Within the Update Order Status And Shipping Data program.
Within the Credit Held Orders screen.
Within the Back Order Fill screen.
Within several warehouse menu functions.
Header Ship Dates versus Detail Line Ship Dates
Every customer order consists of a header record (which contains the shipping information, customer PO, etc.) and one or more detail line records. Both header and detail records contain a ship date field.
The header ship date controls the shipment of each order. It is the date on all pick lists, load sheets, labels, pick pool screens, etc. It is the header ship date that appears in the pick pool.
The detail ship date should remain the same as the header ship date for all lines except back orders. Back orders (like POs) can retain separate ship dates by detail line, until they are filled. When back orders are filled, the user should change the header ship date and routes if needed, or leave it as the existing header ship date.
When a header ship date is changed, all detail lines EXCEPT back orders with future ship dates are changed to that ship date. The pick pool is updated with the new header ship date.
When a detail line ship date is changed, the pick pool is NOT changed and should not be. A line item ship date change only makes sense on a back order or PO. Since only the header date appears in the pool, on load sheets, etc, never change a detail line ship date except for back orders and POs.
If a customer calls in an order and says ship this tomorrow, and ship that next week, it must be keyed as 2 orders. Each order would have a different header ship date. However, if a customer orders a several items, and not all of them are ready by the ship date, the situation will work itself out. The available material will ship based on the original header ship date. When the back orders are filled, a new header ship date will be assigned to the received material, and so on until all back orders are filled and shipped. If material other than back orders is not shipped on time, then it will show as an open order past its ship date - both in the pool and on open orders. In order to achieve excellent control over ship dates, users should monitor their order work sheets, load sheets, and pick pool screens for past dates and reset ship dates.
Follow these three simple steps to avoid any missed shipments: 1) Always recheck and reset ship dates on the back order fill screen. 2) Always look for old labels in the pool or use the various shipping reports. Checking orders which are past their ship dates should be a daily process in a well managed warehouse. 3) Credit managers who hold orders for long periods of time, should reset the ship dates on orders when they are released. They can enter a date, or simply remove the date to trigger an automatic recalculation of the ship date.
