Minimum Version Required: 25.10
Pre-Conditions
Alternate Locations Table:
Alternate Location records are critical for managing sensitive inventory flow and providing users with accurate location alternatives. Therefore, the ability to add or edit these records is restricted to GA Setup permissions, which is an Encompass only permission.
The view permissions for the Alternate Location table is Bin Edit.
Inventory Transfer Rules Table:
See the steps in the Guide tab. It is important to set up a Inventory Transfer Rule as well.
Steps
Alternate Location Inventory Setup Guide
This guide outlines the steps for setting up Alternate Locations to combine inventory for display in mobile applications and to manage inventory transfer rules.
Alternate Location Configuration
This setup defines which location's inventory will be combined with another, as well as allowing product to be picked from the alternate location.
Navigate to the Alternate Locations table.
As mentioned on the Pre-Conditions tab, the permissions to add Alternate Locations records is current GA Setup, which is an Encompass only permission. Please work with your CSM to get these records created.Define the Location and Alternate Location:
Set the Location and the corresponding Alternate Location.
Uniqueness Constraint: Each combination of Location and Alternate Location must be unique. A single Location can have multiple records, each pointing to a different Alternate Location.
Optional Product Group Setup:
You can optionally use the Product Groups field on the Alternate Locations table to apply the alternate location logic to all products within a specific group.
Visibility Constraint: Only Product Groups where the Type is set to Alternate Location will be visible for selection.
Product Setup: Determining Eligibility
This section explains how a product is configured to utilize the Alternate Location inventory logic.
The system determines if a product should use combined inventory based on a tiered approach:
1. New Option (25.10 and Later)
Product Group Type: Starting in version 25.10, a new Type named Alternate Locations is available on the Product Groups table.
Prioritization: If a Product Group with Type = Alternate Locations is specified on the Alternate Locations table, all related products within that group will be included in the combined inventory logic. This method takes precedence.
2. Legacy Option (If Product Group is Not Set)
Inventory Table Check: If the Product Group field is not set on the Alternate Locations table, the system will check the Inventories table.
Field: The Use Alternate Locations field on the Inventories table will determine if the combined inventory should be displayed for that specific product.
Default: When new products are added, the Use Alternate Locations field defaults to "True".
System Behavior & Impact
When a product is set up to use Alternate Locations, the combined inventory is displayed in the following areas:
Mobile Applications: Sales representatives will see the combined inventory (customer's location + alternate location) in Encompass Mobile and the servicer invoice edit screen.
DSDLink: Alternate Locations logic is used to determine if a product is displayed as in stock or unavailable.
Alternate Locations dashboard will allow invoice transactions with qualifying products to be picked or delivered from an alternate location. If Setting 555 = True, transactions will stay on the current invoice and be flagged to be picked from an alternate location. Transactions will be moved to a new invoice with a loadsheet equal to the alternate location is setting 555 = false.
Inventory Transfer Rules
Inventory Transfer Rules are critical for managing the movement of goods between locations.
Setup Dashboard: Use the Transfer Planner Setup dashboard to define and configure Inventory Transfer Rules.
Alternate Location Transfers: This setup is especially important if the system setting 555 is set to "True," as the inventory transfer rule data will be used to correctly identify the customer and vendor when an alternate location transfer record is created.
Fields And Definitions
Product Group: When defining an alternate location, this field allows you to restrict the link to a specific group of products. If populated, the system will only look at this alternate location for items within that group.
Use Alternate Location (Inventory Setting): A system setting that determines inventory visibility. If a primary location is not an alternate itself, this setting allows users to see a "combined inventory" view comprising stock from the primary and all linked alternate locations.
Best Practices
Utilize Product Grouping: To maximize efficiency, map alternate locations based on distinct product lines (e.g., Warehouse A for Winse and Spirits, Warehouse B for Beer). This prevents the system from searching the wrong warehouse for specific inventory.