Blog Posts Process Analysis

Requirements – Receiving/Distribution Center (RDC)

Blog: Biz-Performance, David Brown

Requirements – Receiving/Distribution Center (RDC)

Overview

Receiving/Distribution Center system supports the on-order verification process for receiving purposes. It will automatically update the perpetual inventory and act as the foundation for an automated Accounts Payable Module. It will track and provide information necessary to develop Open-to-Buy and manage on-order positions.

Receipts and Returns

  • Provide receiving history by accumulating data by department/class, vendor, distribution center/store, style, and SKU and summarizing as data elements by department/class, vendor and warehouse/store (units and Business Currency)
  • Maintain detailed audit trails to be printed, reflecting all activity against the receiving system
  • Maintain a partial receipt file to avoid receiving overages or making duplicate payments
  • Allow the maintenance of receiving information, including changes and voids; update the appropriate purchase order and inventory files
  • Allow for purchasing, receiving and accounts payable comments to be printed on a receipt by purchase order or by line item
  • Flag and report receipts with overages, shortages, or damages
  • Automatically assign a receiving worksheet number to each receipt for shipments to the Assign a range of receiving worksheet numbers and a range of key rec numbers so they do not overlap with each other
  • Print prices on receiving/storage marking labels
  • Maintain a control log of opened and closed receiving worksheet numbers
  • Scan and inquire against the open purchase order file by vendor number or name, either online or via reports
  • Automatically generate a sequential line number for every receiving worksheet line item
  • Reprint receiving worksheets and highlight that it is a duplicate copy. Include receiving worksheet/key rec header information, such as name of carrier, number of cartons, weight, etc., on receiving worksheets
  • Access purchase order information online
  • Receive by exception (enter purchase order number and flag received as ordered or key exceptions only)
  • Stage merchandise for pre and post distribution
  • Automatically generate a debit memo, shipping label, and packing slip for those discrepancies coded as a return to vendor
  • Receive EDI communications from vendors on the ANSI X12 standard for forthcoming shipments. This preshipment advice should be coupled with the ability to laser scan bar codes on vendor cartons and be matched to the preshipment data transmitted. This data in turn should be capable of being matched to the ticket file and tickets printed sorted for the inventory in each carton. Thereby, the garment confirmation count is eliminated; the ticketing process becomes the count.
  • Allow users to correct receiving errors:
    • By quantity
    • By cost
  • Release a portion of each receipt into Quality Control inventory and hold the rest of the inventory until Quality Control approves the merchandise
  • Reallocate store shipments based on current store balance and demand (as opposed to original balance and demand which originally were used to create the purchase order).

Additional Functions for Food Retailers

  • Receive random weight products (by item and case).

Distribution

  • Allocate goods to the stores by any of the following store combinations:
    • All stores
    • Selected stores by:
      • Profile (e.g., cold weather)
      • Demographics
      • Price point
      • Market area
      • Store inventory needs
    • Rate of sale by store by:
      • Subclass (new merchandise)
      • Subclass/vendor (vendor sensitive merchandise)
      • SKU (reordered merchandise)
      • Related sub-classes in more than one class (e.g., leather – skirts, jackets, vests)
      • Store matrix (e.g., AAA to D)
      • Previous year
  • Automatically classify stores at the class level by using store/class sales volume. There needs to be at least 10 classifications (e.g., AAA to D).
  • Automatically classify stores by using store sales volume. There needs to be at least 10 classifications.
  • Pick/pack all SKUs for all stores at the SKU level
  • Pick/pack all stores for a SKU
  • Update store inventory – intransit when packing is completed
  • Update store inventory – actual when store confirms receipt
  • Provide for carton and SKU status control by tracking by:
    • Packed
    • Shipped
    • Confirmed receipt
  • Maintain SKU shipment history and onhand history for a rolling 64 weeks
  • Generate, track, and control shipping manifests for each truck with unit counts by store
  • Utilize item cube and weight data for space management
  • Allow for both preassigned and variable entry of slots
  • Allow for multiple items per slot
  • Permit post receiving entry of slots
  • Allow users to correct receiving errors
    • Support cycle counting:
    • By slot location
    • By date
    • Of problem products
    • ABC (volume, pilfered items, Business Currencys)
  • Develop a receiving door schedule
  • Provide labor standards:
    • Put away
    • Picking
    • Replenishment
  • Provide documentation and reports to support physical inventories
  • Prevent the receipt of product against one purchase order at multiple warehouses
  • Generate picking labels with different sort sequences for each warehouse
  • Enter product that was not available to be picked.

Additional Functions for Food Retailers – Distribution

  • Ship random weight products (item and case level).

Warehousing

  • Automatically allocate merchandise to the appropriate primary warehouse location at the point of receipt and print on the receiving worksheet. Any excess merchandise should be assigned to a designated bulk location.
  • Print put away labels using bar codes for wanding purposes, if desired
  • Automatically replenish primary locations with bulk merchandise
  • Generate system assigned restocking tickets which reflect both a pull and put away location
  • Track unused bulk space by zone
  • Support multiple primary pick locations per item
  • Track merchandise locations in areas other than bins (such as damages)
  • Allow for alphanumeric warehouse locations. Support the ability to check digit each location
  • Support warehouse space utilization modeling, placing merchandise randomly according to available space within a zone, as dictated by physical characteristics of product
  • Adjust inventory using appropriate security passwords
  • Assign new receipts to primary locations only if their stock level has fallen below its restocking point. This will save time by avoiding splitting a shipment and making two trips to separate locations.
  • Support picking of bulk merchandise on a first in, first out (FIFO) basis, based on receipt date
  • Generate pick tickets by zone
  • Sequentially assign pick ticket numbers for control purposes to track open and closed pick tickets
  • Adjust or cancel a pick ticket by exception only
  • Assign page numbers to multiple paged pick tickets
  • Generate emergency manual pick tickets online on an exception basis
  • Preview a day’s demand and automatically allocate merchandise on pick tickets for store orders if sufficient quantities of inventory are not available
  • If unavailable quantities exceed a specific threshold, provide the capability for management to establish allocation priorities by setting their own parameters.
  • Warehouse cost should be related to the warehouse in which a product is stored
  • Maintain product movement history
  • Generate, track and control shipping manifests with carton counts by store
  • Generate a bill of loading.

Key Fields

  • Receiving Data
    • Receiver Number
    • Distribution Center
    • Department
    • Class
    • Subclass
    • Vendor
    • SKU
    • Received Units
    • Received Business Currency (Business Currency)
    • Received Pounds (Kg)
    • Units Over/Short
    • Business Currency Over/Short
    • Pounds Over/Short
    • Business Currency Damaged
    • Units Damaged
    • Pounds Damaged
    • Status (e.g., Held, Quality Control, etc.)
  • Quality Control Data
    • Vendor
    • SKU
    • Vendor Item Number
    • Total Units
    • Accepted
    • Rejected
  • Distribution/Allocation Data
    • Store
    • Department
    • Class
    • Subclass
    • SKU
    • Item Cube
    • Item Weight
    • Business Currency Sales
    • Unit Sales
    • Weight Sales
    • Store Matrix Classification (e.g., AAA through D)
    • Demographics (e.g., Cold/hot weather, ethnic populations, age, income, etc.)
    • Inventory Intransit
    • Inventory Onhand
  • Performance Data
    • Zone
    • Department
    • Class
    • Subclass
    • Employee
    • Activity (e.g., Pick, Pack, Put away, etc.)
    • Pieces/Units per hour
    • Business Currencies per hour
  • Warehouse Data
    • SKU
    • Picking Location(s)
    • Reserve Location(s)
    • Cube
    • Weight.

Reports

  • Receiving Worksheets – Captures receipt and freight information for a shipment when it arrives
  • Daily Receipts Report – Printed daily. This report shows all receipts by store/distribution center, purchase order and item reflecting on-hand, quantity ordered, and quantity received. Receipts that are received by adding a worksheet line item should be flagged.
  • Receiving Worksheet Control Log – Printed daily. The log shows all receiving worksheets opened, closed, and still outstanding. Should be in a format to allow easy shipment review for acceptance or refusal if PO canceled or past ship date. Override controls should be provided with a clear audit trail. An automatic cancellation option is desired.
  • Discrepancy Report – Printed daily. This report lists overages, shortages, damages, cancellations, or late shipments.
  • Trouble Report – Printed daily. This report details any unresolved discrepancies.
  • Opentoship Report – Printed weekly. This report is similar to open-to-buy and reflects next week’s anticipated shipments.
  • Stock Status Report (units and Business Currencys) – Print as required. This report sorts merchandise by age (receipt date) and stock status.
  • Price Tags with Compare At Pricing – Price tags should be printed by store/SKU and optional competitor price.

Additional Reports for Warehousing

  • Pick Tickets – Printed as required. Details items and quantities to be picked by location and/or by SKU
  • Restocking Tickets – Printed as required
  • Warehouse Service Level Report. Printed as required. This report lists the number of items requested versus actually shipped by category and by item. Summarized at the store level
  • Picking Exception Report – Printed as required. This report lists items restocked more than once a week or not restocked at all within a one week period.
  • Pick Ticket Control Log – Printed as required. This report shows the status of all pick tickets (open, closed, outstanding).
  • Pick Tick Audit Report – Printed as required. This report shows the audit trail of inventory adjustments.
  • Product Profile Report – Print as required. This report lists the average number of times a product is ordered.
  • Zone Activity Analysis Report – Printed as required. This report shows the number of picks per zone.
  • Daily Bulk Space Available Report – Printed daily. This report shows the amount and location of bulk space available.
  • Inventory Tracking Report – Printed as required. This report monitors all product movement within the warehouse by reason code (pick, restock, re-warehouse).
  • Pick/Pack Productivity Report – Printed as required. This report shows productivity and throughput by picker and warehouse area, provides an executive summary highlighting number of locations traveled to the number of pieces put away, and product size.
  • Rewarehousing Report – Printed as required. This report provides rewarehousing and consolidation information.

Additional Reports for Apparel Retailers

  • Distribution Center Service Level Report – Printed as required. This report shows service level by category and item reflecting the number of items requested versus actually shipped. Summarized at the distribution center/store level.
  • Anticipated Deliveries Report – Printed daily. This report summarizes the number of units and the anticipated receipts based on purchase order due dates. Units should be summarized as flat, hanging, flat to hang and accessories.
  • Picking Documents – Printed as required. Picking documents should include:
    • –Warehouse zone
    • Shipping zone (stores grouped by carrier)
    • SKU

Interfaces

  • Handheld Devices – Support an interface with handheld devices.

Leave a Comment

Get the BPI Web Feed

Using the HTML code below, you can display this Business Process Incubator page content with the current filter and sorting inside your web site for FREE.

Copy/Paste this code in your website html code:

<iframe src="https://www.businessprocessincubator.com/content/requirements-receivingdistribution-center-rdc/?feed=html" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" width="100%" height="700">

Customizing your BPI Web Feed

You can click on the Get the BPI Web Feed link on any of our page to create the best possible feed for your site. Here are a few tips to customize your BPI Web Feed.

Customizing the Content Filter
On any page, you can add filter criteria using the MORE FILTERS interface:

Customizing the Content Filter

Customizing the Content Sorting
Clicking on the sorting options will also change the way your BPI Web Feed will be ordered on your site:

Get the BPI Web Feed

Some integration examples

BPMN.org

XPDL.org

×