There are several ‘Order Processing’ functions that allow for the input of ‘Consignment Details’ for an order being despatched from a warehouse. These order processing functions all have common features when it comes to the consignment of a despatch. Those features, and the information required from the user for entry against an order is described below.
Carrier
Select the ‘Carrier’ that will be delivering this order. Note that the consignment details required might change from carrier to carrier depending on how each carrier has been set up in the system. For more on carriers see Carrier Details.
Consignment Note No
If the carrier selected requires a consignment note to be printed, then the consignment note number entered here is optional as the system will generate it using the next available number in the sequence. In other words, if left blank, when the consignment note is printed, the next consignment number is sequentially allocated by the system – see Document Prefixes for more details.
If the carrier entered does not require a consignment note to be printed, then you must enter a consignment note number here. This is usually because the carrier is using pre-printed consignment notes that already have a consignment number on them for tracking purposes. It is that number you should enter here. This number is often represented with a bar code on the pre-printed stationery so scanning that at this prompt will record the number for you automatically.
Line Item Packing
Use the ‘Line Item Packing’ option if you want to record the full details on how each of the items on the despatch have been packed. For example, Box 1 might contain 10 of product A and 5 of product B, and Box 2 might contain 15 of Product C. You can also record the weight of each package, plus specify the number of labels you want to print for each pack.
These details are entered into the system in the form of a list, one ‘pack’ at a time. Once you have recorded all the pack details, the remainder of the consignment details fields are auto-filled from the packing information – i.e. No. of labels, No. of items, Description of Items and Consignment Weight.
There are three input styles available for line item packing. These can be selected in the System Options sales order settings.
Each of the individual prompts available are described below:
Pack
Pack shows a sequential line item number automatically allocated to each of the ‘pack’ details. Note you can enter as many ‘packs’ as needed.
Description
Choose a Standard Packing option, or select ‘Other’ to enter a short description for the pack e.g. Box, Carton, Satchel, Bag, Pallet. This is used to build a description of items in the consignment.
No. of Labels
Enter the number of labels you would like to print for this pack. For example, if you have a box, you can print 6 labels, one for each side, or just 1 label for the top. Leave this prompt as ‘zero’ if labels are not required. You can also have the system calculate the number of labels required using the ‘Calculate Labels Required’ option as follows:
Calculate Labels Required
Use the Calculate Labels Required option to calculate the No. of Labels to be printed for the pack. This calculation is performed by taking the entered pack quantity for each product line item allocated to the pack and multiplying it by the number of labels to print for the product (as specified in the Product’s Master details). The sum total of labels for all products entered in the pack is loaded into the ‘No. of Labels’ prompt for you.
Calculated Weight
This display shows the sum of the weight of all the items recorded in the pack contents as calculated by the system. This calculation is performed by taking the entered pack quantity for each product line item allocated to the pack and multiplying it by the weight of the product (as specified in the Cost & Prices details) i.e. the total calculated weight of the product in the pack, excluding packaging weight.
Dimensions
Enter the Width, Depth and Height of the pack. These are used to calculate the cubic size (volume) of the pack.
Notes
If you have any specific notes about the pack e.g. ‘fragile’, ‘pack tight’, ‘keep upright’ then you can enter them here.
Pack Weight
This defaults to the calculated pack weight as displayed above. However as this weight does not include the actually packaging material i.e. Box, Carton, Pallet weight, you can override the calculated weight here as required.
Contents of this Pack
A list of all products being despatched on the order is shown with the quantity of items being delivered and details of any ‘packing’ completed so far i.e. quantity packed already and quantity remaining to be packed. At this point you can enter the quantity of each/any of the products that the pack you are adding/editing contains.
Unallocated Items
A list of products that have not yet been allocated to a pack. Enter a quantity to allocate or click ‘All’ to allocate the remaining ‘unallocated’ items to the pack.
Pallet
Enter a pallet number to assign packs to a pallet. For example, if you can fit 6 boxes onto a pallet, and you have 11 boxes, place a ‘1’ in Pallet# for 6 packs, and a ‘2’ in Pallet# for the other 5 boxes.
Additional Packaging Items
Record any further packing materials required to pack the consignment e.g. pallet, shrink wrap, tape.
Pallets
If you have allocated packs to pallets, use the ‘Add pallets’ button to automatically add the pallets to the ‘Additional Packaging Items’ list.
You may then update the details of each pallet to record the Width, Height & Depth of the packed pallet, plus its weight and a brief description of the pallet.
The number of labels to print for a pallet is defined in the Standard Packing details.
Delivery labels are then consolidated per pallet. For example, if you have stacked a pallet with 10 boxes and you have 2 non-palletised boxes, there will be 3 labels – 1 for the pallet and 1 each for the 2 boxes not on the pallet. Copies of the labels are produced if the packs are set up to produce multiple labels per pack.
No. of Labels with Despatch
Enter the number of labels to print as part of the despatch of this order. If you have entered ‘Line Item Packing’ details, the number of labels will default to the total number of labels entered in the packing details.
The number of labels printed is usually equal (or greater) than the number of items (packs/parcels) being despatched on the order. Thus you can affix a label to each item being sent to assist you in checking the goods despatched are correct. It should also assist the driver in the loading and unloading of the goods to/from their vehicle etc.
Labels are also useful to assist your customer as then detail where the goods have been sent from, and what order number/invoice number they relate to. Assuming of course that you have those details appearing on your label format.
Number of Items
Enter the total number of items/parcels that this order/invoice had for the consignment note. The number of items appears on the consignment note so your carrier knows how many packages are in the delivery and also so the customer knows how many packages are expected on receipt. If you have entered ‘Line Item Packing’ details, the number of items here defaults to the total number of packs you have previously entered.
Item Description
Enter the description of the items on this order/invoice. This entry is optional, but is useful to have recorded as it appears on most carriers consignment notes (if printed) as well as many of the Order and Debtors display screens thus allowing you to provide more accurate information to your customer or carrier should their be issues with the delivery. Once again if you have entered ‘Line Item Packing’ details, the ‘Item Description’ seen here will default based on the pack descriptions entered previously.
You may also generate the description of the packing items using the ‘Generate Item Description’ option. Using this tool, you will see a list of Standard Pack descriptions. Simply enter the quantity of each pack size in this consignment and the ‘Item Description’ is built from the details e.g. 1 x Box, 3 x Bags, 2 x Cartons
Weight
Enter the total weight of this consignment. This weight is calculated by the system using the accumulated delivery quantity of the products being despatched multiplied by the weight of each product (as specified in the Cost & Prices details) i.e. the total calculated weight of the delivery quantity of each product in the order, excluding packaging weight.
It can be overridden to include any packaging weight as required. Note that this weight is available for display on the historical lookup screens for orders/invoices and also appears on the consignment note if printed. You may also reset the weight back to the system calculated weight at any time by clicking the ‘Reset Weight’ button. This will reset the weight to the calculated product pack weight.