Managing Bins Blocked from Order Picking

The Enable bin blocking and reporting rule provides the option to block bins for an item during order picking. As you process waves through the app, you can block a bin that cannot fill the order for an item. Unless you unblock the bin, it cannot be selected when you pick the item for any order. Blocking applies even to bins in a pick strategy, so they do not appear in the recommended bins list for the item. It also applies to all inventory statuses of the item in the bin.

Note:

NetSuite WMS provides a separate setting for blocking bins of a specific type from wave order picking. For more information, see Creating Bin Locations or Carts.

When you block a bin, you report it with your reason for blocking it. You can continue to stage or submit the partially picked items to generate the item fulfillment. For more information, see Picking Orders Partially.

Based on the reason why you blocked a bin, you can decide whether to perform a count or unblock it right away.

Performing Counts for Blocked Bins

Before you unblock a bin, you can perform a count to verify and adjust the quantity accordingly. Depending on the features you use, you can perform manual, calculated, or cycle counts. After you approve a count, you can unblock the bin.

If you use the Smart Count app, you can choose one or more bin blocking reasons for which you want to enable spot counting. On the app, you can access only the bins blocked for those reasons. When you approve a spot count, you automatically remove the block on the bin for the item. For more information, see Defining Reasons for Bin Blocking.

For instructions on performing counts, see the following topics:

• If you use Inventory Management, see Inventory Count.

• If you use Warehouse Management, see Inventory Counts.

• If you use the Smart Count app, see Performing Inventory Count on Mobile Devices.

Unblocking Bins for an Item

You can unblock bins that you want to pick from again on the app. If you block a bin for different items, you can choose which items in the bin to remove the block from. If you block different bins that contain the same item, you can choose which bins to unblock. Like blocking, unblocking applies to each bin and item combination

If you want to count the items in a bin before you unblock it, see Performing Counts for Blocked Bins.

To unblock bins for an item:

1. Using the WMS Warehouse Manager role, go to WMS Outbound > Outbound Maintenance > Unblock Bins.

2. On the Manage Blocked Bins page, in the Location field, select the location of the bin.

3. In the Blocked Bins per Item list, do the following:

   1. If you use the Smart Count app, in the Status column, verify that the bins you want to unblock do not have the Count status.

      You cannot unblock bins included in an ongoing spot count.

   2. Check the box next to the name of the blocked bin for the item.

      Alternatively, if you want to unblock all the bins, click the Mark All box.

4. Click Submit.

General Notices