Overview: Nineyard's new 'Bins and Locations' feature introduces advanced inventory management capabilities, allowing you to allocate and divide your stock into specific bins or locations within your warehouse. This guide will walk you through the four stages of inventory management, from receiving to shipping, and explain how the 'Bins and Locations' feature integrates into each stage.
Enabling 'Bins and Locations'
To begin using the 'Bins and Locations' feature, you need to enable it in your settings:
Navigate to Settings > System Settings > Logistics.
Toggle on the 'Use Bins and Locations' setting.
Important Note:
Once the 'Bins and Locations' feature is activated, automatic inventory deductions for FBM orders will be disabled. Manual picking will be required for every order, ensuring precise inventory tracking.
The Four Stages of Inventory Management
Receiving Inventory:
When receiving inventory, go to your PO and click on the “Scan” button.
You can either type in the item you’re receiving or scan it using a barcode scanner.
Select the specific location where the item will be stored. You can also scan a location to receive the item directly into that bin.
Enter the quantity and complete the receiving process. The selected location will now reflect the received quantity.
Monitoring Inventory:
Track your inventory in real-time, see where items are stored, and know the quantities at each specific location.
You can always find the location of a specific item by navigating to the 'Products' page. Under the 'Stock' sub-tab in the product details, you’ll see where your stock is stored.
Shipping Out with FBA:
When preparing an FBA shipment, the process now involves 4 key steps: Pick, Prep, Pack, and Ship.
Pick: The warehouse worker physically picks the products from their designated locations.
Prep: During this phase, the products are bundled together to form SKUs. Where applicable, this includes creating packs by combining multiple units of a product or bundling different products into a single SKU.
Pack: The prepared SKUs are placed into boxes, labeled, and made ready for shipment.
Ship: This final phase involves purchasing shipping and finalizing the shipment, ensuring the boxes are ready to be sent to Amazon's fulfillment centers.
Shipping Out with FBM Orders:
Go to Orders > Fulfillment Orders > Orders, where you'll find all seller-fulfilled orders.
Select the relevant orders from the list.
Press the Select Action button and click on Create Batch.
Once the batch is created, go to Batches and proceed with picking and shipping those orders.
Using the Wagon for Picking FBM:
To streamline the picking process, you can use the 'wagon' feature in your warehouse. First, create a wagon by going to Settings > System Settings > Logistics.
In the wagon, you can create bins. The number of bins in your wagon determines the number of orders you can add to the wagon for picking.
Once your wagon is set up, use it to pick FBM orders, moving efficiently through your warehouse.
If you have a ShipStation account, you can integrate it with Nineyard to purchase shipping directly on the Nineyard platform.
To add your ShipStation account, go to Settings > Integrations and follow the prompts to complete the integration.
Creating and Uploading Warehouse Locations
Creating a Single Location
To create a new bin or location, go to Logistics > Warehouses and press on "Add New." This allows you to add new locations within your warehouse for better inventory organization.
Bulk Uploading Locations
You can create or update many bins/locations at once:
Go to Logistics > Warehouses.
Click the Select Action dropdown.
Choose Update WH Locations (Bulk).
Download the CSV template.
Fill in each row with your bin/location details.
Save the file and upload it back in the Bulk Update dialog.
By following these steps, you can efficiently manage your inventory with the 'Bins and Locations' feature, ensuring accurate tracking and streamlined order fulfillment.