Warehouse Management (WMS): Order Assignment and Processing
This area is the warehouse work board: it brings together already-authorized Sales Orders, Return Authorizations (Vendor and Customer), and Location Transfer Requests that need someone to physically pick the merchandise. From here you assign each document to a warehouse employee, track what's being picked, and can display a real-time monitor on a warehouse screen.
It doesn't replace the Sales Order or the Return/Transfer Requests: those documents are still created and authorized on their own screens. Warehouse Management only controls who is going to pick each one and in what order, to coordinate your warehouse staff's physical work.
What is it and what is it for?
When the WMS module is enabled, an already-authorized Sales Order, Return Authorization or Transfer Request doesn't simply sit "open" waiting to be dispatched: it first goes through this two-step flow:
- Pending Assignment: the document is authorized but no one in the warehouse is responsible for it yet.
- Pending Process: it has already been assigned to an employee, who must physically pick the items before the document continues its normal flow (dispatch, invoice, reception, etc.).
This lets you split picking work among several warehouse workers, always know who currently has each pending order, prioritize what's most urgent, and measure how long a document has been waiting or in process.
Screens in this area
| Screen | What it does |
|---|---|
| Pending Assignment | Lists authorized documents that don't yet have an employee assigned. Select one or more, choose a warehouse employee and press Assign to put them in charge. |
| Pending Process | Lists already-assigned documents, showing who has each one and since when. Lets you reassign them to another employee or remove the assignment (with Remove Assignment), sending them back to Pending Assignment. |
| Real-Time Monitor | A read-only, full-screen version meant to be left open on a TV or warehouse monitor. It refreshes itself automatically at intervals and shows a live counter of how long each document has been assigned. It includes a Location selector at the top to show only the documents of a specific location; the filter is preserved across the automatic refreshes. |
How to use it, step by step
- Open "Pending Assignment" to see the authorized documents that still don't have a picker. You can filter by sales territory and, if the Transportation module is active, by destination.
- Check the box on one or more documents in the table (or use "select all").
- Choose the warehouse employee in the employee field and press Assign. AdmCloud notifies the employee inside the app and, if they have an email on file, by email as well.
- The document automatically moves to "Pending Process", where you can see who has it assigned and since when.
- Click a document's row (detail icon) to expand it and see the item list: SKU, name, unit of measure, quantity ordered, quantity already picked and quantity still pending.
- If you need to reassign it or the picker couldn't finish it, use Remove Assignment from "Pending Process" to send it back to the "Pending Assignment" queue.
- For a room/warehouse display, open "Real-Time Monitor" in a new tab: it refreshes itself and needs no interaction. If you work with several locations, use the Location selector at the top to keep only that location's documents on screen.
Which documents show up here?
A document is only listed in this area when it meets all of these conditions:
- It's a Sales Order, Vendor Return Authorization, Customer Return Authorization or Location Transfer Request.
- It isn't voided.
- It's authorized: the whole document, or at least one of its lines. On customer returns, only the already-authorized lines are counted.
- For "Pending Assignment": it doesn't have an employee assigned yet. Once assigned, it moves to "Pending Process".
- Its status is Open or Partial; closed or completed documents stop showing up.
- It belongs to a subsidiary that has the Warehouse (WMS) module enabled.
You'll also only see documents from the subsidiary and location your session is logged into; and if your user is restricted by sales rep, only the ones in your own customer portfolio.
Key fields
| Field | What it's for |
|---|---|
| Priority | Sets the suggested picking order; the list is sorted by priority first. |
| Number | The original document's number (Sales Order, Return Authorization or Transfer); a link opens its detail screen. |
| Type | What kind of document it is (Sales Order, Vendor Return, Customer Return or Transfer). |
| Date / Creation Time | When the original document was created. |
| Relationship | The customer or vendor on the document. |
| Sales Rep | The sales rep responsible for the document. |
| Created By | The user who created the original document. |
| Assigned To | The warehouse employee responsible for picking it (Pending Process only). |
| Assignment Date | When it was assigned to the current employee. |
| Line Quantity | How many item lines the document has (or how many are authorized, on customer returns). |
| Time Since Creation / Assigned Since | Live counters of how long the document has been waiting or assigned, to spot delays. |
| Notes | The original document's notes. |
Validations when assigning
- You must select at least one document in the table before pressing Assign.
- You must choose a warehouse employee; without one selected, AdmCloud won't let you assign.
- When assigning, if the employee has an email on file (different from your own), AdmCloud sends them an in-app notification and an email about the order they've been assigned.
- Remove Assignment doesn't delete or change the original document: it only frees the responsible employee and sends it back to "Pending Assignment".
Availability, permissions and conditions
- Requires your company to have purchased and enabled the add-on WMS (Advanced Warehouse Management) module; without it, these screens show an "unavailable in your edition" message.
- In addition, each subsidiary must individually have the Warehouse module enabled (an option available on the Subsidiaries screen); if a subsidiary doesn't have it enabled, its documents won't show up in this area.
- Access is controlled with your user group's "Sales Orders" permission.
- The Destination filter only appears if your company has the Transportation Management (TMS) module active.
- The item attribute columns (for example Color or Size) in the line detail only show up if your company has Item Attributes enabled (Advanced Inventory).
- You'll only see documents from your session's active subsidiary and location, and if your user is restricted by sales rep, only the ones in your portfolio.
Tips and common issues
Use it as a warehouse wall display. Open "Real-Time Monitor" on a TV or a dedicated monitor: it refreshes itself periodically and shows at a glance how long each order has been assigned, useful for spotting bottlenecks in picking.
Is an order you expected to see missing? Check that it's authorized (or has at least one authorized line, if it's a customer return), that it isn't voided, that its status is Open or Partial, and that the document's subsidiary has the Warehouse module enabled.
Assigning doesn't move inventory or change the original document. It only indicates who is responsible for picking it. The actual inventory movement (dispatch, invoice, return reception, etc.) still happens on each document type's own screen.