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Month: February 2022

NetSuite 2022.1 Warehousing Updates Focus on Increasing Profitability, Accuracy and Save on Processing Times

Posted on by epbuddies

NetSuite 2022.1 Warehousing Updates Focus on Increasing Profitability, Accuracy and Save on Processing Times

Table of Contents

Retail demands have increased by 3.8% in North America for January 2022, and globally for a 16.8% increase for online sales. This increase gives both an opportunity and a push for warehouse managers for more output. Operation managers must then figure out how to utilize their resources efficiently to ensure they meet these demands and not fall under economic pressures. 

NetSuite 2022.1 Warehousing has compiled a suite of custom solutions to make warehouse operations more efficient and reduce management worries. Starting with updates in automation, warehouse managers can experience faster, more accurate daily processes to meet the demands. This release review also introduces the new centralized dashboard in NetSuite Analytics Warehouse that helps busy project managers see cash flow trends and optimize the supply chain management.

NetSuite 2022.1 Warehousing focuses on optimizing all aspects of the receiving, storing, and fulfilling stages. Explore more on NetSuite 2022.1 release in the overview document below:

DOWNLOAD THE NETSUITE 2022.1 RELEASE NOTES HERE

Automated Packing and Picking on Mobile App

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The current release allows operations employees to do more on NetSuite’s Warehouse Management System (WMS) mobile app. From performing order processing to wave transactions, organizing and storage to staff administrative processes.  

NetSuite 2022.1 Warehousing comes with real-time insights on each process in the supply chain to ensure project management visibility and quality inspections at any required stage. This information also helps managers to keep an eye on inventory with their complete warehouse management system.

NetSuite Pack Station – Packing Efficiency:

The app updates help to ensure accuracy in packing and shipping processes. For instance, operation managers easily find items picked and their shipping destinations, then have them packed in that same dispatch.

Package Weight Conversions

Warehouse employees can now convert easily between kilograms to pounds based on item weight requirements. No longer stopping to calculate the unit conversion and lessening the chance of errors. 

Bulk Pack for “Ship as Is”

The updates allow workers to process “Ship as Is” items in bulk, for both packing and unpacking. This lessens any duplicating issues when picking similar items that are needed for different orders at one time. 

Instructions Access Before Packing

Packers can now see packing instructions easily on the mobile app before starting the order. Accessing the instructions ahead of time helps with properly preparing for what is required for the order to save time and avoid errors.

NetSuite Warehouse Management System (WMS) App- Picking Efficiency:

Users can now pick similar items faster without duplicating the pick paths using the latest features in the NetSuite WMS app. Counting errors can also be reduced during scanning with the tally scanning feature that performs both functions at the same time. The single mobile screen gives more visibility to comprehend real-time data to improve inventory monitoring.

Zone Picking

With the warehouse in zones, workers can now pick in specific zones to save time and avoid duplication of pick paths. This increases the production output, business expandability, and operations agility for varying proportions for orders, products, and picker capabilities.
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Tally Scan

Order pickers can simultaneously count items as they are being scanned with the new tally scanning functionality. Workers no longer need to manually tally the items in the system for cycle counting, transferring inventory, and product putaway.

Wave Filtering on Mobile Device

On the mobile device, users can now find filters for orders and waves not currently being picked, which help workers find tasks to start and avoid duplicate orders.

Picking & Wave Transactions

Updates in the mobile app provide comprehensive visibility for picking and wave transaction statuses. This is done in real-time and all on one screen in the app.

Warehouse Operations are Optimized for Efficiency

NetSuite 2022.1 has updates for each stage of warehouse management with the objective of increasing production yield and operational efficiency.

Receiving

Warehouse employees have a better handle on logistics on inbound inventory ensuring proper receipt and storage. In addition, transportation can be managed and monitored easily with the NetSuite WMS system.

Updates on the mobile app now ensure each item is received accurately and can be easily viewed instantly to fulfill any open orders. For putaway strategies, only the required item information is acquired and, at the same time, put into the inventory.

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Storage

Warehousing businesses can benefit greatly from organizing their storage space in a strategic manner that best fits the processes. It is even more critical to have strategic space organization in busy seasons, such as the holidays since there may be additions to inventory in order to meet the demand at that time. NetSuite 2022.1 release updates help to ensure items are relevantly stored in the warehouse, that there is always space for new arrivals. In addition, it helps to conveniently identify and store fast-moving inventories to reduce picker movements

Fulfillment

NetSuite 2022.1 has optimized each stage of the order fulfillment process, by ensuring customers receive their orders with speed and accuracy. The warehouse workers also experience simplified and standardized processes that lessen errors and improve operational efficiency with the allocation at fulfillment functionality.

Let’s explore each stage of order fulfillment from identifying and releasing orders, to assigning them to item lots, plus additional optimized capabilities at sub-stages.

Wave Release for Identifying and Releasing Orders

It is easier to identify appropriate orders to be released in waves based on any of the custom record types:

  • Customers
  • ETA (estimated time of arrival) or shipping dates
  • Item types
  • Specific Zones
  • Delivery Method

Releasing all picked items together increases efficiency and saves time.

Recommended Item Lots

The relevant and recommended item lots can be identified using the pick strategies in the system. The strategies are selected based on the purpose of the items. For instance, the First-Expired-First-Out (FEFO) method is used to assign items into lots based on production dates. Other picks include ones to clean, fill or assign to the primary bin location.

Warehouse Picking Guidelines

To ensure inventory is optimally utilized, guidelines and best practices are provided to workers through the system. The utilization criteria are based on when and how items are used to meet efficiency standards.

Pick Path and Zone Picking Strategies

For single- and multi-order picks, the release comes optimized to support zone picking and pick path strategies. Workers can save time on multi-orders by seeking grouping opportunities for similar items when processing multiple orders at once.

Additional Business Intelligent Features in Pack Station mobile app

Companies can conveniently identify items that should be packed together based on having a similar shipping location using Pack Station. Also, customizable labels and lists (such as pack carton details & pallet labels, bills of lading, and packing lists) can be printed readily for faster shipment. To help decrease shipping costs, item weights can be checked at the kiosk to attain more affordable packaging.

Pre-Built Analytics for Warehouse Operations

Many warehousing businesses have seen the benefit of implementing the latest version of the NetSuite Analytics Warehouse. The tools for business intelligence along with the prebuilt data warehouse give businesses smart data inferences from their daily transaction data all on a single dashboard. In addition, the new version integrates both NetSuite and non-NetSuite datasets with a built-in report builder that managers can use for financial planning.

List of Pre-Built Analytics from NetSuite 2022.1 Release: ​

  • Dashboards: 6 new dashboards for customer relationship management, sales, procurement, order & inventory management, and financial (including cash position)
  • Dashboards: 6 new dashboards for customer relationship management, sales, procurement, order & inventory management, and financial (including cash position)
  • Historical Performance Datasets: 3 new datasets prebuilt for inventory items, work orders, vendor performance scores, reports for expense accounts that are faster and help with point-in-time analysis
  • Custom Records Fields: Data models now include fields specifically for Item Record and Entries, Data Entry Forms that are updated for each data warehouse refresh, Linkage of Multiple Data Sets that help with easier, faster analysis and reporting.

Explore more advanced features of the NetSuite 2022.1 Release

Get a comprehensive overview of the current updates NetSuite has for other industries in the Release Notes.

Test your business workflows! See how the latest updates can optimize your business by testing the new features in the Release Preview Test Account.

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NetSuite 2022.1 Manufacturing – Improvements in Warehousing & Supply Chain Management

Posted on by epbuddies

NetSuite 2022.1 Manufacturing – Improvements in Warehousing & Supply Chain Management

Table of Contents

Signature Release Features for Customers in the Manufacturing Environment

Zoning in the manufacturing industry highlights some of the problems managers face that put them in great competition with suppliers, retailers, and distributors. NetSuite took notice of these problems as well and has prepared a custom release package, NetSuite 2022.1 Manufacturing, that will equip manufacturers with the tools and insights, they need to address the challenges.

With the current workflows, manufacturers are finding it difficult to compete with issues of oversupply of materials, undersupply of workers, also, inflation affecting the price of raw materials. Despite the challenges, manufacturers are determined to find out how they can improve production predictions, increase productivity through automating more, and lessening any inventory left in stock rooms.

To make this work, NetSuite 2022 Release 1 (NetSuite 2022.1) is set to overcome the challenges for customers with advanced features that will improve their overall competitive performance.

Get a complete scope of the 2022 NetSuite Release updates by downloading the notes below, and see what is in store for your business’ growth.

DOWNLOAD THE NETSUITE 2022.1 RELEASE NOTES HERE
This blog explores the updates from 6 NetSuite modules for NetSuite 2022.1 Manufacturing:

Supply Chain Release Features: Improved Inventory Management

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New Filters in the Supply Planning Workbench Software Release Enhances Production Planning

Currently, the Supply Planning Workbench is being used to display supply and demand orders and access details on finished good components. This helps manufacturing companies with the availability of resources and the ability to have modifications. The operations team access these details and improve production planning since the parts and materials can be checked and verified to ensure they are ready for delivery based on the date set. Adjustments can also be made at any stage based on any changes in the demand. This customization will especially help customers in the food and beverage industries, as the features of the release increase the efficiency of business processes when dealing with suppliers.

Taking it to another level, the improved Supply Planning Workbench in NetSuite 2022.1 (NetSuite 2022 Release 1) will provide customers with more insights for faster business processes and more informed decisions. When selecting items in the application, managers can now apply filters that only show related information to the role they direct. This filtered information would also provide more relevant descriptions of the item, vendors, and information regarding any oversupply that may exist.

Customizations Now Project the Status of Suppliers for Increased Efficiency in Business Processes

Mitigating the occurrences of under and oversupply is another challenge that the 2022 NetSuite Release 1 has taken on. With a new modification to the Vendor Performance Scores, manufacturers will get more data insights on the best possible timeline of the orders for certain supplies. NetSuite uses past data to create smart insights on the performance of each vendor matched with a ‘Confidence’ rating on a scale of 1 to 100 for each ‘reliability projection’. The benefits of new release having smarter insights include better planning, purchasing, and negotiating when it comes to vendors.

Resource Allocation for Manufacturers with Limited Inventory

Operation managers can better determine how best to split up their available supplies using the new prioritizing functionality in 2022 NetSuite Release 1. The key is to allocate inventory based on what is best for the business. The new solution allows production planners to do more with the ‘Allocated Demand’ feature; specifically, they can allocate their supplies to relevant orders (customer, work, or transfer) based on the new customization. For available supplies, they can be better allocated by prioritizing either profitability, critical customers, or sales channels.

New Supply Chain Management (SCM) App Functionality to Validate and Control Inventory Quantities

Supply quantities can now be easily validated and controlled for production runs using the new application updates in NetSuite Manufacturing and Supply Chain Management (SCM) apps. For the manufacturing application, the designs have been made simpler and provide a more intuitive user interface. With this update, production managers can validate the quantities needed for production runs. The app also has an ‘Enable / Disable’ feature to aid in controlling over-production. If there are any extra supplies, the inventory levels can be controlled by this new app feature.

Warehousing Release Features: Supports Better Flow for Pick Paths & Packing Strategy

Solution to Reduce the Duplication of Pick Paths from New WMS App Features

The updates to the Warehouse Management System (WMS) app offer better zone picking, tally scanning, and searching capabilities. For zone picking, the app updates increase the speed at which the product is found in the warehouse by accommodating both single and multi-order picks. These reduce the time in movement it takes workers to search for and scan items. This especially benefits workers who use different methods of picking to reduce any repetitions or duplications of pick paths and have a better flow with zone picking.

Warehouse workers will be able to simultaneously scan and count items for put-aways, cycle counting, and inventory transfers with the ‘Tally Scanning’ update. With this update, they no longer need to manually enter numbers for each item, since there is more accuracy in tallying. In addition, when finding the ‘picking status’, managers have an improved searching experience since they can now choose more waves to be released at one time. This customization also saves time when searching for, and printing labels which are all done on the mobile app.

Packing Solutions to Save Time on Business Processes

There are updates made to the NetSuite Pack Station app to increase packing speed by addressing the numbers, instructions, and units. For the numbers, the packing and unpacking of “ship as is” items will be able to be done in bulk instead of individually. The instructions for packing each item will now be shown before packing starts. This helps production planners to have better control and processing times. NetSuite 2022 release 1 update also includes a built-in unit conversion tool for weighing each package in either pounds or kilograms as required.
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Cash Position Release Features: Cash 360 Software Functionality for Business Decision Making

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Functionality for Better Financial Decision Making & Business Processes in the Cash 360 Environment

NetSuite 2022 Release 1 has launched the Cash 360 app, an all-in-one financial management dashboard. It shows the company’s cash position as required, either in weekly insights or predictions for 6 months, all mapped on clear graphs/charts. Manufacturing financial managers use this tool for strategic planning, workflow accuracy, and auditing current inventory for improvements or savings. The app has an ‘Event’ feature that allows managers to add any large purchases, investments, or loans that the company decides to take. Each event is easily accessible, and the data can be analyzed to make smart financial decisions to further improve the cash position.

Customization for Intercompany Transactions in Cash 360 Software

Bills and credits can now be tagged by companies that do not have a full workflow on the new NetSuite App update. This makes it easy for accountants to match invoices for intercompany transactions. The foundation for this update was the ‘Intercompany Netting’ feature in 2021 Release 2 which reduced the human input and potential errors for subsidiary-related transactions. NetSuite further enhances the view of the intercompany account balances.

Inventory Release Features: Inspection Upgrades for Better Quality Management

Inspection Messages in NetSuite Quality Management App

To ensure manufacturers maintain the best quality throughout the production process, the new release now supports on-demand inspections in the NetSuite Quality Management app. These can be set up for certain times or as necessary in addition to the standard set schedule. Triggers are also built-in to send alert messages to workers of any failed inspections and repairs that need to be reinspected.

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Full Screen Customization of Tracked Lots

Reports for operation processes also get updated on the app, now with a full display of all the ‘Tracked Lots’ for both forward and backward tracing on screen. Operations managers can also modify the parameters for the report based on the transaction or the item to help with inventory management.

Save Time Assigning Inventory Numbers to Order Phase and at Fulfillment

Fulfillment numbers will be better and more easily assigned with the new release. Specifically, for ‘First Expired, First Out’ (FEFO) fulfillment that helps to reduce under-utilized inventory, the numbers are more simply assigned to items that need them. The update also reduces the steps for FEFO, since it can be used at both assigning inventory to order phase and now at fulfillment.

Analytics Release Features: More Data to Make Informed Decisions

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Using Past Data for Smart Future Predictions

The 2022 release updates the NetSuite Analytics Warehouse app to help manufacturers devise more tactical and strategic decisions to meet the demands of the industry. From maintaining low costs to satisfying customers, NetSuite provides the data and analytic tools to help to make better decisions. The release offers an overall 50% increase in analytical capabilities with the 18 new transaction types that are already developed and ready for use, as well as new dashboards. The two existing dashboards are the foundation of this new solution, along with 6 new dashboards for business insights. NetSuite Analytics Warehouse also offers ‘Point-in-Time Analysis’ from reports created from past data sets for inventory, work orders, and expense reports.

Analyze Multiple Datasets Without User Restrictions

o improve business performance, the SuiteAnalytics app has updated the user interface, now there are more allowances and multiple datasets all on a single platform. The newly designed interface accommodates a drag and drop feature for needed links and users can also link multiple datasets of custom records. The permission boundaries for analyzing multiple data sets have been removed; now no coding in SuiteScript API nor developer resources are required first. Less time and resources are spent on analysis with this new feature. Now managers can better measure the business performance for the budget, forecast, or planned data to the actual more efficiently.

Integration Release Features: Combine External and Internal Interfaces in One Environment

Customers Monitor All Business Integrations in the NetSuite Connector App

The NetSuite Connector app has been updated to monitor both external and internal applications in one place. Eliminating the need for manufacturers to use external applications separately. Better monitoring helps with visibility, tracking, and auditing.

Find out More on NetSuite 2022 Release 1

There’s a lot more to discover with NetSuite’s new release and the advantage it offers to manufacturers to make ambitious moves and overcome challenges with the supply chain and purchasing decisions.

Keep an eye out for the live updates in the production Account to get a chance to test before changes are made to the LIVE account.

Let ERP Buddies handle all the tech support needed to test these updates in your Sandbox Account. This way there is no interference with your existing workflows. Click Here to touch base with a consultant.

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NetSuite 2022.1 (Release 1) packs promising results for Warehouse, Project and Financial management.  

Posted on by epbuddies

NetSuite 2022.1 (Release 1) packs promising results for Warehouse, Project and Financial management.  

Table of Contents

Every year NetSuite releases 2 major Releases & NetSuite 2022 Release 1 (NetSuite 2022.1) is here! Get an overview of the 2022.1 Upgrade and feature below!

The last 2 years have been challenging for everyone and the pandemic has forced us to change the way of our lives. Today if a business needs to thrive, it must learn to adapt rather than wait on things to get back to “normal”. Many businesses have capitalized on the opportunities that brewed due to Covid-19. Online shopping has seemingly become the new norm, and the chart of its growth is only going to shoot up. To stay on top of these trends, businesses must have access to accurate data in a timely manner. On top of that, saving time on manual tasks must be a priority as process automation and system integrations are the key to concrete customer experiences.

DOWNLOAD THE NETSUITE 2022.1 RELEASE NOTES HERE
With NetSuite 2022.1, you can easily achieve these goals. This release also brings many improved functionalities that can cater to many industries including but not limited to:

NetSuite 2022.1 brings better control on financial forecasting and cash flow with Cash 360.

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NetSuite puts forth the new Cash 360 dashboard that provides an effective way to manage company cash flow, billing options etc. in real-time. The Cash 360 dashboard provides real-time insights into your company’s cash position while generating faster and more accurate cash flow forecasts to help you plan. We understand that a Financial department may face a wide array of difficulties due to data/intercompany documents not being readily available. To counter that, the Cash 360 dashboard acts as a type of configurable dashboard that can be populated based on your requirements. Companies can set up their dashboard to show real-time information such as Accounts Receivables, Accounts Payables, Available Cash and any other relevant document data. To simplify things furthermore, Users can also review existing company cash flow and check for rolling 6-month cash flow forecasts (based on existing trends) for effective decision making and faster payments collection.

A crucial differentiating point is that this release improves forecasting abilities by combining multiple financial data points such as new funding, proposed expansion plans, future spending plans, billing schedules, sales etc. with open Accounts Payables and Accounts Receivables transactions. When historical customer transactions are coupled within this, it serves as a solid foundation to concrete your company’s forecasting capability.

If the company’s data integrity is not reliable, it wouldn’t be uncommon for the financial departments to report errors. With NetSuite, users can directly interlink company purchase orders with sales orders to save time and effort. Now with NetSuite 2022.1 release, Users can now automatically par vendor invoices with credit, discounts, refunds, bill credits etc.

On-Screen Wave Filtering

The release offers comprehensive, real-time data visibility of all orders and waves in the process to be picked. The list of orders and waves helps workers better prioritize tasks to start working on and prevent any picks that may be repeated.

Complete project management from a single dashboard with Project 360

With the upcoming Release NetSuite 2022.1 introduces the Project 360 dashboard within SuiteProjects, a great tool for Project Managers. The aim of this dashboard is to bring all project-related information in a centralized dashboard for easy access. With Project 360, Project Managers can quickly browse through important project-related information such as due dates, ETA, project resources, finances and more.

Project 360 also showcases, important project analytics such as actual vs total spend, budget utilization, wastage etc. These KPIs can be completely customized to showcase only the most relevant information to the project. Custom notifications can also be set up that trigger whenever a specific criterion is met.

We understand that project billing can be a tedious task especially when the customer demands unique information to be listed in an invoice. NetSuite recognizes this concern and to tackle it, it brings its new customizable invoice presentation template. The invoice presentation template allows Users to configure each individual invoice and its contents as per every client/project requirement. This makes billing super-easy as Customers can readily see requested information right away, making it convenient to collect payments.

Better warehouse management and enhancements to NetSuite Pack Station

NetSuite 2022.1 has brought new functionality to NetSuite WMS that now allows for convenient Warehouse management. Users can now utilize NetSuite’s Zone Pick and Merge functionality as part of the single or multi-order picking process. What does this mean? Warehouse managers/ Supply Chain Managers can now assign pickers to a specific zone while merging them during the staging phase. This helps to avoid redundant tasks and helps to limit picker movement to its zone as opposed to the entire Warehouse. Not only does this increase flexibility, but also decreases order fulfillment time for both singular or bulk orders that may or may not be from the same zone in a warehouse.

Another amazing functionality that has been added to NetSuite WMS is its ability to search and print labels from any screen. Users with permissions can also check the picking status of orders and waves (a group of orders).

In today’s age, going paperless is the way to go. The new update introduces paperless sorting for group orders or waves. Users can now also release and approve multiple group orders with just a few clicks.

Having an eye on inventory items is crucial for the optimal functioning of a warehouse. The new tally scan functionality provides an easy way to count items while they are being scanned. This includes inventory tracking, cycle counting and bin putaway tracking as well.

A word on NetSuite Pack Station

With the new enhancement to the NetSuite Pack Station, Users can now change weight metrics to either pound, kilogram etc. as needed. Packers can also check for packing instructions before the task for packing starts.

Users can now bulk pack and unpack “Ship As Is” items and select preferred quantities for bulk packaging. On the other hand, Users also have the option to bulk pack and unpack items that are being shipped individually.

There’s a lot more to NetSuite 2022.1 Release

This blog only provides a brief overview of the NetSuite 2022.1 Release. To get a complete idea, we recommend downloading the NetSuite 2022.1 Release Preview Notes here. One thing to note is that NetSuite will push this update live into the Production Account soon. So, it is important to test out these updates before things are changed in your LIVE account. ERP Buddies will be more than happy to test these updates in your Sandbox Account (Non-Production Account) to ensure they do not interfere with your existing workflows. Please use the Contact box to reach out to us with your NetSuite 2022.1 Release.
DOWNLOAD THE NETSUITE 2022.1 RELEASE NOTES HERE