Top 4 Reasons to Use Directed Transfers

With business growth in a year as tumultuous as 2020, organizations need better ways to handle inventory movement. Panatrack offers the Directed Transfer infrastructure, which is designed to facilitate the movement of inventory between sites or bin locations. To make the process of moving inventory easy, effective, and efficient Panatrack utilizes a series of transactions including Transfer Order Pick, Inbound Transfer Receipt, and Transfer Request. These three transactions along with the ability enter transfer orders via SQL automation or the Panatrack Portal allows the application to meet a variety of business needs. We will review the top four reasons Panatrack clients are using the Directed Transfer Module.

Transaction Overview

The Directed Transfer Infrastructure is comprised of three major mobile computer transactions and two additional methods of transfer entry that do not occur on a mobile computer. This video presents an overview of the Panatrack Directed Transfer. The cornerstone of the Directed Transfer transactions is the Directed Transfer Pick. This transaction presents a pick list for the user which requires them to validate the items as they are being picked. With multi bins and configuration settings Panatrack can direct the user though a facility to pick items. In transit items are readily visible within the system. The Inbound Transfer Receipt transaction is an optional second step in the process that can be used when a transfer is sent through a via site. This creates a site transfer while presenting the user with the ability to confirm the items as they unloaded or unpacked. On the scanner a user can conduct a transfer request transaction to scan or enter items and add them to a directed transfer request, thus creating a transfer order for picking. In addition to create a request on the scanner, transfer orders can be created on the Panatrack portal from a desktop user interface or through population of the Panatrack Directed Transfer Tables. These tables can be accessed through SQL and populated by stored procedures or 3^rd party applications.

Restocking Satellite Locations

When it comes to maintaining inventory at satellite locations be it distribution centers, stockrooms, truck stock or other locations it is important that the correct amounts of inventory is moved at the right times. For hospitals and healthcare centers this often means restocking supply closets on a daily or weekly basis. Some engineering companies may use a directed transfer to maintain proper levels of truck stock based on a weekly count. Panatrack users with multiple distribution centers across a region use directed transfers to record the picking of inventory as its picked from the master site and shipped out to the DC. On the receiving end of the process, the distribution center can record the inbound receipt of product, confirming on both ends that the proper inventory has been processed.

Staging Inventory for Manufacturing & Assembly Process

Organizations with an assembly or manufacturing process may use directed transfers to move inventory between a stocking location in the warehouse and the manufacturing floor. By using a SQL trigger at the scheduling of an MO or a  Panatrack Assembly Work Order to create a Directed Transfer order, a bin move or site transfer can be completed with the handheld scanner. The ability to stock a bin specifically dedicated to a machine or work order allows for a much more efficient consumption of inventory for manufactures who use backflushing. As with all Panatrack transactions, any interaction with items that have serial or lot numbers will require the user to capture the associated details with each item.

Pull Inventory for Jobs & Projects

When Jobs & Projects are approved, inventory often needs to be pulled from stock loaded into a van or truck. Directed transfers can be created to generate a pick list to accomplish this move of inventory from the warehouse and placed into a staging area or directly onto a truck for jobs. Based on existing customer use cases, these may be a third-party service handling the service orders or job accounting. When a job is approved a transfer order is created either manually or through SQL with the parts that were placed on the quote.

When the transfer order is picked, a label is generated and lists the items picked along with the Directed Transfer Order Number which matches the service number. These items can be picked to a staging location before being loaded into vehicles or picked to a site a representing the vehicle that will take them to the service. Once the job is complete, the items are decremented from inventory accordingly.

Tracking In-Transit & On the Water Inventory

The final use case of directed transfers we will review is the ability to use the Directed Transfer Module to track inventory as it is in transit, between warehouses or even on the water prior to arriving in country. When a Directed Transfer has a Via Site set in Panatrack, we are triggering a 2-step move, with a transfer to the Via Site, and an inbound transfer receipt at the destination. This inbound receipt transaction allows the user to confirm all the items as they are unpacked, ensuring that if anything was damaged or misplaced during transit, that inventory levels at the receiving site are correct.

The Inbound Receipt can also be used to receive inventory when it arrives from overseas shipping if the company is taking financial responsibility for the items when they leave the country of origin. By populating the Panatrack tables with the pending inventory and setting the from site as “On the Water” the accounting team still has visibility into what is in transit, while the warehouse can receive the items alongside traditional POs.