Physical Inventory - Allowable Combinations

Physical Count Configuration Options:

Full/ Partial	Sheets/ Tags	Skeleton Records	Single/ Multi-Bin	Lot/ Serial	Allowed (Y/N)
FULL	Count Sheets	Y (from PI08)	Single	N	Y
		Y	Single	Y	Y
		Y	Multi-Bin	Y/N	Y
		N (skipped in PI08 or prepared externally	Single	N	Y
		N	Single	Y	Do Not Use* (see PI18 footnote)
		N	Multi-Bin	Y/N	Do Not Use* (see PI18 footnote)
FULL	Tags	Y (from PI09 Coded, Numbered Tags)	Single	N	Y
		Y	Single	Y	Y
		Y	Multi-Bin	Y/N	Y
		N (from PI09 Blank Tags or Purchased Tags)	Single	N	Y
		N	Single	Y	Y (because we have no skeleton records, a special version of PI18* is required)*
		N	Multi-Bin	Y/N	Y (because we have no skeleton records, a special version of PI18* is required)*

* PI18 works properly if you enter count for a NEW bin/lot/serial but if you do not count an existing bin/lot/serial that has a book quantity, PI18 does not bring the book quantity to zero (PI19 does). The variance and GL adjustment value, as reported by PI18, will be incorrect. A special version of PI18 for count sheets does not exist.

Full/ Partial	Sheets/ Tags	Skeleton Records	Single/ Multi-Bin	Lot/ Serial	Allowed (Y/N)
PARTIAL	Count Sheets	Y (from PI08)	Single	N	Y
		Y	Single	Y	Y
		Y	Multi-Bin	Y/N	Y
		N (skipped in PI08 or prepared externally	Single	N	Y
		N	Single	Y	N (must have skeleton records or do Full Count)
		N	Multi-Bin	Y/N	N (must have skeleton records or do Full Count)
PARTIAL	Tags	Y (from PI09 Coded, Numbered Tags)	Single	N	Y
		Y	Single	Y	Y
		Y	Multi-Bin	Y/N	Y
		N (from PI09 Blank Tags or Purchased Tags)	Single	N	Y
		N	Single	Y	N (must have skeleton records or do Full Count)
		N	Multi-Bin	Y/N	N (must have skeleton records or do Full Count)

Note: You will receive the following message if you do a Partial count with no skeleton records for bin/lot/serial controlled products: "Skeleton Records must exist in the count file if your company is flagged for Serial #, Lot # or Multi-bin control. Skeleton records are written by program PI08 or PI09-Format 2. OK".

A Physical Count is configured based on the following initialization options:

Full Count vs. Partial Count
Count Sheets vs. Tags
Skeleton Records Written - Yes or No
Single Bin Only (no Lot or Serial Control) vs. Multi-Bin/Lot/Serial Control

The absence of skeleton records could cause you problems in Physical Count Entry (PI12). The chart above defines the allowed/disallowed combinations.

The rules translate as follows:

If you are doing a Full Count, all combinations are allowed. Skeleton records do not need to exist for a Full Count. That means if you purchase Tags or print Blank Tags in Print Inventory Tags (PI09) or produce Count Sheets externally, then you will not have any problems getting into PI12.
The previous point is also true if you are doing a Partial Count in a Single Bin environment with no Lot/Serial Control.
If you are doing a Partial Count in combination with Multi-Bin/Lot/Serial Control, then skeleton records are mandatory. You legitimately might not have skeleton records in the Count File if you skip printing Count Sheets in Inventory Count Sheets Printing (PI08) because you have prepared the Count Sheets externally or if you purchase Tags or if you print Blank Tags in PI09. If this is the case and you are using Multi-Bin/Lot/Serial Control, you will not be allowed to perform a Partial Count because PI12 expects skeleton records.

About Skeleton Records:

Skeleton records are important. When Count Sheets from PI08, or Coded, Numbered Tags from PI09 are printed, you have the option to write Skeleton count records to the Count File for all the Products/Bins in the defined Count Area(s). These records have a count quantity of zero. They serve several purposes:

They expedite entry of the actual count quantity in PI12. If Count Sheets were used, then PI12 knows what Products are on each Count Sheet page; the screen is populated with these count records and all you must do is fill in the count quantity. If Coded, Numbered Tags are used, then PI12 knows what Product is on each tag and, again, all you have to do is enter the Tag Number and the count quantity.
If a Product is not counted (because there really is no stock) but there is a Booked Quantity on Hand (QOH) in the system, then the skeleton record acts as if you really entered a count record of zero which, in turn, results in an adjustment to bring the Booked QOH to zero.
If you use Multi-Bin Control, skeleton records will be written for every bin that currently has a Booked QOH.
If you have Lot/Serial Controlled Products, then you have the option to only write skeleton records for Lot/Serial numbers that currently have a Booked QOH.
When you are performing a Full Count, Products or Bin/Lot/Serial Numbered Products that do not have a count record are automatically assumed to be a count of zero. This is why you do not need skeleton records if you are performing a Full Count; if you do not count a Product or Bin/Lot/Serial Number,it will be counted as zero anyway.
When you are performing a Partial Count, only count records in the Count File are processed.
If you use Multi-Bin Control and are performing a Partial Count, then there will be skeleton records for every bin that you intend to count (based on the range of bins specified in Maintain Cycle Master (PI02) or Physical Count Area Creation (PI04)) that currently have a Booked QOH. It is important to realize that with this combination you are comparing the Book vs. Count quantity bin by bin, which may not be the total QOH for the Product. Be especially sure that all bin transfers have been recorded prior to transferring.