Inventory Management Store User Guide Release 16.0 E76179-08 |
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This chapter covers stock counts. The following topics are covered:
Overview: Introduction to stock counts
Functionality: Description of available screens.
Technical: Integration with Oracle Retail Integration Bus (RIB), web services, batch, and the database structure.
SIM provides the ability to schedule, perform, and authorize stock counts.
Portions of the stock count functionality, such as the setup of product groups, schedules, and authorizations, are performed on the PC only. Users can configure and execute different types of stock counts such as cycle or annual counts, ad hoc counts, or counts that are based on inventory position or problems like negative stock on hand. Merchandising and individual level counting require setup and scheduling utilizing product groups, with the exception of AD Hoc counts. The Ad Hoc count will allow the user to decide which items they want to count by scanning from the shelf immediately.
Most of these counts can be scheduled to be executed repetitively on certain dates reducing the need for daily or weekly count management.
Because a variance percentage can be set, items within tolerance can, but do not have to be authorized individually.
Business Case
Ad Hoc stock count
A customer is looking for a blue tooth speaker in the color black. The customer finds the location on the shelf, but there are only bright pink speakers and asks a sales associate if there are any black speakers in the storage room. The sales associate looks up the inventory and the system shows there are three on hand. The sales associate looks in the backroom and cannot locate any in the store and informs the customer and reports to the store manager. The store manager instructs the sales associate to perform an ad hoc stock count to immediately correct the inventory.
Unit stock count
The dairy department of a grocery retailer orders milk on Tuesdays and Fridays. Before they get the order in, they are always running out of stock. The department manager decides to perform a unit count each day to determine when they are running short or if there might be some pilferage occurring.
Problem Line stock count
Due to ineffective receiving processes or supply chain issues, items regularly have negative stock on hand. Inventory control schedules a stock count that tracks this behavior automatically to correct such problems without having to generate manual stock count lists for each store.
Unit and Amount stock count
The Store Manager is informed when it is time to financially report their store's current value of inventory. The corporate user will schedule the Unit and Amount stock count to be executed by Department and the store manager will schedule additional staff to count all items in the store. Each Department manager will be required to complete and approve their section of the stock count. When complete, the financial value will be associated with each item counted in the store and sent to the merchandising system to have it in a similar way corrected.
This section covers system parameters, store parameters, and security.
Search Limit Default for Stock Count List - Mobile
Values: 1-999
Default: 50
Topic: UI
Editable: Yes
This parameter determines the number of records to be displayed on stock count list screen.
Display Item Image Stock Count - Mobile
Values: Yes/No
Default: No
Topic: Stock Counts
Editable: Yes
Yes: This parameter indicates if the item image will be displayed in a transaction. It is in the item list and the details of the transaction.
No: The image will not be displayed.
Stock Count Display Default Timeframe
Values: Yes/No
Default: No
Topic: Stock Counts
Editable: Yes
This parameter determines if the timeframe used for the stock count is a selectable option.
Yes: The user will be allowed to select whether the stock count is being performed before the store opens or after the store closes.
No: The user is not allowed to make a selection and will not be prompted.
Search Limit Default for Stock Count List - Mobile
Values: Greater than or equal to 1
Default: 1
Topic: Stock Counts
Editable: Yes
The user will not be able to schedule a Unit and Amount stock count for at least 1 or more days out from the creation date of the schedule.
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Note: If the system is integrated with RMS, the values in the two systems must be the same. |
Stock Count Null Count Quantity = 0
Values: Yes/No
Default: No
Topic: Stock Counts
Editable: Yes
Yes: The system changes the quantity to zero for items not counted (null quantity to zero), which makes the items appear as though they were counted.
No: The system does not change the quantity to zero for items not counted, but rather leaves the value as null. These items will still appear as though they were not counted.
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Note: This parameter does not apply to Unit and Amount stock counts. |
Unguided Stock Count Allow Multiple Users
Values: Yes/No
Default: Yes
Topic: Stock Counts
Editable: Yes
This parameter controls whether more than one user can scan simultaneously again the same child stock count for an unguided count.
Yes: The system will allow more than one user to access the same stock count, child count.
No: The system will allow more than one user to access the same stock count, but only one user may access a child stock count at a time.
Unguided Stock Counts Automatic Save
Values: Yes/No
Default: No
Topic: Stock Counts
Editable: Yes
Yes: The physical count timestamp and item count quantity are automatically saved when the next item on the count is scanned.
No: The physical count timestamp and item count quantity are saved when the user manually saves the count. It is assumed with this option, the user frequently saves.
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Note: The physical count timestamp is taken when the user scans the item for the first time. |
Unit & Amount Stock Count Sales Processing
Values: Daily Sales Processing/Timestamp Processing
Default: Timestamp Processing
Topic: Stock Counts
Editable: Yes
Timestamp Processing: This option is used when sales data is available near real-time with a date and time available on the transaction. The user is not prompted to select Before Store Open or After Store Close when starting the stock count since the sales timestamp will be used to compare with the timestamps taken during the stock count.
Daily Sales Processing: This option is used when sales data is only available with a date and no time is provided and/or when integrated with RMS. The user is either prompted or the store parameter determines when the stock count is performed, (before store opens or after store close). The date is used to determine if a sale is late or not.
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Note: Unit and Amount stock counts require some dual processing in RMS for capturing the financial value. RMS is only capable of processing sales data on a daily bases and disregards the time value if included. |
Unit Stock Count Sales Processing
Values: Daily Sales Processing/Timestamp Processing
Default: Timestamp Processing
Topic: Stock Counts
Editable: Yes
Timestamp Processing: This option is used when sales data is available near real-time with a date and time available on the transaction. The user is not prompted to select Before Store Open or After Store Close when starting the stock count since the sales timestamp will be used to compare with the timestamps taken during the stock count.
Daily Sales Processing: This option is used when sales data is only available with a date and no time is provided. The date is used to determine if a sale is late or not.
Updating Stock On Hand
Values: Discrepant Items only/All Items
Default: Discrepant Items only
Topic: Stock Counts
Editable: Yes
Discrepant Items only: The system will update only items identified as discrepant when the Update Auth Qty button is selected and when the stock count has been authorized, only the SOH is updated for the discrepant items only.
All Items: The system will update all items regardless if they are discrepant or not when the Update Auth Qty button is selected and when the stock count has been authorized, the SOH is updated for all items, including the non-discrepant.
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Note: Discrepant items are defined as items having a counted to actual variance greater than the pre-configured allowed variance. Non-discrepant items have a difference between the counted and actual qty, but they are within a tolerated variance. Unit and Amount stock counts will disregard this setting since all items will always be updated for that type of stock count. |
Problem Line UI Limit
Values: 1-100,000
Default: 1,500
Topic: UI
Editable: Yes
This parameter determines the maximum number of line items allowed on a problem line stock count.
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Note: This parameter is used when breaking down transactions into smaller, more manageable portions. This limitation will be in addition to the values entered by the user on the Product Group Detail screen, which also helps to limit the size of the transaction. |
Unit Count UI Limit
Values: 1-100,000
Default: 5,000
Topic: UI
Editable: Yes
This parameter determines the maximum number of line items allowed on a unit stock count.
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Note: This parameter is used when breaking down transactions into smaller, more manageable portions. This limitation will be in addition to the values entered by the user on the Product Group Detail screen, which also helps to limit the size of the transaction. |
Display Late Inventory Adjustment Message
Values: Yes/No
Default: Yes
Topic: Stock Counts
Editable: Yes
Yes: When the user is confirming a Stock Count in the Authorization phase and there are items on the stock count with In Progress Inventory Adjustments, the user may return to the stock count to complete the inventory adjustments or to continue and ignore the adjustments. When the user is approving an inventory adjustment with items on an open stock count, a message is displayed allowing the user to determine if further processing should be undertaken. Similar logic to how late sales are processed will be used for these adjustments.
No: When the user is confirming a Stock Count in the Authorization phase and there are items on the stock count with In Progress Inventory Adjustments the system ignores the inventory adjustments and allows the user to complete the count. When the user is approving an inventory adjustment, there is no additional processing.
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Note: The system will process the inventory adjustment similar to how late sales are processed and determine if the stock count should be adjusted or not. The update to the stock count is not immediate but rather is at the time of authorization if there are reversing entries created. |
Stock Count Default Timeframe
Values: Before Store Open/After Store Close
Default: Before Store Open
Topic: Stock Counts
Editable: Yes
This parameter defines when the stock count is performed in relation to the store opening hours for Daily Sales Processing. This value may be overridden at the time of the stock count, if the system is configured to allow the override. If an override is allowed, this setting will determine the default value displayed on the PC or handheld screen.
Before Store Open: The stock count is performed before the opening of the store. All sales on the day of the stock count will only update SOH. It will not update any counted quantities.
After Store Close: The stock count is performed after the closing of the store. All sales on the day of the stock count will update both SOH and any counted quantities. If using RMS, After Store Close must be selected.
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Note: Timestamp processing does not use this parameter. |
Security exists for:
Accessing, creating, editing, deleting, saving, and approving a stock count
Adding and deleting items on a stock count
Managing rejected items, performing snapshot, counting, recounting, and updating the authorization quantities
Data permissions for selecting a third-party counting method, selecting a product group type of Unit, Unit and Amount, and Problem Line
Each type of stock count can be useful for a retailer and all play an important part in the management of inventory.
Unlike the other stock count types, Ad Hoc stock counts are not scheduled, but rather performed at random times when a user decides to correct inventory.
Since this count type is performed randomly, there are no predefined lists and the user can scan any item in any order. The user can count any inventory item even if the item has been discontinued.
The Ad Hoc counts can only be initiated on the handheld. The inventory snapshot is taken as each item is added to the stock count. Snapshot is a process in which the system will capture the current stock on hand quantity. To understand more on this process, see "Starting a Stock Count.". For Ad Hoc counts, discrepancy thresholds are set up differently from other count types by accessing the Ad Hoc Stock Count screen.
Inventory Adjustments will be created and sent to the merchandising system when an inventory change is made in SIM.
The unit stock count must be scheduled. They can be scheduled and executed the same day if the user desires. This count type can be setup on a recurring basis: daily, weekly, monthly or yearly.
The items to include in the stock count are identified by setting up a product group. The product groups are a one-time setup and can be reused for future stock counts. Product groups are used for creating the list of items as well as identifying how the stock count is processed. When setting up the stock count, the user can define which items to include by selecting by item, supplier, promotion or merchandise hierarchy level. There are various settings used to determine how an item will be identified as being discrepant.
The snapshot is determined by child count or when the first item is counted on the Wavelink handheld. Unlike Ad hoc counts or unit and amount counts, the user is not able to add items during the count different than those extracted from the product group.
Unit counts are the only stock count type that allows the user to select any item status to include in the count. The user can also select whether to include items that do not have any stock on hand. Inventory Adjustments are created and sent to the Merchandising System for any inventory adjustments made.
The problem line stock count is setup once and scheduled to run daily. If there are no problem items, a stock count will not be created. Setup of the stock count can be done at the item, supplier, promotion or merchandise hierarchy level. Each day, the system will run the problem batch and find any problem items and populates those items on a stock count. Discrepancy Thresholds are defined the same as the Unit count, but there are additional criteria defined during Product Group Setup. The additional information the user can select for the problem line counts includes, Actual Pick Amount less than Suggested Pick Amount, negative available inventory and UIN Discrepancies (Unique Identification Numbers).
Problem line stock counts follow exactly the same workflow as unit counts. The only exception is the product group setup.
The Unit and Amount stock counts must be scheduled for a specific date. These stock counts, need to be scheduled at least 1 day ahead of time. When the count is scheduled it is sent to the merchandising system so that it can also create a corresponding stock count.
Item lists are created by merchandise hierarchy or can include all departments. Unit and Amount counts cannot select by item, supplier or promotion, because the merchandising system holds the valuation at the merchandise hierarchy level.
The item status and SOH Quantity cannot be selected and are defined by the system. Inventory Adjustments are created in SIM but they will not flow into the merchandising system. Instead, a file is created in SIM with the new SOH quantity rather than the delta. This file will be sent through the RIB and processed by the merchandising system.
The following figure shows a summary of the similarities and differences between the various types of stock counts.
Unit, Problem Line, Unit and Amount stock counts all use predefined items lists and must be scheduled. Ad Hoc stock counts do not use a predefined item list, are not scheduled and must be initiated on the handheld. The snapshot for Unit, Problem Line and Unit & Amount stock counts is taken for all items on the count at the same time, while the Ad Hoc stock count takes the snapshot as each item is counted. Only the Unit and Problem Line allow the snapshot to be retaken during the recount. Ad Hoc stock counts never use guided counting and as a result files cannot be imported from a Third Party service. Only the Unit stock count can be scheduled on a recurring basis. The Problem Line can only be scheduled daily and Unit and Amount scheduled for a specific date.
Since the Ad Hoc stock count is not defined using product groups, it is the only type of count that does not have a recounting stage.
There are several settings a retailer will need to setup in order for the system to process stock counts correctly. Product groups are used to create different kinds of stock counts. The user will assign items to the product group and add criteria to select items. The Ad Hoc stock counts do not use product groups and the stock count is actually created at the time the user is counting the items.
Once the product group is created, the user is able to schedule the stock count using the previously created product group. The generation process will extract stock counts on a specific date based on the stock count schedule.
The stock count is typically started by the user entering the first count for the inventory. The snapshot is then taken which allows SIM to calculate the difference between the counted quantity and what the system has on record.
The counting process allows the user to scan the items. The users will then go through the store and count all of the various items. The system can prompt the user for the next item to count when the product group is setup for a guided count or the user can determine the order of the items to count. The system will calculate the variances and the user may have to do a recount of the stock count.
Many retailers will use a third-party service rather than using their own resources for performing a stock count. When they are used for a Unit and Amount stock count, the results are provided in the form a flat file which will be imported into SIM. Some counted items might be rejected when data is scanned or imported into SIM. After all the items have been counted and recounted, the user will need to give final approval and authorize the stock count. Stock counts can also be set up to automatically approve.
Finally, when all other steps of the process have been completed, the stock on hand position needs to be updated to properly reflect the counted quantities. The Inventory Adjustments are sent to the Merchandising System except in the case of a Unit and Amount stock count, a flat file with the final results are sent to the Merchandising System.
A third-party service can perform all types of stock counts, except an Ad Hoc stock count. There are some limitations when a retailer is using RMS as their Merchandising System.
In addition, when posting sales from a point of sale (POS) system, the sales do not always come in timely and therefore special late sale processing takes place to accurately update stock count quantities.
Special Configuration Considerations
Stock count processing settings are used to define whether the time can be used to determine if the count should be adjusted when sales are processed. Timestamp processing requires sales data to be uploaded with a specific time in addition to the date for every sales transaction. The Daily sales processing only requires the date but no time is required.
If Daily processing is selected, the user will also need to select whether the stock count will occur before or after business hours.The retailer will need to keep in mind special consideration when configuring this setting as this may not match what the retailer is currently using.
There are two parameters to control the way sales are processed. One parameter will control the type of sales processing for Unit and Amount stock counts and the other will control the processing for Unit, Ad Hoc and Problem Line stock counts. Since RMS performs similar processes as SIM for the Unit and Amount stock counts and RMS is only able to process on a daily basis, the Unit & Amount Stock Count Sales Processing parameter must be set to Daily processing. This would also be true if the retailer has a different merchandising system that only handles processing by date. The Unit Stock Count Sales Processing parameter is used for all other stock counts and Timestamp processing can be used if their system is capable of providing timestamps back to SIM in the Sales file. Implementing the Sales Processing web service will allow the retailer to take advantage of real time updates and provide the ability to use timestamp processing for all other stock counts except unit and amount stock counts.
If RMS is being used, this setting must be set to After Store Close to coincide with the Unit & Amount Stock Count Sales Processing parameter setting for unit and amount stock counts because of when the process runs for RMS.
The UI limit is used to limit the number of items that exist on a stock count.
This section covers the available screens.
With the proper security, the user can setup groups of items to be used to create Stock Counts. These groups can be comprised of entire areas of the merchandise hierarchy (for example, an entire subclass) or can be simply a group of individual and unrelated items.
Ad Hoc stock counts do not use product groups but rather discrepancy thresholds are setup using the Tolerances screen. The discrepancy thresholds are accessed from the tolerance button on setup menu, only on the PC application.
The Tolerances Screen is used to define when items should be considered discrepant for Ad Hoc Stock Counts and is auto-populated with all department/class combination that are setup in the merchandising system.
Tolerances can be created for both Ad Hoc Stock Counts and Customer Order picking. This is defined by the Topic at the top of the screen. Tolerances are set up at the class hierarchy level. Tolerances can be defined for Variance percentages as well as standard unit of measures.
The Dept and Class fields are display only fields which allow the user to enter the threshold for the item assigned to this class to be considered discrepant. All Classes in the item hierarchy associated with the current store will be displayed. This table is auto-populated. Whenever a new Class is added to SIM, the class will be added to this screen as well.
The Variance % field allows the user to enter the threshold in terms of a percentage of items counted for an item to be considered discrepant. The system will compare the SOH inventory level with the quantity entered on the stock count by the user.
The Variance Standard UOM (Standard Unit of Measure) field allows the user to enter the threshold in the standard UOM.
The first step to create a stock count is to select criteria during the product group setup. The Product Group Attributes tab allows the user to select the desired criteria or rules for generating and executing a stock count. The user can set up additional details such as:
Variance
Counting Method (Guided/Unguided/Third Party)
Hierarchy Breakdown (Location/Dept/Class/Sub-class)
Recount Discrepancies
Auto Authorize
Item Status
Stock on Hand
Problem Line Parameters
This figure shows all the editable fields when creating a standard Unit stock count. All fields are grayed out and do not apply to stock count product groups.
At least one variance field must be set in order to create the product group. The variance %, variance units, and variance value fields are checked to determine if an item is discrepant.
The Variance SUOM (Standard Unit of Measure) field allows the user to enter the threshold based on the item's standard UOM. This is used when comparing the system total SOH with the stock count quantity. An item is discrepant if it deviates + or - over or is equal to the Variance SUOM. Inputting a variance of 0 means the item is discrepant any time it varies from the Stock On Hand quantity.
Example
If the variance is set to 10 units, an item has a current SOH of 100 and has a counted quantity of 90 or a counted quantity of 110, the item is considered discrepant and would appear on a recount. If the counted quantity is 91, the item would not be discrepant and would not be on the recount since the difference between 100 - 91 = 9 which is less than the 10 units.
The Variance % field allows the user to enter the threshold in terms of a percentage of items counted for an item to be considered discrepant. The system will compare the system total SOH with the stock count quantity. An item is discrepant if it deviates + or - over or equal to the Variance %. Putting in a variance of 0 means the item is discrepant any time is varies from the Stock On Hand quantity in every case.
In this example, the Variance % is set to 10%, an item has a current SOH of 20 and has a counted quantity of 18; it would be considered discrepant since 10% of 20 = 2. If the counted quantity is 19, the item would not be discrepant and would not be on the recount since the difference between 20 - 19 = 1 which is less than the 10 %.
The Variance Value field allows the user to enter the threshold in terms of a dollar amount for an item to be considered discrepant for Unit and Amount stock counts. This is a cash amount compared to the number of Discrepant Units times the current unit retail of the goods. SIM uses the current retail price from Item Lookup, (the extracted promotion or clearance price is not used). If the calculated value exceeds the Variance Value, then the item is considered discrepant during the stock counting process. An item is discrepant if it deviates + or - over or equal to the Variance Value. This applies to Unit and Amount counts only. If the variance is null, it is not used to determine discrepancies.
Counting Method Section
The counting method section allows the user to determine whether the count is guided, unguided, or performed by a third-party counter.
The Guided count method prompts the user to scan the next item in sequence. SIM generates a master count broken down by location. The user is prompted to scan the next item based on its location within the store. If an item exists in multiple macro locations, the user is warned if the item has not been counted in all macro locations.
The Unguided count method allows the user to scan any item in any order. Unguided stock counts provide more flexibility and cuts down on the time it takes to completely scan a count. This process applies to both the count and recount processes.
The Third Party count method allows a third-party service to perform the actual counting using a third-party system. This feature is controlled through the product group setup by choosing Third Party for the counting method. Selecting this counting method extracts the items to be counted and sets up the system for a "results file" import.
Hierarchy Breakdown is used to break down the stock count into separate child stock counts for each hierarchy added to the group. The child stock counts may be broken down further based on size. See the Total # Items in Group section for more details. This field is disabled for all guided stock counts. Guided stock counts are always broken down by Location based on macro sequencing:
If None is selected, SIM will generate one master stock count based on all components added.
If Location is selected, SIM will generate a master count with the child counts grouped by macro location.
If Department is selected, SIM will generate a single master stock count and items are grouped by department for their child stock count. For example, if the user adds Dept 1000, Dept 1001, and Dept 1002 for Product Group A, SIM will generate a single master stock count for Product Group A with 3 child stock count records (one for each department that was added to the group).
If Class is selected, SIM will generate a master stock count and the child stock counts are grouped by Class.
If Sub-class is selected, SIM will generate a master stock count and the child stock counts are grouped by sub-class.
The Re-count Discrepancies checkbox tells the system whether or not a stock count requires a recount for discrepant items. A required recount needs to be completed before the stock count is able to move on to the authorization process. This option is disabled for Third Party Counts since the counting process is outside of SIM.
The Auto-Authorize checkbox is used to identify stock counts requiring the system to automatically authorize the count. If checked, SIM will automatically authorize the stock count once the user has completed the count/re-count stage. In this case, no user intervention is needed to authorize the count. Third Party stock counts can also be auto-authorized. In this case, the count is performed by the third-party system and no user intervention is required in SIM after the snapshot has been taken and the third-party file has been uploaded to SIM.
Item Status Section
The user is able to choose which items to extract based on status for Unit stock counts only. The section is disabled for all other counts. When the stock count is extracted, SIM includes only items with one of the flagged statuses.
At least one of the status boxes must be checked before the product group can be created.
Stock On Hand Section
This section is used to identify which items to include in the stock count when the system extracts the items for the stock count. For example, the user can select whether items with a zero stock on hand quantity should be included in the stock count.
| Item Status | SOH Larger than Zero | SOH Equals Zero | SOH Smaller than Zero |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active (A) | Allowed | Allowed | Allowed |
| Inactive (I) | Allowed | Not Allowed | Allowed |
| Temporary (Q) | Allowed | Allowed | Allowed |
| Discontinued (C) | Allowed | Allowed | Allowed |
| Deleted (D) | Allowed | Not Allowed | Allowed |
This table indicates when an item can be extracted for a Unit and Amount stock count. Because Unit and amount counts are usually for the entire store, it is best to avoid counting items that likely are not in the store. If any are found during the unit and amount count, they can easily be added.
Problem Line stock counts also disable the item status and will always include Active (A & Q), Inactive, and Discontinued items on the stock count with a negative SOH.
Problem Line Section
An additional section is available for Problem Line stock counts. This section is used to identify which items are considered a problem and need to be added to a stock count. This applies to Problem Line Product Group Type only and is not available for selection when other types are selected.
Actual Shelf Repl Amount less than Suggested Pick Amount: When a store is using the SIM feature for replenishing stock from a backroom, there may be some corrections to stock required based on the Shelf Replenishment list quantity. If checked, SIM will add the item to the problem line count if the actual shelf replenishment amount entered for the item on the shelf replenishment list was less than the suggested system shelf replenishment amount.
Actual Pick Amount less than Suggested Pick Amount: When a store is using the SIM feature for Customer Order Picking, there may be discrepancies that occurred during the customer order picking process of a completed customer order pick. This functionality will only be enabled for Problem Line Stock Counts. The item will be put on the problem line stock count when the system thinks there were enough to pick, but the actual pick quantity was less than the suggested pick quantity. Discrepant pick items will be defined as follows:
Completed Customer Order Pick
The actual pick amount is less than the suggested pick amount
The item is not allowed to be substituted
Negative Available Inventory: If checked, SIM will add the item to the problem line stock count if the item has negative available inventory. This can be the result of the cashier scanning one variety of an item, even though, several varieties were purchased, such as different flavors of a drink mix, were all scanned using one package. This could result in a negative inventory for the flavor scanned.
UIN Discrepancies: If checked, SIM will add the item to the problem line stock count if the item has UIN discrepancies. Discrepant UINs are items where the total stock count hand from the item does not equate to the same number of UINs for the store. This can happen due to the following processes:
Selling the same UIN twice, or returning the same UIN twice
Updating the UIN status due to incorrect processing
Receiver unit adjustments coming from the merchandising system
Pulling a UIN from another store during the receiving process
Components Tab
The Product Group Components tab allows the user to select the desired product for the group. This tab is not available until a Product Group Type, such as Problem Line, has been selected. The user can only add a single product group element at a time but is able to create a combination of items and/or hierarchies for a single group. At least one element must be added in order to create the group.
The Unit and Problem Line stock counts allow the user to select items to include on the stock count by hierarchy, specific items, supplier, or promotion ID.
The Unit and Amount stock count will only allow the user to select items to include on the stock count by hierarchy or all departments.
New Product Group Element Section
On the Product Group Components tab, SIM displays the type (Unit, Unit and Amount, or Problem Line) and counting method (Guided, Unguided, Third Party, and Auto) that was selected for the product group.
The Total # of Recommended Items indicates the total number of recommended items for an individual product group element. This field will always display and is pre-populated based on either the system parameter associated with the product group or the maximum configuration limit, whichever is lower.
The Total # of Items in Group is the approximate number of items that may be extracted on the stock count based on the sum of the selections. The exact number can vary based on criteria setup and item attributes.
There are multiple ways to select items to add to the product group:
When the Hierarchy option is selected, the department, class and subclass drop down boxes will appear. The Class dropdown does not enable until a Department is selected and the Sub-class drop down does not enable until a Class is selected. Once the user selects the desired hierarchy, clicking the Add to Group button adds the lowest level hierarchy to the count group. A line item is added to show the user all the hierarchies associated with the count group.
When the Item option is selected, the user can type in an item to add to the product group. An Item Lookup feature allows the user to search on an item, if necessary. The description is displayed for the item entered. Additional considerations:
The user is allowed to add both a component and a pack item to the product group
The user is allowed to add both sellable and non-sellable pack and/or component items
The user is not allowed to add non-inventory items
When the Supplier option is selected, the user can select a supplier and all items associated with the supplier will be added to the stock count. This is helpful when needing to perform a count for a specific supplier.
When the Promotion ID option is selected, the user can use this to add items to the product group. This is helpful when monitoring items with a high turnover or high theft during a promotional event. This is not available for Unit and Amount product group type.
When the All Departments option is selected all other selections will clear out. Selecting the All Departments feature ensures the product group is set to include all departments in the stock count. An All Department stock count is assumed to be a stock count for the entire store. Selecting any other element option will automatically turn off the all department selection.
Once the products groups are created, the user can schedule how often each group is to be counted.
For Unit and Amount stock counts, the user must schedule the count for at least 1 + days out from the creation date of the schedule. The default setting for the Stock Count Lockout Days system option is 1 and identifies when the items to include in the stock count is populated into SIM from the Merchandising System. The reason for the lockout days is a store needs a certain amount of time to prepare for a count and therefore changes shouldn't be allowed x number of days prior to allow for the prep time.
The Stock Count Lockout Days can be changed in the system admin screen, but SIM will not allow the user to schedule the count to run for the current day.
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Note: If SIM is integrated with RMS, this value needs to be synched up with the RMS System Option, STAKE_REVIEW_DAYS. If RMS is not installed, the value should remain at 1. |
Using a calendar wizard, the user selects the count group and whether it is to be counted daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly. One or more stores can be assigned to the schedule, depending on the stores the user has access to. Once the scheduled is created, the stock count can be viewed from the Stock Counts button which is accessible from the Inventory Management menu. If the stock count is scheduled for a date in the future, the count can be viewed from the Future Stock Count List screen. If the count is scheduled for today's date, it will appear on the main Stock Count List screen.
Occasionally stock counts may need cancellation due to weather or other circumstances. If a stock count has not been completed, it can be cancelled by the user and a new one created. When the stock count is deleted, a message is sent through the RIB messaging in order for the Merchandising System to be notified.
On a daily basis, a batch process is triggered that creates stock counts for the current day based on scheduled product groups. The process will create the stock counts for each individual store. If a scheduled count included a list of 5 stores, then 5 separate stock counts are created, each with different stock count IDs. The system will create the stock count item records for every item contained in the Product Group assigned to the scheduled stock count and ranged to the store. Select item locations when the Guided checkbox is checked.
Stock Count Status
SIM will need to validate items and data based on criteria selected during the Product Group setup.
Select items based on what is selected under the Item Status section. For example, if the Active and Inactive checkboxes are checked and the rest are null, SIM will extract all items with a status equal to "Active" and "Inactive," but will exclude "Discontinue"' and "Deleted"' items. Items are chosen based on selected SOH criteria, but if all are checked SIM will extract regardless of SOH value.
Extraction Timeline
The batch will allow the live extraction of stock counts up to one day in the future of the current time. This will allow the retailer to start a large stock count up to 24 hours before the actual schedule date. This means entering tomorrow as a date is valid and it will extract tomorrow's stock count as a live stock count.
All Stock Counts extracted through the batch process on the schedule date begin as Stock Count New and the Type is set to "Stock Count." Other SIM features also use product groups.
Pack extraction rules for Pack items:
If a non-sellable pack was added to the product group, but the individual component in the pack was not, when the extraction runs, all the components are extracted along with the pack.
If a sellable pack is breakable and is added to the product group, but the individual component in the pack was not, when the extraction runs, all the components are extracted along with the pack.
If a sellable component is added to the product group and the sellable component is part of a breakable pack, the pack is extracted along with the component.
If a sellable pack is not breakable and is added to the product group, only the pack is extracted. The components are not extracted.
If the created product group is based on hierarchy, the pack and components of the pack must exist within the hierarchy to be extracted.
If the component item is part of the product group hierarchy, but the pack is not, only the component item is extracted.
If the created product group is a Problem Line, the pack and its components must have a negative stock on hand to be extracted.
Third Party Stock Count Extraction Report
The third-party counter needs to receive an extract of the items, quantities and Universal Identification Numbers (UIN) to count from SIM. This report can be printed to the screen and subsequently saved by a user. The report only needs to be accessible in the stock count dialog.
The Third Party Stock Count Extraction Report allows a retailer to extract the snapshot value and in store UINs in an XML format that should be counted for a specific stock count. This report may need to be modified by individual retailers for different third parties when performing a stock count, and is only meant as a starting point. If this report is generated before a snapshot is taken, the UIN and snapshot quantity field is empty, and so the assumption is that the extract will be created after the snapshot is taken.
If a Hierarchy Breakdown is selected during the Product Group setup, SIM will extract a separate child stock count for the specified hierarchy. A master count is created for a single product group and is then broken down into one or more child counts based on the counting method or hierarchy breakdown chosen during the product group setup.
Product groups that contain hierarchies are exploded out to the item level when added to stock count schedules for unit and amount stock count types in the batch. For any product group that exceeds the limit, SIM creates multiple child records and appends "(x/y)" to the description. This indicates that more than one child record is associated with the original master product group, where: for example, for a Batteries stock count broken down into six separate child stock count records. In this example, the maximum number of line items is 10,000 and the total number of items in the product group is 40,000. The product group exceeds the maximum limit of 10,000 line items and must be broken down into smaller sections: SIM first breaks down the count by department. If a department has 10,000 or fewer line items (such as Department B in the example), the department does not need to be broken down. The department is extracted into its own child count record.
If a single department exceeds the 10,000 line items limit, SIM breaks down the count further to the class level. If none of the classes exceed the maximum line items limit (like Class C1 and Class C2 in the example), SIM extracts each class as a single child count record.
If a class exceeds the maximum line limit (like Class A1 in the example), SIM breaks down that class further to the subclass level.
Child Count Creation
During product group setup, the user is able to determine how to break up the stock count into smaller counts.
If a selection is made from the Hierarchy Breakdown dropdown box during Product Group setup, SIM will extract a separate child stock count for the specified hierarchy. A master count is created for a single product group and is then broken down into one or more child counts.
For any product group that exceeds the limit, SIM creates multiple child records and appends 1 out of x to the description. This indicates that more than one child record is associated with the original master product group.
Example
In this example, the user has created a product group for a Unit and Amount count with 40,000 items. The system parameter, called maximum # of line items, is set to 10,000. The Product Group exceeds the maximum limit of 10,000 line items and must be broken down into smaller sections:
SIM will first break out by Department.
If a Department has less than 10,000 line items, the Department will not need to be broken down further. As seen from this example, Department B has only 8,000 items and will not be broken down.
If a Department exceeds the limit, SIM will break it down to the class level. The user can see Department A and Department C have more than 10,000 items. They are broken down further into Classes.
If none of the classes exceed the 10,000 line limit, SIM will extract each Class as a single stock count. Class A2, C1, and C2 all fall below the limit.
Class A1 still exceeds the limit and will be broken down further to the subclass level.
Since the Subclass level is the lowest level breakdown for Unit and Amount counts, it will not be broken down further. Subclass A1b has 11,000 items which exceeds the maximum limit, but since it is the lowest level, the stock count will not be broken down further.
One of the first steps when executing a count is to take a snapshot. SIM records the stock on hand position for each item in the count. A date timestamp is associated with the snapshot. This quantity will later be compared against the counted quantity.
The point at which a snapshot is taken depends on the type of the stock count. Taking the snapshot affects the status of each count. For an Ad Hoc stock count, the snapshot is captured when the first item is scanned on the handheld device. For a Unit and Problem Line count, the snapshot is also taken when the first item is scanned on the handheld but it can also occur on the PC. For a Unit and Amount count, the snapshot can only be taken from the PC. The snapshot can be taken at any time during the initial count phase. Unlike the other three stock counts, starting the Unit and Amount count process on the HH will not trigger the snapshot. When a snapshot is taken for a Unit and Amount count, it is taken for all child counts at the same time. When a Third Party count is executed, the snapshot needs to happen before the stock count results can be uploaded into SIM.
If the user selects the Complete button for one or more child counts before the snapshot has been taken, the selected child records will go into a Pending status until the snapshot is taken.
The user may add non-ranged items to a Unit and Amount count if the item belongs to the hierarchy defined when the product group was setup. A non-ranged item is an item that exists in the Enterprise-System, but has not been assigned to the store. When the snapshot was taken, the non-ranged item would not have been included. When the user adds a non-ranged item, the snapshot is captured when it is scanned and added to the count.
The child counts will not be able to move to a type of Recount or Authorize until the Take Snapshot button has been clicked.
From the Stock Count List screen, the user will double-click a master stock count and be guided to a Child Stock Count List screen. If a product group generates a master with multiple child counts, multiple stock counts will appear on the Child List screen. If a product group generates a master count with one child record, only one stock count will appear.
The Future Stock Counts button allows the user to view counts scheduled in the future.
SIM allows the user to save the child stock count and resume at a later time. This functionality exists on both the handheld and PC. Saving the count will indicate the count is still in progress. The count will not move on to the next stock count phase of Re-Count or Authorize until the user selects the Complete button.
The Filter button appears in the header section of the Stock Count List screen and when pressed will bring up a dialog box that allows the user to filter the Stock Counts in the List by the filtered criteria.
The following fields help to limit the search:
Date Filters:
Schedule Date: ability to search on the date the Stock Count is scheduled for, default to blank.
Hierarchy Filters:
Department: defaults to All
Class: defaults to All
Subclass: defaults to All
Since a Product Group can consist of more than one merchandise hierarchy, the filter will return all stock counts and counting groups that contain that hierarchy.
Additional Filters:
Count Group: dropdown list of all product groups that exist on the Product Group List screen. Defaults to All.
Type: valid values are Stock Count, Re-Count, Authorize and All. Defaults to All.
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Note: The user will not be able to filter on Future Stock Counts; these counts will only be accessible from the Future Stock Counts button. |
Status: valid values are New, In Progress, Confirmed, Completed, All and Active. Defaults to Active. Active will include New and In Progress stock counts. The Status field will automatically be disabled if Future Count is selected for Type.
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Note: Confirmed is the status of a guided Unit and Amount stock count for all items that are in Authorize Type and have not yet moved to Completed due to not having the results exported. Once exported, the stock count will move to Completed status. |
Future counts are view only and accessed from the Future Stock Count List screen.
Selecting the Search button from the Future Stock Count Filter dialog brings the user to the Future Stock Count List screen with the results displayed based on the search criteria. Double-clicking the record will generate the future count.
The user cannot take the snapshot or take any action on a Future Stock Count.
The screen is identical to the regular Child Stock Count List screen except the only buttons listed will be the Back and Refresh buttons. Closing out of the Child Stock Count List screen will save the record for today only and the all the records will be purged at the end of the day. Once the schedule date is reached, SIM deletes the count from the Future Stock Count List screen and re-extracts the count for the most up-to-date data. The stock count then moves to the Stock Count List window.
From the Stock Count List screen, the user will double-click a master stock count and be taken to the Child Stock Count List screen where the user can execute the count.
SIM allows the user to save the child stock count and resume at a later time. This functionality exists on both the handheld and PC. Saving the count will indicate the count is still in progress. The count will not move on to the next stock count phase of Re-Count or Authorize until the user selects the Complete button.
The user will do most of their work on this screen including taking the snapshot, printing reports, and completing the various phases of the stock count.
The user will double-click a child stock count and be taken to the Child Stock Count Detail screen where they can print a report before taking the snapshot. The user can also take the snapshot from this screen in addition to the Child Stock Count List screen.
SIM allows the user to save the child stock count and resume at a later time. This functionality exists on both the handheld and PC. Saving the count will indicate the count is still in progress.
There are additional filtering options as well to assist the user with reducing the amount of items to display.
The UIN popup screen is accessed by clicking in the UIN Qty field from the Stock Count Detail screen. This screen is only accessible if the item is a serialized item.
Retailers who sell items such as electronics, cell phones, firearms, medications, and fresh items, often have to track unique numbers or attributes for a single item or group of items. These identifiers might be serial numbers, unique identification numbers, FCC IDs, International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) numbers, or other kinds of identifiers. Unique identification numbers aid the retailer in tracking expensive or controlled items, or items that may be subject to manufacturer recalls or investigations by legal authorities.
SIM provides the capability to track items by unique identification numbers (UIN). If the SIM application is not configured to use UINs, this does not apply. If the UINs are not used, fields and functions related to UINs are not available in the SIM user interface.
If UINs are required for an item, the UINs must be scanned, entered or automatically generated when stock is received. When UINs are generated for tracking items, users can print labels with the generated UINs.
If the store uses UINs, the snapshot captures the status of those items in the store as part of the store's stock on hand, as well as those UINs in missing status.
The UINs in these statuses are displayed on the Stock Count Authorization window, to identify which UINs are not counted. Another feature is to generate additional auto generated serial number tickets during authorization if there are some items found that did not have an affixed label. When performing a Unit & Amount stock count that includes UINs, a snapshot must be taken before the child stock count can be started.
When the user performs a stock count, a count of all items should be included in the stock count during the first count phase. The user performs an initial count of the items listed in the stock count which can be completed immediately or saved and completed at a later time.
Unavailable inventory must be counted as well. For example, if some items are ready to be returned to a supplier but the return has not yet been dispatched, the items are counted, even though they will not be placed on the shop floor for sale. They are still inventory owned by the store until they are no longer in the store.
A Stock Count moves to In Progress after the user starts the counting process or takes the snapshot. Some retailers divide the store into logical zones for counting stock. An item can exist in multiple zones within the store. There are some items that may not be assigned to a specific zone.
If a stock count is setup as a guided count, during the counting process, the user will be guided through the micro sequence order of the items. If a particular child does not have a micro sequence, the user will be guided by item number.
After completing the count, the child count may not move to the next phase (re-count or authorization), if an item belongs to multiple children, the child will be waiting for the other children to finish counting the item before completing the child count.
SIM will use the Store Pack Inventory Indicator to determine if a pack is breakable or not.
If the indicator is checked, the pack can only be counted as a pack. If the indicator is not checked, the pack and any components of the pack can be counted separately and the following rules will apply:
Features for Counting Packs and Components:
The user is allowed to count at the pack and/or component level during the count and recount phase.
Both the pack and the component appear during the count and recount phases for breakable packs (Authorization phase they will be rolled up).
If the user scans the pack, the pack item's count quantity will increase.
If the user scans the component, the component item's count quantity will increase.
It is possible the component of a breakable pack belongs to a different class/sub-class than the pack.
The child count will move to a "pending" status until the item is counted in all locations.
When the stock count moves to the next phase, the system uses the counted component quantity and counted pack quantity and rolls up the number to the component level to determine if the item is discrepant.
For additional details on the Store Pack Inventory Indicator, see Chapter 6, "Item."
SIM contains activity-locking functionality. This allows one user to update a transaction at a time. Depending on the functional area, if User A is processing a transaction User B wants to initiate, User B may receive a prompt to take over the transaction. If User B takes over the transaction, the original user receives a message when they try to save the counted quantity they no longer have the lock. This is to ensure only the user who currently owns the lock can update the transaction.
While a user is performing a stock count, items that require UINs, must capture the UIN when performing a stock count on the PC or handheld. The count quantity will always equal the number of UINs captured for the item.
The Count and Re-count stages will only allow the user to count items with a UIN that already exist in the store. If an UIN is found that does not exist in the store, the user will need to set it aside until the authorization phase.
After all items have been counted, the stock count can move to a recount phase. The process is similar to the count phase except not all of the items are recounted.
SIM provides a way to identify items outside of what is an acceptable difference between the snapshot and the counted quantity. For example, the system shows there are 20 gallons of milk and 25 were counted. There is a difference of 5 gallons. The retailer may feel it is not necessary to recount this item. Using the same example, they only counted 5 gallons. It is likely the counter had either mistyped the quantity or missed another area where the item was located. That would warrant a recount. The variances are defined as part of product group setup or on the Ad Hoc stock count setup screen. Those items falling outside of the acceptable range are considered to be discrepant.
There could be items on the stock count with a difference, but only those items considered discrepant are listed on the recount screen. The items with a difference between the snapshot and the counted quantity that fall within an acceptable range are considered non-discrepant. Looking at the item list on the upper right hand corner, if item B was within an acceptable range, only item C would be on the recount.
The first action of the recount is to retake the snapshot for the Unit and Problem Line stock count. The Unit and Amount count does not allow for a new snapshot during this phase. The snapshot allows the system to take into account other transactions that may have taken place since the first snapshot and records the current stock on hand levels for all the items on the recount. The user can take a recount snapshot from either the Stock Count Child List window or the Stock Re-Count Detail window.
If the Re-count Discrepancies box was checked during the product group setup and at least one item is discrepant after the count, a re-count is required. If the Product Group is not set up to Re-Count Discrepancies, all items are moved to the authorization screen and the items exceeding the variance limits will appear as discrepant items.
Retaking the snapshot only applies to the Unit and Problem Line stock counts. Unit & Amount stock counts need the snapshot coordinated with RMS, therefore retaking the snapshot would potentially cause the two systems to be out of sync. The snapshot from the initial count is used throughout the process. Also, the Ad Hoc stock counts do not go through a recount phase and therefore the re-count snapshot does not apply for Ad Hoc counts. If the Unit and Amount Stock Count uses a Third Party method, the recounting process does not apply. The assumption is the Third Party service performs the recount process.
The Stock Count Recount Detail Screen is available when the user selects a child stock count from the Stock Count List Screen. The user is taken to a Child Stock Count Detail screen where they can print a report before re-taking the snapshot. The user can also take the snapshot from this screen in addition to the Child Stock Count List screen.
SIM allows the user to save the child stock count and resume at a later time. This functionality exists on both the handheld and PC.
Saving the count will indicate the count is still in progress.
There are additional filtering options as well to assist the user with reducing the amount of items to display.
The Third Party count method allows a third-party service to perform the actual counting using a third-party system. This feature is controlled through the product group setup by choosing Third Party for the counting method. SIM supports the creation of Third Party stock counts for any merchandise hierarchy level found in SIM. Note that the Ad Hoc count does not support a third party counting method. Therefore, a third-party service will only be able to count Unit, Problem Line, or Unit & Amount counts.
The third-party service may perform the count with their own equipment and subsequently provide the results in a flat file. SIM allows for the importing of a Stock Count file from a Third party counting system, and updates the existing stock count records in SIM with the Item/Quantity data being returned. If there are items that were not part of the stock count in SIM, the items will go into a rejected items file for further resolution. This may include assigning ID numbers to items rejected as part of the import process.
The first step in the process is to create a product group. Then, the product group would be scheduled.
A nightly batch identifies any pending stock counts and will create the count the night before the actual schedule date. The batch will extract all of the items to include in the stock count based on the settings at the time the product group was created. Once the schedule date has been reached the snapshot can be taken, or a parameter can be passed when running the upload batch to take the snapshot automatically before the results file is processed.
SIM compares the Third Party results information with the SOH value currently held in SIM. Any items not recognized by SIM are stored in a reject table. The Rejected Items Resolution screen allows the user to assign a valid SIM Item ID to the count information. An Authorization screen allows the user to view all items in the stock count that are discrepant. Pre-defined variance criteria are used to determine which items should be considered discrepant. Once the discrepant items have been reviewed and approved, SIM exports the stock count information to RMS and creates inventory adjustments for consumption in SIM.
Some retailers have Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) controls in place and automatically authorize the stock count results as they are imported. If this is in place, the Rejected Items screen will be view only, and SIM will export the flat file created within SIM to RMS without any interaction by the user.
Rejected items can be created through two means: Invalid scans performed on the handheld by a user and Third party stock counts that do not match the child when they are uploaded.
The Rejected Items button on the Child Stock Count List screen will take the user to the Rejected Items screen.
The user can view rejected items, and assign valid SIM item IDs to items not on file and non-ranged items. The user can also update unique identification numbers (UIN) if they are required for some items in the count.
If there are no rejected items for the count, a message is displayed to inform the user there are no rejected items. In that case, the Rejected Items window does not open.
Third Party counts can include inconsistencies to be resolved within SIM. Items might be counted that are not currently recorded in SIM inventory. Some counted items might not be currently ranged to the store and are not expected to appear in the count. The user can assign item IDs to items not on file and can include non-ranged items in the stock count. Some items counted in a Third Party stock count might be items not included in the stock count product group and should not have been counted. If that is the case, no action can be taken with these items and they cannot be assigned SIM item IDs.
This user is also able to add UINs at this time. The user is able to manage the rejected items only if the auto-authorize option has been disabled.
If any items sent from a Third Party system are not already ranged to the store, the system configuration to Allow Non-Range Item is set to Yes, and the count is a unit and amount count. SIM will add the item to the appropriate stock count record and the snapshot will be set to 0.
Any items without a valid SIM ID will not be part of the finalized stock count. Once the count is in Authorize Complete status, the Rejected Items screen becomes view only.
Reasons for Rejection
The Item Not on File is an item that does not exist in the SIM enterprise-wide inventory. These items might not be set up in the merchandising system. Not on file items can be added to the count only if they have been set up.
The Item Not at Store is an item that exists in the SIM enterprise-wide inventory but is not assigned to the store. They are also referred to as non-ranged items. These items can be added to the count.
The Item Not on Count is an item not included in the stock count product group when the stock count was extracted. These items cannot be added to the stock count and they should not have been counted. The user is unable to take any action with these items.
Some items that require UINs to be identified during the count can be rejected for additional reasons.
If the same UIN was counted twice for the same valid SIM item during the third party count, the UIN Duplicate reason will be assigned. SIM accepts the first item/UIN combination but rejects any duplicates.
If a valid SIM item was counted, but the UIN was not provided in the third- party data file, the reason for rejection will be UIN required.
The user can assign a valid SIM item ID and UIN.
If an item has UIN Not on Count, a UIN was scanned but the item/UIN combination does not exist in the product group element selected for the count. The user is unable to take any action with these items (that is, the user is able to view the UINs counted).
The UIN Not at Store is where an item/UIN combination exists at a different store. Depending on the SIM system configuration, the user may be able to reassign this item/UIN combination to the store. If the SIM configuration does not allow reassignment, then no action can be taken with these items.
If an item has UIN Not on File, the item does not exist in SIM. The user can assign the item a valid SIM item ID but UIN must be entered for the item once the item has been setup.
If Auto Generated Serial Number type UINs are required for the item but the counted items do not have AGSNs assigned in the third party data file, the items are rejected. The user must generate the AGSNs.
There are also some additional UIN rules to keep in mind.
If an item with a required UIN is not counted during the stock count process but is currently In Stock, Reserved for Shipping or Unavailable, the UIN status is updated to Missing.
If an item with a UIN on the stock count does not exist in the store, the UIN will need to be added during the Authorize stage. At that point, the UIN is created for the store where the stock count is occurring and the status updated to In Stock.
If a UIN on the stock count was received in a different store and the Store Setting, Allow Unexpected UINs is set to Enabled, the store attribute for the UIN is updated to the store where the stock count is occurring and the status updated to In Stock.
If the UIN on the stock count has the correct store attribute and is in, Shipped to Warehouse, Shipped to Vendor, Removed from Inventory, Customer Order Fulfilled, Sold or Missing status, the UIN status is updated to In Stock.
For UINs with a status of In Stock after the initial count but move to another status before the count is authorized, SIM does not update the UIN and remains with a status of In Stock upon confirmation.
After the stock count/recount process has taken place, the Third Party results file has been imported, and the rejected items have been resolved, the next step in the process is to authorize the stock count. This is the last step that allows a user to make any last minute corrections.
The Authorization Filter is used to assist with locating the stock count that will be worked with. The filters can be used to pull up by merchandise hierarchy or the user can focus on items with the largest variances.
On the Authorization screen, the SOH field will always display the last snapshot quantity, either the snapshot of the count or the re-count.
On the Authorization screen, the user can enter quantities for both discrepant and non-discrepant items. The screen will default to discrepant items and the user will have the option to filter to all items.
SIM will use the component item for authorization even if the pack item was counted during the count/recount phase. This applies to both simple and complex breakable packs. Only the component will appear during authorization and is the rolled up quantity from the counted pack and component quantity.
The user is able to select the Update Auth Qty button to auto-fill all Authorized Qty with the last count quantity:
The Authorized Qty field will update with the rolled up quantity of the packs and components.
The variance columns will be based on the rolled up quantity.
The user is able to select the Count Detail button on the Authorization Detail screen to view the count quantity for the pack as well as the component for breakable packs.
The Pack Item and Component Item Count Detail popup will display in a view-only mode when the Count Detail button is pressed.
The Close button will return the user to the Authorization Detail screen to complete their processing.
The header section includes the component item ID and description, the component item's current SOH, the Total Counted Qty based on a rolled up count quantity for the component, and any packs and the Total Authorized Qty.
The Total Authorized Qty will be zero if an authorization quantity has not yet been entered for the component item.
The detail section will identify the specifics of what was counted and recounted:
Type can be Component, Simple Pack, or Complex Pack.
The # of Components in Pack includes the number of the current component items that exist in the specified pack.
This field will be null if the type of item is Component.
The user is able to select the Update Snapshot button to apply any sales transactions occurring after the stock count has been moved into the authorization phase. If additional sales processing occurs while the user is in the authorize phase, the Update Snapshot button will be available to update the snapshot as needed prior to confirming the count. If the Update Snapshot is not selected, any sales records are not applied when the user authorizes the count, and they will be treated as sales that came in after the stock count was closed and processed accordingly.
Once the complete button has been pressed, the stock count becomes view only and no quantities can be changed. The only available button on any of the screens is the Back button which will return the user to the previous screen without making any changes.
Inventory Adjustment Impacts
When an inventory adjustment is created and approved during a stock count, a record will be written to a staging table for further processing when the stock count is completed. However, there may be additional inventory adjustments that remain "In Progress."
If the store parameter, Display Late Inventory Adjustment Message is configured to Yes, the user will be asked if they want to continue. If they do not continue, they will return to the authorization screen and can now finalize the in progress inventory adjustment before completing the count.
If they choose to continue, the in progress inventory adjustment will be ignored, but all other adjustments already in the staging table will still be processed. If the store is not configured to use the message, all "In Progress" Inventory Adjustments will also be ignored, without prompting the user.
Additional Considerations
Sequencing must be implemented to use guided stock counts and multiple location validation to occur. There is a possibility for a single item on a stock count to be located in multiple locations in the store. The Unit and Problem Line stock counts, SIM performs a check for guided stock counts if some locations for the items have not been counted.
The warning message will only appear if the items have been counted in at least one location but have not been counted in all locations. The message will only appear once and the user is given the option to continue counting. This option will allow the user to finish counting the items in all locations and enter a more accurate authorized quantity count.
At this point, some stock count quantities might match SIM inventory levels or be within the variance count or percentage set for the product group. There might also be discrepant item counts, if the recount also resulted in discrepancies. The user can accept counted quantities or enter different authorized quantities for all items.
If the product group was set up for automatic authorization of the count, the child stock counts are automatically authorized when completed, and are updated automatically.
SIM will automatically authorize the count, and export the stock count data to RMS. If this is a Third Party count, this process will happen as part of the import of the Third Party Results file. Some companies require the auto-authorization for SOX compliance reasons.
In this case, any items considered Rejected will not be assigned an existing item ID. This business process assumes the retailer has resolved all discrepancies and data conflicts with the Third Party service. The rejected items will be view only. No user intervention occurs in SIM for this process to occur.
Manual authorization is required if the Auto Authorize option is not selected during the Product Group setup. When a stock count is ready for approval, the last state of the count requires entering the authorized quantities for items in the count.
At this point, some stock count quantities might match SIM inventory levels or be within the variance count set for the product group. There might also be discrepant items which resulted in the recount. The user can accept counted quantities or enter different quantities.
The user can update authorized quantities by updating manually or by selecting various buttons to fill in any blank quantities. Any item in the stock count can be changed. For a count with many different items, the user may want to enter quantities only for certain items.
If this is a Third Party count, SIM will populate the Count Quantity on the stock count records, and set the authorize quantity equal to the count quantity. As with any other type of stock count, the user will need to authorize the count on the Stock Count Authorization screen.
Once the Confirm button is selected, the inventory adjustment is written in SIM for Unit and Problem Line counts. For Unit and Amount counts, the inventory adjustment is done upon confirming the last child count and the results will also be exported to RMS.
Authorizing Stock Counts - Rules
When the user reenters a stock count in the authorize phase that has not yet been completed, the last snapshot remains constant.
The Filter drop down list on the Authorization screen will allow the user to view All Items that were a part of the Stock Count. The user is allowed to enter data into the Authorized Quantity field for both discrepant and non-discrepant items.
The user can auto-fill the authorized qty field by selecting the Update Auth Qty button. A warning is displayed to the user if some items do not have an Authorized Quantity entered when the Confirm Authorization button is clicked.
If the user selects OK and the Stock Count Null Count Quantity = 0 system setting is set to No, all items without an Authorization Quantity will have their SOH left as it is, with no adjustments made. The item is considered not counted in this case. If, however, the system setting is set to Yes, all items without an Authorization Quantity will have their SOH set to the last counted quantity. This would be zero if the user never physically entered a count quantity.
If the Updating Stock on Hand parameter is set to Discrepant Items Only, SIM will only update the SOH for discrepant items that were counted.
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Note: The two above-mentioned parameters only apply to unit and problem line stock counts. Unit amount counts will always default to zero if not counted and stock will always be updated, even if not considered discrepant. |
If this is set to All Items, SIM will adjust the SOH for both discrepant and non-discrepant items that were counted.
The discrepant items are the items with a difference greater than a set variance. The non-discrepant items are items that had a difference, but are within an acceptable tolerance.
Unit and Amount stock counts have some additional rules. Once the last child count is confirmed from the Child List screen or Authorization screen, SIM will complete the master stock count process and all Authorized Quantities for the entire stock count record both discrepant and non-discrepant items are updated and sent to RMS.
Unit and Amount counts will update SIM by creating Inventory Adjustments similar to the other types of counts; however, a flat file is created with the new inventory position and is sent to the merchandising system instead of the inventory adjustment. Items in deleted or inactive status that still have SOH are included on Unit and Amount stock counts.
Additionally, a flat file is created with UINs and the UIN status. This flat file will be available to be imported into merchandising systems to update the UIN status after a Unit and Amount stock count.
For Third Party counts, the filter will not be available for Discrepancy/All Items since this information will not be available.
If SIM is integrated with RMS, when the Unit, Ad Hoc or Problem Line count is completed and confirmed in SIM, any discrepant items will have their SOH decremented or incremented in SIM and the appropriate inventory adjustment will be sent to RMS to keep RMS and SIM in sync. These types of counts only send the difference between the counted quantity and the snapshot to RMS. This means that if RMS started out with a different inventory position than SIM, the discrepancy will stay the same.
A Unit and Amount stock count has some additional considerations when RMS is implemented.
When a Unit and Amount stock count is scheduled in SIM, the schedule information including the store, department, class, subclass, and start date is sent to RMS through RIB messaging. A message is sent to RMS each time a schedule is created, updated or deleted.
The stock count items are populated for a Unit and Amount through a batch process rather than immediately which is why the lockout days must be greater than or equal to one.
For Third Party Unit and Amount stock counts, a Third Party Service, comes into the store to count the items and then sends a results flat file which is in turn imported into SIM with the stock count results.
Once the count is completed and confirmed in SIM, items will have their SOH decremented or incremented in SIM using inventory adjustments and SIM will in turn create a flat file and send to the Merchandising System to keep the systems in sync.
There are many factors that influence the stock on hand in the system. Items are received into the store which will increase the stock on hand. When a customer purchases an item, the stock on hand will decrease and if the customer returns the item, the stock on hand will subsequently again be increased. As long as everything is instantaneous, SIM is able to have an accurate picture of our actual stock on hand. But as with any process, there are errors that occur and periodic stock counts need to be performed to correct those errors.
When a stock count is performed, the most accurate picture can be captured if all other processes have completed and the store is closed. However, with the continued pressure to have product available for sale 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, an accurate stock count becomes a challenge. Sales are adjusting the stock on hand as well as inventory adjustments. There is a complication with concurrent activities to ensure the stock count is accurately reflected for the true inventory.
Normal Sales Processing
When a product is sold to the customer, the system that captures the sale needs to communicate to the inventory system. Since there are different systems that handle capturing the sales and managing the inventory, the point of sale system needs to send the information to other systems for auditing the transaction, processing the financial aspect of sale as well as updating the current inventory.
The recommendation is for stock counts to be executed while the store is closed, however SIM does allow the user to perform a stock count at any time. Often times, a stock count is performed during the regular business day, but this can cause issues with inventory because the sales many times may not be processed in the system until hours or perhaps days later, due to various issues.
Some retailers require legally updating inventory numbers directly in SIM. Other retailers require near real-time updates to improve the customer experience by having more accurate data. For these reasons, a Sales Web service was developed to allow the retailer's point of sale system to send the sales directly to SIM. The dotted line on this diagram illustrates this. An additional benefit to this web service is it enables the 24/7 stock counts to process sales using a timestamp processing. This does require the retailer to create an integration to use the web service. ReSA provides the transaction timestamp.
Late sales are processed in a two stage process in order to improve the performance of processing late sales and stock count processing. If there are no open stock counts ReSA will only update Stock on Hand. If there is at least one open stock count, ReSA processing will write the sale record to a new staging table for every stock count open if the snapshot has already been taken for the specific count. The following rules apply:
When a sale or return happens in POS, SIM will update SOH and SIM will check if there are any open stock counts for the item being processed.
If open stock counts exist for the item and the snapshot was taken, a record is written to the staging table.
If no open stock counts exist for the item and the last approved stock count date is after the sales transaction date, then a late sale inventory adjustment is created to back out the change made to SOH.
If no open stock counts exist for the item and the last approved stock count date is before the sales transaction date, then SIM will only update SOH.
Inventory Adjustments
When an inventory adjustment is being confirmed/approved with items on an open stock count, the adjustment may be applied to the open stock. The adjustment will be written to a staging table for further processing.
If the store parameter, Display Late Inventory Adjustment Message is set to Yes, the user will have the choice whether the system should process the adjustment when confirming/approving the adjustment.
If the parameter is set to No, the system will always process the adjustment without prompting the user.
The processing is similar to how late sales are processed. Depending on the create timestamp of the adjustment, the snapshot may be updated or if a reversing adjustment is needed, the following inventory adjustment reason codes will be used:
184 Unit Late Inventory Adjustment Increase (used for problem line, ad hoc as well)
185 Unit Late Inventory Adjustment Decrease (used for problem line, ad hoc as well)
186 Unit and Amount Late Inventory Adjustment Increase
187 Unit and Amount Late Inventory Adjustment Decrease
Stock Count Sales Configuration Settings
There are four main stock count settings to look at for processing stock counts.
The Stock count processing setting tells the system whether SIM must process by date only or whether date and time can be used when processing incoming sales. In order to use Timestamp processing, the point of sale system data must be capable of capturing and sending the data with a specific time and date for every sales transaction. If the point of sale system only provides a date, Daily Sales Processing must be selected.
The Stock Count Sales Processing system parameter is split out into two different parameters. One parameter will control the type of sales processing for Unit and Amount stock counts and the other will control the processing for Unit, Ad Hoc, and Problem Line stock counts.
Since the ReSA audit file provides a timestamp, the client may configure their system to process Unit, Problem Line, and Ad Hoc stock counts to use timestamp processing. Web Services can be used with ReSA by allowing the web services to provide the initial sales to SIM and ReSA will provide any changes made to the data after the sales have been audited.
If RMS is implemented, the Stock Count Processing setting for the Unit and Amount must continue to be set to daily due to real time update restrictions in RMS.
If Daily processing is selected, the user will also need to select whether the stock count will occur before or after business hours. If RMS is being used, this setting must be set to After Store Close to coincide with the Unit & Amount Stock Count Sales Processing parameter setting for unit and amount stock counts because of when the process runs for RMS.
Stock Count Phases
In addition to providing the information with a timestamp, SIM needs to capture the counting process timestamp at various intervals during a stock count in order to process sales correctly. There are many things to consider when processing sales during an open stock count. Some of these considerations include: when did the sale take place, when it is processed, what count phase are we in, has the snapshot been taken and has the item been counted.
Daily versus Time-Based Processing
As more retailers continue to operate on a 24 hour, 7 days a week basis, there is an immediate challenge to keep the business running. Not too long ago, it was normal business process to close a store to perform a stock count. However, in today's world of constant demand, it has become virtually impossible to shut down a store for a day. Therefore, with the continued pressure to keep the store open, some additional challenges have come into existence for the most accurate, up to date stock count.
Many point of sale systems, are now capable of capturing the time an item has been sold to the consumer. Now with the Sales web service, SIM can be configured to use near real-time updates. The introduction of the sales web service, allows SIM to have the capability to use logic to compare the sales activity with the counting activity. SIM has introduced various methods for capturing the time, various activities occur during the stock count. The snapshot, counted quantity, authorized quantity all have a time stamp based on when the user performed the activity. When the Sales Processing configuration is set to Timestamp processing, the additional logic to look at the time can be employed for a more accurate picture of inventory.
However, there is a limitation when RMS is implemented or other merchandising system that does not use timestamp processing but do create their own stock count with relevant updates. When a unit and amount count is performed there are several differences in processing. SIM will send a flat file to RMS with the results from the stock count. RMS will use this flat file and make the appropriate adjustments based on the snapshot taken in RMS. RMS also processes the sales for the stock count date to determine how to adjust the stock count for financial impact. Any inventory adjustments generated in SIM for a unit and amount stock count do not flow into RMS. Therefore, there is not a method for processing time based sales against the stock count in both SIM and RMS. As a rule of thumb, all three systems must be capable of time based processing in order to set the unit and amount stock count setting to Timestamp.
This figure shows a view of how the retailer may perform as stock count during open business hours.
Timestamp Processing
First, the retailer will perform a snapshot in SIM and the current stock on hand will be captured. For example, the snapshot identifies, 10 - 13" TVs. The stock counter personnel, count 9 TVs since there is one in a customer's cart. The customer pays for the TV and the sales transaction is captured with the date and time of the event. The point of sales system will then communicate thru the web service and SIM will process the sale. When processing the sale, the system checks to see if there is an open stock count for the item. After looking at the date and time the system determines the item was not counted and will update the snapshot to 9 based on the item that was sold.
When the stock count is finalized, because the snapshot and the counted quantity are the same, there are no inventory adjustments created.
Daily Sales Processing
Before Store Open, the retailer will perform a snapshot in SIM and the current stock on hand will be captured. Again, the snapshot identifies, 10 - 13" TVs. The stock counter personnel count 9 TVs and again, there is one in a customer's cart. The customer pays for the TV and the sales transaction is captured with the date of the event. The point of sale system communicates to SIM thru the web service and SIM processes the sale. The system checks to see if there is an open stock count for the item. If an open stock count exists, the sale will be written to a staging table. As the user presses Complete for each phase of the stock count, SIM will use the staging table and the date of the transaction to determine if the stock count needs to be updated. The system determines the date is the same. Because the system is set up to Before Store Open, it assumes any transaction with the same the date happened after the item was counted because the system assumes the stock count was performed before the store was open. Since, the snapshot remains at 10, when the stock count is finalized, SIM will create an inventory adjustment of -1.
In the same scenario with After Store Close, the system determines the date is the same, but because the system is set up for After Store Close, the assumption is the count has occurred after the store has closed. SIM needs to update the snapshot to 9 to account for the sale. Since the snapshot has been adjusted to 9, when the stock count is finalized, there will be no inventory adjustment created.
When RMS is implemented, RMS takes a separate snapshot for the Unit and Amount stock counts and will apply sales for the same day before the snapshot has been taken. Therefore, when using RMS, the SIM setting must be set to Daily Sales processing and After Store Close.
When Is the Snapshot Updated?
Stock count processing will process the sales records written to a staging table by the ReSA audit Sales Processing or with the POS sales web service. Additionally, when an inventory adjustment is created and approved with items on an open stock count, the adjustments records are written to the same staging table. The Stock Count processing will look to the staging table. This process will run when moving to the next phase of the count, before the discrepancy calculations.
The following will run this process:
Moving from Count to Recount Phase
Moving from Recount to Authorize Phase
Selecting the Update Snapshot button during Authorization Phase:
When pressed, any sales records in the staging table after entering the Authorize phase will update the snapshot.
Records processed before the count is confirmed.
Screen is refreshed and the stock count is up to date.
If the button is not selected before confirming, reversing late sale inventory adjustment will be created for the sales.
When Daily Processing is selected, the system needs to know whether the stock counts will be performed before the store is open or after the store is closed.
For those retailers that do not close their stores for the stock count, this option becomes more difficult to select.
What is the difference between the before store open and after store close options?
With both Before Store Open and After Store Close, the snapshot is updated if the sale date is before the stock count date. The user will see that the difference is when the sale date is the same as the stock count date.
If using Before Store Open, the assumption is that any sales that happen on the same date as the count date or later, the system will assume the sale happened after the item was physically counted. Therefore, the snapshot will not be updated.
If using After Store Close, the assumption is that any sales that happen on the same date as the count date will assume the sale happened before the item was physically counted. In this scenario, the snapshot will be updated.
Example - Daily Sales Processing In Place
The above figure shows what happens when the setting is set to Before Store Open in the left hand column and when it is set to After Store Close in the right hand column.
The current stock on hand is 10 - 13" Sony TVs. The store manager starts the counting process by taking the snapshot. Now, the store has opened for the day. The stock counter, counts 9 TVs. Sometime during the day, 3 TVs are sold. When the sales reach SIM, the stock on hand automatically updates to 7 units. So far the two settings behave the same way.
Now the snapshot does not get updated and remains at 10 when using the Before Store Open setting, while the After Store Close configuration updates the snapshot to 7. As mentioned, the Before Store Open configuration assumes the TV's were counted before the items were sold, while the After Store Close configuration assumes the opposite.
When the stock count is completed, both configurations create an inventory adjustment based on the difference between the snapshot and the counted quantity.
The Before Store Open configuration will create an adjustment of negative 1 since subtracting 10 from 9 equals -1.
In the right hand column, the After Store Close setting will also create an adjustment, but the inventory adjustment is a positive 2 since 9 subtracted from 7 equals 2.
The Before Store Open configuration will subtract the inventory adjustment from the current stock on hand of 7, which results in a final updated stock on hand of 6.
The After Store Close configuration will add the inventory adjustment to the current stock on hand of 7, which results in a final updated stock on hand of 9.
If the system has been incorrectly set up to use Before Store Open when RMS is used, SIM will automatically be out of sync with RMS. SIM will think the system has 6 items on hand, while RMS will think there are 9.
Example 2 - Daily Processing Completed
In this example, the sales are not processed until after the stock count has completed. The snapshot and the counted quantity is still the same.
When the stock count completes, the same inventory adjust of negative 1 is created for both stock counts.
Since the Before Store Open setting assumes the count happened before the sale, stock on hand is adjusted as usual.
The After Store Close setting will assume the count happened after the sale. The sale is assumed to have been accounted for when the item was counted and authorized. Therefore, the sale will be deducted twice; once when the inventory was counted and when the sale was applied to stock on hand.
Therefore, the system will create a reversing adjustment to correct the stock on hand.
The updated stock on hand will be 6 and 9 respectively.
Timestamp Processing
Since late sales can span multiple days, and items could be counted on multiple stock counts during those days, the timestamp will be kept on the stock count line item level.
Timestamp processing allows the retailer to be more precise in determining when the sales occurred and when the snapshot should be updated. SIM captures the timestamp, which includes both the date and time, when the item is physically counted and authorized.
The timestamp is held for each individual item on the stock count.
The physical count timestamp is compared with the sales timestamp to determine if the snapshot should be updated.
Any items that are left blank are assumed to be not counted and a physical timestamp will not be taken for those items. If the item was counted but none were found, the user will enter a zero and SIM will take a timestamp for that item.
A new snapshot will be taken during the recount phase for the Unit, Problem Line, or Ad Hoc when a recount is required. Unit and Amount counts do not allow for a new snapshot during the recount phase and the system will continue to use the original snapshot throughout the process. The reason for this is that RMS also takes a snapshot. A Unit and Amount count assumes that all inventory transactions have been processed in both systems before the snapshot is taken.
The physical timestamp will be refreshed in case of a re-count when the item is counted again. The new timestamp will be the time the item was scanned or entered on the screen.
If there are multiple users performing a stock count, the oldest, or least recent, physical timestamp of all users counting the item, will be used.
If the stock count is being executed by a third party, they should not perform any counting until the snapshot has been taken. It signifies that all inventory transactions are frozen.
In all cases, the stock on hand will always be updated when sales are being processed.
Example - Timestamp Processing
This example takes a closer look at how timestamp processing logic determines when the snapshot is updated. Here again is the 13" Sony TV example. In the Daily Sales processing example, how the system processes the results based on the Before Store Open and After Store Close setting is compared. Timestamp processing does not use this setting. Instead, the processing is based on when the item has been physically counted. Each line here is showing the sequence of events. The Process Sale of three TVs is on the third line, which means the snapshot was taken and the items were physically counted before the sales were processed. But the TVs were actually sold before the snapshot and the count of the items.
In the left hand column in this example, there is a sale that happened before the snapshot was taken or the item was physically counted. Because the sale was not correctly accounted for in the system, the snapshot has been overstated. The snapshot needs to decrease by 3 units. However, the counted quantity is not reduced because it is assumed these 3 items were no longer on the shelf when they were counted based on the timestamp.
When the count is completed, the inventory adjustment is based on the counted quantity and the updated snapshot. There is still a discrepancy between what is counted and what the system says we have, therefore, the correct updated stock on hand should be 9.
Example - Completed Stock Count
In the right hand column, there is a sale that happened after the item was physically counted. Since the sale occurred after the snapshot and after the item was physically counted, the sale should not impact the snapshot. There is a discrepancy between what is counted and what the system says we have, therefore, the stock on hand should be updated from 7 to 6 since the discrepancy between the snapshot and counted quantity was negative 1.
There are also special rules that apply if an inventory adjustment is made during an open stock count.
If an inventory adjustment is made which is generated through the system, the snapshot is updated if there is a count not yet authorized. If the inventory adjustment is manual, the inventory adjustments follow similar rules for handling sales.
For additional details on processing inventory adjustments during an open stock count, "Authorizing a Stock Count.".
This is necessary to handle the case where a stock count is started before another stock count is completed.
Wastage does not update the snapshot. The reasoning behind this is that wastage updates are an average recurring administrative discrepancy update. Sometimes the wastage will be lower and sometimes the wastage inventory adjustment is higher than the true state of the SOH. A stock count on the other hand is a specific exact count at a specific time. Interfering with the average wastage disposal could create unforeseen problems since the system does not know if the wastage adjustment is for the coming time period or for the time period including the stock count. Depending on the business practice, the stock count should be performed after or before the wastage batch program runs.
Inventory adjustments that are only moving inventory between buckets such as from unavailable to available and vice versa, do not update the snapshot since they do not have a SOH impact.
All validations and rules for stock count on MAF is the same functionality as the PC application.
Features:
Search for stock count
Create a new AdHoc stock count
View or edit an existing stock count
Count items for stock count
Print stock count
After logging into SIM, the main menu drawer is displayed. The user can select Stock Count from the main menu drawer and be directed to the Stock Count List screen. Stock count functionality is available under Inventory management.
The user can select Stock Count from the Main Menu Drawer and be directed to the Stock Count List screen. The user will need permissions to access this screen. The Stock Count List screen behaves and displays the same content as the Stock Count List on the PC. When the user enters the screen, SIM will default to display records with a status of "Active" and type of "Active."
The transactions may include, Ad hoc stock count, Unit count, Problem Line count, and Unit and Amount count:
The user is required to have the Edit Adhoc Stock Count permission to edit an Adhoc stock count.
The user is required to have the Edit Unit Stock Count permission to edit a Unit stock count.
The user is required to have the Edit Unit Amount Stock Count permission to edit a Unit and Amount stock count.
The user can select Create Ad Hoc from Stock Count List and be directed to the Add Stock Count popup to add a description for an Ad Hoc stock count. The user will need permissions to access this screen. When the user enters the screen, the text box for entering description for Ad Hoc stock count is filled with highlighted <user ID> (same as that of the handheld) which, once written with text, goes off.
The user can select the eye glasses from the stock count list screen and be directed to the Search criteria screen. The Search Criteria Screen has the same field/functionality as the Stock Count Filter screen on the PC with the exception that the mobile will also have a new type of Active. When the user enters the screen, SIM will default to display records with a status of "Active" and type of Active.
Fields
Criteria Applied <x>: The number of criteria applied to the search, where X is the number.
Scheduled Date: The date for which the scheduled stock count is scheduled for. Default to blank.
Department - List of values containing all of the departments. The value will be defaulted to All. Since a Product Group can consist of more than one merchandise hierarchy, the filter will return all stock counts that are affiliated with the department or where the counting groups contains that hierarchy. When a department is cleared out, the class and sub-class will also be cleared out.
Class - List of values containing all of the classes for the selected department. The user must select a department first for the class to be editable. The value will be defaulted to All. Since a Product Group can consist of more than one merchandise hierarchy, the filter will return all stock counts that are affiliated with the class and counting groups that contain that hierarchy. When a class is cleared out, the subclass will also be cleared out.
Sub-Class: List of values containing all of the sub-classes for the selected class. The user must select a class first for the class to be editable. The value will be defaulted to All. Since a Product Group can consist of more than one merchandise hierarchy, the filter will return all stock counts affiliated with that subclass and counting groups that contain that hierarchy.
Count Group: List of all product groups that exist on the Product Group List screen in PC. Defaults to All.
Type: List of values. Valid values are Stock Count, Re-Count, Authorize, Active, and All. Default value is Active. Active is a type just for MAF Mobile; it represents Stock Count and Recount (not Authorize).
Status: valid values are New, In Progress, Processing, Completed, All, and Active. Default value is Active. Active will include New and In Progress stock counts.
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Note: Confirmed is the status of a guided Unit and Amount stock count for all items that are in Authorize Type and have not yet moved to Completed due to not having the results exported. Once exported, the stock count will move to Completed status. If user selects a stock count in confirmed or completed status it will be in view only mode. |
Search Limit: Entry field. The user can define a search limit for the number of transactions being displayed. It is a Required Field. The value will default through a system admin setting, Search Limit Default for stock count list - Mobile.
The user can select Stock Count from the Stock Count List and be directed to the Child Count List screen. When the user enters the screen, SIM will sort the child count by ID. Closed child count should be at the bottom and Active child counts should be at the top and then this ID sorting should be applied.
Selecting a child count will take the user to the Stock Count Items /Stock Re-Count Items screen. Ad hoc Stock Counts will automatically have a single child count created. (Ad hoc stock counts will have one stock count to one child). The child count will be automatically named the same as the stock count (assigned description by user) with the words (child) after it.
The snapshot of a stock count will happen as follows:
Unit or Problem Line: Can be taken from Child count list screen for the whole stock count or from the Stock count item screen if not in re-count mode. For Re-Count, it will be taken automatically.
Adhoc: Takes snapshot as items are added.
Unit and Amount: Takes snapshot on PC at any point in the stock count process, so long as it is before moving on to either recount/auth.
The user can access the Child Count List screen by creating an Adhoc stock count or selecting a stock count from the Stock Count List screen.
The user must have the Edit Adhoc Stock Count permission to open the screen in edit mode when displaying an Adhoc count; otherwise the screen will open as view only.
Similar to a unit count, the user must have the Edit Unit Stock Count permission to open the screen in edit mode when displaying a Unit count; otherwise, the screen will open as view only.
The user must have the Edit Unit and Amount Stock Count permission to open the screen in edit mode when displaying a Unit and Amount count; otherwise the screen will open as view only.
Snapshot: This will take snapshot for all the child counts on the stock count. This will take a snapshot for Problem line and Unit type of stock counts only. If any other type of stock count, this button will not be visible.
Footer Menu
This opens up a footer menu with following options:
Info: Info popup will be displayed.
Product Group Info: Product Group Info popup will be displayed.
Notes: Notes dialog will be displayed.
Print: This will open the print dialog. Browser printer is not supported and will not be displayed as an option.
Back: This will navigate the user back to the Stock Count List screen.
Delete: This will delete the Stock Count that is under consideration and have not yet been authorized.
Close: This will navigate the user to stock count list screen.
The user can select a child count from the Child count list screen and be directed to the Stock Count items or stock Re-count items screen depending upon the status of the stock count. This screen appears when a child stock count is selected and the Child stock count type is Stock Count New or Stock Count In Progress. Item Images will be displayed per a system admin setting for stock counts. The system will default to show the "uncounted" records.
If the item has a UIN captured, it will have the UIN icon on the line item. If the item has an Item attribute captured, it will have the Item attribute icon on the line item. Selecting an item will go to the Item Detail for that item. All newly added items and modified items will have a bar on left to denote those have been modified.
When the user enters the screen, SIM will sort the items left to count as below:
If guided and if items are sequenced, then order by sequence order.
If it is un-sequenced, "no location" items falling at the end by item description order.
If unguided, items are always sorted by item description.
Snapshot of stock count will happen as follows:
Unit: Can be taken from Child count list screen for the whole stock count or from Stock count item if not in re-count mode. For Re-Count it will be taken automatically.
Adhoc: Takes snapshot as items are added.
Unit and Amount: Takes snapshot on PC at any point in the stock count process, so long as it is before moving on to either recount/auth.
Problem line: Same processing as Unit Stock Count.
Footer Menu
Info: Info popup will be displayed.
Notes: Notes dialog will be displayed.
Complete: This will complete the child count and navigate the user to the Child Count List screen. The user is required to have the Complete Stock Count permission for this menu option to display.
Save: This will save the child count and navigate the user to Child count list screen.
Save & Continue: This will save the child count and user will be in the same dialog.
Cancel: This will discard changes to stock count / re-count and navigate the user to Child count list screen. This will be "back" when in view only mode.
Print: This will open the print dialog.
Close: This will navigate the user to stock count items screen.
The user can select the eye glasses from the Stock count Items / Stock Re-Count Items screen and be directed to the Search criteria screen. It will have the same criteria as the header of the Stock Count / Stock Re-Count Detail screen of the PC.
The default will be:
Stock Count: Count / Re-Count Qty = 'uncounted'
Re-Count: Count / Re-Count Qty = 'uncounted', Filter = 'Discrepant'
The Count / Re-Count Qty will default as the filter on the top of the Stock Count / Stock Re-Count screen.
Fields
Criteria Applied <x> - the number of criteria applied to the search, where X is the number.
Count / Re-Count Qty: Valid values are All, Counted and Uncounted.
Filter: Valid values are All Items and Discrepant Items. Displays only when it is a Re-Count.
Department: List of values containing all of the departments pertaining to that stock count. The value will be defaulted to All. Since a Product Group can consist of more than one merchandise hierarchy, the filter will return all stock counts that are affiliated with the dept or where the counting groups contains that hierarchy. When a department is cleared out, the class and sub-class will also be cleared out.
Class: List of values containing all of the classes for the selected Department. User must select a department first for the class to be editable. The value will be defaulted to All. Since a Product Group can consist of more than one merchandise hierarchy, the filter will return all stock counts that are affiliated with the class and counting groups that contain that hierarchy. When a class is cleared out, the subclass will also be cleared out.
Sub-Class: List of values containing all of the sub-classes for the selected Class. The user must select a Class first for the sub-class to be editable; the value will be defaulted to All. Since a Product Group can consist of more than one merchandise hierarchy, the filter will return all stock counts affiliated with that subclass and counting groups that contain that hierarchy.
Reset: Button will clear the screen of any previous search criteria that was entered by the user and set back to the default values. The screen will remain open for the user to enter in new search criteria.
The Review Item Detail screen. is displayed when selecting an Item from the Stock Count / Stock Re-Count screen or scanned and scan mode in mode bar is set to "0". The image display will be controlled by the system parameter. This screen will help the user to review quantity for the stock count.
If the stock count is completed and where no further edits can be made, this will be a view only screen. Sorting of items will be, If guided and items are sequenced, then order by sequence order with non-sequenced "no location" items falling at the end by item description order. If unguided, items are always sorted by item description.
Removal of an item after it has been added is not allowed in Stock Count.
Cases or Units is the sum of the quantity of the items scanned until a new item is scanned. This field indicates the number of items a user has in front of them they have scanned.
User Quantity is the sum of all quantities for an item since the last time it was saved.
Total Quantity includes the quantities from the database when it was last read, increase with the user quantity.
Example: Assuming all items are units.
Scan item A.
User quantity 1
Session quantity 1
Total quantity 1
Scan item A again.
User quantity 2
Session quantity 2
Total quantity 2
Scan item B.
User quantity 1
Session quantity 1
Total quantity 1
Scan item A.
User quantity 1
Session quantity 3
Total quantity 3
Save count and scan item A.
User quantity 1
Session quantity 1
Total quantity 4
Scan item B.
User quantity 1
Session quantity 1
Total quantity 2
Footer Menu
If the user wants to reset the changes done in the same session, the user can reset it through the footer menu on the Item Detail screen.
The Stock Count dialog allows for creating, editing, counting, and deleting of Stock Counts on PC. The Stock Count dialog allows for creating, editing, and counting of Stock Counts on the handheld.
The Stock Count dialog allows for creating, editing, counting, and deleting of Stock Counts on MAF.
Other than the Ad Hoc Stock count, all other stock counts can only be scheduled through the Product Group and Product Group Schedule on the PC.
SIM provides stock count functionality through which the retailer can create different types of stock counts and update inventory accordingly. Stock counts can either be scheduled in SIM or can be imported from a third party. As it relates to SIM scheduled stock counts, SIM supports product group breakdown for better performance. Child stock counts are created depending on the breakdown method for a master stock count.
Business objects are used within the application code for all business processing.
| Business Object | Description |
|---|---|
| StockCount | Contains header details of a stock count. |
| StockCountAuthorizeUin | Contains UIN details for a line item authorization. |
| StockCountBreakdownType | Stock counts may be broken down into smaller child counts based on LOCATION, DEPARTMENT, CLASS, or SUB-CLASS. |
| StockCountChild | Contains detailed information about a child stock count. Each stock count may have numerous smaller, child counts that comprise the whole. |
| StockCountImport | Contains details of a stock count import record. |
| StockCountImportExtract | Contains header level extract details for an imported stock count. |
| StockCountLineItem | Contains information about a line item on a stock count which a particular stock count child. For LOCATION based counts, the same item may appear within multiple locations. |
| StockCountQueryFilter | Contains information to encapsulate query filter search criteria for stock counts. |
| StockCountRejectedLineItem | Contains details of an item that was rejected during the count. |
When Unit and Amount stock counts are scheduled in SIM, the schedule must also be published to RMS. There are specific tables that RMS uses to create the stock count in RMS that are also used for taking the snapshot.
When the stock count is created in SIM, the Schedule ID, store, department, classes, subclasses and the stock count start date are all published to the RIB. RMS will consume this message and populate their corresponding tables with the information. Any updates to the stock count schedule will also be published to the RIB. RMS will delete the previous schedule and recreate a new schedule based on the updated information.On the night before the scheduled count, SIM creates the stock count with all of the items to be counted. Once the stock count is completed, SIM sends a flat file with the same schedule ID previously published to the RIB. RMS consumes the results for further processing.
These messages are used by SIM to communicate unit and amount stock count schedules to RMS. RMS uses this schedule to take an inventory snapshot on the date of a scheduled stock count.
SIM sends the messages to RMS for the Stock Count Schedules where the type of the group attached is Unit & Amount at the time of creating/updating/deleting the stock count schedule.
SIM will need to send a message when an update to a Unit and Amount Group attached to a schedule is edited. When the status of a stock count message coming from SIM is changed, RMS performs a complete delete of the stock count and then a complete re-insert with the modified information.
When a Unit and Amount Stock Count in SIM is deleted, the deletion of the count is published to the RIB and consumed by RMS.
Once the stock count has been authorized, SIM sends the count results in a flat file to RMS for further processing.
When Unit or Problem Line counts are scheduled in SIM, they do not get published to the RIB. However, the InvAdjustDesc message is used by SIM to communicate all inventory adjustments to the RIB. RMS or other merchandising systems then use these messages to adjust inventory accordingly.
There are specific inventory adjustment reason codes that are reserved for system use only and cannot be used for other purposes. The following reason codes are used for stock counts.
87 is used to increase stock on hand and 88 to decrease stock on hand, these two types of inventory adjustments are used for all types of stock counts, however, in the case of Unit and Amount stock counts, the inventory adjustment will only be created in SIM. There is no message that goes to the RIB.
76 is used to increase stock on hand and 77 to decrease stock on hand when applying late sales for Unit, Problem Line, or Ad Hoc stock counts. Note the description only lists Unit. But this reason code is used for all three types of stock counts.
78 is used to increase stock on hand and 79 to decrease stock on hand when applying late sales for Unit and Amount counts. This type of count has its own reason codes because in the case of a unit and amount count, late sales inventory adjustments are not sent to RMS. RMS handles late sales processing for Unit and Amount stock counts separately from SIM.
The following batches are provided by SIM for stock counts:
| Batch Name | Description |
|---|---|
| ExtractUnitAmountStockCount | Batch to extract unit and amount type of stock counts. |
| ExtractUnitStockCount | Batch to extract unit type of stock counts. |
| ProblemLineStockCount | Batch to generate problem line stock count records. |
| StockCountAuthorizeRecovery | Batch for reprocessing recoverable stock counts that had an error during final confirmation processing. |
| ThirdPartyStockCountImport | Batch to import third-party stock counts. |
The following database tables are used in SIM for stock counts:
| Table Name | Description |
|---|---|
| STOCK_COUNT | Table to hold one row for each stock count in the system.
It defines the stock count instances of a stock count schedule. These records are generated by the SIM batch processes using the stock count schedules defined. |
| STOCK_COUNT_ADHOC_CONFIG | This table contains one row for each ad hoc stock count that is initiated at a store. |
| STOCK_COUNT_CHILD | This table contains a row for each location or department that is being counted for the stock count. |
| STOCK_COUNT_IMPORT | This table contains the third-party file information from a stock count and is used during the import process. |
| STOCK_COUNT_LINE_ITEM | Contains line item level details for a stock count. |
| STOCK_COUNT_LINE_ITEM_ATT | Holds extended attributes associated to line items of the stock count. |
| STOCK_COUNT_LINE_ITEM_UIN | This table contains all the UINs that are assigned to a particular line item on a stock count. It also contains whether the UIN is counted, recounted, or authorized. It is de-normalized to include the UIN description for performance. |
| STOCK_COUNT_REJECTED_ITEM | This table contains rejected items from third-party stock counts. |
| STOCK_COUNT_SALE | This table holds information about point of sales transactions that occurred during an open stock count. |
| STOCK_COUNT_ADHOC_V | A view for Adhoc stock count details. |
| RPRT_STOCK_COUNT_NOF_V | Stock count report view for not on file items. |
| RPRT_STOCK_COUNT_V | Stock count report view. |
