Grouping Manifest Items on a Pallet

Customers may sometimes require to ship items on a pallet. Once the items are Palletized it is convenient to update the status of these grouped items without having to scan the items individually. For example, for Actions or status' such as ‘On Site’ or ‘Delivered’, it would be useful to update all items to the same ‘status’ by scanning one bar code.

Currently, on the mobile app, scanning is completed by selecting the Container and an Action, and then individually scanning the bar codes/stickers for each manifest line item to be updated to the selected Action. This process can be impractical or inconvenient for items that are palletized and inaccessible.

Using the QR scanner part of the mobile app, we can scan a bar code that will update the status of all the items listed for a Container (Pallet) with one scan.

Please ensure all modules of the Crows Nest software is fully up to date, including Desktop, Web API and Mobile app, before attempting this process.

Process for Scanning Items onto a Pallet

Containers need to set up within the database for referencing as Pallets. These are easily populated into the database by way of running a query:

INSERT INTO Manifest_Item_Container (Description)
SELECT RIGHT(CONCAT('00000', n), 5) as Description
FROM _Tally 
WHERE n BETWEEN 100 and 199

The above query will introduce Container names between 00100 and 00199 to the container list.

2. Assuming we have a manifest with a number of items in the list, we can start by printing off a customizable report with the Actions that we would want for the multiple items to be updated to.

Reports will need customization to set the desired Action ID, in line (user defined-See Settings → Options → Manifests and Action list) with a specific QR code in the report.

This report and label stickers might take the form of below:

Above, we have printed off QR codes for only two containers 00100 and 00101.

3. As in normal use of manifest scan function on the mobile app, we can scan the first QR code to select the Container(Pallet) and the second QR code to select the action we would wish the Manifest items to be updated to.

4. Once the Container and the Action is selected we can scan the Manifest items, which we may have already applied the labels to, if not we would now print off the labels and scan each items, eg 1 of 5 and so on.

We can check our Crows Nest desktop application to confirm that the Container and Action has been updated for these items.

Now, all the items have been assigned with a Container, this will enable us to update the desired Action for items linked to this Container by way of scanning in the QR reader part of the mobile app.

5. Open the QR scanner part of the mobile app and scan no. 3 above (Load Truck), this will update all items linked to the Container with the Action ‘Load truck’, checking the manifest items Action status in the Desktop application to confirm , that the Action has been updated appropriately.

6. Scan no. 4 the QR scanner to update all items to ‘unload Truck’ Action status.

7. The pallet is now on site and ready for unpacking, we could unpack by repeating the start of the process by using the Manifest scan:

Scan the Pallet QR code (1) and 5 (Off Pallet) to set the Container and Action required.
Scan individual manifest items to update them to the Action (Off Pallet).

Any missing items from the pallet will not be available for scanning and therefore remain in the previous Action Status.