Warehousing inspections

In LN, you can inspect received items, items stored in inventory, and items to be shipped. For example, you can use inspections to:

  • Check the quality of goods ordered from a new supplier.
  • Monitor a supplier with a history of quality problems.
  • Check the quality of outbound goods that were damaged on the way to the staging location.

For received items to be inspected, LN creates inbound inspections. For items to be shipped that require inspection, LN creates outbound inspections. For items stored in inventory, LN creates inventory inspections. This topic discusses inbound and outbound inspections. See Inventory inspections for information about inventory inspections.

The inbound inspection procedure is one of the main warehousing procedures in LN. You can add the inspection procedure to a warehousing procedure if the setup for the warehouse, supplier, or item requires item inspection.

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.

Creating inspection headers and lines

An inbound and an outbound inspection consists of an inspection header and one or more inspection lines.

During the inbound and outbound process, LN creates inspections for items that require inspection according to the inspection parameter setup. You cannot manually create warehousing inspections.

How to specify and process inspection results

For both inbound and outbound inspections, first specify the inspection results and then process the inspection, which finalizes the inspection.

Specifying the inspection results for an inbound inspection entails approving, rejecting, destroying, or scrapping the inspected items. For an outbound inspection, this entails approving, rejecting, or scrapping the inspected items.

Destroyed items must always be paid to the supplier, whereas for scrapped items, suppliers are not always involved, and settlement depends on the situation. The availability of scrapping depends on the quarantine parameter setup.

After processing

After you process an inbound inspection, the approved items are added to the inventory. For location-controlled warehouses, inbound advice from the inspection location to the storage location must be generated and put away. The warehousing-procedure setup determines whether this is done automatically or manually. For non location-controlled warehouses, the approved items are put away automatically.

The rejected items are sent to a quarantine location or quarantine warehouse for further handling, or removed from inventory through an adjustment order. This depends on the inspection and quarantine parameter setup.

The destroyed quantity is part of the approved quantity but is removed from inventory. This is because the supplier must be paid for the destroyed goods. Goods are usually destroyed for testing purposes or by some accident, for which the supplier is not liable.

Scrapped items are removed from inventory through an adjustment order.

For outbound inspections, you can approve, reject, or scrap items. The approved quantities will be shipped. The rejected items are sent to a quarantine location or quarantine warehouse for further handling, or removed from inventory through an adjustment order, provided with a reject reason code. This depends on parameter setup. You can view the adjustment order in the Adjustment Orders History (whinh5570m000) session.

To inspect handling units

The handling unit setup determines whether handling units are generated, must be created by the user, or are not used for items in the inbound and/or outbound flow. If generated, inspection handling units are generated when the inspection header and inspection lines are created.

If handling units are present for an inbound or outbound inspection header or inspection lines, you can specify the inspection results for the inspection handling units or in the inspection lines.

Setup

To use inbound or outbound inspections, you must specify the items that require inspection and set up specific warehousing procedures. Inbound inspections are usually carried out in specific inspection locations, whereas outbound items are inspected on a staging location instead of an inspection location. If your warehouses are location-controlled, you must define inspection locations for inbound inspections. Specific setup is required if items rejected during inspection must be handled in a quarantine warehouse or quarantine location.

Quality Management integration

If Quality inspections are applicable to an item, order, and/or business partner, both Quality inspections and Warehousing inspections are involved in the inbound and/or outbound inspection process.