How to Process an Assembly Work Order

Completing an Assembly work order consists of several steps. This article walks through the step-by-step process of working on an Assembly work order.

• Assign the Staging Area and Picking Locations
• Picking Assembly SKU Components
• Assembling the Components
• Adding a Lot Code to an Assembly SKU
• Alternative Picking Process (Custom Flow)

Attachments and Assembly SKU barcodes can be downloaded and viewed at any time while processing the work order. Just select the corresponding buttons: Print barcodes from the Items section and the Download icon when hovering over the attachment in the Attachments section.

Reminder: When a work order is created by a Brand or 3PL user it is automatically put into an In Progress status. When a 3PL client account user creates a work order the status is Awaiting approval until a 3PL user manually changes it to In Progress, indicating they accept the request and will start planning the work.

Assign the Staging Area and Picking Locations

In this step, the locations the components will be picked from will be selected, as well as the location to transfer the inventory to, known as the Staging area.

Things to Consider

• You can update the number of assembly SKUs to create as well as your pick quantities.
• Components can be picked from multiple locations.
• If a SKU has a lot code, you can only pick the same lot/expiration for that SKU. We do not support mixing lot codes for the same SKU.
• If the lot code matches, you can choose different locations for the same SKU.

Step-by-Step Process

1. Click the Assign button under the Staging area to select a location to transfer the picked component inventory to. Then click Add to save the selected location. 

   The pop-up module displays a list of locations with the current On hand quantity of all products associated with it and the location type. If the Assembly SKU has lots and expirations enabled, the lot information will also be displayed per location and the list will be sortable by FIFO/FEFO logic.

2. After the Staging area is selected click the Assign button next to each assembly component SKU and select the location to pick the inventory from then click Add to save the selection. 

   Selecting Multiple Locations:

   As mentioned above, multiple picking locations can be selected for a single component SKU. Check the box next to each location and then click Add. After selecting the location, enter the quantity to pick from each.

   Reminder: For lot-controlled SKUs, the same lot must be selected when picking a component from multiple locations.

3. Once all the locations and quantities to pick are updated, click the Mark as ready to pick button to update the status and move the work order to the next stage.

Picking Assembly SKU Components

Mobile picking is not supported for work orders at this time. Picking assembly components is a physical process completed from a pick list and manually updated on the work order once complete. An alternative custom solution is provided below to use the mobile application for transferring inventory between locations and to add an additional layer of quality assurance.

1. Once the work order status is Ready to pick, click the Print picking sheet button to generate a PDF of the picking list with all the information selected.

2. Physically pick the inventory from their locations and move it to the selected Staging area location.

3. Once everything is picked and moved to the staging location, select the button Mark as assembly in progress.

IMPORTANT: Updating the status to "Assembly in progress" deducts the inventory of the components from the selected locations and moves it to the Staging location. Please make sure all locations are accurate before moving to the next step. This transfer cannot be undone.

NOTE: You can view the inventory changes from when the work order is set to Assembly in progress on the Inventory Change Log report. Each SKU will have two line items on the report per picking location, the first indicating the inventory being pulled from the picking location and the second showing the inventory being added to the staging area location.

Assembling the Components

Once in the work order has an Assembly in progress status, your team will physically build the Assembly SKU according to the instructions on the work order. You can move your finished SKUs as you go or move them all at once.

If receiving the finished assembly SKU incrementally, you will see a yellow status pill indicating the completed quantity/the total requested. Once the total quantity of the Assembly SKU is transferred to receiving locations, the pill will turn green, indicating all the Assembly SKUs are created.

1. Once the physical assembly is complete, select a Receiving location where you want the finished Assembly SKU to be transferred to.
2. Enter the quantity of the finished Assembly SKU into the Kits quantity field. 
3. Then click the Transfer to button; you will receive the prompt "You are about to transfer completed assembly kits from staging to receiving. This action cannot be undone." click Transfer to complete the move. 

   Receiving finished Assembly SKUs in multiple locations:

   You can receive finished assembly SKUs in multiple locations. Just update the Kits quantity field and the Receiving location accordingly.

NOTE: When you select the Transfer to button the on hand inventory is pulled from the components in the Staging area location and converted to inventory for the finished Assembly SKU. Inventory changes will be logged on the Inventory Change Log report.

Adding a Lot Code to an Assembly SKU

If your Assembly SKU has the product setting "Needs Lot Tracking" enabled you can now add the lot when creating the work order.

Type in the name of your lot and select the expiration date from the calendar module.

Things to Consider

• The option to add a lot and expiration to an assembly SKU will only show on the work order if the Assembly SKU has Needs lot tracking enabled. It is not automatically available if an assembly component has Needs lot tracking enabled.
• If you forget to enable the Needs lot tracking setting for the Assembly SKU before transferring completed Assembly SKUs to the Receiving location, you will need to manually assign the lot/expiration to the location after. More information about Creating and Managing Lots and Expirations can be found here.
• If an Assembly SKU has a single component, both have Needs lot tracking enabled, and the selected picking location of the component has a lot assigned, the Assembly SKU will automatically inherent the lot and expiration date of the assembly component SKU.

Alternative Picking Process (Custom Flow)

IMPORTANT: This is a custom solution to help maintain a higher level of QA when moving the inventory throughout the warehouse, and should be approached as such. Please take special note of all the considerations before implementing this in your workflows.

Because mobile picking for work orders is not yet supported, to ensure that all inventory moves are tracked in the warehouse, you can use 'transfer locations' while physically moving inventory. 

Things to Consider

• In this flow, a 'transfer location' is a placeholder term for how the warehouse location is being used, not an actual location property in ShipHero. This is not the same as a transfer bin used during the replenishment process.
• Make the location non-pickable/sellable. This ensures you are able to pick the location in the work order flow, but pickers will not be sent to these locations when going through the mobile picking flows.
• Use a custom prefix such as "WOTL-" (work order transfer location) or "TL-" (transfer location) to easily identify these locations in your reporting tools.
• Create a location type "Transfer Locations" and assign them to these locations to be able to easily identify them and filter for them in reports.

Step-by-Step Process:

1. Prepare the work order normally selecting the staging and picking locations.
2. Print the picking list and print a barcode for a temporary transfer location.
3. Use the information on picking list to transfer the inventory from the locations selected on the work order to the 'transfer location' using the mobile app.
4. Once all items are picked, update the picking locations of the components on the work order to the 'transfer location' used.
5. Then select the button Mark as assembly in progress to move the inventory from the temporary 'transfer location' to the staging area selected.