Picking errors often come down to units of measure. An order calls for 12 each, the worker picks 12 cases, and someone finds out at the customer’s dock. When items are stocked in cases, kilograms, and individual units, the handheld has to make the correct unit obvious and easy to capture.
Business Central sets the rules
Units of measure in Warehouse Insight follow standard Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. Which units an item can use, how they convert, and how they behave in warehouse documents all come from your Business Central item setup. An administrator sets up the units for each item in Business Central, such as case, kilogram, or each, along with the conversion quantities. Warehouse Insight does not introduce a separate unit of measure system, so what works in Business Central works on the handheld.
What Warehouse Insight adds on the device
Warehouse Insight supports every unit of measure on the handheld device and gives you control over which one is used in each situation:
The unit of measure can come from the barcode. If a case barcode and an each barcode are set up for the same item, scanning the case barcode can default the case unit of measure automatically.
You can default the unit of measure by process, such as the purchase unit of measure on receiving, the put-away unit of measure on put-aways, the sales unit of measure on outbound documents, and the pick unit of measure on picks.
Workers can override the unit of measure directly on the handheld when the situation requires it.
Picking with mixed units
For picking specifically, the pick unit of measure default and barcode-driven units do most of the work, so workers rarely need to think about the unit at all. When a worker does need to pick in a different unit, such as individual units from a broken case, they can override the unit of measure on the device.
Showing remaining quantity
How quantities appear on screen also affects accuracy. Warehouse Insight can show only the open quantity left to pick or show the quantity completed out of the total. Showing what remains is generally the safer choice, because it reduces the risk of a worker miscounting and overpicking. Both options are configurable.
Getting it right
Set up item units of measure and conversions correctly in Business Central first.
Assign barcodes to each unit an item is handled in, so scans default the unit automatically.
Choose sensible defaults for receiving, put-away, sales, and picking.
Train workers on when an override is appropriate.
Bottom line
Warehouse Insight supports every unit of measure configured in Business Central. Units can default from the barcode or from the process, and workers can override them on the handheld, which keeps picking accurate when items move in cases, weights, and individual units.