WMS Initial Setup process

WMS Initial Setup process

Initial Setup Process

The Warehouse Management System (WMS) in TransVirtual is an extensive warehouse management software system exclusively designed to handle all kinds of warehouses and their different processes.
 
The TransVirtual WMS is designed to manage inventory, track movement in the warehouse, manage sales orders and also manage the overall inbound process of stock ordered.

This article has been configured for the 2022 Navigation & Style update.

To update your TransVirtual, you can go to Settings > General > Global Setup > General > Other.
You can update both the navigation and style by enabling the toggle as per below:



Required Details For WMS Setup

If you are an existing TMS customer that already has their Agent/Customers/Headports Etc. setup, please move to "Processes, Procedures and Workflows".

In TransVirtual, there are some staples that are setup with the TMS as they are required to make the system run as expected.
If you do not use the TMS, these will need to be setup for WMS.
To proceed you need to ensure you have setup:
- Customer List - Click Here
- Agent/Supplier List - Click Here
- Headports - Click Here
- Staff List - Click Here

Processes, Procedures and Workflows 

Inbound -The inbound process of receiving an Incoming shipment includes validating and reviewing the Purchase Order against the stock received.
The procedure of receiving stock would include unloading the truck, sorting the stock items, bin allocating and putting away.

Outbound -The process of receiving a sales order, validating and reviewing the sales order received against the stock available and make stock items ready for shipment.
The sales order procedure includes assigning a picker to locate the stock required for the specified sales order, packing the stock into the appropriate packaging, signing off the stock against the sales order and creating a consignment.

Configuration Milestones in WMS process are as listed below and with this information user can start business on the WMS platform .

- Warehouse Locations
- Warehouse Zones
- Warehouse Bin Types
- Warehouse Bin Locations
- Stock Items 
- Import Initial Stock Levels

All the above, can be customized to the users requirement.

Quick Set Up Guide 

Step 1: Create Warehouse 
Step 2: Add warehouse Zones
Step 3: Create Bin locations for Zones
Step 4: Create Bin Types
Step 5: Create or Import Stock Items 
Step 6: Create or Import initial inbound batch 
Step 7: Create/Import Zone list for warehouse "locations"
Step 8: Set up storage and movement rates 
Step 9: Add other relevant details (such as customizing bin details, stock items etc.as per customer requirement)
Step 10: WMS configuration and set up to be tested before going "Live"

Step 1: Create Warehouse

Warehouse creation is the first step after which the entire WMS process follows.
Here, user can create single warehouse or multiple warehouses set up under different location in his account.

Go to Warehouse-->Configuration and Set up -->Warehouse Location 



The user can click on "Create Warehouse" button as shown in the above figure.

Once the warehouse is created, the warehouse name will show in the warehouse list on the left and the details of the warehouse will show on the right.

Linking a Headport 

Every warehouse created can be linked to a headport derived from the Transport Management System.
This essentially pins your warehouse to a designated location, allowing multiple warehouses for different areas.
To select a headport, simply select from the drop down shown below.


Note: Headports can be created in Configuration -->List and Zones-->Zones directory.

Default Bin Type

By default, the bin type selected will be "Standard Bin" however user can also choose a different default from the drop down.
Note: Bin list consists of Bin Types that can be created in Warehouse-->Configuration and Set up-->Warehouse-Bin Types-->Create Bin Types   

Assign a default picker [Optional]

Every movement inside the warehouse can be assigned to a dedicated staff member.
Once the user chooses a staff member, all the moves in this warehouse will automatically assign to the staff member.



Information: Staff list can be generated by creating Staff :
                      Go to Warehouse-->Configuration and Set up-->Staff List -->Add "New User".

Once the warehouse set up is completed, the user can click on "View Warehouse Zone Setup" to set up /edit /view the warehouse zones.

Step 2 : Create Warehouse Zones

Below is a diagram on how warehousing zones apply in an example warehouse.



Zones are the defined locations with Bin details where the stock items will be stored conditionally.

Go to Warehouse-->Configuration and Set up-->Warehouse-Zones/Bin Locations.

Step 1: Click on "Add New Zone" to create a new Zone
Step 2: Enter Zone title (Example: Cold storage, Dangerous Goods etc.)
Step 3: Add any additional information required.


Inbound/Outbound Zones

For your inbound/outbound processes to work as expected, you must have the inbound and outbound zones set, as seen in the screenshot below, you must have the zone type set:



This can't be changed later on, you can then set different inbound/outbound bins within the zone if that is how your warehouse operates, however, most warehouses only require the one.
Any bin within your inbound/outbound zone is considered an inbound/outbound bin location.

Purchase Orders and Sales Orders will not work without these zones setup.

Fields and description:
>Memo: Special instructions can be added here.
>Default Type: The default bin type that will be used for this zone. 
>Warehouse Zone Type: This will determine the type of zone, it will display whether or not the zone is an inbound, outbound or storage zone. 
>Accepted Stock Types: User can restrict the stock type accepted into the zone. This is determined by the stock item.

Step 3: Create Bin Types

Bins are dedicated locations within the warehouse which store specific stock items.
The bin types are the storage location type, this could be a pallet, floor space, BIC etc.
To set up bin types you can:
Go to Warehouse > Configuration and Setup > Warehouse Bin Types > Create Bin Type.



Fields and description
>Bin Title: User needs to enter a descriptive title which easy as well as informative.
>Weight /Volume /Quantity/Length/Width/Height: As per the bin dimension these fields need to be entered manually.

Once the required information has been entered, ensure to select update.

Step 4: Bin Location Setup

Here we will see how you can add a bin location within a designated zone.
As you may have seen, during the setup process we direct to this page, if you need to return to this page, it can be found in the menu:

Warehouse-->Configuration and Setup-->Warehouse Zones/Bin Locations-->View Bin Setup For Zone.

This will take you into the bin list for the selected zone, you will be able to:
- Import Bins
- Export Bins
- Add a New Bin
- Print Bin Labels
- Edit the Bin Information
- Allow charge of mixed stock items in a bin
- Enable/Disable bin location

Step 5: Warehouse- Stock Items

Stock items are a range of products which are received as a part of purchase order and then stored in the warehouse as inventory.

The user can import and export all stock items in their list and also can add stock items to the warehouse manually.

Go to Warehouse > Configuration and Setup > Stock Items

Import Stock Item

User can import already existing stock items by clicking on "Import Stock Items" and the files having extension .csv, .xlxs,.xl,.txt can be used for bulk imports.

Add Stock Item

By clicking on "Add Stock Item" user needs to manually enter all the details as shown below.



>Stock Name: Title of the stock.
>Description: A short description is added to give more information to the user.
>Stock Code: User needs to enter SKU or P/N for item identification.
>Stock Customer Owner: Designating a specific customer to the stock also means that we are restricting other customers in the account to view the stock item details.
>Brand: Stock item is either specific inhouse brand or any other brand or brandless.
>Year of Manufacture: Informs the year of manufacture for inventory purpose.
>Stock Type: User can choose the appropriate stock type from drop down list.

Stock Item- Unit Settings -Units of Measurement (UOM)

The user can now view all the stock items in their account on the left and the details regarding specific stock items on the right.

Unit Settings
For every stock item added, the user needs to manually enter the Unit of measurement which is categorized into 4 layers.
>Unit Setup
>Pack Setup
>Case Setup
>Bin Setup

These details will help the user to calculate the warehouse rates and invoice accordingly.

It will be important to set this up efficiently as the system will calculate units through to bins automatically for pricing on movements, storage and sales orders.

Others Tab:
The user can add other details to the stock item if needed by using the other tab.



Details to be entered 
>Alternate Code: An alternate code can be added in case user wants to sub categorize and identify the stock item.
>Dangerous Goods: identify the stock as dangerous goods.
>Pick Bin Sequence - User can choose the sequence of dispatch as shown below.



Locations Sequence: Pick sequence based on the location of the items

Pick to Clear: Bulk pick to clear out all stock within a bin location

Random: Stock is picked randomly

First-in-first-out: Items first to come in will be the first picked

Last-in-last-out: Items added most recently will be the first item picked

Higher-to-Lower-Qty: The highest amount of stock in a bin will be selected for picking

>Suppliers 
User can choose an agent or supplier listed to complete a sales order for the selected stock item. 

Step 6: Warehouse- Stock Type

Stock items can be segregated into stock types, this could mean your stock falls under a General item category, it could be a chilled item or even food orientated.
The user can setup these different stock stypes by going to Warehouse > Configuration and Setup > Warehouse Stock Types. 

Create a Stock Type 

The user can create various stock types by following the below steps:

Step 1: Click on "Create Stock Type" 


Step 2: Enter Stock Type and Stock Type Code (if available)
Step 3: Select whether the item is the default stock type, this will be automatically applied to all stock with no stock type specified.
Step 4: Click on "Create"

 

Step 5: On the right side, the same details are displayed, and the user can set the status of the stock type to be active either Yes or No.

Step 6: Click on "Update "to save the set up.

It does help to segregate stock types within your warehouse as it can assist with zoning and item identification, it is a recommended feature within TransVirtual. 

Conclusion 
This article is just a basic rundown on the requirements to get your TransVirtual WMS up and running.
Further articles can be found in the knowledge which will assist in process flow and more advanced tutorials.


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