Depending on the production environment, the level of control required when working with warehouse picks may be too restrictive. Because production picks are generated from source documents, the pick lines are limited to the items and quantities that exist on the related production orders.
For example, consider a raw material stored in a 20-case-per-pallet configuration. If a production order requires 15 cases of the item, a pick generated for this order instructs the user to pick 15 cases, when warehouse personnel would likely move a single pallet to the production area.
If you require more flexible material requisition processes for production, or are recording production activities in a bin-controlled environment that does not use picks, use the replenishment area feature. Use warehouse movements to move production materials to replenishment areas, from which they can be consumed in production. Because no warehouse picks are tied to the source documents, you are not required to pick quantities based on the exact amounts on production orders.
Replenishment areas
A replenishment area represents a physical production site (such as a kitchen or a production line) within a location. Each replenishment area has its own inbound and outbound production bin. When a production order is created, it is assigned to a replenishment area.
Rather than generate production picks for orders, run a replenishment report for production orders assigned to a particular replenishment area. The program calculates a list of materials needed, which you can then move to the replenishment area's designated consumption bin.
Because these movements are not connected to a specific source document, materials in a replenishment area's consumption bin can be consumed by Anywhere Mobility Solutions production orders assigned to that replenishment area. If an item is used in several production orders, move a single quantity of the item to the consumption bin, then consume from this quantity as each order is completed. Leave unused materials in the consumption bin or move them back to storage. When the program suggests replenishment movements, it takes into account Anywhere Mobility Solutions materials already stored in the consumption bin.
In some manufacturing environments, production materials must be processed before they are suitable for consumption. Instruct the program to generate pre-process activities that represent these procedures. If a company uses this functionality, define separate replenishment areas for pre-processing. Assign these pre-process replenishment areas to other replenishment area records. If a production order's replenishment area has an associated pre-process replenishment area, Anywhere Mobility Solutions pre-process activities generated from the order are assigned to that pre-process replenishment area.
Fixed production bins
In some cases, it is not necessary to physically move an item from its storage location to a production area. For example, a liquid raw material stored in a tank may be pumped directly to a production area as needed.
To avoid issuing unnecessary movement instructions for items that do not need to be moved, define fixed production bins. If an item is stored in a fixed production bin, it does not need to be moved to a replenishment area's inbound production bin before consumption. Instead, consumption is posted directly from the fixed production bin. When the program suggests replenishment movements for a replenishment area, required materials stored in fixed production bins are excluded.