The “Repair Orders” function of Almyta Control System lets you track an item through every part of the repair process from the time a repair request is received to the time that the repair work is completed.  Repair orders can be used, for example, if you sell stereos and get a call from a customer who bought one that is not working properly.  Using a repair order, you can track the stereo when it is returned for repair without entering it into your regular inventory.

 

Because repair orders can only be used with serial numbered items, you must do the following before you can use repair orders:

 

1.      Set up your “Repair Process Points” list (see Section 3.2).

2.      Set up your repair order defaults (see the “Repair Orders” heading of Section 4.1).

3.      Set up your system to archive shipped units using the “Shipping/Issues” tab of “Administrative Tools/Options” (see Section 4.1).

4.      How you issue repair orders is determined by whether or not you use serial numbers when tracking your inventory.  You can select or decline the option to use serial numbers using the “Stocking Properties” tab of the “Item Master List” screen (see Figure 5.2).

11.1  Create a New Repair Order Without Serial Numbers

From the main menu, select “Inventory” and then select “Archived Units.”

 

1.      On the “Archived Units” screen that appears, use one of the following methods to locate the unit that is being returned:

§         “Supplied by” will display all items that were shipped belonging to a particular supplier.

§         “Ship to” will display all items that were shipped to a particular customer.

§         “Item ID,” “Serial No.,” and “Serial No. 2” will display all items with the number you enter.

§         “Issue Date” will display all items shipped on a particular date.

§         “Issuing reference” lets you search by customer order number.

§         “Receiving reference” lets you search by purchase order number and will display all items that were originally received against a particular purchase order.

2.      After setting your criteria, click “View All.”  Leaving all the fields blank and simply clicking “View All” will display all archived units.

3.      The “Archived Units Found” screen will display all records that match your criteria.  From this screen, you can view the following:

§         The item’s listing in the “Item Master List” (click “Item Master”).

§         The unit detail (click “Unit Detail”).

§         The unit history (click “Unit History”).  This screen will list and describe all previous repairs or returns of the item.  If there is no history, the item has never before been repaired or returned for any reason.

If an item is already under repair, there will be a check mark in the “In Repair” column.

4.      Select the item you will be repairing by clicking in the line of the unit (an arrow will appear on the left side of the line item) and then click “Repair.”  You will be presented with two options: create a new order or add to an existing order.

§         To create a new order, click “OK.”

§         To add the item to an existing order, replace “CREATE NEW” with the number of the repair order to which you want to add.

5.      Choose an “Order Status,” “Bill To,” and “Ship To” from the appropriate dropdown boxes.  The “Ship To” field will fill automatically if you have it linked to “Bill To” in your system settings (see section 4.1.8).

6.      Fill in the remaining applicable fields then move to the “Line Items” tab.  The ID of the item that you chose to repair will be displayed in the “Item ID” field.  Clicking the  will display the unit repair history with details of any other instances in which the unit has been returned for repair.

7.      You can store additional instructions as well as billing information on the “Instructions” and “Invoice/Totals” tabs.

8.        Save the repair order and exit the screen.

11.2  Create a New Repair Order with Serial Numbers

1.      Under “Inventory” on the main menu, select “Repair Orders.”

2.      Click the “Add New” button.

3.      Choose an “Order Status,” “Bill To,” and “Ship To” from the appropriate dropdown boxes.  The “Ship To” field will fill automatically if you have it linked to “Bill To” in your system settings (see page to link or unlink the two).

4.      Fill in the remaining applicable fields then move to the “Line Items” tab.

5.      Enter the serial number of the item you wish to repair or choose an item ID from the dropdown box.  Clicking the Scroll button (pictured above) will display the unit repair history with the details of any other instances in which the unit has been returned for repair.

6.      You can store additional instructions as well as billing information on the “Instructions” and “Invoice/Totals” tabs.

7.      Save the repair order and exit the screen.

11.3  Maintaining Repair Orders

Repair orders can be updated and edited by selecting “Repair Orders” under “Inventory” on the main menu.  You can enter the repair order ID or select one from the dropdown box (use the filters to narrow your selections).

 

As you process your returns and repair them, update the repair orders using the “Order Status” field on the “Order Header” tab.  When an item is repaired and shipped, click “Complete” to remove the order from the “Active” list.

 

Repair orders are not connected to the “Item Master List.” Items returned for repair will not be listed as an inventory item anywhere in Almyta Control System.  Furthermore, if you are using parts from your inventory to complete repair orders, you will have to issue them manually.  Unlike when you complete a work order, completing a repair order will not automatically reduce your inventory in the “Item Master List” for any parts.

11.4  Archived Units

The “Archived Units” function of Almyta Control System allows you to search for old items and to view a unit history of each item. This feature is particularly useful in conjunction with the “Repair Orders” feature. For example, if a customer calls about a unit that needs to be repaired, you can use the unit archives to find the item ID of their unit. You can access the archives by selecting “Archived Units” under “Inventory” on the main menu. Then enter the known information in the appropriate fields and click “View All.” All items that fit the given criteria will be displayed. You can then locate the exact item you are looking for by clicking “Unit Detail” and “Unit History.” The “Unit Detail” screen contains information such as the receiving and issuing dates and references, the item’s warranty, and its weight. The “Unit History” screen contains the details of any major events that Almyta Control System has documented. For instance, if the unit has previously been returned for repair work, information about this work will be included on the “Unit History” screen.