Set different dimensions for packing and storage

Article
02/01/2023

Some items are packed or stored in such a way that you may need to track physical dimensions differently for each of several different processes. The Packaging product dimensions feature lets you set up one or several types of dimensions for each product. Each dimension type provides a set of physical measurements (weight, width, depth, and height), and establishes the process where those physical measurement values apply. When this feature is enabled, your system will support the following types of dimensions:

Storage - Storage dimensions are used along with location volumetrics to determine how many of each item can be stored in various warehouse locations.
Packing - Packing dimensions are used during containerization and the manual packing process to determine how many of each item will fit in various container types.
Nested packing - Nested packing dimensions are used when the packing process contains multiple levels.

Storage dimensions are supported even when the Packaging product dimensions feature isn't enabled. You set these up using the Physical dimension page in Supply Chain Management. These dimensions are used by all processes where the packing and nested packing dimensions aren't specified.

Packing and nested packing dimensions are set up using the Physical product dimensions page, which is added when you enable the Packaging product dimensions feature. This article provides a scenario that illustrates how to use this feature.

Turn on the packaging product dimensions feature

To use this feature, it must be turned on for your system. As of Supply Chain Management version 10.0.32, this feature is mandatory and can't be turned off. If you are running a version older than 10.0.32, then admins can turn this functionality on or off by searching for the Packaging product dimensions feature in the Feature management workspace.

Example scenario

Set up the scenario

Before you can run the example scenario, you must prepare your system as described in this section.

Enable demo data

To work through this scenario using the demo records and values that are specified here, you must be on a system where the standard demo data is installed. Additionally, you must select the USMF legal entity before you begin.

Add a new physical dimension to a product

Add a new physical dimension for a product by doing the following:

Go to Product information management > Products > Released products.
Select the product with Item number A0001.
On the Action Pane, open the Manage inventory tab and, from the Warehouse group, select Physical product dimensions.
The Physical product dimensions page opens. On the Action Pane, select New to add a new dimension to the grid with the following settings:
- Physical dimension type - Packing
- Physical unit - pcs
- Weight - 4
- Weight unit - kg
- Depth - 3
- Height - 4
- Width - 3
- Length - cm
- Volume unit - cm3

The Volume field is automatically calculated based on your Depth, Height, and Width settings.

Create a new container type

Go to Warehouse management > Setup > Containers > Container types and create a new record with the following settings:

Container type code - Short Box
Description - Short Box
Maximum net weight - 50
Volume - 144
Length - 6
Width - 6
Height - 4

Create a container group

Go to Warehouse management > Setup > Containers > Container groups and create a new record with the following settings:

Container group ID - Short Box
Description - Short Box

Add a new line to the Details section. Set the Container type to Short Box.

Set up a container build template

Go to Warehouse management > Setup > Containers > Container build templates and select Boxes. Change the Container group ID to Short Box.

Run the scenario

After you have prepared your system as described in the previous section, you are ready to run the scenario as described in the next section.

Create a sales order and create a shipment

In this process you will create a shipment based on the item packing dimensions, for which the height is less than 3.

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-001
- Warehouse: 63
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: 5
On the Sales order lines FastTab, select Inventory > Reservation.
On the Reservation page, on the Action Pane, select Reserve lot to reserve the inventory.
Close the page.
On the Action Pane, open the Warehouse tab and select Release to warehouse to create work for the warehouse.
On the Sales order lines FastTab, select Warehouse > Shipment details.
On the Action Pane, open the Transportation tab and select View containers. Confirm that the item was containerized into the two Short Box containers.

Place an item into storage

Open the mobile device, sign in to warehouse 63 and go to Inventory > Adjust In.
Enter Loc = SHORT-01. Make a new license plate with Item = A0001 and Quantity = 1 pcs.
Select OK. You will receive the error "Location SHORT-01 failed because item A0001 does not fit in location's specified dimensions." This is because the Storage type dimensions of the product are larger than the dimensions specified on the location profile.