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In this article you will learn about unit inventory management (UIM), how to set it up, use it, and learn about frequently asked questions.
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This feature is currently on the beta testing phase, so access is limited to testing companies. Once this feature becomes available to everyone, we’ll let you know via email or our in-app notifications. |
Table of Contents
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What is Unit Inventory Management?
Unit Inventory Management offers wholesalers more flexibility and efficiency in managing their live inventory using special labels and features that facilitate warehouse management when selling products in bunches.
Some of these functionalities include settings to turn UIM features on or off at the location level for multi-location companies, distribution and bunch labels to track inventory in units, automated scanner options, and open box reports.
Setup
This section contains the steps you need to follow to enable and customize the Unit Inventory Management feature.
Requirements
To successfully implement UIM in your operation, you will need the following requirements:
Scan gun. A minimum of one scan gun is required to process open boxes.
Label printer. A label printer for order checkout and shipping is required.
2”x2” size labels for the Bunch Labels.
4”x3” size labels for the Open Box labels.
Have the “Sell by Units Only” and the “Allow Overselling” settings deactivated.
If you are a multi-location company, you will need to set up this feature in each location.
Complete the setup described in this article.
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When UIM is enabled, UPC labels will be replace by Open Box and Bunch labels. |
Considerations
When a company adopts Unit Inventory Management, they are committing to new rules that change their workflow. These new workflow processes are an essential part of implementation training, where achieving real “Buy-In” is a must. When enabling UIM, consider the following statements:
The cooler is divided into O/M and Presold sections. (Wholesalers with large walk-in traffic will also benefit from having an additional O/M section not accessible by the public.)
Boxes and bunches that have not been received in the system cannot be touched. Breaking this rule may result in the same item being sold twice and/or require an unscheduled full physical inventory to correct the inventory.
Salespeople must register sales from the system before they pick any items from the cooler.
Sales users should be granted access to the Shipping Tab/Order Summary to be able to quickly see any short ships in detail.
Over-selling would conflict with eCommerce and remote selling inventory, and is therefore not allowed. For companies that are using overselling, this will be a major change of workflow and habits.
Step One: Enable the UIM Feature
To begin managing your live inventory in units, you must first enable and set up the UIM from the company’s settings.
To enable UIM, do the following instructions:
Go to Setup and select Settings.
Click on Unit Inventory Management from the Inventory group of settings.
Check the box in the modal to enable the feature.
Select if you want to include Vendor information on the bunch labels.
Select the date that will be displayed on the bunch labels.
Select if you want to encode the date on the bunch labels.
Click on Save.
When you enable UIM, the system will create a new carrier named POS CHECKOUT with the carrier code POS Checkout. When products are scanned or marked as shipped from the order entry, the system will assign this carrier to those products.
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For Multi-Location Companies:The UIM feature is managed on a location basis; you will find the Unit Inventory Management settings in the Setup > Settings > Locations tab. |
Step two: Set up the Default Printer
To have the system automatically print bunch labels, you must set the default printer for the bunch labels.
To set a default printer, do the following instructions:
Go to Setup and select Settings.
Click on Manage Remote Printers from the Shipping group of settings.
Click on Add new printer.
Add the name of the printer.
Select Bunch Labels as the document type.
Optional: Modify the number of copies you want to print for these labels.
Check the Default box and click on Save.
Once the default printer is set, the system will automatically print the open box labels when opening boxes from the Inventory Summary and Add Order screens.
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You do not need to set a Carrier when setting up the printer for UIM. |
Open Boxes
There are two ways to open boxes: through the Inventory Summary screen and with the scan gun.
Open Boxes With the Scanner
To open boxes with the scan gun, do the following instructions:
Start the scan gun.
Select option eight (8).
Follow the instructions on the screen. This process can vary based on independent factors. To learn more, read Scanner Behavior.
Continue scanning boxes.
When you open boxes, the system will print the Bunch labels in the default printer. To learn how to set a default printer, read Step Two: Set up the Default Printer.
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If there is no default printer set, selecting a printer from the scanning gun will not be possible. |
Scanner Behavior
When opening boxes with the scanner, several factors can affect the process of verifying and opening a box. Depending on these factors, one of the following actions will apply:
At the end of the scanning process to open boxes, the scan gun will return to the Open Box screen, where users can keep scanning boxes or exit the process.
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Available Boxes | The system prints labels and opens the box. |
The scanned box belongs to a Prebook. | The system will tell the user there are no available boxes. |
Box marked as “Don’t Open” but not sold. | The system will check if another box with the same lot # has been opened. If there is one, the system will make a Box Number Swap with the open box with no printed labels. If not, the system will open the box and print Bunch labels. |
Box marked as “Don’t Open”, sold, and has printed shipping labels. | The system will check if the shipping labels have been printed; if they were, the scan gun will tell the user to return it to the original rack position. |
Box marked as “Don’t Open” and sold, but has no printed labels. | The system will check for an open box with the same lot # and check if any labels were printed. If the system finds an available box, it will perform a Box Number Swap; if there is no alternate box, the system will tell the user that there are no available boxes and return the box to its original rack position. |
Box marked as “Don’t Open” but not sold, and no other open boxes with printed bunch labels. | The system will open the scanned box and print the bunch labels. |
Scanned box is unavailable but there is another available box with the same Lot #. | The system will make a Box Number Swap, open the box, and print the Bunch labels. |
The box is open in the system and has printed Bunch labels. | The system will inform the user of the situation and ask if reprinting bunch labels is required. |
The box is open in the system and has no printed Bunch labels. | The system will print the Bunch labels. |
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To learn more about the Swaps mentioned above, read Box Swaps. |
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The scan gun has a sound alert system that informs the user of a problem or successful operation. Two (2) beeps mean success, and three (3) beeps indicate that the user should check the screen to see the situation. |
Open Boxes from the Inventory Summary
When you open boxes, the system automatically uses this label to facilitate inventory management.
To print open box labels, do the following instructions:
Go to Inventory and select Inventory Summary.
Search the order.
Select the order:
Click on the button in the Actions column of a specific order and select Open Boxes.
Select multiple orders and click the Open Boxes button.
Enter the information.
Click on Open Boxes.
The system will automatically print the Open Box labels on your default printer or as PDFs if no printer is set up.
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You can also open boxes and print their labels from the Order Entry - Add Order screen. To learn how to do this, read Open Hard Goods Boxes. |
Box Swaps
The system will verify if the box can be opened when opening boxes with the scan gun. This means that it will check if the box has been sold, marked as don’t open, if it belongs to a PB, if it is open, or if the labels have been printed. To learn more, read Scanning Behavior.
Depending on which of these criteria is met, the system will continue the process and mark the box as open and print the labels, or it will apply one of the following swaps:
Open Box Number Swap. When the scanned box is sold or marked as “Don’t Open”, the system will look for another box with the same products and lot #. Depending on box availability, the system will do one of the following actions:
If there’s another box open, the system will check if Bunch labels were printed for that box; if they were, the system will ask the user if they wish to reprint the labels, or if they have not been printed yet, the system will swap the box’s number and print the Bunch labels.
If there’s no other box open, the system will open the box and print the Bunch labels.
Unopened Box Number Swap. When the scanned box is unavailable, the system will search for another box with the same lot #. Depending on availability, the system will do one of the following actions:
If there’s another box available, the system will automatically swap the box’s number and print the bunch labels for the scanned box.
If there’s no other box available, the system will display an error message telling the user to return the box to the original rack position.
Labels
Open Box Labels
Open box labels contain the following information:
Lot number. The lot number of the scanned box.
Position. Box location in the warehouse.
Product description. Product name or description.
Vendor code. Vendor’s code.
Box number. Box number.
AWB. Airway Bill number of the order.
Bunch Labels Header Label
When the unit inventory management setting is turned on, and the bunch labels are printed, the system will create a header label at the beginning of the PDF or printout with box information.
This label contains the following information:
Label: Labels for box #
Box Number
Lot #
Full Product Description
The total of Bunches in the box
Size: 2”x2”
This only applies when UIM is enabled.
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This label head only appears when the scanner triggers the printing of the bunch labels, not when the user prints labels from the Inventory Summary or Add Order screens. |
The "Boxes Pending to be Open Report" can be accessed by users with access to the Inventory Summary screen. This report displays a list of boxes that have been marked as opened in the system but not physically. Users can apply search filters and specify a date range, limited to a 60-day window, to generate the report.
To create this report, do the following instructions:
Go to Inventory and select Inventory Summary.
Click on Inventory in Units.
Use the search filters to select the information you want in the report.
Click on the Actions button and select Export to Excel.
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Multi-Location Companies: If you want to have a specific location in the report, you can select it in the search filters. |
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