Understanding Sorts and Groups
If items are printed in random order on a pick ticket, delivering them can become very confusing. With the Furniture application, you can ensure that items print in the order you require. To determine how the items print on the order, you can use sorts and groups.
There are two methods you can use with sorts and groups: You can group the items by automatically assigning sequential sorts, or you can manually assign sorts and groups to the items. The parameter that determines whether you can automatically assign sorts is the Automatically Sequence field in the (LGC) Furniture Order Entry Parameters screen.
Automatically Assigning Sequential Sorts
Sequential sorts can be very helpful if you enter the items in a specific order, and you need them to print in exactly the same order on the pick ticket. To enable this feature, you must enter a Y in the Automatically Sequence field in the (LGC) screen.
If the Automatically Sequence field is set to Y, the first item you place on the order is automatically assigned the sort of 100, the next item is assigned 105, then 110, and so on, in increments of 5. Since these items print numerically according to the sort, the first item you enter on the order with the sort of 100 prints first, the second item with the sort of 105 prints next, and so on.
If you’re going to use this method, you should enter your items on the order so they’re grouped in a logical manner. Suppose you have two rooms of furniture items to enter on an order: room 201 and room 202. A logical way to break these down is by room. First you enter all the items from room 201. As you enter the items, you could assign 201 in the Group box and in the Sort/Group box, you could enter any descriptive text to print above each item. Next, you enter all the items for room 202, assign a group of 202 and enter any descriptive text. These items print on the pick ticket in the order you entered them, with the descriptive text above each item.
If you ever need to add items to the order, you can insert the items wherever you need them on the order. When you add items, however, you should be careful that you assign the sort so that the item prints where you need it to on the pick ticket. Suppose you need to add an item. Using the earlier example, this item goes in room 201. You can inquire on the pick ticket and determine the existing sorts for the items in room 201. Then you assign the sort to the new item you are adding, so that it falls within the existing sorts.
For example, if the existing sorts for room 201 are 100, 105, 110, and 115, you would assign a sort to the new item that falls within this range. If this item needs to be the second item to print on the pick ticket, you would assign the sort so that it falls between the sorts of 100 and 105. You might, for example, assign the sort of 103 to the item when you add it to the order. Of course, you would also want to assign the same group code of 201 to this item so it falls within the grouping for the other items in room 201.
Manually Assigning Sorts and Groups
To manually assign sorts, the Automatically Sequence field in the (LGC) screen must be set to N. By manually assigning sorts and groups, you can group items in the same room, on the same floor, or in one cubicle. To group items on the pick ticket, you assign the items the same sort and group. Items with the same sort and group print together on the pick ticket. And if you enter descriptive text in the Sort/Group box, this text prints above the items.
Suppose you need to add an item that goes in room 102 and cubicle number 1. When you add the item to the order, you could assign the sort for this item as 102 in the Sort box. To define cubicle number 1, you could enter CUB1 in the Group box. Then you could enter ROOM 102, CUBICLE 1 in the Sort/Group box. This text prints above this item on the pick ticket. When you add other items that go in this same room and cubicle, you assign the same sort, group, and description. Since these items have the same sort and group, they print together on the pick ticket under the heading ROOM 102, CUBICLE 1.
But what happens when you have an item that goes in the same room, but in a different cubicle, say cubicle 2? In this case, you could use the same sort, 102, but you would change the group for this item to CUB2. Then change the description in the Sort/Group box to read ROOM 102, CUBICLE 2. This item and all items with the identical sort and group print together on the pick ticket under the heading ROOM 102, CUBICLE 2. Likewise, if you have an item that needs to go in a different room, you would change the sort, group, and description accordingly.