Locations

Three types of locations exist in the JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Warehouse Management system:

Logical locations, which the system uses for reporting on particular transactions. A logical location does not physically exist in the warehouse, although it does exist as a record in the JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Warehouse Management system. An example of a logical location is the variance location, which is the location that the system uses when you are confirming a smaller quantity than the suggested quantity during putaway confirmation. The system stores the remaining (leftover) quantity in the variance location. Then the system can record the variations in quantity during movement confirmation. Another example of a logical location is the primary location.
Physical locations, which are locations that physically exist in the warehouse or are zones that are considered to be a part of the warehouse. An example of a physical location is an aisle or bin.
Staging locations, which are locations for temporarily holding items. Staging locations can be logical or physical locations. Examples of staging locations are a variance location (a logical location) and a receiving/shipping dock (a physical location). When you define a staging location in the Location Profile program (P46020), you do not specify any dimension or weight capacity information. The system assumes that staging locations have unlimited capacity.

When you set up locations, you first must assign attributes to each warehouse location within the Location Master table (F4100). Attributes are characteristics that describe the purpose and physical position of each location in the warehouse. To assign attributes to warehouse locations, you use the Location Profile program. The system uses the attributes during inventory movement to select locations for putaway, picking, and replenishment.

The Allow Putaway, Allow Picking, and Allow Replenishment options enable you to define which movement (putaway, picking, or replenishment) you want to allow in each location. By defining movements for locations, you can use each location for different purposes.

Before you select the options for allowing putaway, picking, and replenishment, you should verify that you have defined zones for putaway, picking, and replenishment in the Location Master program (P4100).

These are examples of locations that you use for different purposes and the options that you should use for allowing putaway, picking, and replenishment:

Storage location. For a location in a storage area, you typically select all three options. By selecting the Allow Putaway option, you can store inventory in the location. By selecting Allow Picking, you enable warehouse personnel to pick items in pallets from the location. By selecting the Allow Replenishment option, you enable warehouse personnel to use the items that they pick from the storage location to replenish another location.
Picking location. For a picking location, you select the Allow Picking option and do not select the Allow Putaway and Allow Replenishment options. Although you pick from this location and, therefore, must replenish inventory to it, you do not want to use the picking location to replenish another location. You also do not want to use the picking location for putaway because you want inventory to continue circulating throughout the warehouse so that sales orders are filled promptly.
Dormant location. For locations that you are temporarily not using, you do not select the Allow Putaway, Allow Picking, or Allow Replenishment options. For example, you might leave a location empty because you are planning to remodel the location.
Multipurpose location. For staging locations, overflow locations, holding locations, receiving locations, and shipping locations, you should select all three options-Allow Putaway, Allow Picking, and Allow Replenishment. However, for a variance location, you might select the Allow Putaway and Allow Picking options and not select the Allow Replenishment option. The variance location temporarily holds remaining quantity when you have confirmed a smaller quantity than the suggested quantity during putaway confirmation.

You also must enter sequence codes for locations. Sequence codes are numbers that the system typically uses for two purposes:

To identify the order of locations in which warehouse personnel work
To identify the order in which the system prints move documents

After you enter sequence codes for locations, you can build a tiebreaker table that the system uses to select between locations when the system has suggested multiple locations for putaway, picking, or replenishment. The system uses the sequence codes that you specified to select between equally suitable locations.

You also can use sequence codes to specify the order in which move documents, such as move tags, are printed. By printing move tags in the order in which locations appear in the warehouse, you can maximize the efficiency of warehouse operations.

There are several different types of picking that you define by entering sequence codes:

Right-hand picking
Alternate picking

Right-hand picking means that locations are sequenced so that warehouse personnel pick inventory from the right side of an aisle. When the employee reaches the end of the aisle, the employee turns around and follows the location sequence, continuing to pick from the right side of the aisle.

Although right-hand picking is usually productive, the disadvantage is that the employee has to travel through the aisle twice (one trip to the end of the aisle and one trip back to the beginning). Right-hand picking is most productive under these circumstances:

The aisle ends at a wall.
A conveyor belt runs in the middle of the aisle.

The aisle contains a large quantity of inventory that must be picked, thus offsetting the time that the employee spends traveling up and down the aisle.

Alternate picking means that locations are sequenced so that warehouse personnel begin picking inventory from the first location on the right side of the aisle, followed by the first location on the left side of the aisle. Then the employee returns to the right side of the aisle, picks from the second location, crosses to the left side of the aisle, and picks from the second location. The employee repeats the progression of picking from the right side followed by the left side until the employee reaches the end of the aisle.

Alternate picking is most productive when warehouse personnel use machinery such as forklifts to pick pallets in an aisle that does not end with a wall. The machinery might be too large to turn around in the aisle, although diagonal, forward movements enable warehouse personnel to pick inventory efficiently.

Alternate picking in U-shaped format means that warehouse personnel pick from multiple locations on the right side of the aisle first, and then make a U-turn to pick from the locations on the left side. Assuming that the employee is driving a piece of equipment to load the picked items, the employee stops the equipment in the middle of the aisle in a place that is central to all picking locations, completes the picking, and moves forward to repeat the same procedure.

Alternate picking in a U-shaped format is most productive under these circumstances:

Warehouse personnel use equipment that is compact enough to turn 360 degrees in an aisle.
The right-hand side contains a greater quantity of items to be picked so that the U-turn and picking from the left side does not impede efficiency.

Some advantages to alternate picking in U-shaped format are:

Warehouse personnel travel once through the aisle.
The number of stops is reduced, if the employee stops the equipment in a central location from which multiple locations can be picked.

Finally, you can define latitude, longitude, and height, which are measurements that consist of location coordinates in the warehouse. The system uses these coordinates to calculate the distance between locations. The system uses the coordinates as tiebreakers in the Movement Instructions table (F46095) and with the base picking and putaway locations that are defined in the Item Profile Revisions program (P46010).

After you specify information about latitude, longitude, and height, you can build a tiebreaker table that the system uses to select between locations when the system has suggested multiple locations for putaway, picking, or replenishment. The system uses the latitude, longitude, and height information that you specify to select between equally suitable locations.

If you have specified sequence codes and want to build a tiebreaker table, you do not specify latitude, longitude, and height information, although doing so does augment the location information that you have entered.