3.5.6.�Topic: Receiving Lot/Serial Items into Inventory

3.5.6.1. Item Site Control Method
3.5.6.2. Assigning Lot Numbers
3.5.6.3. Distributing to Multiple Locations
3.5.6.4. Receiving from Shipping
3.5.6.5. Receiving from Manufacturing

This section describes the special steps that must be followed when receiving Lot/Serial Items into Inventory. Like any other Items, Lot/Serial Items can be received in three ways:

As a Material Receipt transaction
As a Shipping Receipt
Or as Manufacturing Receipt

3.5.6.1.� Item Site Control Method

To illustrate the receiving process for Lot/Serial Items, we will be tracking the receipt of imported gladiolas. These perishable flowers are Lot-controlled. While we are focusing here on Lot-controlled Items, the steps for receiving Serial-Number-controlled Items are identical—the only exception being that Serial Number Items may be received in quantities of one (1) only.

Note

Lot-controlled Items and Serial-Number-controlled Items are received in the same way. The only difference is that Serial Number Items may be received in quantities of one (1) only. Lot-controlled Items may be received in any quantity.

But before we begin, let's examine the Item Site definition for our imported flowers, otherwise known as Item GLAD02:

Item Site Definition for Lot-Controlled Item

A few points are worth noting when looking at an Item Site definition. First, note that the Control Method is specified as Lot #. This designation marks an Item as being Lot-controlled. And it is because of this specification that GLADO2 in Warehouse STAR will be handled differently when quantities of it are received into Inventory. Another point to notice is that the Item is marked as perishable. Naturally, an imported flower will be vibrant and saleable for only a limited period of time. Accounting for the perishable nature of Lot-controlled goods will be covered later in this example. Finally, you can see that the Item Site specifies that Multiple Location Control (MLC) is turned on. Distribution issues related to MLC Items are covered thoroughly in the "Topic: Distributing Multiple Location Control (MLC) Items" section. We will be covering some of that same ground again here when receiving quantities of GLAD02 into Inventory.

3.5.6.2.� Assigning Lot Numbers

Let's begin, then, by receiving a quantity of 150 gladiolas into Inventory. We will do so by using the Material Receipt screen, found in the Inventory Transactions section of the I/M Module, as shown below:

Enter Material Receipt for Lot-Controlled Item

At this point in the process, the Material Receipt screen looks and behaves no differently than it would for any other Item. Into the Item Number field we enter GLAD02, specifying a Receipt quantity of 150 units. Because GLAD02 is a Lot-controlled Item, however, the following screen appears when we select the POST button:

Initial Screen for Assigning Lot/Serial Number

As you can see, the assignment screen indicates the Item Number and quantity to be assigned—namely the original quantity being received, 150 units. Keep in mind that you may not exit this sequence once it has been initiated. When receiving Lot-controlled Items into Inventory, you are required to assign Lot Numbers to some or all of the incoming quantity.

Note

Serial Number assignments are made in the same way that Lot Number assignments are made when receiving goods into Inventory. The only difference is that Serial Numbers may be assigned to only one (1) Item at a time. Lot Numbers may be assigned to any quantity.

To create a Lot Number, we select the NEW button. The following screenshot shows the Create Lot/Serial Number screen, with the two referring screens that brought us to this point shown in the background:

Create Lot/Serial Number

When creating a Lot or Serial Number for incoming quantities, you are presented with the following options:

Lot/Serial #: Enter a Lot or Serial Number to identify the specified quantity.

Tip

Lot or Serial Numbers may be changed at a later point using the Reassign Lot/Serial Number screen found in the Inventory Transactions section of the I/M Module.

Expiration Date

Perishable Items, such as flowers, are assigned an expiration date using this field. Specify the date on or after which the Item should be considered expired. If a Lot/Serial Item is not perishable, then an expiration date does not apply. Items are designated as perishable or not in the Item Site definition.

Qty. to Assign

Specify the quantity to assign to the specified Lot or Serial Number.

For Serial Number Items, you may only assign one Serial Number per Item. Fractional quantities may be assigned to Lot Numbers, only if the Item in question may be stored in fractional quantities, as specified in the Item master.

Note

Incoming quantities may be assigned to multiple Lot or Serial Numbers. The entire incoming quantity does not have to be assigned the same number.

To the far right of the screen, the following buttons are available:

CANCEL: Closes the screen without creating a Lot or Serial Number.
ASSIGN: Assigns the specified quantity to the indicated Lot or Serial Number.

Although it is not necessary to do so, we have decided for this example to assign the entire incoming quantity of 150 units to Lot Number LOT-2. This designation is confirmed in the following screen:

Lot Number Assigned to Lot-Controlled Quantity

3.5.6.3.� Distributing to Multiple Locations

To complete the Lot Number assignment sequence, we select the ASSIGN button. But we are not done there. Since our gladiolas are Multiple Location Control (MLC) Items, the following distribution sequence is triggered:

Note

For an in-depth discussion covering the distribution of Multiple Location Control Items, see Section�3.5.2, “ Topic: Distributing Multiple Location Control (MLC) Items”.

Multiple Location Distribution of Lot-Controlled Quantity

Noting that the quantity to distribute is the full 150 units, we select the DEFAULT AND POST button. Selecting this button automatically causes the full quantity to be distributed to the default Location. The transaction is now complete. We have successfully assigned a Lot Number to the 150 gladiolas, specified an expiration date, and received the full quantity into Inventory. To verify the result, we open the I/M display Location/Lot/Serial Number Detail, as shown in the following screen:

Verify Lot Transaction Using Detail Display

As you can see in the example, the Warehouse STAR is showing 150 units of LOT-2 with the specified expiration date. A previously entered Lot is also located here, as shown in the display.

3.5.6.4.�Receiving from Shipping

When Lot-controlled Items are purchased using a Purchase Order, they are received into Inventory via the Shipping & Receiving (S/R) Module. Our next example illustrates this process. Let's begin in the Receiving section of the S/R Module. The following Enter Receipt screen shows us ready to receive 300 units of imported gladiolas from a flower Vendor using Purchase Order #563:

Receiving Lot-Controlled Quantity from S/R Module

At this point in the process, the Enter Receipt screen looks and behaves no differently than it would for any other Item. The standard receiving sequence is described in detail in Section�3.3.1, “ Enter Receipt”. As expected, the following screen appears when we highlight the Purchase Order Item and select the ENTER RECEIPT button:

Enter Purchase Order Item Receipt for Lot-Controlled Item

For this example, we specify that 300 units were received. After the RECEIVE button is selected, we are brought back to the initial receiving screen, as shown below:

Receipt Entered for Lot-Controlled Quantity in S/R Module

It is when we select the POST button that the special Lot-controlled sequence begins, as shown in the following screen:

Create Lot Number for Quantity Received in S/R Module

The process from this point forward is identical to the process described in the earlier Material Receipt example. We assign a Lot Number to the specified quantity. And then, because Item GLAD02 is a Multiple Location Control Item, we go through the MLC distribution cycle. To verify the results, we can open the I/M display Location/Lot/Serial Number Detail, as shown in the following screen:

Verify Lot Receipt Using Detail Display

As you can see in the example, the Warehouse STAR is now showing 300 units of LOT-3 with the specified expiration date. The Lot-controlled goods have now been successfully assigned and received into Inventory using the S/R Module.

3.5.6.5.�Receiving from Manufacturing

The example Item we have been using, Item GLAD02, is a purchased Item, not a manufactured Item. And so, we cannot use Item GLAD02 to demonstrate how Lot-controlled Items are received from manufacturing.

Because the process of receiving Lot/Serial Items from manufacturing is virtually identical to the processes already described, we will not cover this topic in much detail. However, we will include the following screenshot showing Work Order production posting for Item V0, a Lot-controlled, manufactured Item:

Create Lot Number for Quantity Received from Manufacturing

As you can see in the example, the now familiar Lot Number assignment sequence is triggered as part of the Work Order production posting process for this Lot-controlled Item.