Data collection configuration offers the possibility to configure the data collection processes. For each of the installed processes, several configurations can be created. For available processes, see the Warehouse Data Collection Configuration About description. New configurations are created by copying existing ones using the right mouse button option in the Data Collection Configuration window. To learn more about the configuration possibilities, look at the training material and the exercises.
The Warehouse Data Collection solution can, depending on the settings in the Data Collection Configuration window, automatically commit or fetch a default value to the process for a given data item according to the following order:
In the Input Order column, the sequence in which the data items should be entered can be configured. Data items can depend on already entered data items in the session. Depending on the input order values, the values for data items can be given automatically by the process.
The Barcode ID data item is the inventory barcode ID in IFS Applications and it identifies several data items. It can be used to identify all or any of the following data items:
If the barcode ID is placed before any of the above data items and a valid barcode ID is entered, the values are automatically committed in the process if Use Automatic Value field is set to Fixed.
Note that using the BARCODE_ID list of values may cause performance issues since all Barcode IDs are saved in the same table of the database.
To disable the use of the barcode ID, make sure that the Fixed Value field is cleared and that Always is selected in the Use Automatic Value field. This means that null will automatically be committed in the scanning client, i.e. barcode ID is not used.
The PRINT_INVENTORY_PART_BARCODE data item is an enumeration with the values Yes and No. If Yes is selected, the ORGIN_PACK_SIZE data item has to be entered and one or several inventory part barcodes will be created and printed. The printed inventory part barcode will be placed in the Print Manager window.
Data entered in the Fixed Value column on the Items tab will automatically be committed in the scanning client if Use Fixed Value field is set to Always or When Applicable (this option is not available for all data items). When Applicable means that the value in the Fixed Value field is used when applicable. For example, the value * can be used as a fixed value for the serial number when a non-serial-traced part is entered but for a serial-traced part a serial number should be entered. If Use Fixed Value field is set to Always or When Applicable and the Fixed Value field is left blank, it is considered as null.
The Hide Line functionality will hide entered data in the information table in the scanning client. The user might still need to enter the value if it is needed to continue the process. Hide Line can be set to Always or When Fixed Value for data items that are not helping the user through the process or if they are not used at the selected site. If Hide Line is set to When Fixed Value entered data will be hidden in the information table when the When Applicable condition is fulfilled according to what is described in the Fixed Value section.
The Hide All Previous functionality will hide all previous data items and item details (except the ones added to the previous data item) in the information table of the scanning client. The Hide All Previous check box can be selected for one or several data items to clear the information table. This can be, for example, helpful if the user wants to clear the information table when a new loop starts.
The List of Values setting is used to indicate how the List of Values should behave. Four different options are available:
Note that the List of Values are available for most of the data items in the configuration. The List of Values Row Limitation configuration option on the Data Collection Configuration/General tab indicates the maximum number of rows to be received in the List of Values of the client. Increasing the default value will have a negative effect on the response time of the List of Values.
In the Data Collection Configuration window, it is possible to configure a Loop Start and a Loop End. When a Loop Start is enabled in the configuration, the session will loop over all the items with a higher input order number until it reach the Loop End. When the process is executed, the process will create full sets of data items needed to execute the standard IFS processes. To exit a loop, click the Exit Loop button. It is possible to set up several Loop Starts but only one Loop End in a configuration. The user will need to exit all the loops to execute the process. It is not possible to enter two data sets that are exactly the same (where all data item values are equal to the already entered data set). This validation is done to prevent process errors and manual errors.
The loop exists only in the session so data in the database will not be consumed until the process is executed.
The Use Automatic Value setting is used to indicate how automatic values fetched by the process should be handled. Three different options is available:
One example of this functionality in the Report Picking of Customer Order Lines process is that when the unique line ID is identified and all the Use Automatic Value is set to fixed the process can identify and automatically commit the values. When the Use Automatic Value is set to off, the user will have to enter the data manually. This can be used to validate that the user is performing the correct task. See the topic Guiding Processes. The automatic values work mainly for processes using lists, reports and tasks. For other processes, automatic values are used, but in another way. For example in the Count Part process, the automatic value on the SERIAL_NO data item will use the Part No data item to identify if an asterisk (*) could be committed automatically. The user will not need to enter the serial number if the part is entered before the serial number in the scanning session and if the part is not serial traced in inventory.
Depending on the order of data items, they can be committed automatically by the process.
For each data item in a process, it is possible to attach and enable details that will be shown in the scanning client directly after the data item value has been entered. The data item details can be seen in the lower table on the Items tab of the Data Collection Configuration window. To attach and enable a data item detail, select the data item and then add a new line in the lower table. The easiest way to add a detail is to use the List of Values. In the List of Values, all available data item details are visible. The data item details will be shown in the order defined in the order column in the lower table. Any data item detail can be attached to any data item and it can be enabled for several data items in the same configuration. The value can be retrieved and displayed depending on where in the configuration order the data item detail is enabled. If the data item detail cannot be found, the field will be blank. The reason for this is that the configuration possibilities in the warehouse data collection is close to unlimited and to retrieve a detail, the needed key data have to have been entered before in the process.
On the Details tab, process specific settings can be enabled. The functionality of the process specific settings can be seen in the Warehouse Data Collection Process About description.
Processes that uses lists, reports and tasks can be set up to guide the user through the process and also validate that the user is doing the correct task. For example, counting the correct part.
As an example, the Count Per Count Report process can be configured to guide the user. To create a guided process, open the Data Collection Configuration window and search for the COUNT_PER_COUNT_REPORT process ID. On the Items tab, configure the data items as below:
| Data Item ID | Input Order | Hide Line | Use Automatic Value | List of Values | Subsequent Data Item ID |
| INV_LIST_NO | 1 | Never | Fixed | On | |
| SEQ | 2 | Always | Fixed | Auto Pick | |
| LOCATION_NO | 3 | Always | Off | Off | |
| PART_NO | 4 | Always | Off | Off | |
| Other data items | 5 | Always | Fixed | On |
The feedback items for the SEQ data item should be Location No, Part No and the corresponding descriptions. The feedback items will guide the user to go to the correct location and count the correct part. Depending on the system configuration, other feedback items might be needed in order to give enough information to the user.
With the above configuration, the user first has to select the count report number. When the count report number is entered, the first sequence number will automatically be picked, Auto Pick setting in the List of Values for the SEQ data item. The details attached to the SEQ data item will be displayed, guiding the user. When the Use Automatic Value enumeration is set to Off, the user will have to enter the data by scanning or manually typing the location number and part number. It will not be possible to use the List of Values and it will not be possible to enter a location number and part number that does not match the already entered sequence number and count report number.
The processes can be connected, which means that when a process is completed, another process configuration is started. The configuration setting is done on the General tab in the Data Collection Configuration window. It is the subsequent process ID and subsequent configuration ID that points on the connected process configuration that will be started directly after the active configuration is completed. The data item values entered in the first process can be kept and put in to the second process. This is done by setting the data item in the Subsequent Data Item ID field on the Items tab of the configuration client.
In the Transport Task Line process, lines can be both picked and executed. For example, this can be set up as two connected configurations. The first process will pick the transport task line and the second process will execute the transport task line. To create the work flow, the two configurations have to be created, for example Pick TT Line and Execute TT Line. On the General tab for the Pick TT Line process, click the Process Completion Action list, select Create New Session and enter the subsequent process ID and subsequent configuration ID that correspond to the Execute TT Line process. Now the Execute TT Line process will start directly after the Pick TT Line process is completed. For the Execute TT Line process, enter the subsequent process ID and subsequent configuration ID in the same way pointing at the Pick TT Line process. With this configuration, a loop has been created between the two different configurations.
Configuration of the process Pick TT Line:
| Data Item ID | Fixed Value | Use Fixed Value | Input Order | Hide Line | Use Automatic Value | List of Values | Subsequent Data Item ID | Use Subsequent Value |
| TRANSPORT_TASK_STATUS | Created | Always | 1 | Never | Fixed | On | Off | |
| TRANSPORT_TASK_ID | Never | 2 | Never | Fixed | Forced | TRANSPORT_TASK_ID | Fixed | |
| LINE_NO | Never | 3 | Always | Fixed | Forced | Off | ||
| FROM_LOCATION_NO | Never | 4 | Always | Off | Off | Off | ||
| PART_NO | Never | 5 | Always | Off | Off | Off | ||
| QTY | Never | 6 | Never | Off | Off | Off | ||
| Action | Pick | Always | 7 | Never | Fixed | Off | Off | |
| Other Data items | Never | 8 | Always | Fixed | On | Off |
The first data item, TRANSPORT_TASK_STATUS is used to filter all the transport tasks and transport task lines to show only lines in the Created status. For the LINE_NO data item, the feedback items FROM_LOCATION_NO_DESC, PART_NO_DESCRIPTION and QTY should be enabled to guide the user. The Pick TT Line process will guide and validate that the user is picking the correct part from the correct location. With the setting in the Subsequent Data Item ID column, the value entered in the Pick TT Line process will be remembered and put into the Transport Task ID data item in the next process configuration, Execute TT Line. The data for the Transport Task ID will be displayed as a default value. The setting for Use Subsequent Value will determine how the value fetched from the subsequent session will be handled.
Configuration of the process Execute TT Line:
| Data Item ID | Fixed Value | Use Fixed Value | Input Order | Hide Line | Use Automatic Value | List of Values | Subsequent Data Item ID |
| TRANSPORT_TASK_STATUS | Picked | Always | 1 | Never | Fixed | On | |
| TRANSPORT_TASK_ID | Never | 2 | Never | Fixed | Forced | ||
| LINE_NO | Never | 3 | Always | Fixed | Forced | ||
| PART_NO | Never | 4 | Always | Off | Off | ||
| TO_LOCATION_NO | Never | 5 | Always | Off | Off | ||
| QTY | Never | 6 | Never | Fixed | Off | ||
| Action | Execute | Always | 7 | Never | Fixed | Off | |
| Other Data items | Never | 8 | Always | Fixed | On |
For the LINE_NO data item, the feedback items TO_LOCATION_NO_DESC, PART_NO_DESCRIPTION and QTY should be enabled to guide the user. The Pick TT Line process will guide and validate that the user is picking the correct part from the correct location.