User guide
14
devices. Throughout the day several people log in to each device and do several
different kinds of transactions. By the end of the day each device is going to have
a different count of inventory at certain locations. The PC is unaware of these
changes.
For example:
When the day started:
Location 10A had 20 of item 10250
Location 10B had nothing in it
Location 10C had 50 of item 10100
Throughout the day:
Device 1 added 100 of item 10100 to location 10C.
Device 2 moved 10 of item 10250 from location 10A to Location 10B
Device 3 removed 10 of item 10100 from 10C
Because the data on the handheld is only as good as the last time it was synced,
you should establish a nightly sync of the data from the handheld to the
computer. After all handhelds have synced their data to the PC a new handheld
database should be created that is up to date and it should be sent to e ach
device so the people using it have an accurate view of what is available.
Using our example above, if Device 2 is synced and a new database is created
and then sent to the device before the other devices are synced Device 2 will
think the following is true:
Location 10A has 10 of item 10250
Location 10B has 10 of item 10250
Location 10C has 50 of item 10100 Incorrect - it has 140
If all three devices were synced before the new database is created then all three
devices would get the correct data.
There is also the issue of allowing negative inventory on the handhelds. Because
the handhelds do not have an accurate picture of the inventory after they have
been in use for awhile, it is possible for a handheld device to think there is no
quantity in a location when there really is. This can happen if Location 10B has
no inventory in it when the day starts and Device 1 adds 100 of item 10250 to it.
When Device 2 goes to pick 20 of item 10250 from Location 10B the handheld
shows 0 quantity but the person sees the quantity on the shelf. InventoryControl
gives you the option of allowing the user of the handheld to go ahead and pick
that quantity and the PC will resolve the quantity issue when the handhelds are
all synced. If you turn off the option to allow negative quantities the user will be
forced to sync his device and wait for an updated database before processing.