Key Features of the Stock Control Solution

Effective stock control and warehouse management is key to gaining a competitive edge through reduced operating costs and lightning-fast order fulfilment that exceeds customer expectations.

Multi-Store and Multi Location Management

The 3EX.NET System allows you to determine any number of Stores and locations within those stores, ensuring you have the upmost in stock visibility. See Stores and Locations functionality for more details.

Volumetrics Engine for Automated Location Decisions

Volumetric measurements (Height / Width / Depth) can be assigned to all SKU's and Locations. Processes such as Stock Put Away, Replenishment and Bin Optimisation can be performed using Volumetric calculations. Also, it is possible for Product Volumetric measurements to be used to calculate the best packaging and Courier service to use to dispatch your items.

Barcode validation capability on all functions

In a 3EX.NET Warehouse, it is not unusual for every item to be scanned at least 3 times;

• Once at Point of Receipt
• Once at Point of Picking
• Once at Point of Dispatch

The ability to utilise Barcode scanning to determine that the item being received is not only the correct item, but is also being put into the right locations (Barcode Labels on Products and Bin Locations) is essential to ensuring stock accuracy within your warehouse. The simple process of performing a Bulk to Pick Replenishment exercise will break the integrity of your stock in two locations if carried out incorrectly. By Scanning the From Location, To Location and Product, the 3EX.NET and Pocket 3EX.NET systems ensure that the integrity of your stock remains intact and our simple 3 step scanning process ensures you will never again send out an incorrect item.

Component Part Management

Often, items are sold as Kits or pieced together to form an entirely different product. This can be handled by the 3EX.NET Bill of Materials (BOM) System. The BOM entry process allows the user to create multi level components against a top level product.

For example, in the screenshot below a table in the shape of a half moon is being put together. The Table consists of a Table Top, 3 legs, 3 Castors and some Fittings. The Fittings compose of 3 x 5mm Nuts, 3 x 5mm Bolts and 3 x 5mm Washers. This is known as a "KIT" Bill of Materials. Similarly a Full Moon table would be made up of the same components, just with different component quantities, i.e. a Full Moon Table may need 4 legs. When a Sales order is placed for 2 x Half Moon Tables, the system will reduce the stock of the Table Top, Legs, Castors and Fittings by 6 and each component will be printed on the Picking List.

Alternative, this Bill of Materials could have been set up as an "Assembled Product". This basically means that stock of the Table Top, Legs, Castors and Fittings are bought in as products in their own right. A manufacturing process is then done internally and carried out on the system, reducing the stock of the components and increasing the stock of the Half / Full Moon Tables. In this case, the Picking note would suggest to pick two tables rather than picking each of the components.

SKU Categorisation for Control of Processes

3EX.NET can manage a virtually unlimited number of SKU's. In order to simplify this, the system allows any number of Product Groups to be created and assigned to the product. These product groups can be used to streamline the product entry process. I.e. a Product from a particular group, may require different Related Information to products from other groups. For example, when creating a product for a Plasma TV, it may be necessary to enter Screen Size, Resolution, Number of HDMI Inputs etc, whilst this information would not be required when creating a product for a Toaster.

Product Groups can be used to drive functionality throughout the system. For example, a product as a Drop Ship item will be handled differently by the system, compared to a product grouped as a Stocked Product. Perhaps the biggest reason to categorise your stock items, is the analysis capability. All Sales, Purchases, Stock Adjustments, Returns etc throughout the system can be reported on and broken down at a product group level.

Dynamic Stock Turn Ranking for Intelligent Bin Optimisation

Bin Pick Rates can be created to stipulate the level of difficulty involved in picking stock from certain locations. For example, Picking Locations at around waist height are probably the easiest to pick from, whilst those on the floor or at head height can be considerably more difficuly.

Bin Pick Rates can be used to determine a least walk picking route around your warehouse, but their greatest strength is the fact that they can affectively advise your warehouse team as to how best to lay out stock within your warehouse. This feature of the system is known as Bin Optimisation. When used in conjunction with the Forecasting System, the Bin Optimisation system can forecast which of your products are going to be your best sellers. The system can therefore advise that the warehouse team move the best selling items, to the locations with the best pick rates. This will obviously mean moving stock which currently resides in these locations and the Bin Optimisation system will tell you exactly whereabouts to put this stock as well. Ultimately the Bin Optimisation system can be used to move specific items to Fast Moving Picking locations, optimise certain areas or Zones, or even optimise your whole warehouse.

Real-Time Stock Costing

FIFO Stock Costing is built into the core of the 3EX.NET Stock Control and Warehouse Management systems ensuring Stock Valuation accuracy.

Stock Enquiries

In any warehouse environment, accurate stock is key to minimising picking discrepancies and ensuring the Pick, Pack and Dispatch process is as efficient as it possible can be. All stock movements on the 3EX.NET system are recorded and can therefore be enquired upon. This allows your warehouse team to have a clear and detailed view of all stock on the system. For more information on the enquiries available within the 3EX.NET Stock Control and Warehouse Management systems, please Click Here.

Full and Perpetual Stock Take / Inventory Count

Stock Taking is an integral part of any warehousing environment. Whether you perform a stock take on an annual basis or wish to perpetually count stock, the 3EX.NET Stock Take functionality will help to ensure that your Stock Take is as accurate and efficient as possible. See Stock Take Functionality for a more indepth look at this area of the system.

Store to Store and Zone to Zone Replenishments

The 3EX.NET system can analyse current stock availability, current demand or even Forecasted Sales Demand to determine which stock needs to be replenished. Using either Volumetric measurements or Stock Replenishment Levels, the system will determine exactly which stock should be moved, where it should be moved from and where it should be moved too. The user can then print a hard copy of the Replenishment report, or use the Pocket 3EX.NET mobile application to complete the replenishment.

Product Aliases and Alternative Part Numbers

Product Aliases allow multiple different references all relating back to the same SKU. Typically these can be used to store Barcode references or perhaps Supplier Product Codes (Which can then print on Purchase Orders etc). However, any number of different Alias codes can be created on the system, for things such as Manufacturer Codes, ISBN Numbers etc. Product Alias' are configured as part of the Product Content Management Entry process.

Unit to Box / Carton Ratio System

Barcodes can be stored against products via the Product Alias system. It is possible to create multiple Aliases against a product depending on the ratio at which the product is being received. For example, a Product will have it's own unique SKU barcode. However, that product may be received in boxes of 20, which in turn are delivered in a carton or pallet containing say 200 items. It is possible to store a SKU Barcode, a Box Barcode and a Carton Barcode (or any number of different ratio quantity barcodes) against a SKU. This means that a barcode printed on a box can represent 20 x a certain product, whilst the barcode on the Carton represents 200 x the product etc. This can be used to speed up the Put Away, Replenishment, Stock Take, Picking and Dispatch processes.

Proven Investment on Return

3EX.NET Stock Control software is proven to deliver the following benefits:

• Increased like-for-like sales order throughput
• Time/motion savings through real-time stock allocation and mobile working
• Increased stock and dispatch accuracy
• Enhanced resource and space utilisation through intelligent techniques
• Integrated with other 3EX.NET modules - CRM, Supply Chain Management and eCommerce