Independent IFS Cloud practice · Warehouse set-up design
Decide what remote stock may do before the first part moves out
An IFS Cloud remote warehouse holds stock away from the main warehouse, for example at a supplier or in a service van, and it is still stock. If its availability, movement and refill settings stay at the ordinary defaults, the remote stock can be reserved, issued or used to refill other locations in ways the business did not intend. This article follows the documentation page on remote warehouses in the 26R1 tree; the 25R2 copy carries the same text.
Key takeaways
- A default part availability control can be entered at warehouse level to limit the stock in a remote warehouse for functions such as reserve and issue; some settings can be overridden on stock records.
- The page gives six values as one suggested remote warehouse setup, which can be adjusted to the business requirements. They are suggestions and not requirements.
- Part Movement Control should be All Allowed so that parts can be moved with a transport task, and Putaway Zone Refill Source should be disabled so that remote stock does not refill other locations.
- The Refill Parts command creates transport tasks, shipment orders or purchase requisitions to reach the refill level, and it has prerequisites on the part, the assortment and the ranking of the warehouse.
- Arrival defaults are used when registering arrival of goods in the remote warehouse.
- Distribution orders cannot handle goods movement when remote warehouses are involved; a shipment order can.
1.What is a remote warehouse in IFS Cloud, and how does it differ from an ordinary warehouse?
A remote warehouse in IFS Cloud is a stock location with its own defaults for availability, refill and arrival, and it takes part in internal goods movement within one company. The location structure of an ordinary warehouse is covered in warehouse structure design in IFS Cloud, and this article does not repeat it.
The page also describes two address uses. A delivery address can be defined per remote warehouse, and the address type Supplier can be used when you have defined a remote warehouse at a supplier for purchase orders with outsourcing.
2.How do default availability controls limit remote stock?
To limit the stock in a remote warehouse for other functions like reserve and issue, a default part availability control can be entered on warehouse level. It will be possible to override some of the part availability control settings on stock records. The page on entering an availability control ID adds that availability control records can be linked to inventory stock records or be set as a default part availability control on the Warehouse Navigator page, and that they are used for determining the availability when you make reservations on inventory part locations.
The warehouse default therefore sets the starting point for every stock record in the remote warehouse, and a stock record can differ from it for the settings that may be overridden. Decide who may override a setting on a stock record.
3.Which values does the documentation suggest, and why?
The page calls the following values one suggested remote warehouse setup and states that it is possible to make adjustments depending on the business requirements. They are entered as a Default Part Availability Control on the Warehouse Navigator/General tab.
| Setting | Suggested value | What the page says |
|---|---|---|
| Part Supply Control | Not Nettable | Not Nettable parts are not plannable or available in the availability check, order proposal and MRP, but on the remote warehouse Parts tab they are considered plannable |
| Part Auto Reservation Control | Non-Automatic Reservation | Exceptions exist for activities done by a user who has the remote warehouse as the default warehouse |
| Part Manual Reservation Control | Non-Manual Reservation | The same exceptions apply |
| Part Order Issue Control | Non-Order Issue | The same exceptions apply |
| Part Movement Control | All Allowed | It should be set to All Allowed to be able to move the parts with a transport task |
| Putaway Zone Refill Source | Disabled | It should be disabled to avoid remote warehouse stock being used to refill other locations |
The activities named in the exceptions are Work Task, Prepare Work Order, Report In Work Order and Maintenance Material Requisition. The page adds that the Part Non-Order Issue Control, Part Scrap Control and Part Counting Control can have any setting. For reservation by users, it states that if the logged-in user has connected warehouses but none of them is the default, no reservation will be done.
Moving parts that have a different availability control needs one more setting: Allow Deviating Part Availability Control has to be enabled to make it possible to move parts with deviating part availability control using a transport task. Transport tasks and their planning are covered in warehouse tasks in IFS Cloud.
4.How does refill work?
The Refill Parts command creates transport tasks, shipment orders or purchase requisitions to reach the refill level. The page lists prerequisites for it and for the Refill All Putaway Zones job, and its suggested set-up adds two settings that refill depends on:
- The inventory part on the connected remote warehouse assortment has the setting Refill Putaway Zones (Inventory Part/Main tab) set to either From Putaway Zones or From All Stock Locations.
- The remote warehouse is the highest ranked putaway zone with available capacity, with regard to the refill point quantity, receipt control, capacities and conditions and the capabilities of the warehouse.
- Appear as Putaway Zone is enabled, which makes it possible to run manual or scheduled refill, and the warehouse should be the highest ranking to make sure that parts are refilled in it.
- At site level, Refill Putaway Zones is set to From All Stock Locations, a setting that is needed to enable the refill jobs and that can be overridden on the inventory part.
If a part exists on two or more connected assortments, the one with the highest priority is made active for the remote warehouse. The Refill All Putaway Zones job can be used to perform a refill directly or to schedule it, regardless of the Automatically Refill Putaway Zones setting. For a moving warehouse such as a service van, the page says the Automatically Refill Putaway Zones setting shall be disabled, to avoid a transport task reserving material that cannot be physically moved to the destination.
Two further settings shape the flow. To prevent putaways from being done directly to the remote warehouse, the Putaway Destination setting should be disabled. And if a drop-off location exists between the from and the to location, the system automatically creates a two-step transport task. Storage Optimization removes excess from the selected remote warehouse where the part has the Remove Excess option enabled and the quantity on hand is greater than the refill-to quantity.
5.What happens at arrival?
Arrival Defaults are used when registering arrival of goods in the remote warehouse. This article does not describe what the arrival defaults contain; read them in your release, decide them with the warehouse owner and test them. The scanning of such arrivals on the floor is covered in warehouse data collection in IFS Cloud.
6.How does stock move between sites and remote warehouses?
A shipment order handles internal goods movement between sites and remote warehouses in the same company. The page on the shipment order lists four routes: from site to site, from site to remote warehouse, from remote warehouse to site and from remote warehouse to remote warehouse.
The same page states that a distribution order and inter-site order concept cannot handle goods movement when remote warehouses are involved. The flow is described in shipment order in IFS Cloud and, for the distribution order, in distribution orders in IFS Cloud. The shipment documents are covered in consolidated shipment in IFS Cloud, and the ownership of moved stock in part ownership in IFS Cloud.
7.Which decisions belong to the warehouse owner and planning?
The warehouse owner decides the availability control of the remote store, the refill level and who may issue from it. Planning decides whether the remote stock counts as plannable, which the Not Nettable value and the Parts tab handle in a particular way. Each of the six suggested values is a decision to adopt or to adjust, and the record should say which.
8.How do you test a remote warehouse before go-live?
Test a remote warehouse with one scenario per behaviour the page describes, and write down the expected result before each test.
| Scenario | Expected result | Owner |
|---|---|---|
| Reserve remote stock with the suggested control | Reservation follows the control; check the exceptions for users with the remote warehouse as default | Planner |
| Issue remote stock to an order | Non-Order Issue applies as set; record any difference | Warehouse lead |
| Move parts with a transport task | Possible with Part Movement Control All Allowed | Warehouse lead |
| Run Refill Parts | Transport tasks, shipment orders or purchase requisitions created to reach the refill level | Planner |
| Register arrival of goods | The arrival defaults of the remote warehouse are used | Receiving clerk |
| Move goods by shipment order | Route from site to remote warehouse and back works; a distribution order is not used for it | Warehouse lead |
9.What does a remote warehouse set-up checklist contain?
A remote warehouse is ready for go-live when each of the checks below has a record behind it.
- A default part availability control is entered on the warehouse, and each of the six suggested values is adopted or adjusted by decision.
- It is clear who may override settings on stock records.
- Part Movement Control allows transport tasks to move the parts.
- The refill prerequisites are checked: part setting, assortment, ranking and site setting.
- Putaway Destination and Automatically Refill Putaway Zones are set to match how the store is used.
- The arrival defaults are decided.
- Stock is moved by shipment order, not by distribution order.
- The six test scenarios are recorded with evidence.
10.Frequently asked questions
What is a remote warehouse in IFS Cloud?
A remote warehouse in IFS Cloud is a warehouse with its own defaults for part availability control, refill and arrival, taking part in internal goods movement within one company. A shipment order can move goods between sites and remote warehouses, while a distribution order cannot handle goods movement when remote warehouses are involved.
How do I stop remote warehouse stock from being reserved or issued by default?
Enter a default part availability control on the remote warehouse in IFS Cloud. The documentation suggests Non-Automatic Reservation, Non-Manual Reservation and Non-Order Issue as part of one suggested setup, which can be adjusted to the business requirements. Some settings can be overridden on stock records.
Why can remote warehouse stock not be moved with a transport task?
Check Part Movement Control first. The IFS Cloud documentation says it should be set to All Allowed to be able to move the parts with a transport task. For parts with a deviating part availability control, the Allow Deviating Part Availability Control setting has to be enabled.
What does the refill command create?
The Refill Parts command in IFS Cloud creates transport tasks, shipment orders or purchase requisitions to reach the refill level. It requires that the inventory part on the connected assortment has Refill Putaway Zones set to From Putaway Zones or From All Stock Locations, and that the remote warehouse is the highest ranked putaway zone with available capacity.
How is stock moved between a site and a remote warehouse?
Stock is moved by shipment order in IFS Cloud. The documentation lists routes from site to site, site to remote warehouse, remote warehouse to site and remote warehouse to remote warehouse, within one company. The distribution order and inter-site order concept cannot handle goods movement when remote warehouses are involved.
11.About the author
Dariusz Myśliwiec: 18 years hands-on with IFS, including IFS Cloud. Based in Kraków, delivering remotely across Europe and globally through an independent practice. You talk to the consultant who does the work, not a sales layer.
IFS is a registered trademark of IFS AB; this practice is not affiliated with IFS AB.
Does the system treat your remote stores like any other stock?
A review of the remote warehouse set-up against the way the stores are used shows which settings were left at their defaults. The warehouse owner and a planner take part.
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