What does a Warehouse need from its software?
A Warehouse needs software that knows what is on the shelf right now, without anyone going to check. Receiving, counting, despatching and knowing what the stock is worth all rest on that one figure. Below are the nine things to look for, then which of them RPM does today, which it doesn't yet, and a short narrated video of the ones it does.
What a Warehouse needs from its software
Stock you can trust
Every delivery, despatch and correction should change the quantity on hand the moment it happens. When the figure only catches up at the end of the day, people stop believing it and start counting by hand.
Receiving against the order
What arrives should be checked against what was ordered, and the supplier's bill against what arrived. Paying for goods that never came is one of the most common losses, and one of the easiest to prevent.
Counting without closing
A full stock take that shuts the doors for a day is expensive. Counting a share of the stock each day, or all of it while trading goes on, keeps the figures honest without stopping work. And counters shouldn't see the number they're expected to find, or that's the number they'll find.
Despatching only what was sold
Goods should leave against an order or an invoice, never more than was sold. When a delivery goes out in parts, the software should know what is still to go.
Knowing what the stock is worth
The value of what's on the shelf, and the cost of what went out, have to be right for the books to be right.
Seeing what moves, and what doesn't
Lines that run out lose sales. Stock that never sells ties up cash. Both should be in front of you, not buried in a report you have to remember to run.
Control over who does what
Receiving, counting and despatching are different jobs. Each person should use only what their job needs, and every change should leave a trail.
Locations, bins and scanning
In a larger Warehouse, knowing where an item is matters as much as how many there are. Bin locations and barcode scanning make picking quick and accurate.
Tracing batches and serial numbers
Where goods expire or carry a warranty, you need to follow a batch or a serial number from the delivery it came in on to the customer it went to.
How RPM does it
- Stock you can trust. Stock moves the moment a delivery is received or a despatch is completed, and each item's average cost moves with it. Stock shows what you hold of every item.
- Receiving against the order. A purchase order becomes a goods in with its lines already filled in, and the receipt puts the goods on stock as soon as anything is counted onto it. A supplier invoice can't bill more of an item than arrived, or a delivery that hasn't been received.
- Counting without closing. A stock take counts everything at once, or a share each day across the month on the days you choose. Counters use Stock Count, which doesn't show what the system expects. Each count is weighed against what was in stock at the moment it was counted, so sales and deliveries during the take still count. When you reconcile, the differences are posted to your books for you.
- Despatching only what was sold. A despatch goes out against an issued invoice, in part or in full, and can never send more than was invoiced and not yet sent. You can also despatch without an invoice, or have a fully paid invoice despatch itself.
- Knowing what the stock is worth. RPM keeps a weighted average cost for every item and posts the cost of what goes out when it is despatched, so stock and cost of sales in your books follow the shelf.
- Seeing what moves. The Stock & Purchasing dashboard shows your stock's value, lines out of stock, stock that has never sold, best sellers and what is waiting to go out. Scout answers questions of your own, such as which items have fewer than five on hand, and keeps the answer in your menu.
- Control over who does what. User groups decide which screens each person can use, and every change to a record is kept in its history.
RPM doesn't do these yet:
- Locations, bins and scanning. RPM keeps one quantity per item, and each item's barcode, but it has no bin locations and no scanning screen.
- Tracing batches and serial numbers. You can add fields of your own, such as a serial number, to receipts and despatches, but RPM doesn't follow a batch or a unit from delivery to customer.
If you need either, write to support@rpmcode.com and tell us how you work.
See it in under two minutes
What the video shows
- 0:08Order from your suppliers, line by line
- 0:17Receive the delivery: it goes on stock as you save
- 0:27Bill no more than actually arrived
- 0:35Run a stock take while you keep trading
- 0:43Counters type what they count, without seeing what to expect
- 0:51Despatch what was invoiced, in part or in full
- 1:00Stock value, out-of-stock lines and best sellers at a glance
- 1:07Ask your own question: which items are running low?
- 1:18Decide who may receive, count and despatch
Read what the narrators say
Welcome to RPM. In the next couple of minutes, we'll follow your stock through the Warehouse: from the order, onto the shelf, and out of the door.
It starts with a purchase order. Choose the supplier, add the items you need, and RPM works out the tax and the totals as you go.
When the delivery arrives, open the order and click Receive Goods. The lines are already filled in, so you only correct what actually turned up. Save, and the stock is on the shelf.
Then the supplier's bill comes in. RPM checks it against what you received, so you never pay for more than arrived.
Counting doesn't mean closing. Start a stock take, everything at once or a little each day, and keep trading while it runs.
Your team counts on the Stock Count screen. They type what they find, without ever seeing the number they're expected to find.
When it's time to send goods out, a despatch follows the invoice. Send everything at once, or in parts, and RPM keeps track of what's still to go.
The Stock and Purchasing dashboard shows you the whole picture: what your stock is worth, what's run out, and what's selling best.
And when you have a question of your own, ask Scout. Here, it finds every item with fewer than five on hand, and you can save the question to ask it again tomorrow.
Finally, decide who can do what. Each user group gets exactly the screens its people need, and nothing more.
That's RPM. You'll find every screen, step by step, in the user guide, at E R P dot RPM code dot com.
Each step links to its page of the user guide. The video plays from YouTube once you press Play; until then nothing on this page comes from YouTube.
Every screen in the video is in the user guide, a step at a time.