Movements

Movement Concepts

Audience: Logistics Manager

Movements in the pyck Inventory System

Understanding Movements in pyck

In the pyck system, we use the term "movements" to track any changes in inventory position or status throughout your supply chain. Unlike traditional WMS systems that often use the term "transport" (which primarily focuses on physical relocation), our "movements" concept is more comprehensive and flexible.

Why We Call Them "Movements" Instead of "Transport"

The term "movements" was deliberately chosen to distinguish our system from traditional WMS terminology. This distinction offers several benefits:

1. Broader scope: Movements encompass all inventory status changes, not just physical transportation

2. System coexistence: When implementing pyck alongside your existing WMS, this terminology difference helps avoid confusion during transition periods

3. Process clarity: Teams can clearly differentiate between processes managed in each system during partial implementations

Types of Movements in pyck

The pyck system supports three primary types of movements:

1. Item Movements

Item movements track the transfer of specific quantities of products between repositories. This could be moving products between warehouses, from reserve storage to picking locations, or from a warehouse to a retail store.

2. Repository Movements

Repository movements change the parent-child relationship between storage locations. This could be reorganizing your warehouse structure by moving an entire section from one zone to another.

In pyck, we consider any storage unit as a "repository" - this includes not just warehouse zones and racks, but also bins, totes, boxes, and palettes. This approach offers powerful flexibility in managing your inventory:

• Nested Storage Hierarchy: You can create parent-child relationships between storage units (e.g., a bin within a rack, or multiple boxes on a palette)

• Bulk Movements: When you need to move an entire palette of products, you can create a single repository movement instead of individual item movements for each product on the palette

• Location Tracking: Track the exact location of mobile storage units like totes and palettes throughout your warehouse

For example, if you have a palette containing 50 boxes of products and need to move it from receiving to bulk storage, you can:

1. Set up the palette as a repository

2. Place product boxes as child repositories of the palette

3. Create a single repository movement for the palette

4. All child boxes automatically maintain their relationship with the palette

This significantly reduces the administrative overhead of tracking high-volume movements across your operation.

3. Collection Movements

Collection movements group multiple related movements that should be executed in a specific sequence. This ensures complex operations maintain inventory accuracy throughout the process.

Historical Inventory Tracking

Unlike many traditional inventory systems that only maintain current stock levels, pyck's movement-based approach creates a complete historical record of your inventory. Every time a movement occurs, pyck appends a new stock record rather than simply updating the existing one.

This append-only approach delivers powerful historical insights:

Point-in-Time Inventory Queries

With pyck, you can answer inventory questions not just about the present, but about any point in the past:

• Current stock queries: "How many iPhones do I have in my warehouse right now?"

• Location-specific queries: "How many iPhones do I have in Zone A?"

• Container-specific queries: "How many iPhones do I have on Palette X?"

• Historical queries: "How many iPhones did I have in Zone A yesterday at 9:15 PM?"

• Trend analysis: "How have our iPhone stock levels changed over the past month?"

Efficient Database Architecture

Despite storing this rich historical data, pyck's inventory engine is designed for performance:

• Optimized queries: Point-in-time inventory lookups are executed as direct database queries

• No recursive calculations: The system doesn't need to traverse complex repository hierarchies

• No child selection overhead: No need to aggregate multiple records to determine stock levels

• Index optimization: Database indexes are specifically designed for both current and historical queries

This architecture allows you to access both real-time and historical inventory information with minimal system overhead, enabling fast decision-making even in high-volume operations.

Benefits of Movement Tracking in pyck

As a Logistics Manager, tracking movements in pyck provides you with several advantages:

1. Complete Visibility: Track every item's location and status in real-time across your entire operation

2. Predictive Planning: Anticipate stock levels based on planned movements before they occur

3. Hierarchical Control: Manage both individual item quantities and entire storage section relocations

4. Sequenced Operations: Ensure complex movements follow the proper order through collection movements

5. Transition Compatibility: Run pyck alongside existing WMS systems during phased implementation

Implementation Strategy When Replacing Existing WMS

When implementing pyck while maintaining your current WMS, the distinct "movements" terminology offers significant benefits:

• Clear Boundaries: Staff can easily understand which system handles which processes

• Phased Training: Teams can learn the new system while maintaining operations in the familiar environment

• Reduced Errors: Less confusion about where to record inventory changes during transition

• Simplified Validation: Easier to compare and verify data between systems when terminology is distinct

By carefully planning which movement types to migrate first, you can achieve a gradual, controlled transition from your existing WMS to the more flexible and comprehensive pyck system.