Items with BBD/Batch number

In PlentyONE you can manage variations with a best before date (BBD) and/or batches. However, these functions are currently only available in the PlentyONE back end.

Using BBD/batches with PlentyONE POS

When working with PlentyONE POS you should not yet use these functions to manage BBD/batches, as these may currently cause errors. The functions will be available soon.

1. Activating BBD/batch

In order to use BBD and/or batches for variations, activate the options BBD and/or Batch on the variation of a warehouse. As soon as the warehouse contains stock, it is not possible anymore to activate or deactivate the option on the variation’s warehouse. You can only carry out changes if the stock in this warehouse equals zero. Further information.

Activating BBD in warehouse changes pick path priority

If BBD is activated in your warehouse, the storage location’s assignment in an order works according to the FIFO principle (First In First Out). Thus, the position of the storage location or dimension is no longer considered and the sorting is done by BBD instead. However, this is only the case if variations of an item have several BBDs and are stored on storage locations with different positions. Consequently, the position is only decisive if variations on different storage locations have the same BBD.

With the activation of BBD the pick path changes as follows:

Example:
Item 1 has a variation on the storage location that has the position 1, but no BBD.
Item 2 has a variation with the position 2 and the BBD 01.06.2021.
Item 3 has a variation with 3 BBDs on 3 storage locations:
1. Variation with position 3, BBD 01.02.2021
2. Variation with position 4, BBD 30.12.2020
3. Variation with position 5, BBD 15.03.2021

In this example, the variation of item 1 is picked first, as there is no BBD and thus the position is considered. The variation of item 2 is picked afterwards, as there is only one BBD. Only at this point, the variation of item 3 with the lowest BBD is picked. Here, this is the variation with position 4 and the BBD 30.12.2020.

Assigning rights for back end users

Users with roles that are not of the type Administrator can only see certain sections and menus in PlentyONE. This means they only have limited access to the system. If employees see BBD and batches, they need at least the following rights:

  • Stock > Warehouse location management > Read

Tip: How to grant rights

Note that only users with roles of the type Administrator can grant rights.

Assigning rights:

  1. Open the menu Setup » Account management » Roles.
    → The roles overview opens.

  2. Click on New (add).
    → The role creation menu opens.

  3. Enter a name for the role.

  4. Switch to the advanced mode by toggling Advanced (toggle_on) slider.

  5. Assign the rights for the respective section by ticking the check boxes indicated above.
    Note: You can either grant rights for complete sections or limit the rights you grant the user. To only grant limited rights in a certain section, expand the section.

  6. Save (save) the settings.

The simple mode and advanced mode are connected. If you check menu visibilities in the simple mode the corresponding permissions in the advanced mode will be checked automatically. The connection only exists in this direction. If you check permissions in the advanced mode no menu or plugin visibilities will be checked automatically.

2. Incoming items

Depending on the selected settings, you can book in variations with BBD, variations with batches or variations with BBD and batches. Per warehouse and variation, it is recommended to only book the same BBD and batches on a storage location. This setting is preset by default. If you book different BBD/batches on the same storage location, errors may occur in the picking process, as pickers will have to search for a specific BBD and/or a specific batch. For further information see the chapter Incoming items with a best before date and/or batch information.

Do not book stock with bbd/batch into standard storage location

To ensure that stock with BBD/batch is imported correctly, do not book it into the standard storage location. Use other storage locations instead.

3. Redistributing

With BBD/batch you can redistribute items into other warehouses. However, when redistributing variations with BBD/batch, restrictions may occur. For further information on redistributions, see the chapter Redistributing stock with best before dates/batches.

4. Checking best before dates

Under Stock » Storage location management you can check the status of variations with a best before date. The column Days durable shows for how many days a variation is still durable.

Stock with exceeded BBD is considered last

When selling items, the system first considers variations whose BBD is still in the future. Only once these variations have been sold, it is possible to sell variations with an exceeded BBD.

Checking best before dates:

  1. Go to Stock » Storage location management.

  2. Select dates for the filters BBD from: and to:.
    → All storage locations with variations in the selected BBD are shown.

Table 1. Status minimum durability
Days durable Status

< 1

Item expired

>1 & <30

Item expires soon

> 30

Item okay

5. Returns

When booking in a variation again with BBD/batch, the process of booking in different batches and BBD on the same storage location is not blocked automatically. However, it is recommended to only book the same BBD/batches to a storage location per variation and warehouse. In case of a chaotic stock keeping of BBD and batch items, errors may occur during order picking. For further information on returns see the chapter Returns.

6. Pick lists, packing lists and warehouse pick lists

BBD/batch information can also be displayed on pick lists, packing lists and warehouse pick lists. For further information see the following manual pages: