This covers all aspects of using the condition reporting module
Condition Reporting is the process of taking images of stock to show their condition at the point of receipt or at some point during the stocks stay within the warehouse.
You can use this for any item in the warehouse, we record the information at the rotation level, so each batch of a product arrives, is provided a rotation, we can then store images for the specific rotation.
This is used heavily within the fine wine industry as the value of the items varies depending on the condition of the item.
Condition Reporting can be carried out by using a mobile phone all the way to a dedicated photographic booth within the warehouse. The system requires the module to be activated in order for you to use this functionality.
Setup & Configuration
Site Options
There are two options within the site settings (accessed from ADMIN → Site menu)
Auto CR Request from Pre-Advice - this enables the pre-advice request for a condition report to be actioned when switched on and will insert the CR request automatically.
Validate CR Location - This ensures that the items you receipt are landed into the CR location and not the main warehouse when there is a CR request for the item at the point of when it arrives in the warehouse.
Product Group Options
The system comes with a number of default product groups as standard, for example in regards to wine we have
Wine
HV Wine (High Value)
UV Wine (Ultra High Value)
With the product groups setup the HV and UV are marked as High Value and should you be using the High Value restrictions for the sales orders this flag will take effect.
There is a further flag on the form marked as “Auto Condition Report” when this is ticked the product arriving on the goods inwards due to this flag will end up with the CR flag on the pre-advice being also ticked to ensure that the item is Condition Reported before the goods are put away in the final location.
Pre-Advice Options
Location Setup
Storage
All images are stored as image files within a directory structure, on the server. The images filenames are masked to avoid users having the ability to substitute an image for an alternative. You can only recall the images through the system.
Requesting a Condition Report (CR)
This can be requested using a number of different methods:
Manually adding a request on the condition reporting form using the [ADD] button
Making a request through the VCIS system against stock items.
The above deal with items which are already in stock, where the item is arriving or at the pre-advice stage you can
Sent the request through EDI marking the line to be condition reported on receipt
Have the product setup in the UV (Ultra Value) groups which are usually setup for mandatory reporting on arrival
Have the type of receipt setup that it requires a condition report for the entire receipt at the point of receiving.
All of the 3 items above mark the pre-advice line with the CR marker, which also is shown on the following
Check Sheet
Put Away Note
Rotation Label
Flex Device for Checking and Put away.
Types of Condition Reports
There are currently three types of reports catered for within the existing system, this can be expanded as required.
Name | Use Flex Camera | Internal Only | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
Quickie | Y | Y | predominantly for internal purposes and usually not of the same quality as the professional report, when your stock control or customers wishes to see an image of the product, this can be taken using the flex camera or another camera phone and then uploaded. We usually mark these as internal use only and they will NOT appear on the web site for the customer and can only be seen internally |
Professional | N | N | This is the standard report. Items requiring this are photographed in the condition reporting area or condition booth. It can be seen on the web site VCIS and is generally carried out at the request and cost to the customer. |
360 | N | N | This is for 360degree photographs which are much larger and require specialist equipment to take the image. 360° images can be stored as png, jpeg, or gif. We recommend you use jpeg for improved compression. For maximum compatibility and performance, image dimensions should be powers of two (e.g., 2048 or 4096) |
CR Status Options
Status | Flex only | Information / Notes |
|---|---|---|
Requested | ||
Allocated | ||
Moving to booth | ||
Pending re-rotation | ||
Waiting in booth | ||
In progress | ||
Return to warehouse | ||
Complete | It is only possible to see completed reports if you select the “Include Complete” option on the filter section at the top of the form. |
Condition Reporting
CR - Overview
The overview shows a listing of all outstanding condition reports and their current status.
CR - Outstanding
The Outstanding tab shows all the Condition Reports that have been requested but not yet completed.
This list in the grid will show a list of outstanding Condition Reports filtered by the values you entered into the Filter Section before clicking the Search button.
Double-clicking on one of the Condition Reports will open it in the Enter New Report Tab.
In the Search Filter, you have the Report Type, which is as follows:
Quick Report - Usually carried out with a Flex device’s mobile camera when a full, professional report is not required and a lower charge could be raised (Stock is not moved)
Condition Reports (Pro) - Professional photos are usually taken in a photo booth (Stock is moved)
3D Report (Pro) - Professional photos taken with equipment capable of producing a 3D image (future use, Stock is moved)
You are able to add a new request
Once you have selected the correct Rotation and Line Numbers for this request, enter the number of Cases that are required for the report.
This will determine how many pictures should be uploaded for this Condition Report and therefore how much your Customer will be charged.
It is possible to enter more Cases than your Customer has in Stock.
This is so your Customer can request reports in advance of Stock arriving or to cover any occasions where your Customer might want more than one picture per Case.
CR - Flex
The Flex tab shows all the Condition Reports that have been requested and are being actioned using the device.
You are able to reset the Status to Requested using the clock icon button next to the Last Update.
Also able to Force Complete the Condition Report using the tick icon button
CR - Enter New Report
This tab is used to manually create a new Condition Report or to add details and photographs to one that has already been created but not yet completed.
The Get Details button should not be used if you are processing a requested Condition Report, as these details are already present within the report and could cause duplication of the Report and further issues when processing subsequent Condition Reports.
The Maximum Number of Photos that can be used is limited to the number of Invoice Cases that you have entered.
It is possible to generate multiple reports for the same Rotation.
CR - Search and View
Use the tabs within this tab to Search the existing Condition Reports and to View, their details including any photographs already uploaded.
You must enter some criteria to use this tab.
Report Tab to see the details of existing Condition Reports.
The details will be updated to match the Condition Report selected in the Results tab.
Generate Report and Email button to generate a report to email the currently selected Condition Report to the email address you entered in the email address field.
Any changes to the size of the Image here are for investigative purposes only.
No changes will be made to the original Image or the Condition Report that is attached to it.
Re-size the screen and the Image by click-dragging the sides and corners of the window.
