Tote Consolidation

To consolidate inventory by transferring SKUs from source totes into a designated target tote at the workstation.

Workflow Overview

1. Initiate Consolidation Task

1. Warehouse staff enter the Tote Consolidation workstation page in WCS and click the Create Consolidation Task button.

2. The system redirects to the WES page, where the consolidation task is created.

2. Action Issuance & Task Generation

1. Once the task is created in WES, a Consolidation Outbound Action is issued to WCS.

2. WCS receives the action, generates a Job, and creates Tasks based on the scheduling strategy.

3. The task list is then displayed on the WCS workstation interface.

3. Device Scheduling via RCS

1. WCS generates Commands based on the scheduling mode and sends them to RCS following the communication protocol.

2. RCS dispatches the AMRs or equipment to pick the source totes from their storage locations.

3. Events such as Tote Leaving Location and Tote Arriving at Workstation are reported by RCS to both WCS and WES.

4. Tote Arrival & Scanning

1. After the AMR delivers the tote to the workstation, warehouse staff scans the source tote barcode either manually or using a BCR.

2. This action retrieves the Consolidation Details and initiates the Merge Matching Calculation.

5. Target Tote Binding & Merge Operation

1. Scan the Target Tote to bind it to the current task and trigger merge matching. If the target tote is an empty tote (without inventory), operators can change the tote type or model as needed.

2. Click Merge to perform the inventory transfer if the source and target cell match.

6. Post-Merge Actions

• If, after merging the data, the physical tote cannot accommodate the SKUs, a Return Operation is available to undo the merge.

• Once all SKUs from the source tote are merged, the Return to Storage button becomes clickable. Clicking it sends a Putaway Request to WES for the source tote, initiating the standard putaway workflow.

Merge Matching Calculation Logic

The goal of the calculation is to determine whether the SKUs from the source tote can be merged into the target tote, and to recommend the proper destination cells.

Step 1: Check whether the lit-up cells (active SKU positions) in the source tote match the SKUs in the target tote. If the SKU is the same, or the target cell is empty, it's considered a match.

Step 2: If the target cell's SKU doesn't match. Firstly, highlight any cell in the target tote that contains the same SKU. If none are found, highlight an empty cell.

Step 3: If a matching cell is found, the Merge button becomes active. If no suitable target cell is found, all cells turn gray and a pop-up shows: Unable to merge. Please change the target tote.

Step 4: After the system recommendation, manual override is allowed. Manually selected cells must either contain the same SKU or be empty. If not, the system will show Unable to merge. Please change the target cell.

Web Operation

1. Navigate to Manual Station > Tote Consolidation.

2. Start the process.

3. Click Source Tote List to confirm the tote code.

4. Then input the tote code. The relevant item information will be displayed under the input box.

5. Fill in the target tote list.

6. Optionally click Change Tote Type to change the current tote type, you can choose one pre-set tote type from the list.

7. Consolidate Return to complete the task.