Multi-site considerations

A multi-site system includes multiple sites, site-specific controls, and the ability to transfer demands and materials between sites through centralized order entry and transfers. Multi-site functionality was designed for businesses that have relatively autonomous sites. If most of your company activity is centralized, such as planning, purchasing, and accounting, then multi-site might not be the best option.

These are reasons to use multiple sites:

  • The same items can be made at different plants using different manufacturing methods.
  • Sites will have separate control of jobs, POs, COs, and inventories. (Within one site, special prefix numbering can be used to keep the data organized.)
  • Inventory levels can be monitored across sites.
  • For on-premise only: A site might need to run autonomously due to technical infrastructure or communications reliability.
  • Goods can be transferred between sites, with or without recognizing sales and profits.
  • Sites can use different charts of accounts or different base currencies.
  • Centralized order entry is available to link customer demands between sites.

In addition, it is easier to break out financial information for different sites, rather than for different areas within one site.

Multi-warehouse

Multi-warehouse allows the setup of multiple warehouses within one site. Revenue and expense information for goods and services is controlled through the use of Product Code distribution accounts. All other company information, such as chart of accounts, invoices, vouchers, and scheduling, is shared between the warehouses.

These are reasons for using one site with multiple warehouses:

  • Centralized MRP and planning.
  • A manufacturing process, within a routing, moves between manufacturing locations.
  • Centralized purchasing, centralized entry of A/P vouchers, or accounting that creates many journal entries across locations, for example, allocating corporate expenses among all sites.

    Note, however, that the "builder" features in SyteLine allow you to handle some of these centralized requirements in a multi-site environment. See the online Help for information about the PO, voucher, invoice and journal builders.