Transfer Prefix

Enter the default prefix to be used for transfer order numbers. A prefix can consist of numeric and non-numeric (letters and symbols) characters. However, the prefix should end with an alphabetic character to ensure that the system increments the numbers correctly.

When you reach the 10-character limit, the system prompts you with a warning message. You need to start a new prefix sequence. Using the example below, when you reach TD99999999, you need to begin a new transfer order prefix. Adding a transfer prefix does not affect any existing transfer orders.

Each site can designate a Transfer Prefix on the Transfer Order Parameters form. We recommend that you create meaningful transfer prefixes in order to avoid duplication between sites, and to provide a larger pool of transfer order numbers.

For example, say you have a site located in Dallas that uses 'TD' as the transfer prefix, and another site in Columbus that uses 'TC' as the transfer prefix. By default, the system then creates transfer order numbers at the Dallas site with a prefix of 'TD', for example TD00000001, TD00000002, TD00000003, etc. When you create a transfer order in Dallas that will be shipped to the Columbus site, the system defaults to use the next transfer order number in Dallas, for example TD0000000321. The system also automatically creates a complementary record in Columbus with the same transfer order number, TD000000321.

The creation of the complementary record provides you with a way to track a transfer order between two sites. In this example, both Dallas and Columbus will recognize 'TD000000321' as the same transfer. Besides avoiding duplication, another benefit of using a meaningful transfer order number prefix is that you can determine which site originated the transfer order.