Enabling Automation Features
Before you can automate order fulfillment, you need to enable the relevant features in NetSuite. To assign fulfillment locations automatically to lines in a sales order, you enable the Automatic Location Assignment feature. To create fulfillment requests automatically after a sales order is created, you enable the Fulfillment Request feature.
Before enabling either of the automation features, ensure the following prerequisites are in place:
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The Location feature is enabled. See Locations Overview.
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The Multi-Location Inventory feature is enabled. See Multi-Location Inventory.
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Inventory is associated with locations. See Inventory Setup with Locations and Multi-Locations.
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If you plan to use the Fulfillment Request feature, the Pick, Pack, and Ship feature must also be enabled. See Pick, Pack, and Ship.
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If you plan to use the Automatic Location Assignment feature, make sure the Perform Item Commitment After Transaction Entry box is checked on the Accounting Preferences page. See Setting Inventory Allocation Preferences for more information.
The Automatic Location Assignment feature incorporates data from third-party services to calculate latitude and longitude coordinates (geolocation information) of postal codes. The geolocation information obtained for some postal codes is governed by the following terms and conditions:
To enable automation features for order fulfillment:
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Go to Setup > Company > Enable Features.
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Click the Transactions subtab.
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To enable automatic location assignment, check the Automatic Location Assignment box under Shipping & Receiving. You must accept the terms of service to enable this feature.
The Automatic Location Assignment feature requires the Multi-Location Inventory and Locations features. If not already enabled, you must enable them.
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To enable fulfillment requests, check the Fulfillment Request box under Shipping & Receiving.
The Fulfillment Request feature requires the Pick, Pack and Ship feature. If not already enabled, you must enable it.
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Click Save.
When you enable the Automatic Location Assignment feature:
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The region record becomes available. You use regions to define the geographical areas in which shipping addresses are located.
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The Automatic Location Assignment subtab becomes available on the location record.
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Order management options are added to the Setup menu, enabling you to fully configure automatic location assignment.
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Additional fields become available on the item record and on the sales order record.
When you enable the Fulfillment Request feature:
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The fulfillment request record becomes available.
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If the Automatic Location Assignment feature is enabled:
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The Daily Shipping Capacity and Total Shipping Capacity fields become available on the location record.
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The fulfillment workload distribution (FWD) strategy becomes available in automatic location assignment rules. See Choosing a Fulfillment Strategy for more information.
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After you enable the automation features, you need to configure them and run automation – see Automatic Location Assignment and Fulfillment Request Creation.