The outbound procedure

The outbound procedure comprises the activities that you must perform in LN to issue goods from the warehouse and prepare these goods for shipment or transfer. The outbound procedure can include outbound inspections, if required.

This topic describes all steps, also called activities, of the outbound procedure and shows how you can perform these steps.

If a step is mandatory, this is indicated in the step description. You are not required to include non-mandatory activities in your warehousing procedures. In addition, you can specify whether an activity must be performed manually or automatically. For information on how to define warehousing procedures, see To define warehousing procedures.

After the outbound advice is generated for the outbound order line, LN allows you to modify the outbound advice. If the Full Packages Only functionality is implemented and the modified advised quantity is not in multiples of full packages, LN displays a warning message. During the confirmation of shipments, you can modify the advised quantity to multiples of full packages.

The outbound procedure includes these steps:

  1. Generate outbound advice

    The Outbound Advice activity is a mandatory step of the outbound procedure.

    The first step of the outbound procedure is to generate outbound advice for the goods that you want to issue from the warehouse. You can generate outbound advice as soon as outbound order lines have been created for the goods that you want to issue. If the warehouse has no locations, the outbound advice does not list locations, but only lists the quantities to be issued.

    To generate outbound advice, in the Generate Outbound Advice (whinh4201m000) session, select the order lines that list the goods that you want to issue and click Advise. Alternatively, you can generate outbound advice for individual outbound order lines in the Outbound Order Lines (whinh2120m000) session or the Outbound Line Status Overview (whinh2129m000) session.

    The initial status of an outbound order line is either Planned or Open, which is determined by parameter settings. If the initial status is Planned, the order line must be activated to obtain the Open status before you can generate outbound advice. For more information, refer to Planned status for warehousing orders and order lines. After the outbound advice is generated, the status of the outbound order lines that list the goods selected for the outbound advice changes to Advised. For more information, refer to Outbound advice.

  2. Release outbound advice

    The Release Outbound Advice activity is a mandatory step of the outbound procedure.

    After the outbound advice is generated, you must release the outbound advice for these reasons:

    • To enable picking lists to be generated, if picking lists are included in the warehousing procedure of the outbound order lines related to the outbound advice.
    • To indicate that the goods are ready for shipment, if the warehousing procedure includes no picking lists.
    • To indicate that the goods are ready for inspection, if the warehousing procedure includes inspections.

    After the outbound advice is released, the related outbound order lines and handling units obtain these statuses:

    • Released

      If picking lists are included in the outbound warehousing procedure of the outbound order lines. For further information on picking lists, see the following step, Generate picking list.

    • Staged

      If picking lists are not included in the outbound warehousing procedure of the outbound order lines. This status implies that the goods have been moved to the loading area of the warehouse and are about to be shipped. For Staged order lines, LN creates shipment lines. You can perform The shipment procedure for these lines.

    • To be Inspected

      If outbound inspections are included in the outbound warehousing procedure of the outbound order lines and the items requires outbound inspections. For further information on outbound inspections, see step Inspect outbound goods.

    To release outbound advice, in the Release Outbound Advice (whinh4202m000) session, select the order lines that list the goods that you want to release and click Release Advice. Alternatively, you can release outbound advice for individual order lines in the Outbound Order Lines (whinh2120m000) session or the Outbound Line Status Overview (whinh2129m000) session.

  3. Generate picking list

    A picking list is a document that shows the locations from which you must collect the goods that you want to issue. A picking list shows the preferred order in which to pick the goods from the warehouse. You can generate picking lists after the outbound advice is released. The picking list activity is not mandatory and is only available for location-controlled warehouses. After you generate a picking list for an outbound order line, the status of the order line remains Released.

    You can generate picking lists in the Generate Picking List (whinh4415m000) session.

  4. Adjust picking list

    Optionally, you can change the picking list, if you want to pick other goods than those originally advised, or you can change the locations. Thus, you can change lot numbers, serial numbers, item quantities, or locations.

  5. Confirm picking list

    To confirm that the goods on the picking list are picked, in the Picking List (whinh4525m100) session, select the Pick Run option, the Pick Mission option, or the Pick Advice option from the appropriate menu. The status of the related outbound order lines changes to Staged. This status implies that the goods have been moved to the loading area of the warehouse and are about to be shipped. For Staged order lines, LN creates shipment lines. You can perform the shipment procedure for these lines. If outbound inspections are included in the warehousing procedure, however, the status changes to To be Inspected.

  6. Inspect outbound goods

    Unlike inbound inspections, the outbound inspection is not a warehousing procedure in its own right, but an activity that you can add to the outbound procedure. You can add the outbound inspection step to a warehousing procedure if the setup for the warehouse, supplier, or item requires item inspection.

    If the inspection activity is included in the warehousing procedure, LN creates an inspection record in the Warehouse Inspections Overview (whinh3122m000) session after the outbound advice is released or the picking list is confirmed as described in the previous steps, and the status of the related outbound order lines changes to To be Inspected.

    You can then approve, reject, or scrap and process the items in the Warehouse Inspections Overview (whinh3122m000) session or the Warehouse Inspection (whinh3622m000) session.

    Outbound order lines related to approved and processed items obtain the Staged status. This status implies that the goods have been moved to the loading area of the warehouse and are about to be shipped. For Staged order lines, ERP LN creates shipment lines. You can perform the shipment procedure for these lines. Rejected and processed item quantities are removed from inventory or sent to the quarantine warehouse or quarantine location without using the outbound procedure. The rejected quantities are updated on the outbound order lines.

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