Cambar's Warehouse Management Solution Features
The Inventory Management subsystem tracks every activity that affects inventory in your warehouse. Advanced inventory management features facilitate inventory accuracy and productivity improvement through the use of processes like cycle counting, lot tracking, hold status tracking, and optimized workflow.
Functionality
Automatic cycle count scheduling
RF-driven activity with bar-code scanning
Extensive tracking of warehouse activity with flexible inquiry options
Manual or automatic hold processing
Automated alerts to specified users for configurable events
The Physical Inventory subsystem offers an easy way to request and perform a wall-to-wall count of everything in the warehouse.
Functionality
Company-wide or Distribution Center (DC) level physical inventory creation
Count variance by item count or percent
Configurable count maximum per Control ID
Workstation or RF confirmation
Mandatory pre-inventory process reporting
Configurable restrictions control counting by owner, DC, zone, or aisle
Visible physical inventory activity including variances
Write-in detail for lost inventory
Automatic variance alerts to Order Management System
Final item amount reporting
User count accuracy tracking and reporting
The Task Optimization subsystem provides real-time labor management by directing workers to perform tasks in an interleaved mode based on present location, task, priority, and equipment availability. Task Optimization allows you to reduce unproductive movement and equipment and staff down time while maintaining premium customer service levels.
Functionality
Configuration options at the DC, task, and user levels
Intelligent task assignment within all activity types
Task viewing and maintenance
Assignment of equipment types within equipment classes
Unit Load Tracking is ideal for tracking product by the pallet-load and identifying precisely what is on each pallet. Unit load tracking increases putaway efficiency by assigning a unique identifier called a “license plate” to a group of products, and following the identifier as those products move through the DC. Both unit-load and non-unit load environments are supported at the DC level.
Functionality
Track unit loads in bin location, staging location, dock door
Movement or quantity adjustment to unit load
Information tracked by “license plate”:
-- Lot number
-- Expiration date
-- Hold status
-- Manufacturing data
The Receiving subsystem is easy to use, streamlined, and efficient. Whether the receiving process uses RF devices or paper, information such as part ID, quantity received, lot number, and expiration date is scanned or entered into the system when product is received into the warehouse. If a detailed ASN is provided by the supplier, the user may need to scan only the ASN and license plate IDs at receipt time. Product can be received and placed onto pallets that have license plate IDs, or can be received on its shipping pallets.
Functionality
Order-driven or on-demand cross docking
Configurable hold reasons for stock within a bin
Designate bins with special hold status
Separate putaway activity or combine with the unload process
ASN blind receiving if the scanned “license plate” is not found on an ASN
Maintain average catch weight
Agile putaway rules enable flexibility and accuracy in assigning locations for received product. User-defined putaway rules can be configured at the DC level and modified at the company/owner or part level. The rules are used by the system to synchronize the characteristics of the received product with characteristics of the available bin locations.
Functionality
Directed putaway for license plates with mixed product
RF-directed putaway or printed put list
Configurable driving dates keep older product separate from newer
Multiple putaway options including:
-- Fixed location (primary and alternate)
-- Current location with available cubic space
-- Current location with maximum quantity limits
-- Empty locations matching product characteristics
The Work Order Maintenance function enables the order management system to send fabrication or conversion work order requests. In both fabrications and conversions, all products are assigned individual part numbers. A work order can be cross-referenced to a specific sales order number or used to build for stock.
Functionality
Visibility of inventory throughout the process
Work order reporting for printed instructions
Standard RF picking is used to pick the new product
RF movement instructions move the converted or fabricated product
Picking is highly efficient when sales orders are grouped into order pools according to their characteristics. Order pools are established by the user at the DC level. When an order pool is released by the system for picking, the orders in the pool can be released all at once in a wave, or further separated into work groups by order number or customer ID. Hold pools can be created for orders that are downloaded but are not ready for release, then moved to regular pools when ready.
Pooling Parameters
Carrier
Expected Ship Date
Customer
Postal Code Range
Order Type
Order Priority
Cutoff Limits
The Picking functionality provides configurable pick rules and pick grouping options that are customizable and scalable. Order analysis features can be used to detect shortages before releasing orders to the floor, which enables pick planning before assigning work.
Functionality
Pick grouping into logical units of work by zone or number of pickers
Pick grouping by a predefined max weight and cube that a worker can handle
RF-directed or printed list picking
Picking by specific lots at the part level
Picking by expired product specified at the order level
Capture catch weight Flexible picking options including:
-- First-In-First-Out (FIFO) with a configurable driving date
-- Primary & alternate locations with auto replenishments
-- Intelligent location selection optimizes speed and space
Throughout your packing and shipping operations, product tracking and user activity ensures that picking accuracy translates into shipping accuracy. Value-added processing and custom labeling features guarantee that your customer’s special requirements are met.
Functionality
Value-added activity codes established at the order or part and/or customer level
SSCC-18 compliant shipping container label generation
Interface to Loftware or BarTender to create customer-specific shipping labels
Pack list, shipping container label, and container contents list printing
RF-directed shipment loading function
Shipment information communicated to the order management system
Shipment history maintenance for a user-defined period
Using automatic bin replenishment, the system checks the balance on hand for each location where minimum and maximum quantities are established. If a location falls to its preset minimum quantity, the Replenishment subsystem automatically schedules the movement of enough product to restock that location to its preset maximum quantity. Primary and alternate locations can be replenished as the product is needed.
Functionality
Off-hours scheduling in any min-max location
Primary and alternate replenishment:
Spot – if a replenishment is required to execute a pick, the user can perform the replenishment or bypass the pick
Hot – pending pick instructions deplete inventory in primary/alternate locations when below specified trigger point
Track detailed event information to support the identification of potential trouble areas, the effective allocation of workers, and the understanding of where and why productivity is highest or lowest. Using a reporting tool or productivity analysis package, a supervisor can compare a user’s productivity with that of other workers performing the same task, and to standards that have been defined for each activity type within the warehouse.
RF-Driven Information
User ID
Task start time and task stop time
Task type
The Dock Appointment Scheduling functionality tracks the status of dock doors and reserves them for vendor or carrier appointments, enabling more efficient planning by tracking vendor and carrier history.
Functionality
Dock door definition (inbound, outbound or both)
Door status tracking
Carrier and vendor information tracking
Range of doors and average unloading time considered when scheduling vendor/carrier
Automatic first-available time slot assignment or user-defined appointment setting
Built-in interface points communicate with automated material handling systems (MHS) such as conveyors, carousels, and automated storage and retrieval systems. The user can define one or more MHSs to a DC, and configure transaction points that will trigger a communication to and from the MHS. The user can also configure which bins will be controlled by the MHS. Shell interface programs support a flat file interface method, and the specific logic and data formats for each MHS are customizable. Pickup and Delivery for in-transit or drop point locations can be associated with a regular bin location supported by such a device.
Functionality
Order released for picking
Pick assignment
Pick confirmation
Replenishment
Put assignment
Put confirmation
Product ready at drop point