VAI Adds Desserts to Food Distribution Package

Published: September 29, 2009

by Dan Burger

Food distribution companies without integrated ERP and distribution software are companies with much bigger mountains to climb when it comes to reducing operating costs and discovering new efficiencies. Here's a situation where size doesn't really matter. Whether small, large, simple, or complex, if your IT system combines customer service, inventory, manufacturing, route accounting, finance, and warehouse logistics management, there are obvious advantages. VAI's S2K for Food Distribution is a good example.

Last week the IBM i OS-based ERP company introduced added functionality to its S2K Enterprise for Food Distribution software that upgrades supply chain and customer relationship management capabilities to mid-market users of its software that includes a complete ERP system designed for the food and beverage manufacturing and distribution businesses.

In the warehouse, process picking by case or by pallet label is now available. This means users can set up a receiving schedule that includes pre-processing the product and distributing pallet labels based on Ti-Hi (the number of cartons or boxes in a layer and the number of layers high). The benefit is improved inventory control that allows products to be committed at the time of scheduling a route, rather than at the time of a customer order.

Other warehouse efficiency benefits that have been added to the software are "unit of work" inventory picking based on inventory location and the vehicle, such as a pallet, used to pick the product, and date control parameters that emphasize the expiration dates on perishable products, along with the potential revenue losses for products left in inventory too long.

The capability to schedule cargo receiving in an appointment calendar is another added feature related to inventory control and warehouse employee movements. This tool provides a view of cargo to be received according to date and dock location, which assists with the pre-generation of pallet tags and workforce planning for storing new inventory.

An improvement in manufacturing and warehousing integration comes from enhanced capabilities for creating and scanning labels such as produce carton labels, bar codes, lot numbers, product weights, and production or product expiration dates.

Functionality that is built into VAI's food warehouse management applications include:

• Receiving by the users' choice of either purchase order or container and by either manual or radio frequency (RF) posting of the receipt. This enables users to note the lots and shelf-life dates. Returned goods and refused shipment receiving are also supported.
• Product movement automation that creates put-away move tickets for received items and bin replenishment based on picking lane requirements and bulk stock merges.
• Improved order management that allows managers to view and select sales and transfer orders for individual or wave picking based on a variety of sorting criteria.
• RF picking that allows quick scans and verification that the correct bin, item, and quantity were picked.
• Order verifications that compare products with customer orders and catch weight totals.
• The automatic creation of warehouse transfers related to both inter-location and inter-company transfers.
• Higher accuracy of current inventory records using cycle and physical counting. Detailed inquiries display all counting activity and variances reported and are supported by wireless terminals or count sheets.

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