Change work pool on work

Article
02/01/2023

You can use work pools to organize work into groups. For example, you can create a work pool to classify work that occurs in a specific warehouse location.

The Change work pool on work feature adds a Change work pool button to the Action Pane for work items. Therefore, warehouse managers can easily change the work pool of existing work. This feature lets managers react quickly to changes on the warehouse shop floor, and it helps improve their ability to adapt to changing situations and the need to transfer work to another work pool.

Turn the Change work pool on work feature on or off

As of Supply Chain Management 10.0.25, this feature is mandatory and can't be turned off. If you're running a version older than 10.0.25, then admins can turn this functionality on or off by searching for the Change work pool on work feature in the Feature management workspace.

Set up the Change work pool on work feature

To use this feature, you must have some work pools set up. You might also set up your work templates so that they automatically assign a pool. If you want to work through the example scenario that is provided later in this article, set up your system as described in this section.

Set up work pools

Work pools let you organize work items by type. To work with the Change work pool on work feature, you must have at least two work pools available. To view and add work pools, follow these steps.

Go to Warehouse management > Setup > Work > Work pools.
If you're working with demo data from the USMF company and will work through the example scenario later in this article, add two work pools that have the following settings:
- Work pool 1:
  - Work pool ID: Webshop
  - Description: Web Shop
- Work pool 2:
  - Work pool ID: CallCenter
  - Description: Call Center
On the Action Pane, select Save.

Set up work templates

For each of your work templates, you can set a default work pool, as you require. For each relevant template, you assign a work pool in the Work pool ID column. In this case, all work items that are generated by using a given template automatically inherit the assigned work pool. If you're working with the demo data from the USMF company and will work through the example scenario later in this article, follow these steps.

Go to Warehouse management > Setup > Work > Work templates.
On the Action Pane, select Edit to put the page into editing mode.
Edit the template by setting the following values:
- Work template: 62 Pick to pack
- Work pool ID: Webshop
Select Save.

Example scenario

This scenario shows how to change the stream of processing for an existing work item by changing its work pool. It uses demo data from the USMF company and the settings that were suggested earlier in this article.

Create a sales order and release it to the warehouse

Confirm that there is enough on-hand inventory for items A0001 and A0002 in warehouse 62. Go to Inventory management > Inquiries and reports > On-hand list, and edit the filters as shown here:
- The Warehouse value begins with 62.
- The Item number value is either A001 or A002.
Demo data should have a quantity of 10 each.

Next, you must create a sales order.
Go to Sales and marketing > Sales orders > All sales orders.
On the Action Pane, select New.
In the Create sales order dialog box, set the following values:
- Customer account: US-007
- Warehouse: 62
Select OK to create the sales order and close the dialog box.
The new sales order is opened. It should include a new, empty line in the grid on the Sales order lines FastTab. On this line, set the following values:
- Item number: A0001
- Quantity: 2
On the Inventory menu above the grid, select Reservation.
On the Reservation page, on the Action Pane, select Reserve lot to reserve the inventory.
Close the page.
On the Sales order lines FastTab, select Add line to add another line to your sales order. On this line, set the following values:
- Item number: A0002
- Quantity: 2
On the Inventory menu above the grid, select Reservation.
On the Reservation page, on the Action Pane, select Reserve lot to reserve the inventory.
Close the page.
On the Action Pane, on the Warehouse tab, select Release to warehouse.
You receive informational messages that show the wave ID and shipment ID that were created from the release. Make a note of the wave ID.

Review the outbound wave

Go to Warehouse management > Outbound waves > Shipment waves > All waves.
In the grid, search for the wave ID that was created from the release of the sales order.
Select the wave ID to view the details.
On the Wave lines FastTab, make sure that a shipment ID is shown for the sales order.

Tip

If the Process wave at release to warehouse option is set to No in the setup for the shipping wave template, you must manually process the wave by selecting Process from the Wave tab on the Action Pane to create work.
Make sure that the wave has been processed. This processing creates the required work.

View work details and change the work pool

You can use the Work details page to view the work that was created and to manage the work pool.

Go to Warehouse management > Work > Work details.
Select the row for the work that was just created. The Order number column will show the sales order number.

The Work pool ID field will be set to the work pool ID that was set up in the work template.

Tip

If you don't see the Work pool ID field, add the column to the grid, and then refresh the page.
To change the work pool that is associated with the work ID, on the Action Pane, on the Work tab, select Change Work pool ID.
In the Change work pool dialog box, on the Parameters FastTab, in the Work pool ID field, select CallCenter.
Select OK to apply your change.
Notice that the value of the Work pool ID field has now been changed to CallCenter.

Important

When the Change work pool dialog box appears, the Work pool ID field might be blank by default. If the field is blank when you select OK to apply changes, you will remove the work pool completely from the work.

In addition to switching work pools, you can use this procedure to add a work pool to any work item that doesn't have one, or to remove a work pool from any work item that does have one.