Chapter 66: Radio Frequency Overview

Purpose: Radio frequency (RF) technology enables you to enter inventory information on your system by scanning a bar-coded label with a hand-held device.

CWDirect supports the use of an RF gun to register stock movement such as receipts, transfers, replenishment, and returns on your system without typing the information at a terminal. As a result, you can improve accuracy and efficiency in your warehouse.

License plate number tracking: You track inventory movement through license plate numbers (LPNs). The system assigns an LPN to each case, carton or container when you receive a purchase order, based on the Pieces per case quantity defined for the item. For example, if item AA100 is defined with a Pieces per case of 12, the system will assign 4 unique LPNs when you receive a quantity of 48. You print the LPN labels and affix them to each carton.

The system keeps track of each LPN's items, quantity, and location until you put the LPN away in its primary picking location; at this point, the LPN is deleted.

Suggest location placement: If you use LPN tracking, the system uses a different process to suggest location placement at purchase order receipt than the standard suggestion routine. The system will consider each item's replenishment requirement in the primary location and its current backorders. However, the system suggests you place the stock in a staging warehouse, which may be defined separately on your system from your main warehouse. See Staging Warehouse/Location Placement.

Staging warehouse: The staging warehouse is the area in your warehouse where received inventory awaits putaway. You use default locations in your staging warehouse to refer to actual locations in your main warehouse. For example, if you need to replenish an item's primary location, you would place stock in the staging warehouse, in a location named PRIMARY. The LPN label will display both this location code and the item's actual primary location, to facilitate putaway in the main warehouse.

RF menus: The RF menus differ from standard CWDirect menus in that they are designed for easier transactions on the RF gun. The RF gun has a small display, and you can use it either to scan a bar code or type information.

RF MAIN MENU 027 1. Receiving 2. Replenishment 3. Transfer 4. Return 5. Maintenance 6. Signoff Opt:

Each entry you complete on an RF gun updates the system the same way as transactions you type at a terminal. In addition, you can advance to and use the RF menus by entering RFMN in the Fast path field at the top of any CWDirect screen, or by selecting the RF Main Menu from a menu.

The RF menu supports:

• receiving

• replenishment

• transfers by LPN or item/quantity

• returns

• inquiry

• printing additional LPN, bin, or item labels

• creating, revising, or building LPN

• changing primary locations

• assigning bin locations

You can set up warehouse employees who will always use the RF gun so that they advance directly to the RF menu when they log on. In addition, you can use secured features to control each employee's access to the various RF functions.

Sample RF Process

The following example provides an overview of how you would use RF to manage inventory receipt and putaway. This example is for illustration only.

Receipt: You receive four cartons of item AA100. Each carton contains 12 units. This is consistent with the Pieces per case of 12 defined for AA100.

You currently have none of item AA100 on-hand. The maximum capacity defined for AA100's primary location, PRIM1, is 24 units. You have a backorder quantity of 30 for the item.

You enter a 7 next to the item detail line when you receive the purchase order to suggest locations. The system suggests the following:

Warehouse	Location	Quantity
2	PRIMARY	24
2	B/O	12
2	BULK	12

Warehouse 2 is your staging warehouse. Warehouse 1 is your main warehouse.

The system made the suggestions above because:

• You need 24 units to replenish primary.

• After replenishing primary, you still require another 6 units to fulfill your backorders. The system suggested 12 units to avoid breaking a case of 12.

• The remaining case will go to bulk.

The system always suggests that receipts go to the staging warehouse based on your inventory requirements in the main warehouse.

Creating LPNs: If you accept the suggestions as described above and complete the purchase order receipt, the system creates the following LPNs:

LPN	Item	Warehouse	Location	Quantity
1	AA100	2	PRIMARY	12
2	AA100	2	PRIMARY	12
3	AA100	2	B/O	12
4	AA100	2	BULK	12

The system prints LPN labels at this time for you to affix to each carton.

If you were now to perform an inventory inquiry, the system would indicate that the merchandise is on-hand in warehouse 2, your staging warehouse. Normally, you would define your staging warehouse as non-viewable in Order Entry, so that your Order Entry operators would not be aware that the items were in the warehouse at this time.

Receiving putaway: Receiving an LPN, like other RF transactions, has two parts:

• pulling the stock from its current location to an INTRANSIT location, and

• putting the stock away.

Receiving pull: Samples of the RF screens you use for a receiving pull (out of a default location in a staging warehouse and into an intransit location) are:

RF MAIN MENU 027 1. Receiving 2. Replenishment 3. Transfer 4. Return 5. Maintenance 6. Signoff Opt: 1

RF RECEIV MENU 27 1. Pull Stock 2. Putaway Stock Option: 1 F3=Exit

RP Pull Stock 27 LPN: 27 8 It: BLENDER SKU: LRGE Loc: 2 PRIMARY Qty: 10 F3=Ex F7=Put F8=Clr

When you have completed the last screen, the message "Pull Processed" appears.

If you were now to perform an inventory inquiry, the system would indicate that this LPN is now in the INTRANSIT location in the staging warehouse.

Receiving put: Samples of the RF screens you use for a receiving put (out of the intransit location in a staging warehouse and into a location in your main warehouse) are:

RF MAIN MENU 027 1. Receiving 2. Replenishment 3. Transfer 4. Return 5. Maintenance 6. Signoff Opt: 1

RF RECEIV MENU 27 1. Pull Stock 2. Putaway Stock Option: 2 F3=Exit

RT Put Stock 27 LPN: 27 8 Itm: BLENDER SKU: LRGE Qty: 10 Loc: 1 PRIM3 F3=Ex F7=Pul F8=Clr

When you have completed the third screen, the message "Put Processed" appears. (Note: It is not necessary to back out to the main RF menu after a "pull" transaction to perform a "put" transaction.)

The units in the case are now on-hand in the primary location in your main warehouse, available for picking. Because this is the primary location, the LPN is deleted from the system at this point.

Each completed RF transaction will create four inventory transaction records. For example, the example above would create the following:

1. pull from staging PRIMARY,

2. put to staging INTRANSIT,

3. pull from staging INTRANSIT, and

4. put to PRIM1 in the main warehouse.

See Chapter 18: Display Inventory Transaction History (DITH).

Complete information on RF setup requirements, each RF screen, and related RF functions within CWDirect is provided in this part. See Part K: Radio Frequency.

Important: Any inventory transaction that occurs in CWDirect but outside of RF, with the exception of purchase order receiving, will not update LPN records. This means that certain actions such as immediate or batch inventory transactions may cause a discrepancy between your actual on-hand quantity in a location and the quantity assigned to LPNs. You can use the LPN maintenance options on the RF menus or Work with LPNs to correct these discrepancies.