Chapter 20. ASN Vouchers

Prism 1.14.7 User's Guide Chapter 20. ASNs PDF

Prism 2.3 User's Guide Chapter 20. ASNs PDF

An Advanced Shipping Notice (ASN) lists items due to be received at a store. ASNs are typically generated from purchase orders, in which case the items and quantities on the PO are brought to the ASN; or users can create a new ASN from scratch.
ASNs play an important role in the ordering and receiving process. An ASN voucher is a voucher document that already has the package number and the incoming merchandise listed. When the merchandise listed on the ASN voucher arrives, the voucher can be completed and filed as a former voucher. At this point, the items are received into inventory and the PO referenced by the ASN voucher is updated. A batch of ASN vouchers can also be processed as a group, without individual review, using their ASN package numbers (Batch Receiving feature).
Generating ASN Vouchers

• When transferring merchandise from one store to another, updating an out slip (moving merchandise out of the source store's inventory) will automatically generate an ASN. At the target store, a user can generate a voucher from the ASN to receive the merchandise into the target store's inventory.
• When ordering merchandise on a multi-store PO, a user will generate an ASN for each store. User at the Send To store can view the ASN and know what merchandise to expect. When the merchandise arrives at the store, a user can generate a voucher from the ASN to receive the items ordered on the ASN into inventory (updating the purchase order's fill status).

ASNs - Basic Steps
1.    ASNs are typically generated from a source document (e.g., a PO or a slip).  Alternatively, a user can create a new ASN voucher
2.    (Optional) If using package numbers, from the ASN select Options > Shipping Packages and scan/add package numbers.
3.    Add/edit fees, shipping, etc. and save the changes.
4.    When the merchandise arrives at the store, generate a voucher or use batch receiving to mark and update multiple vouchers.

ASN Permissions
You can control access to specific ASN features using the following security permissions:

ASN Preferences

New ASN that references a PO
Note: You can also generate an ASN voucher from the PO using  the Options button on the PO.

1. Select Store Operations > Receiving.    
2. Select New ASN.    
3. Enter the PO number and press the Enter key.    
4. Click the PO Items button.     
5. Use the Item Due or All Due buttons to select the items to bring to the ASN.    
6. Click OK.    
7. Modify the Doc Qty of individual items, if needed.    
8. Use the Voucher Details button to enter fees, freight, discounts, etc.    
9. (optional) To enter package numbers, click the Options button and select Shipping Packages. Scan or type the package numbers.    When finished making changes to the ASN, click the Save button.    To generate a voucher from the ASN, click the Options button and select Generate Voucher. Review the voucher before updating.    

Sample New ASN

Generate ASN from Purchase Order
Save the purchase order if not saved already.
Click the Options button. Select Generate ASN Voucher.

Click Generate ASN(s).
 
New ASN that references a PO
Note: You can also generate an ASN voucher from the PO using the Options button on the PO.
Navigate to Store Operations > Receiving > New ASN.
Enter the Reference PO No and press the key. 
Click the PO Items button. Use the Item Due or All Due button to select the items to bring to the ASN
Click OK.
Use the Voucher Details button to enter fees, freight, discounts, etc.
(optional) To enter package numbers, click the Options button and select Shipping Packages. Scan or type the package numbers.
Save the changes.
To generate a voucher from the ASN, click the Options button and select Generate Voucher.
Review the voucher and update.
If referencing a purchase order, any fees, freight, discounts, tax, etc. are copied to the ASN. If a voucher is generated from the ASN, the information, including a reference to the original PO#, is copied to the voucher.
ASN Document Number
When you start a new ASN, the document number is not assigned until you save the document. When you save the document, the number will be displayed in the header.
Voucher Details on ASN Vouchers
Using the Voucher Details button, you can edit the following information: Freight, Fees, Discounts, Tax, Payment Terms, Vendor Account Number, Vendor Invoice, Comments.

Vendor Payment Terms on ASNs
The Vendor tab of the Voucher Details screen has an area for entering payment terms with the vendor. Select a payment term type from the dropdown and then enter details for the selected type. For example, if you selected "Days," you can enter up to three sets of discounts. For each set, enter the percentage discount to be received and the number of days by which payment must be received to get the discount.

Generate ASN from Transfer Slip
By default, when a user updates a transfer slip, an ASN automatically generated. This action is controlled by the setting in Admin Console > Node Preferences > Transfers > General: Upon Transfer Slip update generate: [ASN or Voucher]. The ASN can then be reviewed and if no changes are needed, the user can generate a voucher from the ASN. Note: If the preference is changed to "Upon Transfer Slip update generate: Voucher," then a receiving voucher (not an ASN voucher) will be created when a user updates a slip.
 
Shipping Package Numbers on ASNs
In the logistics world, a Serial Shipping Container Code (SSCC) is an 18-character numeric string that identifies a carton, pallet or crate on a shipping container. Prism uses the term Shipping Package and Package Number to identify these cartons, pallets or crates. A common use of shipping packages is to batch receive merchandise. A worker can scan the barcodes of individual cartons, pallets, or crates as they are received, and then do a "batch update" that updates all the associated vouchers. Shipping Package numbers in Prism can be a maximum of 20 characters.
Shipping Packages - Basic Steps

1. Add one or more package numbers to an ASN. This associates the numbers with the ASN.
2. When the merchandise arrives, navigate to the Batch Receiving area. Search for the ASN and select it. Scan shipping package numbers for the ASN. As each shipping package number is scanned (or entered), it is marked. The system keeps track of how many packages have been scanned for each ASN.
3. When the number of marked shipping packages equals the number of expected shipping packages for an ASN, the ASN is marked and can be received. Click Receive Marked. A voucher is generated and updated for each marked ASN.

Step 1. Add Package Numbers to ASN (Optional)
Navigate to Store Operations > Receiving > ASN Lookup. Use ASN Lookup to search for the ASN(s) that were generated from the PO.
Select an ASN and click the OK button.

The ASN is displayed.

At the bottom of the ASN voucher is an Options button. Click the Options button and select Shipping Packages from the Voucher Options menu.
A screen is displayed for adding/removing Shipping Packages. Enter the number in the text field and click the Plus sign.

The number is added to the list. Enter additional Shipping Packages in the same manner. When you are finished adding numbers, click the Close button at the bottom of the screen.

Each number has a Received flag. When a package number associated with an ASN is scanned, the Received flag is automatically selected. If the user has the Flag Packages as Received permission assigned, then the user can manually select the Received checkbox. Depending on preferences, all packages may have to be marked Received to update the receiving voucher.
Step 2. Scan Package Numbers in Batch Receiving
Navigate to Store Operations > Receiving > Batch Receiving
Click ASN Search.
In the Filters area, select a filter element from the Search By drop-down. Enter the desired filter criteria, select an operator (e.g. "Contains" or "Equals") and click Search. A list of matching records is displayed.  The Total Packages column displays the number of shipping packages associated with each ASN. Select an ASN and click OK.

Click the Scan Packages button. The interface shows a list of Received Packages in the top pane and Marked ASNs in the bottom pane. The Received Count and Expected Count columns enable you to track how many more packages remain to be scanned for an ASN.
A text field for scanning or searching for packages is available on the top right part of the screen. Place the focus in the Scan Packages text box and scan (or type) the number. If you type the number, click Search or press . If the number is found, it is automatically marked as Received.
When you scan the final package for an ASN, the ASN is automatically marked and added to the lower pane.
 
Step 3. Update Marked ASNs
When you have finished marking ASNs, click the Received Marked button on the bottom pane.  .
For each marked ASN listed, a receiving voucher is generated and updated. You can see these auto-generated vouchers in the Vouchers area.

Replication of ASNs generated from Transfer Slips
Background
When a user updates a transfer slip, Prism removes the quantities from the source store's Inventory. The expectation is that a user at the target store will create a voucher to receive the quantities into the target store's Inventory. To facilitate the receiving of merchandise at the target store, users can set a preference in Admin Console > Node Preferences > Transfers > General: "Upon Transfer Slip update generate: [ASN | Voucher | None]". By default, the preference is set to ASN, which means an ASN will be generated upon transfer slip update and prepared for replication to the target store (To Store on the transfer slip).
The following sections have information about two changes in Prism 2.1 that work together to give retailers more control over the replication of reference ASNs.

• ‘None' option added to "Upon Transfer Slip update generate:" preference
• Store Assignments feature added to Tech Toolkit

About the ‘None' option
When set to ‘None,' the installation where the slip is originally created and updated will not generate an ASN. Instead, the slip will be replicated up the enterprise tree until it reaches the controller that is "in charge" of the destination store for the slip. The use case for the ‘None' option is when the retailer wants the reference ASNs for transfers to be generated at an upstream installation, typically the HQ installation.
Sample Admin Console > Node Preferences > Transfers > General showing "Upon Transfer Slip update generate:" setting:
 
About the Store Assignments feature in Tech Toolkit
A new "Store Assignments" feature in Prism Tech Toolkit enables users to select the installations for which this controller is "in charge" and for which the reference ASNs will be sent downstream.
An ASN will be generated if a transfer slip is received during replication and:

• The slip has no reference document
• The controller where the slip is received is the controller for the destination store (To Store on the transfer slip)

After the ASN is created at the HQ, the ASN will replicate throughout the enterprise unless the appropriate Advanced Filters are created for the receiving resource. In most cases, the desire is to replicate the ASN down the enterprise tree only to the destination store.
To define Store Assignments, log in to the Prism Tech Toolkit. For the desired server (e.g., the HQ server), click the menu icon and select Store Assignments.

Select the checkbox for the individual store locations assigned to this server. A server that does not have a store selected is not designated to a specific store. Note: The data is stored in the CONTROLLER_STORE table in the RPSODS database.
 
Advanced Filters
When using the ‘None' option, it is important to add Advanced Filters to the receiving resource for the appropriate replication profiles. Advanced Filters enable fine-grained control over which records for a specific resource are replicated. In the case of the receiving resource, the Advanced Filters prevent the ASNs generated at the HQ from replicating throughout the enterprise.
To define an Advanced Profile for a resource, add or edit a profile and select the receiving resource.

Next, scroll down to the Advanced Filters area. In the following example, vouchers that have a VouClass field that is NOT EQUAL to 2 (‘cancelled') will be replicated; vouchers with a VouClass of EQUAL to 2 will be filtered (not replicated). This type of Advanced Filter is used to send receiving documents upstream to the POA.
 
Use an Advanced Filter to indicate the stores where ASNs will be sent. The example below shows an Advanced Filter for the receiving resource that indicates documents that have a Store Number equal to 1 will be replicated. This type of Advanced Filter can be used to send receiving documents (ASNs) downstream to the destination store.

Example
For the example enterprise tree shown, here is how to prevent replication of ASNs throughout the enterprise:
001 -> POA1 has (VouClass,ne,2)
002 -> POA1 has (VouClass,ne,2)
003 -> POA2 has (VouClass,ne,2)
HQ->POA1 has (StoreNo,eq,1)or(StoreNo,eq,2)
POA1 -> 001 has (StoreNo,eq,1)
POA1-> 002has (StoreNo,eq,2)
HQ->POA2 has (StoreNo,eq,3)
POA2->003 has (StoreNo,eq,3)

Sample enterprise tree:

If a transfer slip for a transfer from Store 1 to Store 3 is updated at Store 1, that slip will be replicated up the enterprise tree. When the slip arrives at POA1, that controller is not the controller for the destination store, so no ASN is generated. The slip continues being replicated up the enterprise tree. When the slip arrives at Root Authority (HQ), an ASN is generated from the slip.
The Advanced Filter for the receiving resource defined at the Root Authority (HQ) and POA2 (StoreNo,eq,3) will prevent the slip from replicating throughout the enterprise. In addition, Tech Toolkit must be configured so that Store 3 is included in the Store Assignments for the Root Authority (HQ) and POA2 servers.

Alternate (Multi) Vendor Items on ASNs
When searching for a multi-vendor item in Advanced Item Lookup, you can select the desired vendor in the Doc Vendor column. The results grid dynamically updates to show the selected vendor's Cost (Doc Cost), Price (Doc Price) and UPC or ALU. This enables you to easily select the desired vendor for multi-vendor items and view the key values for that vendor on the document. 
The Doc Vendor drop-down is only enabled if the following are true:

• There are alternate vendors for the item (ALT_VENDOR table for the item has a length greater than 0)
• The item Doc Qty is 0
• The search value doesn't match an alternate record (as opposed to the primary)

Scroll to Display Doc Vendor Column
The Doc Vendor column is found at the far-right end of the scrollable part of the grid. Move the horizontal scroll bar to display the Doc Vendor column.
Sample Advanced Item Lookup results showing scrollbar moved to the right to display the Doc Vendor dropdown. Selecting a different Doc Vendor updates the Vendor Code, UPC and ALU for the item: