Physical Inventory

Yahoo Archive
1
Hi All...
Been gearing up for year end physical inventory here. Found a few
glitches & fixes in the tag print program (actually the Crystal form) that
might help ya' get an easier and more accurate count.

1) The part description only prints 30 characters. We depend on the full
description to accurately identify many of our parts. The data in the .DBF
file is actually a memo field with the whole description. If you change
the field to "can grow" in Crystal, and widen it you can get it all on your
tags.

2) No unit of measure prints. How the !@#$ did Epicor miss this
one? Brute force work around: Use export utility to export entire Part
table to DBase file with IUM. Import to Access, create index / primary key
on Part. Save as .MDB file. Join with CountTag in Crystal. Kind of a
kludge, but well worth the effort.

Anyone have any words of wisdom for someone running this in Vantage for the
first time? (I have a couple saved from earlier this month)

-Thanks,
Wayne Cox
2
Hi Wayne,

Here's a quirky little gotcha.

Last year during our physical inventory we printed and then distributed our
count tags. However, much to our horror (since there was an AUDITOR on site),
we discovered that during the printing of the count tags, the tag numbers and
the part numbers became "out of sync".
What I mean is, that the tag number was shifted one so that in the count entry
data input program the tag number in your hand was actually the tag number + 1
in the input program. Needless to say it caused MUCH confusion. After much
research I discovered that during the Vantage tag print job about midway through
the printing, the tag numbers shifted...and then shifted back. It's difficult
to describe so will try to illustrate:

How it should have been: How it printed:

Tag# Part# Tag# Part#

001 Widget1 001 Widget1
002 Widget2 002 Widget3<<
003 Widget3 003 Widget4<<
004 Widget4 004 Widget5<<
005 Widget5 005 Widget6<<
006 Widget6 006 Widget7<<
007 Widget7 007 Widget2<<
008 Widget8 008 Widget8
009 Widget9 009 Widget9
010 Widget10 010 Widget10

As you can see from the example, the tags eventually got back in sync. I
reprinted (using Crystal reports from the dbf file, not Vantage) and all the
tags were fine. Since we were able to see where the tags got out of sync and
then came back and were able to instruct the data entry people how to read and
input these tags, the auditor didn't question the integrity of our counts (whew,
talk about some fast talking!).

I was inclined to say this was some weird print problem caused by who knows
what, but it occurred in two of the three divisions using Vantage for their
Physical Inventory.

Long story short...as part of our Physical Inventory procedures we now cross
check the integrity of the printed tags BEFORE distribution.

Hope this helps.

Mike Lowe
Corporate I.S. Manager (and fast talker)
Connor Manufacturing Services





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Message: 15
Date: Wed, 20 Dec 2000 11:28:49 -0500
From: Wayne Cox <wmc@...>

Subject: Physical Inventory

Hi All...
Been gearing up for year end physical inventory here. Found a few
glitches & fixes in the tag print program (actually the Crystal form) that
might help ya' get an easier and more accurate count.

1) The part description only prints 30 characters. We depend on the full
description to accurately identify many of our parts. The data in the .DBF
file is actually a memo field with the whole description. If you change
the field to "can grow" in Crystal, and widen it you can get it all on your
tags

2) No unit of measure prints. How the !@#$ did Epicor miss this
one? Brute force work around: Use export utility to export entire Part
table to DBase file with IUM. Import to Access, create index / primary key
on Part. Save as .MDB file. Join with CountTag in Crystal. Kind of a
kludge, but well worth the effort.

Anyone have any words of wisdom for someone running this in Vantage for the
first time? (I have a couple saved from earlier this month)

-Thanks,
Wayne Cox



Mike Lowe
Corporate I.S. Manager
Connor Manufacturing Services
MLowe@...
(909) 273-1282
3
We are going to be performing a full physical inventory for the first
time using vantage. Previously we did a manual count adjustment. I am
running 3.00.627, is there any pitfalls or concerns that I should be
aware of? I dont plan on putting on the 632 patch before we do
inventory. Any suggestions?

TIA
Todd
4
To all,
Do you have a documented physical inventory process? If so, can you
share it with me / the group et al?

The reason I ask, is because our controller (who coordinates our
inventory) has us stop all inventory transactions for 2.5 days (no
packing slips, job completions etc) during inventory. Yet in the
Vantage inventory Help screen, the "Start Count Function of Count
Entry" says we "do not have to shut down during physical inventory
count".

We are on Vantage 5.1, and recognize that we are not the scholars of
Vantage we probably should be. Any best practices you can share would
be tremendously appreciated, and possibly implemented next year.

Thanks in advance and best regards!

Andrew
5
Andrew,

As far as Vantage is concerned, you definitely do not need to shut down
during an inventory count. We've been through this process a few years now
and, while we tried to limit both the activity in the stockroom and the
number of transactions being entered into the system, we did not shut down
inventory processing completely.

I created two reports in Report Builder to help us cope with the counting
process, particularly when we had activity before the count was performed
but after it had been "started" in Vantage. If you'd like to see the
reports, I can try to post them to the files section.

Regards,
Scott Lepley
Systems Administrator
Mauell Corporation
Phone: 717-432-8686, ext. 14
Fax: 717-432-8688
Email: sal@...
Vantage version: 6.00.515


-----Original Message-----
From: andrewcretors [mailto:acretors@...]
Sent: Thursday, December 11, 2003 3:57 PM
To: vantage@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [Vantage] Physical Inventory

To all,
Do you have a documented physical inventory process? If so, can you
share it with me / the group et al?

The reason I ask, is because our controller (who coordinates our
inventory) has us stop all inventory transactions for 2.5 days (no
packing slips, job completions etc) during inventory. Yet in the
Vantage inventory Help screen, the "Start Count Function of Count
Entry" says we "do not have to shut down during physical inventory
count".

We are on Vantage 5.1, and recognize that we are not the scholars of
Vantage we probably should be. Any best practices you can share would
be tremendously appreciated, and possibly implemented next year.

Thanks in advance and best regards!

Andrew



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
6
To all,
Does anyone know how to add TABS and ENTER to a barcode?
What I am trying to do is make the inventory tag count entry more
efficient. Right now, when someone enters the tag counts, when they
hit ok, they are brought back to the count entry screen with the
focus on the tag that I just entered a count for. The user either has
to hit tab twice, or use the mouse to put focus on the "Start At" box.

What I want is, when the user hits ok (or F2) after entering the
quantity for a given tag, that they can immediately scan the next
tag, and it will take them directly to the Count Tag Maintenance
screen for that tag. So the rhythm would be: scan tag, enter
quantity, F2. Scan tag, enter quantity, F2. etc. etc.

I was hoping I could do this by (somehow) adding two tab characters
to the front of the tag number, and an "enter" after the tag number
to achieve this.

The way I see it now, the process is: scan, enter, input quantity,
F2, tab, tab.

Or, as an alternative, has someone put together a custom program that
collects the data in an access database (or something like it), and
then writes it to vantage?

Thanks in advance
Andrew
7
Andrew,
Here is a list of Keyboard / Barcode Equivalents that I have used in the
past for similar situations.

Key Board Key Bar Code Equivalent
F1 $A
F2 $B
F3 $C
F4 $D
F5 $E
F6 $F
F7 $G
TAB $I
PAGE UP $K
PAGE DOWN $L
ENTER $M
F8 $N
F9 $O
F10 $P
DEL $Q
INSERT $R
LEFT ARROW $S
RIGHT ARROW $T
DOWN ARROW $U
UP ARROW $V
HOME $W
END $X
SHIFT ON $Y
SHIFT OFF $Z
ESC %A
CTRL ON %B
CTRL OFF %C
ALT ON %D
ALT OFF %E
; %F
< %G
= %H
> %I
? %J
[ %K
\ %L
] %M
^ %N
_ %O
{ %P
} %R
~ %S
SPACE ,
! /A
" /B
# /C
$ /D
% /E
& /F
' /G
( /H
) /I
* /J
+ /K
, /L
/ /O

Hope this is of some help.

Jeff Jaske
Metal Processors Inc.




-----Original Message-----
From: andrewcretors [mailto:acretors@...]
Sent: Monday, December 15, 2003 2:56 PM
To: vantage@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [Vantage] Physical Inventory


To all,
Does anyone know how to add TABS and ENTER to a barcode?
What I am trying to do is make the inventory tag count entry more
efficient. Right now, when someone enters the tag counts, when they
hit ok, they are brought back to the count entry screen with the
focus on the tag that I just entered a count for. The user either has
to hit tab twice, or use the mouse to put focus on the "Start At" box.

What I want is, when the user hits ok (or F2) after entering the
quantity for a given tag, that they can immediately scan the next
tag, and it will take them directly to the Count Tag Maintenance
screen for that tag. So the rhythm would be: scan tag, enter
quantity, F2. Scan tag, enter quantity, F2. etc. etc.

I was hoping I could do this by (somehow) adding two tab characters
to the front of the tag number, and an "enter" after the tag number
to achieve this.

The way I see it now, the process is: scan, enter, input quantity,
F2, tab, tab.

Or, as an alternative, has someone put together a custom program that
collects the data in an access database (or something like it), and
then writes it to vantage?

Thanks in advance
Andrew



Useful links for the Yahoo!Groups Vantage Board are: ( Note: You must
have already linked your email address to a yahoo id to enable access. )
(1) To access the Files Section of our Yahoo!Group for Report Builder
and Crystal Reports and other 'goodies', please goto:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vantage/files/.
(2) To search through old msg's goto:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vantage/messages
(3) To view links to Vendors that provide Vantage services goto:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vantage/links

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
8
Jeff,
A million thanks!! Your info has allowed me to get EXACTLY what I
want! I put two "tabs" in front, and to "enters" at the end, and
VOILA!

What a wonderful holiday gift you have given to me!

Best regards,

Andrew

--- In vantage@yahoogroups.com, "Jaske, Jeff" <jjaske@m...> wrote:
> Andrew,
> Here is a list of Keyboard / Barcode Equivalents that I have used
in the
> past for similar situations.
>
> Key Board Key Bar Code Equivalent
> F1 $A
> F2 $B
> F3 $C
> F4 $D
> F5 $E
> F6 $F
> F7 $G
> TAB $I
> PAGE UP $K
> PAGE DOWN $L
> ENTER $M
> F8 $N
> F9 $O
> F10 $P
> DEL $Q
> INSERT $R
> LEFT ARROW $S
> RIGHT ARROW $T
> DOWN ARROW $U
> UP ARROW $V
> HOME $W
> END $X
> SHIFT ON $Y
> SHIFT OFF $Z
> ESC %A
> CTRL ON %B
> CTRL OFF %C
> ALT ON %D
> ALT OFF %E
> ; %F
> < %G
> = %H
> > %I
> ? %J
> [ %K
> \ %L
> ] %M
> ^ %N
> _ %O
> { %P
> } %R
> ~ %S
> SPACE ,
> ! /A
> " /B
> # /C
> $ /D
> % /E
> & /F
> ' /G
> ( /H
> ) /I
> * /J
> + /K
> , /L
> / /O
>
> Hope this is of some help.
>
> Jeff Jaske
> Metal Processors Inc.
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: andrewcretors [mailto:acretors@c...]
> Sent: Monday, December 15, 2003 2:56 PM
> To: vantage@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [Vantage] Physical Inventory
>
>
> To all,
> Does anyone know how to add TABS and ENTER to a barcode?
> What I am trying to do is make the inventory tag count entry more
> efficient. Right now, when someone enters the tag counts, when they
> hit ok, they are brought back to the count entry screen with the
> focus on the tag that I just entered a count for. The user either
has
> to hit tab twice, or use the mouse to put focus on the "Start At"
box.
>
> What I want is, when the user hits ok (or F2) after entering the
> quantity for a given tag, that they can immediately scan the next
> tag, and it will take them directly to the Count Tag Maintenance
> screen for that tag. So the rhythm would be: scan tag, enter
> quantity, F2. Scan tag, enter quantity, F2. etc. etc.
>
> I was hoping I could do this by (somehow) adding two tab characters
> to the front of the tag number, and an "enter" after the tag number
> to achieve this.
>
> The way I see it now, the process is: scan, enter, input quantity,
> F2, tab, tab.
>
> Or, as an alternative, has someone put together a custom program
that
> collects the data in an access database (or something like it), and
> then writes it to vantage?
>
> Thanks in advance
> Andrew
>
>
>
> Useful links for the Yahoo!Groups Vantage Board are: ( Note: You
must
> have already linked your email address to a yahoo id to enable
access. )
> (1) To access the Files Section of our Yahoo!Group for Report
Builder
> and Crystal Reports and other 'goodies', please goto:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vantage/files/.
> (2) To search through old msg's goto:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vantage/messages
> (3) To view links to Vendors that provide Vantage services goto:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vantage/links
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to
> http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
9
Hello,



We need to do a full physical inventory soon and we are wondering if
anyone out there who uses Vantage has performed a physical using
Vantage.

If you have, do you have an SOP or work instruction that outlines how
you perform the physical that you would be willing to share?



We are on Vantage 8.03 but we would be willing to hear from people on
prior version of Vantage also.



Thanks,

Joe Rojas

IT Manager

TNCO, Inc.

781-447-6661 x7506

jrojas@...



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
10
At R.O.M we wrote an Access application to handle much of the inventory
process. We download the data from Vantage, print the inventory tags in
Access and update the Access data before doing our final posting back to
Vantage. Access gives us the ability to reconcil, recount and write
reports to make the process easier. We are on 6.1 and have gone through
the end year process two times now. I can't say that our process is
100% documented but we do have 28 steps outlined. If you want more
information give us a call.

Lon A. Wiksell
R.O.M Corp.
816-318-8000

________________________________

From: vantage@yahoogroups.com [mailto:vantage@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf
Of Joe Rojas
Sent: Wednesday, March 07, 2007 1:13 PM
To: vantage@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [Vantage] Physical Inventory



Hello,

We need to do a full physical inventory soon and we are wondering if
anyone out there who uses Vantage has performed a physical using
Vantage.

If you have, do you have an SOP or work instruction that outlines how
you perform the physical that you would be willing to share?

We are on Vantage 8.03 but we would be willing to hear from people on
prior version of Vantage also.

Thanks,

Joe Rojas

IT Manager

TNCO, Inc.

781-447-6661 x7506

jrojas@... <mailto:jrojas%40tnco-inc.com>

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]






[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]