About TWL and lots
Lots are groups of similar items manufactured and warehoused with unique identification numbers. Because slight variations occur from one lot to another in the manufacturing process, lot numbers provide the means to track items through the supply chain.
For example, the fasteners that are used to assemble vehicles are tracked with lot numbers. If a defect is discovered, then the vehicles that were assembled with the defective fasteners can be identified and repaired.
Lots differ from serial numbers because each lot record contains several units per record, whereas each serial number is a record.
When lots are received, a unique Product Extended Lot Number Setup record is created by the system. A lot number is assigned to each lot, along with the correct quantity that is stored in that lot. When the product is sold, quantities from the lot are removed until the quantity left in the lot is zero. The Product Lot Report includes information from Product Extended Lot Number Setup and can provide an audit trail of the history of each lot. Additional lot data can be applied to the lot record in Product Extended Lot Number Setup to help track lot products. Data such as country of origin, manufacturing number and case quantity can be added. This information is printed on product and shipment labels so it can be identified both in the warehouse and at the job site.
When lot items are released to TWL, the TWL Configuration-Item master record establishes preset defaults. TWL uses locations to distinguish different lots. SA Administrator Options settings also determine into which lots you can receive products.
Lot numbers are applied or captured in TWL when the product or item is received. In the Lot Number RF screen, the operator is notified that the product is a lot item. If the lot number is not automatically generated, then the operator specifies the lot number. If the product has an expiration date, then, in the Capture the Date RF screen, the operator specifies the expiration date.
Depending upon SA Administrator Options settings, during picking, the first available lot is found by TWL. This is based on the assigned location type that contains the largest quantity of available stock. If the location type is not specified, then lots are selected alphabetically by TWL. When the product has an expiration date, the date is checked by TWL to verify the date is greater than the date you drop the order.
In TWL Configuration-Item, you can access the Lot section for additional information and settings. The section provides information regarding the expiration date and usage parameters.