Synchro orders

What's a Synchro order?

Synchro Orders are orders not managed by kanban: the consumption of a bin associated with a Synchro card, in fact, doesn't automatically release a replacement order for the supplier but ends in a single procurement cycle.

In KanbanBOX, Synchro orders are used to synchronize processes organized in Sequential Pull System and to manage Closed orders loaded by external systems such as MRP.

Create a Synchro loop

Procedure:

1. Get in Kanbans > New Kanban and choose the type of Kanban to create.
2. Once you have selected the type of Kanban, click on Create new project.
3. Select the Synchro option in the Kanban loop calculation section under Policy. The meaning of the other fields of the loop is described in the article Kanban loops.
4. Click Apply now to create the Synchro loop. The loop is not visible on the board until the Synchro cards are added to the loop.

Create Synchro cards

Synchro cards can be created manually using the following procedure, or by importing an excel file, as reported in the section How to import a Synchro Order from an Excel file, or via API call.

Procedure:

1. Get in Kanbans > Active Kanban Loops and identify the Synchro loop to which to add cards.
2. We can view all Synchro loops by selecting Synchro in the Policy filter.
3. To add cards to the Synchro loop, click on the icon Add extra kanban of the relative selected loop.
4. Define the required and optional fields, if necessary.
5. Click on Save. KanbanBOX creates in Board the card in the status selected during creation.

Life cycle of a Synchro loop card

Synchro loops are not seen on the board if there aren't any active cards for that loop.

Once consumed, the Synchro loop's cards do not generate a new order to the supplier and disappear from the board.

When all the loop's cards have been consumed, the Synchro loop is not visible on the board.

Required date of the cards

The Required date can be selected when creating synchro cards. By default KanbanBOX proposes a date calculated based on the Lead Time inserted in the loop, but it can be modified by inserting a previous or a subsequent one.

For Synchro cards, the Negotiation module is available which allows the exchange of information between supplier and customer on the following aspects of the order: - Quantity - Delivery date - Price

There is more information about this in the article Negotiation.

Difference between Synchro loop and Kanban loop

• Synchro loops are composed exclusively of Synchro cards, distinguished by the colored top right corner. Furthermore, on the board, in the loop header, on the field Cards, this type of loop will be indicated with Synchro.

• On the board we can have a view of all the Synchro loops by setting the Policy filter to Synchro.

• On the board there is also the Extra kanban filter. Setting it to Yes will highlight the synchro loops and all the Synchro kanbans present in the Kanban loops.

• Synchro loops do not represent kanban-managed orders and consequently are not subject to maintenance. As for kanban cards, the consumption of the Synchro cards is tracked.

Customizing the printing of Synchro cards

It is possible to create a specific print template for Synchro cards.

Procedure:

1. Get in Settings > Company settings.
2. Set Enable specific extra layout for extra kanban cards as Yes.
3. Once active, get in Print > Templates list and choose the template to modify the layout for Extra cards.
4. Click on Edit front in correspondence of Extra kanban.

Alternatively, it is possible to insert a particular text in the print template when the printed card is Synchro. You can find more information in the article Special variables in the template editor.

How to import a Synchro Order from an Excel file

Prerequisite:

Verify the existence in KanbanBOX of a loop where at least the combination part number - supplier coincides with the order line to be imported. If it doesn't exist, create it (see procedure Create and update a kanban loop) filling the following values:

Field	Value
Policy	SYNCHRO: the empty of the bin DOESN'T release a replacement order for the supplier.
Number of kanban cards	Field not managed by Synchro management.
Quantity per kanban	Optional. If filled out, each card can't contain more than the indicated amount.

Afterwards, import the order lines via Excel.

Procedure:

1. Link on Masters > Import > Orders;
2. In the box Import Orders, in the field Download Excel template click on import_orders.xlsx ;
3. The empty Excel file is automatically downloaded: here you can enter the new orders;
4. Open the Excel file import_orders.xlsx.;
5. The first sheet Help shows a brief guide on how to compile the file. To insert the new orders, click on the second sheet Orders.

   For each completed line, one ore more Synchro orders will be added to the Kanban Board, depending on whether the total quantity is to be divided into several bins.

   Once all the data related to the new Synchro orders have been correctly filled in, proceed as follows:

6. Save the Excel file (keeping the name import_orders.xlsx is not mandatory);
7. Re-enter KanbanBOX in Masters > Import > Orders;
8. In the page Import Orders in the field Excel file for Orders click on Choose file;
9. Search for and select the file saved in point 1;
10. Click on Open;
11. The file is now selected and loaded into the space provided. Then click on Import Orders;

12. In the new screen, the data entered in the Excel will be re-proposed. Pay particular attention to the last two columns:

    Field	Description
    Errors	If the import causes an error, the line will be placed at the top of the code list and will not be imported to the system. It is possible to know the reason for the error in this column.
    Action	Update: the order line is not new, but it will be updated in KanbanBOX. Add new: a new extra kanban card is inserted in the Kanban Board.

13. Click on Import data in KanbanBOX to complete the import.