Packing/Building

Production Tables

Production tables represent work tables or assembly lines where items are packed for shipping. For the pack assignment system to work, production tables should be added to Sprout.

Adding Production Tables

To add production tables, go to IC in the Navbar and click Production Tables. This will take you to a page that lists production tables. It also has a form for adding new production tables. You can provide the following details when adding a production table:

Name: A name that helps easily identify the production table (such as "Table 1" or "Red Team").
Company Site: Select the company site where this production table is located.
Printer: (optional) Select the label printer that this production table will use.
Description: (optional) Add any extra details about the production table here.

Once the production table is added it can be viewed in the production tables list.

Viewing a Production Table

A production table can be viewed from the Production Tables page by clicking View for the corresponding production table. This will show a page listing the pack assignments created for that table. Assignments are grouped into two lists: to build, and in production.

To Build

This list shows unstarted pack assignments for that table. All assignments are grouped by item allowing them to be built together even if they are on different orders. But items can be selected and built by sales order, so it is possible to build these items separately. However, builds must be for the same item. Two different items cannot be selected for the same build. For a more detailed breakdown of the item to be packed, click Details.

In Production

Builds can be saved in progress to return to later. When a build has been saved but not completed, it will show up here. Clicking Details will show the pack assignments that make up the build. Click Build to return to the build.

Once builds have been saved they are bound together and must be built and completed together.

Removing Pack Assignments From Build

You can remove a pack assignment from a build. This will reset the pack assignment as if it had not been started yet. Once a pack assignment is removed from a build it cannot be added back. If the pack assignment is the only assignment in the build then it will undo the build completely.

Note that removing a pack assignment from a build will not change what has been added to the build already. Component items and their quantities will remain and items added from stock will remain. If adjustments need to be made to the build after a pack assignment is removed, they must be done manually on the build screen. However, if the last pack assignment is removed from the build, the whole build will be undone and no adjustments need to be made.

Building Pack Assignments

When the production table is ready to pack an item, select Build from either list to go the screen for building pack assignments. This is where component items from inventory are put together to create packed items.

Adding Component Items

When the page loads, the component items for the pack item's kit recipe will load in. A kit recipe is a predetermined set of component items that are used to build the pack item. For more on setting up kit recipes, see below. If the pack item does not have a kit recipe, no component items will load but they can still be added.

To add a component item, scan or type the lot number for that item into the Lot # search. If that item is available in inventory, the lot will be found and the component item will be added. If the component item has already been added then the lot will be added to that component item.

Component Item Quantities

Each lot under a component item has two quantity inputs that must be filled in before saving or completing a build. The "UoM Packed" input will be labeled according to the unit of measure for that component item. For instance, if the unit of measure for the component item is LB then the input label will say "LB Packed". In this case, the amount of lbs packed to build the quantity of the pack assignment should be typed into this input.

The Pieces Packed input indicates how many pieces of the pack item were built from that lot. When the build is completed, Pieces Packed for each component item must add up to the number of pieces built of the packed item. If the pack assignment is for 500 pieces of an item then, when the build is complete, the lots used to build the pack assignment must add up to 500 pieces packed.

If the component item is in the active recipe and it is an auto-allocating item then these quantities can be converted, meaning that typing into one input will automatically set the value in the other one. This allows for faster data entry where the user only has to enter one value and the other will be set. This can be disabled by unchecking the checkbox for Translate Quantities if the user does not want this automatic conversion to occur.

Adding Stock/Pre-Pack Items

When you are building a pack assignment for an item that is available in inventory, you may want to use these already packed items in the current build. This means that instead of building new items from components you will use already built items and allocate them to a sales order. You can use all stock items or a combination of stock and component items to complete a build.

The building/packing screen will notify you of how many items are available in inventory. To add these items to the build, select the lot # search and scan their pre-pack labels which should have been printed and attached. If you do not have a pre-pack label to scan, the lot number will need to be typed into the lot # search. Those items will be added to the list of stock used in the build.

Auto-allocation

It is possible to set up component items so that they auto-allocate. This means that when the quantity packed for the build changes, auto-allocating items will update their lots and quantities automatically. If it takes more than one lot to fill the quantity needed for that recipe then lots will continue to be used until they run out or the quantity is filled. Component items will also re-allocate when stock/pre-pack is added to the build.

To set up an item to auto-allocate, go to the Edit Item page for that item. On the Main tab, check the Auto Allocate checkbox located on the right side of the page and click Save. Only items that are part of the active kit recipe can be auto-allocated.

Saving a Build

A build can be saved in-progress before it is completed. This allows users to save the build and leave the page without losing progress. The build will still show up on the production table page under the In Production list. Returning to the build will load the build as it was saved, allowing for work to continue. Note that the build is not finished when it is saved.

Completing a Build

To finish a build click Complete. This clears the pack assignment from that production table's work and updates inventory. Once a build is complete it is final and cannot be changed.

Assignment Quantities

At the top left of the build screen, on the Build tab, is a list of quantities indicating how much was assigned to build and how much has been built. Here is a rundown of what each quantity means:

Assigned: The amount of pack items that need to be built to complete the assignment.
From Inventory: The amount of pre-pack/stock items that have already been built and were added from inventory.
Remaining: The amount of pack items left to build after adding items from inventory.
Amount Packed: The amount of items that were built from components. This does not include items from inventory. Users need to input the quantity that they packed here to complete the build.
Total: The combined amount of items added from inventory along with the amount packed from components. When the pack assignment is completed this should at least equal the assigned quantity.

When the build is completed, these quantities let the system know how many of the pack items were actually built. In most cases this should be the same as the assigned quantity. However in some cases when the amount of items built differ from the amount assigned (see overpacking), the amount actually packed should be input as the amount packed. This will let the system know how to allocate the items in inventory.

The amount packed is required when completing a build and must be a number greater than the assigned. If you end up building nothing for a pack assignment then the assignment should be removed from the build and deleted. If you do not have enough product to complete the build then the sales order should be revised to meet how much can be built or more product should be received so that it will be available for the build.

Overpacking

Overpacking is when the quantity packed is more than the quantity assigned in a pack assignment. When you pack more than was assigned and complete a build, the extra items are added to inventory and can be used in a later build.

Kit Recipes

Kit recipes are used for quickly adding component items to a pack item build. If a pack item has a recipe then the component items will load automatically every time that item is built.

To create a kit recipe go to the Edit Item page for the pack item you would like to create the recipe for. On the Kit tab give the recipe a name and click Add Recipe. Add component items to the recipe by selecting the recipe on the Add Component Item form. Then type the item into the item search and select it. The form will be populated with that item's details. Change the quantity of that item if more than one component item is needed to fill the recipe. For instance, if it takes 5 of the component item to make 1 of the packed item then the quantity should be 5. Click Add Component Item to add the component item to the recipe and click Save to save the item.

You can create multiple recipes for a packed item and switch between them when that item is being built. Switching a recipe removes the current component items from the build and adds component items for the new selected recipe.