Shipping flows in OPM

[John_Alan]

I am struggling with the shipping process design. How do I go about designing this? Any advise?

[jagx9]

what sector are you designing it for?

[BaldevY]

In Oracle, you have many options for shipping.

Start by understanding what is being done today. Then study the different methods available in Oracle, get the shipping user guide from Metalink if you don't have it.

If you are using common carriers then delivery based shipping is adequate. If you currently preschedule your trucks or wish to, then using trips would be appropriate.

[Tarpon]

First, if you must send ASN/ASBN to customers using Oracle feature then you must use LPNs.
Now you have many choices for shipping:
There are push techniques:
1. Enter Sales Order, Pick Release Order, Pick Confirm Order and ship confirm order. This is the classic technique for shipping make to stock goods to many customers. Each Shipment is called a Delivery. If you don't have a traffic function then this is commonly used. This process can be operated by the Supervisors and workers in Customer Service and Shipping.
2. A variation of 1 is to Pack Goods into LPNs.
3. Now if you own your own trucks, or customers send in their trucks for pick ups on a schedule, then you should use Oracle Shipping Trips. You can create a Trip in Oracle that represents a truck. Then you can assign Sales Orders or Deliveries to the Trip. Now you can manage the Trip and its Sales Orders and Deliveries. This typically requires a Traffic function to schedule trucks and fill efficiencies etc.
4. In push technique, the product is produced and goes into warehouse then is picked for shipment. Compare to pull below.
5. In push, you will need to analyze your warehouse for storage efficiency, worker putaway and picking efficiency etc while creating your shipping process.

Or you can also develop pull techniques:
1. Build product, link product with sales order and ship, then perform the pick release, pick confirm and ship confirm.
2. This works when product is made to order (could work for make to stock but may not be an Sales Order available).
3. In pull technique, the product is produced and goes directly to the shipping dock. This has huge advantage over push, faster, less handling, uses less space, less need for warehouse handling system etc.
4. Some companies require 'buffer' inventory for demand variation reasons. This does not need to change the technique. Buffer can be isolated and rotated on a periodic basis if need.

Oracle shipping is very good in that it allows you to develop many shipping processes, push, pull, combo etc. And another thing to remember is that you create a different process for each shipping dock or even for each item or category of item. You don't have to use the same process for all.

Let me know how you are doing
Tarpon

[John_Alan]

Thanks, people.
I have been spending time analyzing what we do and what needs improved. We are more a pick and pack operation so I am going to start designed around a 'push' model. What about labeling in shipping? Is there a better system than we are are using off line PC for labels? We spend alot of time maintaining it and changing labels.