V2 Scan Points

Introduction

The “Scan Points” section allows a user to perform specific actions against an order item or an entire batch.

In both cases, it is the numeric sequential ID that must be scanned.

Display Item

“Display Item” shows the user some basic details about the item as well as a thumbnail of the item’s artwork.

Scanning an item twice will prompt the user to download the item’s artwork.

When downloading, a custom filename can be used. The filename is determined by the value of the production/artwork-download:file-name-format company settings field for the company to which the order is assigned (the secondary company has priority).

See misc/item-string-builder.md for more details on file name formats.

The format of the artwork can be controlled via the production/artwork-download:artwork-format company setting.

Note Custom download names are only supported for artwork files that are hosted by Custom Gateway, i.e. print jobs and POD.

Note Company settings can currently only be set by somebody with database access.

Note Some browsers such as Chrome have a setting for allowing automatic download into a specific folder. This can be utilized to reduce the total number of clicks needed by the user.

Relevant Code

Dispatch Item

“Dispatch Item” allows a factory operator to tell the system that an item is ready to be dispatched.

The path taken through the system is slightly different for single line or multi line orders.

Note Staff users cannot use the dispatch point. It is necessary to login as a normal user using the “Assume User” feature.

Relevant Code

Single Line Orders

When the item from a single line order is dispatched, the operator will immediately be told that the order should be dispatched and they will be prompted to either download or print an address label.

Multi Line or Multi Quantity Orders

Multi line orders make use of the bin system.

Note A bin is simply a physical box in a factory which is used to consolidate an order before it is dispatched as a single parcel. Each bin has a name such as “001”, “002”, etc.

Note Each fulfilment center (i.e. company) needs to provide a list of bins which are then imported into the system. The fulfilment center is determined by the user’s primary company.

Note The bin system is not currently optional, but it could be as part of future development.

1) If the item is first item on the order to be dispatched then a bin is allocated to the order from the available pool of bins. The operator is told which bin to put the item into.

2) If the item is neither the first nor last item on the order, then the operator is told which bin the item should go into.

3) If the item is the last item on the order to be dispatched then the operator is told the bin number and that the order is ready for dispatch. At this point the status of the order will change to “Consolidated”, which indicates that all items on the order are in the relevant bin.

4) If the order has the status “Consolidated”, then scanning any item will result in the bin being released, the operator being told to dispatch the order and an address label generated. The order status will change to “Dispatched”.

5) If none of the above are true then order has already been dispatched.

In steps (1), (2) and (3), the quantity_consolidated field is incremented.

Shipping Integrations

Once an order has fully been dispatched, OMS has the ability to register a shipment with a 3rd party shipping carrier. Currently the following are supported:

  • AusPost
  • Royal Mail

It is feasible to support any carrier who has a suitable HTTP API.

The carrier specific address label can then be returned to the operator.

The shipping integration to use is determined based on:

  • The order’s shipping_carrier field.
  • The shipping integrations that are enabled for the company to which the order is assigned (secondary company having priority).

Address Labels

Address labels can be sourced as follows:

Badge Scan

As well as scanning the item barcode, it is possible to add an additional step which can be used to scan the operator’s ID badge. This is useful for when multiple operators share a single OMS login (for example if they only have a single workstation PC).

The badge scan can be enabled per company (based on the user’s primary company) using the production/scan-points:badge-scan-enabled setting.

The following scan points support badge scanning:

  • Dispatch
  • QC

Batch (Dispatch)

The “Dispatch Batch” scan point will have the same affect as if each item on the batch had been scanned via the “Dispatch Item” scan point.

Batch (Substatus)

“Batch Substatus” is a free text field that is present on each batch and allows fulfilment centres to tag batches with additional information relating to their production.

For example, if the fulfilment centre needed to log and identify an extra workflow step in between “In Production” and “Dispatched” (such as “Waiting for Materials”), then they could create a barcode in advance, which could then be scanned by an operator into the “Scan Substatus” text box.

Note Not all barcode formats support non numeric values. It is up to the customer to produce their own barcodes for substatus. QR codes would be best for substatus barcodes.

Batch (In Production)

Allows a batch barcode to be scanned which then sets the batch status to “In Production”.

Useful for when mixing the Generic Hotfolder integration with batching and OMS scanpoints.

Batch (Jobsheet)

Generates and opens a jobsheet for the batch that was scanned.

Typically this would be used when the batch’s template has “Coversheet Enabled”.