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Option to inherit Batch Number and Expiration Date for Disassembly / Auto-Disassembly

started a topic over 7 years ago

I would like to propose that there be an option in General Settings for the Disassembly / Auto-Disassembly process to automatically inherit the Batch Number and Expiration Date from the parent of the disassembly (the thing being disassembled).


This is particularly important for food businesses that need to have a way to tracking of the batch number (AKA lot number) for all of their ingredients. The use case is that food businesses often need to convert from the unit in which they purchase (e.g., pounds) to the unit they use in the bill of materials (e.g., grams), which is greatly facilitated by the auto-disassembly feature.


Currently, when an auto-disassembly happens, the Batch Number is automatically assigned using the FG-xxxxx auto-numbering system. For example, the batch number for an inventory item that resulted from an auto-disassembling process maybe have a batch number like FG-00003.  


The issue is that when the business goes to pick the components (AKA ingredients) for production, the FG-xxxxx batch number does not match the original batch number (lot number) that appears on the packaging of the item.


And while some businesses can do the unit conversion themselves as a part of the receiving process, it is clumsy to have the units on the supplier's invoice and the units on the invoice in DEAR not match. Worse, in some cases, the conversion leads to the unit costs that have many decimal places, which when entered by the user and multiplied by the quantities ends up not matching the invoice price exactly. Based on my work with clients, there are some cases there is literally no way to make the math work out correctly, which leaves the DEAR user with a dilema (albeit somewhat minor) of entering the invoice incorrectly, or adding an additional line item to fix the rounding error.


The is one other work around that can be done, which is to "Undo" each auto-disassembly and re-do it entering the batch number and expiration date, but this is a time consuming process, and does not always work out easily in cases where multiple batches (lots) of a product have been received because when re-doing the disassembly, DEAR might pick components that do not match the disassembly. Suffice to say I have tried it and it is a time consuming process that can get messy and frustrating.


The Auto-Disassembly process is fantastic for automatically doing unit conversion from the purchase unit to the preferred BOM unit. It would be a lot better if the results of a disassembly would inherit the batch number and expiry date from the parent product.


**Note: If you also want to see this feature implemented, make sure you "like" this Feature Request, and/or add a comment. DEAR Inventory considers which feature requests to implement based, in part, on user interest/demand in this Feature Request forum.**


This topic also talks about the need for this feature request:

http://dearsystems.freshdesk.com/support/discussions/topics/1000063241


9 people like this idea
  • I regularly see a need for this feature for any business that has lot/batch tracking as a part of their business.  I think it is important that this feature is implemented.  


    2 people like this
  • I keep stumbling across this for manufacturers that need to do unit conversion from their purchase unit to the production unit.   Please consider implementing this.


    Thanks,

    Stan


    3 people like this
  • I like this idea.


    I've seen this in other MRP systems.  In the item description, have a setting that you can choose what unit you purchase the ingredient in (kg), and then a spot where you can say 1 kg = 2.2lbs.


    So you can buy 1 kg of an item, and when you receive it, it is automatically calculated and converted, and you receive 2.2lbs into inventory.




    3 people like this
  • Hi Jim,


    You can already do the conversion from one unit to another unit (e.g., 1 kg to 2.2 lbs) in DEAR using the disassembly feature.  And if you set the product to have an auto-disassembly, then for a purchase it will automatically convert from the original unit to the disassembled unit once received and the invoice is authorized.  See this help topic:


    http://support.dearsystems.com/support/solutions/articles/1000158860-unit-of-measure-conversion


    Also be aware of the feature request for "Multiple Units of Measure" which as of this writing as been changed to "Planned" status.


    http://support.dearsystems.com/support/discussions/topics/1000059868


    Cheers,

    Stan

  • Would like to see the auto-inherit option for Batch Number/Expirty for auto-Disassembly as well.

    It is frustrating from a traceability point of view that the batch number automatically is assigned the Assembly Order number, when we have already entered the batch number and expiry when we purchased it. Especially for clients in food manufacturing, chemical manufacturing and any other industry where there may be a recall on a raw material, this feature is vital.


    2 people like this
  • Just bumped into this again today with a client.  Would be great to see this.


    1 person likes this
  • With the advent of the Additional Units of Measure feature, this feature request to have an option to allow products inherit the batch number and expiration date on auto-assembly and auto-disassembly has become even more important.  


    The Additional Units of Measure feature is great in that it allows businesses to much more fluidly go between different units of measure for an item, but the fact the batch number changes when doing so is a problem for businesses that need to have a batch number tracked and visible in the system.  Best practice for traceability is to always inherit the lot number (AKA batch number) of the product from which it came if it is not transformed.  That means, that if I have a 20 kg bag of flour and I have it converting to grams for the Additional Units of Measure, because that is what I use from my production unit of measure, I do not want the flour in grams to have a different batch number, which is what DEAR is doing right now.   


    The current workarounds for this is painful and time-consuming.  The user needs to go into the assembly / disassembly, undo it, copy over the lot number and expiriation date from the parent product and then reauthorize and complete the process. And that's if they remember, or have time to do this.  If they do not remember and want to do it once some of the converted-to unit product have been used, then they need to do a stock adjustment to fix the batch number.  This really is not good.  


    I would strongly encourage you (DEAR) to implement this feature request soon.


    Thanks!!



    2 people like this
  • It is fantastic news that this is now implemented!  Thank you, on behalf of the many food and supplements users of DEAR!!   And everyone else that uses batch and lot tracking in DEAR and needs to convert between units. 




  • Hey Stan, Can you clarify what functionality has been implemented to support inheriting batch during auto-disassembly and assembly?

    Chris

  • Inheriting the batch number and expiry date from the parent product during the disassembly process could save time and reduce the risk of errors or discrepancies in the inventory management system.

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