Pick Task Sorting for Released Orders
NetSuite WMS sorts bins for warehouse locations that use bins and sorts items for warehouse locations that do not use bins. For warehouse locations that use bins, you can apply pick strategies to target zones that contain bins for specific orders, like rush orders. Bins located in the target zones go through the same bin sorting process.
See the following topics in this section:
Recommended Bin Sorting
The bin sorting process involves a series of filtering and sorting levels for bins when you release orders to the warehouse. For each pick task, it determines the recommended bin from the list of bins associated with the item. Pickers can view recommended bins on their mobile device as they pick the orders.
Prior to sorting, NetSuite WMS filters the items and bins based on the following criteria:
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Bins must be in the same warehouse location as the wave.
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Bins must have available inventory.
You can view the available quantity of a bin on the associated item record.
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Items must be fulfillable and use bins. In addition, items must not belong to the non-inventory types and to locations that do not use bins.
The bin sorting process excludes items and bins that do not meet the criteria. The remaining bins qualify for selection as the recommended bin for a pick task.
Based on bin settings, the filtered bins go through four basic levels of sorting:
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Available Quantity - Initially, NetSuite WMS identifies the bins with sufficient quantity to satisfy the quantity to pick. It separates these bins from those with insufficient quantity. It also sorts the bins with insufficient quantity in descending order.
Note:For lot-numbered items, your rotation type setting enables bin sorting by lot expiration date. Based on a lot item’s FEFO or LEFO rotation type, NetSuite WMS arranges bins in ascending or descending order, respectively. This sorting occurs before sorting by available quantity. For more information about rotation types, Creating Items for NetSuite WMS.
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Preferred Bin - From the bins with sufficient quantity, this sorting level identifies and recommends a preferred bin. If all preferred bins contain the same quantity, these bins go through the next sorting level.
Note:If you use the Pick to Clean preference, NetSuite WMS recommends the bin with the highest available quantity among those with insufficient quantity. You direct pickers to empty these bins first before a preferred bin with sufficient quantity. Note that these bins with insufficient quantity may also include preferred bins. For more information about this preference, see Setting Warehouse Management Preferences.
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Bin Type - Candidate bins from the first or second sorting levels that have the same quantity are further sorted by bin type. This sorting level arranges bins according to the following order of bin types: (1) Picking, (2) Storage, (3) None.
Note:The sorting process filters out bins that do not belong to any of the valid bin types. If you have pick strategies that use the Include Inbound Staging Bins setting, you include Inbound Staging as the fourth valid bin type. For more information about pick strategies, see Bin Sorting with Pick Strategies.
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Bin Sequence Number - Only bins of the same type go through this level of sorting by sequence number, in ascending order. Bins with no sequence number move to the bottom of the list.
For example, among the bins with sufficient quantity, you have no Picking bin. But you have 3 Storage bins that contain the same available quantity. To recommend a bin, NetSuite WMS sorts them by bin sequence number.
On a wave transaction, you can view the recommended bin for each pick task on the Pick Task subtab. On a pick task subrecord, you can view the complete list of filtered and sorted bins on the Recommended Bins subtab.
Bin Sorting with Pick Strategies
Pick strategies provide an optional way of defining and prioritizing the warehouse zones for picking of released orders. Use pick strategies to target the zones where you want pickers to pick specific orders or items. From a mobile device, pickers can view the target zones and bins that contain the items.
You can also use pick strategies for work orders and replenishment, even if these transactions are not released in waves. When you process these transactions on a mobile device, you can view the list of bins sorted through your pick strategies.
To create pick strategy records, see Defining Pick Strategies.
The following steps describe how NetSuite WMS applies pick strategies to a pick task:
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Matching strategies to a pick task - Pick strategies contain the following required and optional filters used for matching, which you can define based on your business requirements:
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Required filters - Transaction type and location
Based on the required filters, you apply a pick strategy to pick tasks that match the transaction type and warehouse location.
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Optional filters - Item Criteria filters (item process family, item process group, item, units, and item classification); Order Criteria filters (order type and customer); Recommended Bin Filters (Include Inbound Staging Bins and inventory status)
Optional filters further define or limit the strategies that you can apply to a pick task. For example, you have a rush order setting for the Order Type field on order transactions. You can create a pick strategy for rush orders using the order type filter. This pick strategy matches only to pick tasks associated with transactions marked with the same rush order setting.
If you use the Include Inbound Staging Bins filter, you include inbound staging bins in the recommended bin sorting process. For more information, see Recommended Bin Sorting.
If you use the Inventory Status feature and define the inventory status filter, you prioritize the bins with items that match the status. Bins with items that do not match the status also appear on the pick task, but without a matching pick strategy.
For more information about pick strategy filters, see Defining Pick Strategies.
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Sorting strategies by sequence number - This step involves the sorting of multiple matching strategies by sequence number, in ascending order.
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Determining the zone from a matching strategy - On a pick strategy, you can prioritize your list of warehouse zones using sequence numbers. For each matching strategy, NetSuite WMS selects the first zone from your list list that has one or more bins containing the item on the pick task. Bins from the selected zone go through the bin sorting process, which determines the recommended bin for the pick task. For information about this process, see Recommended Bin Sorting.
On a pick task, you can view the matching pick strategies, along with the bins and zones, on the Recommended Bins subtab.
Updating Pick Strategy Matching
Updates to your bin configuration and inventory quantities can affect the selection of pick strategies and recommended bins. On waves and pick tasks, you can click the Match button to reflect such changes.
On a released wave, the Match button enables you to do the following:
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On wave transactions, click Match to retrieve updates for all pick tasks in the wave.
You can view any updates in the Recommended Bin column on the Pick Tasks subtab. You can also view updates on any affected pick task subrecords.
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On pick task subrecords, click Match to retrieve updates for a single pick task.
Your updates appear in the Recommended Bin field of the Pick Information section, Recommended Bins subtab, or both. They also reflect on the associated wave transaction.
Item Sorting
Within each warehouse location that does not use bins, NetSuite WMS sorts items using their assigned sequence number, in ascending order. On your mobile device, you can view the sorted items and process the pick tasks accordingly.
Item sorting also applies to work orders processed through a mobile device, even if work orders are not released in waves. For each work order, you can view and pick the sorted list of component items.
For information about setting pick sequence numbers, see Creating Items for NetSuite WMS.