Tracking Packaging Inventory - Any Suggestions Friends? Our packaging inventory is always off

Epicor ERP 10
1

Hello All,

A Little Background:

Our sales are split 50-50ish between parts in our database and parts on the fly. The parts we have set up have a bill of materials that includes packaging materials in their BOM marked as backflush. The parts on the fly are make to order and can be of different sizes so the packaging varies.

The Issue:

Our packaging inventory is always off.

Since no packaging exists in the bills for the parts on the fly the packaging used never gets back flushed from inventory. And telling our shop to sometimes issue packaging and other times not is a tall task (but please speak up if that is the ideal way to do it- I am open to all suggestions).

The Question:

How are you dealing with packaging or any standard issued materials at a job-shop manufacturer?

What are some practices you have implemented to keep up on the inventory?

Open to any and all suggestions thanks for any feedback!

2

We are starting to talk about this but haven’t implemented anything yet.

My ‘First Draft’ thoughts involve the packaging as an operation on the BOO and the box a material in the BOM. I would have someone issuing material 100% of the time though, no blackflush.

I think the biggest challenge will be dealing with the discrepancy between the qty issued vs the actual quantity used.

3

Yeah we are trying to minimize the amount of transactions that our end users are doing as well.