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Inventory Assembly

Assembly in e-automate is the process of creating a new item from a collection of individual items, increasing the quantity of that item in inventory while reducing the quantities of the individual items used to create the collection. Examples would be creating PM Kits from multiple separate items already in inventory or remanufacturing empty supply components to create full supplies that can be sold. Items used in the assembly process can be previously assembled items (sub-assembly). The assembly activity also distributes the labor and overhead cost to the new inventory item or items assembled. For example, you may assemble a PM kit that includes many constituent components that you purchase separately. You may remanufacture toner cartridges in bulk and take empty and other components to create new, refilled, and serviced cartridges that can be sold. You can even create a package that includes an MFP machine with a stand, document feeder, and a collator. You stock all the required items to create the packages and then use the assembly activity to create these items.

To assemble a package and track the real cost of the assembled packages, you create an item in your item list defined as the package. You then complete the assembly activity to reduce the inventory quantities of all the items included in the package and sum the item costs into the new package item including overhead and labor costs.

The assemble activity is used to record the fulfillment of a work order or the assembly of items. It is the activity that actually affects the database by recording such things as changes to inventory, charges for overhead, and labor charges when the work order is fulfilled.

If the assembly is the result of an existing work order, some of the fields in this transaction will populate based on the work order information. However, you must verify all the information to ensure it is correct and complete.

Getting to the TransactionGetting to the Transaction

From the Inventory menu, select Production > Assemble Inventory to open the Assemble Inventory window.

Basic InformationBasic Information

Complete the following fields as appropriate:

Work order: Work order number for this assembly, if any.

Note: If you are using the information from the work order for this assembly, enter the work order before you enter any other data.

Item: Item to be assembled.

Note: This item is the packaged item.

Description: Description of the packaged item being assembled.

Quantity: Number of the items to assemble.

Serial number: Serial number for the assembled item, if any.

Note: If recording assembly of a serialized item, you can only assemble one at a time.

Number: Automatically enters the next available number for an assembly. You may change it.

Date: Date the assembly is performed.

Job: Job associated with the assembly, if any.

Overhead: Amount of overhead for this item.

Materials TabMaterials Tab

Record the materials to be used for this assembly by doing ONE of the following:

To automatically assemble the materials for this item, click [Auto Assemble]. The list of items from the bill of materials list is generated.

Note: To see the bill of materials for the assembled item, go to Inventory/Items, double-click the item, and click the Manufacturing tab.

To manually assemble the materials for this item, do the following:

In the Item field, use the Lookup icon to select the item needed for the assembly.

In the Quantity field, enter the quantity of this item needed to assemble the item.

Click [QuickAdd] to add the item to the materials list.

Repeat Steps a through c for each item to be added to the materials list.

Labor TabLabor Tab

Click the Labor tab to bring it forward.

In the Employee field, use the lookup icon to select the employee who worked on the refurbishment.

In the Hours field, enter the number of hours this employee spent on the refurbishment.

Click [QuickAdd] to add the labor information about this employee to the list.

Note: The employee burden rate is multiplied by the number of hours spent on the refurbishment and adds the total to the cost of the item.

Repeat Steps 2 through 4 for each employee who worked on the refurbishment.

Sub-assemblies TabSub-assemblies Tab

Click the Sub-assemblies tab to bring it forward.

Note: A sub-assembly is an assembly contained within another assembly. You create an assembly the same way you are creating this assembly.

Click [New] to open the New Sub-assembly window.

Record the appropriate information for the sub-assembly using these instructions.

Click [OK] to save the sub-assembly information and return to the Assemble Inventory window.

Bin Distribution TabBin Distribution Tab

Click the Bin Distribution tab to bring it forward.

Note: The Bin Distribution tab specifies which warehouse and bin e-automate will store the new assembled item after you have assembled the item.

Verify the bin distributions are correct.

Completing the TransactionCompleting the Transaction

Click [OK] to decrease the inventory for items listed on the Materials tab by the quantity listed and increase the inventory of the assembled item. For more information on Inventory Assembly, see Additional Info - Assembling Items in Batches.