Picking

Picking takes the goods for an issue (GIN) off the shelf. OCTO Ops suggests which stock to take for each line, following the product's picking order and the shelf life its customers need, and records every unit picked.

#Before you start

• You need Issues › Edit to pick and to undo a pick (as all records or own records — own records means issues you created). Owners and Admins can always pick.
• Issues › Override picking lets you pick expired or short-dated stock, and stock out of the picking order when the picking rule is Enforce (see Overriding the rules).
• Scanning a unit into the pick page also needs Warehouse › Scan › View all (see Scanning).
• The picking order and the customer minimum shelf life are set per product, under Warehouse controls on the product. Whether off-order picks are allowed is your organization's Picking rule in Warehouse settings.

#The picking order

Dates are compared by day, so two cartons received the same day are not "out of order". When two units are equal, the one expiring sooner, then the one received earlier, then the one nearest in the walk comes first. A whole carton that covers what is still needed is suggested before part of a bigger one.

#Stock that is not offered

Some stock is never suggested. It is listed under Not offered on the pick page and the pick sheet, with why:

• Stock that has expired (on today's date, not the issue's date), and stock with less shelf life left than the product's customers need (the Minimum shelf life for customers on the product, in days or as a percentage of the total shelf life), for example "This batch has 40 days left; customers need at least 90." These rows say "(override with a reason)": they can be picked only by scanning them and giving a reason, by someone who holds Issues › Override picking.
• A unit that must be picked whole (a serial product's unit) and holds more than the line still needs, a unit whose records don't add up (what is left doesn't match what it received less what was taken), a unit whose quantity an earlier version stored in an old format, and a unit whose expiry date is recorded but can't be read (or is written so that day and month could be swapped, such as 03/04/2027). These rows say "(can't be picked)": they are never picked for the line, even with the override.

Stock that can't be picked at all is left out altogether: damaged stock (marked damaged and not repaired), stock in another warehouse, 3PL stock, stock held for a 3PL reservation, and, in a warehouse with location management on, stock that is not in an active saleable bin (for example still in the receiving bay, or already in the dispatch bay).

#Suggest or enforce

Your organization's Picking rule decides what happens when someone picks a unit while a unit with an earlier date (FEFO, FIFO) or a later one (LIFO) is available:

• Suggest: the pick is allowed with a warning, and recorded as Off order.
• Enforce: the pick is refused, unless the person holds Issues › Override picking and gives a reason.

#Overriding the rules

Someone who holds Issues › Override picking can pick an off-order unit in enforce mode, or an expired or short-dated unit in either mode. They must type a reason. The reason is kept with the pick, shown on the issue as Override: followed by the reason, and recorded in the warehouse log.

The override never allows picking more than a line needs, damaged or 3PL stock, stock in another warehouse, or a unit marked "(can't be picked)".

#Pick at a desk

1. Open the issue and select Pick next to a line. The button shows while the line still needs stock.
2. The page shows how much the line needs, the picking order, and the suggested units with the quantity to take from each. Untick a unit to skip it, or change the quantity. Ticking a unit that was not already selected (an alternative) checks it first, so an off-order warning, or the reason it needs, shows before you select Pick selected. Taking everything left on a unit picks it whole, whatever its decimals; a part takes up to 3 decimal places. A serial product's unit is always picked whole, so its quantity can't be changed.
3. To pick a unit that was not suggested, scan its label into Scan a unit to pick it. The unit is added with any warnings. Scanning a unit that is already listed checks it again and refreshes its quantity and bin. If it needs the override, enter the reason on its row; if you can't pick it, its row says "You can't pick this." and it can't be ticked.
4. Select Pick selected. Each unit is picked in turn. If one is refused, its row says why, the picks before it are kept, and the rest wait until you act on it. The button is disabled while the picks are being saved, so a double click never picks twice.

Picking lowers the stock on hand at once. The goods are recorded as having left the warehouse when the issue is dispatched.

If a product has more than 2,000 units on hand in the warehouse, the page and the Pick scan screen say that only 2,000 of them were checked. A unit that should come first may then be missing from the list; scan it to add it.

#Pick by scanning

On a phone or handheld scanner, open Scan and select Pick, or select Pick on the issue's profile.

1. Choose the warehouse, then tap the issue to pick. The list shows issues still to pick there, oldest first, with how many lines are left.
2. The screen shows the next pick: Go to the bin, the product, batch, expiry and days left, and how much to Take. The line buttons at the top let you pick another line first. When only stock that can't be offered is left, it says Nothing can be offered and why.
3. Warehouses with location management on: Scan the bin. Another bin is accepted when it holds stock of this line that can be picked; otherwise "Nothing for this line in {bin}."
4. Scan the goods. The unit is checked again as it is now, so a changed quantity or bin is put right.
   • Nothing wrong: the quantity step opens.
   • Off order in Suggest mode: an amber panel says, for example, "A batch expiring sooner is in {bin}." Select Pick anyway, or Scan another.
   • Off order in Enforce mode, or expired or short-dated stock: if you hold Issues › Override picking, enter a reason and select Confirm override; otherwise only Scan another is offered.
   • Anything else (damaged, another warehouse, not in this bin, more than the line needs): a red panel says why. Scan another unit.
5. Check the quantity — it starts at what is left on the unit or on the line, whichever is smaller — and tap Pick {quantity}. A serial unit is picked whole, so its quantity can't be changed.
6. The next pick appears. When every line is picked, the screen says "Everything is picked." and, when the issue has a dispatch bin, where to take the goods. Back to GINs returns to the list; Open GIN opens the issue to dispatch it.

In a warehouse without location management there is no bin step: scan the goods straight away.

#Undo a pick

Before the issue is dispatched, open it and select Unpick next to the unit under Picked units, then confirm. The quantity goes back on hand in the bin it came from, even when another issue that picked from the same unit was dispatched in the meantime. Every Unpick button is disabled until the page has reloaded. Picks made on the old pick page can't be undone here.

#Two pickers at once

Each pick checks the stock again at the moment it is saved. If someone else picked from or moved the same unit while you were working, your pick is refused with "This stock changed while you were working. Scan it again." Scan the unit again: its row is refreshed with what is left and where it is, and your next pick uses that. You can also reload the page. Two people picking the same line can never pick more than the line needs: the later pick is refused before it is saved, with "This line needs only n more." Only if a pick runs so long that its hold on the issue lapses is a pick undone afterwards, and then both picks may be undone. The message is "Someone else picked for this line while you were working. Check what it still needs."

#Errors you may see

#Current limitations

• Picking does not check Sales reservations.
• One issue is picked at a time; there is no wave or batch picking across issues.
• When a product has more than 2,000 units on hand in the warehouse, only 2,000 of them are checked for suggestions and for the picking order.