[Development tutorial] Extending the work list and work pick line overview flow fields

 Introduction

Whenever we talk about the work list, and recently also the work pick line overview feature, customers think this could be a great optimization for their warehouse, but frequently, they want to display some business-specific information on the cards, that would help drive the decisions, but that information is not available out of the box on the work list.

In this post I'd like to cover the simple steps needed for extending the out of the box functionality, adding fields displayed on the work list / work pick line overview. This in turn automatically means you get sorting capabilities on these fields on the mobile device, enabling faster navigation.

If you are not familiar with these features, I'd like to refer you to the following links:

• Work list feature
• Work pick line overview feature

Customization walkthrough

For this demo, I've made the following extensions (in a new model/package):

• Added a new string field, MyOwnField, to WHSWorkTable.
• I also extended the form to display this field, so a user can modify it for an existing work order
• Added a new display method, requiresForklift, to WHSWorkTable. 
• This is a common requirement we hear from customers - being able to quickly identify if special equipment is required for performing a work order.
• Note. I use a string as a return type instead of an enum, as the base logic does not handle enums "the right way" for display methods, thus presenting their integer representation on the mobile device, instead of the corresponding label.
• I also needed to extend the populateWorkDisplayMethods method on table WHSTmpFieldName, so my newly added display method shows up in the list, when configuring the mobile device menu item.
• Added a new integer field, MyOwnField, to WHSWorkLine.
• Added a new display method, crushabilityWeightPerUnit, to WHSWorkLine
• This allows to stack the items on the pallet (Target LP) so that the top layers do not crush the bottom ones.
• No need to modify the lookup logic here for configuration, as it's already generic.

All of my implementations are super simple, just to demonstrate the concepts and the process. You can download the full code on GitHub.

Alternatively, watch the below YouTube video, where I walk through each customization in detail.

Result screenshots

After making, building and synchronizing those changes, I can open the mobile device and would have the following view. (I won't go over the demo data setup here)

Work list, sorted to show work that needs a forklift first. My field is also populated for some orders:

Work list with custom fields

Work pick line overview, ordered to show the items that should be placed on the bottom of the pallet first:

Work pick line overview

Question to you

What type of information are you using on the work list / work pick line overview?

Should it be available out of the box?

Let us know!

Thanks

[Tutorial] Work pick line overview

Introduction

Work pick line overview is a feature that is currently in Public preview, and will become generally available in one of the upcoming Dynamics 365 SCM releases.

It provides the flexibility to experienced warehouse workers to change the work picking route on the spot, based on the current situation the system is unaware of. 

For example:

• some of the goods on the order might need to be rushed out the door, to make the delivery truck departure time
• system is not configured to suggest an optimal picking route that takes into account item dimensions, weight, etc.
• worker is inhibited in some way, for example, cannot carry larger items right now, so would like to pick the smaller ones first, and then come back for the larger ones with a forklift, etc.

Using the work pick line overview feature, the worker can get all of the work lines to show up in a list on the mobile device, allowing the worker to order them based on the data displayed. This way, he can quickly choose the work line that he will pick next. 

This is a lot more convenient compared to the existing Skip button functionality, where the worker could skip one line after another until he reaches the one he would like to pick next.

Configuration

As I mentioned, the feature is in Public Preview as of writing this post, so you need to first enable it through the Feature management dashboard, as shown below:

Work pick line overview feature

Enabling the feature adds a new option to the Mobile device menu items of type "Work - use existing work", like shown below. 

Mobile device menu item configuration

The 4 options available for selection in the Show work list list option are described nicely in our article about the feature on docs.microsoft.com:

• Show only upon request – Workers can choose to view the pick line list by selecting the Skip to button in the warehouse app.
• Show at the start of every pick – Workers see the list every time that they start or finish a pick line. They can also view the list again by selecting the Skip to button in the warehouse app.
• Show at the start of the first pick only – Workers see the list every time that they start new picking work, but not after each line. They can also view the list again by selecting the Skip to button in the warehouse app.
• Never show – The standard Skip button appears in the warehouse app, and display of the work line list is turned off. The Skip button lets workers cycle through the lines one at a time, in a fixed order. They can also cycle through the list as many times as they require, until all lines have been processed.

Selecting one of these options also make the Field list configuration button available. In the form that opens the superuser can configure the work list fields that should be visible on the mobile device. 

Note You can configure to display not only table fields, but also display methods, allowing for a much more flexible setup

Work pick line overview field list configuration

Demo

To demonstrate, how the work pick line overview can be used, I've create a small sales order with 4 lines, as shown below:

Sales order lines

Upon releasing this order to the warehouse, the following work order was created:

Work order lines

Using the new Warehouse management app (you can read more about it in my previous post), we can now navigate to this work order, using the newly created mobile device menu item, as shown below:

Work picking flow, step 1

In my example, I have configured not to trigger the pick line overview to appear automatically, meaning that the worker would need to manually select the Skip to button from the ribbon

Select Skip to button in the ribbon

This will bring up the work pick line overview screen, where the worker can see all the work lines in one or more columns, depending on the device form factor. 
All the selected fields and their respective values are shown on the cards, and tapping either of them will take the worker to start performing the pick actions for that work line.

Work pick line overview

To speed up the selection process, especially in cases where many work lines are displayed at the same time, the worker can use the ordering options available above the cards, for example, to show the heaviest items first, as shown below.

The ordering selections will also be preserved for whenever the pick line overview is opened next time, simplifying the picking process further.

Work pick line overview showing heavy item first

Demo recording

If you prefer watching demos with voice-over over reading, please check out the YouTube video I made for this feature:

View on YouTube

Conclusion

As you can hopefully see by now, the Work pick line overview is a powerful feature than can help your business find further cost reductions in the warehouse by allowing more flexibility on the floor.

We love feedback, so don't be shy and let us know if you have issues with the feature, or have further ideas on how this can be improved!