sage 100cloud | Schulz Consulting

How To Handle Warehouse Transfers in Sage 100cloud

March 6, 2020 by Wayne Schulz

Working in a storage. Placing cardboard boxes on a pile. Man with a white hard hat holding a carton box in a warehouse.

A question was raised recently by one of our Sage 100cloud distribution customers. They planned to open a new warehouse in another state and need a way to transfer inventory between the warehouses while still maintaining the visibility of on-hand available quantities.

Since this particular customer is not yet integrated with warehouse management software we will first investigate a series of manual processes using Sage 100cloud inventory transaction entry.

To start we plan to add at least two user-defined fields. The first, Tracking #, will allow inventory staff to monitor the progress of the shipment.

The second field, Final WHSE, will allow us to automate the transfer once it has been received at the final warehouse. For large orders, we don’t want staff manually entering another transaction so we plan to export out the original transaction entry and use the Final WHSE UDF to create another entry using Sage 100cloud Visual Integrator.

We expect that this use of Custom Office plus Visual Integrator may allow us to temporarily avoid a more custom solution until the volume grows to the point where this manual process is no longer feasible.

Once we outgrow the manual process we expect to implement a more automated system such as one that ScanForce offers.

ScanForce Warehouse Management To Automate Transfers

In anticipation of eventually needing to further automate this transfer task, I asked ScanForce who produces a popular line of WMS ( Warehouse Management Solutions ) for Sage 100 which makes use of both wired and wireless bar code scanners to highly automate these types of processes.

Transfer Request From Sales Order – ScanForce Lite

Create Sales Order in Sage for the items requesting to be transferred (create a customer like INTERNAL TRANSFER to distinguish this as a transfer from real sales orders)
The ScanForce mobile program will prompt the user for the “FROM” and “TO” warehouses
User will enter the sales order number of the transfer request. The program will do a live lookup to pull the items and quantities on the order.
User scans/enters items as they are being picked. The entry is validated to ensure the item is on the order.
User enters the quantity. The entry is validated to ensure it is not greater than what is on the order.
Upon data transfer from the scanner to Sage, a Transfer transaction is created moving the items and quantities from one warehouse to the other.
The transfer sales order must be manually managed/deleted in Sage upon completion of the transfer.

To use a Quote instead of a Sales Order – 3 custom programming hours

Transfer Request From Sales Order – ScanForce Plus

Same concepts as Lite with the following variations:

Checkbox is added to Sales Order Entry in Sage to indicate the order is for a Transfer request
The ScanForce mobile program will have an option to only display during the Pick process orders that have the Transfer request Checkbox checked for more efficient processing.
The “TO” warehouse code is indicated upon entry of the Sales Order in Sage.
The “FROM” warehouse is pulled from the line items on the order. This eliminates the need for the scanner user to select the TO and FROM warehouses.
The mobile program will compare the picked quantity with the order quantity to determine if the transfer has been completed. If so, a COMPLETE status will be set for the order.
OPTION – Orders that are COMPLETE will be automatically deleted in Sage upon data transfer from the scanner. This eliminates the need to manually delete the order in Sage.
If this auto-delete option is disabled, the Sage user will be warned if they try to delete an incomplete order.
If using our Advanced or Premium version, bin locations will be displayed to provide a Directed Pick making the pick process more efficient.
To use a Quote instead of a Sales Order –5 custom programming hours

There are probably another half-dozen variations on this workflow that could be implemented depending upon the complexity of your inventory transfer requirements.

This type of transfer is typically not needed if you are using virtual warehouses within the same building or in a location where you can easily carry inventory from one warehouse to another.

If you have questions on how Sage 100cloud might be better tailored to handle your company’s requirements please contact us here.

Sage 100cloud Supported Versions As of February 2020

February 20, 2020 by Wayne Schulz

With the next release of Sage 100cloud due March 18, 2020, here is a list of the versions which Sage currently supports as well as the date which that support is expected to end.

Sage’s policy is to support the current release plus an immedate two prior versions.

Version	Internal Release #	Sage Support Ends	Crystal Version	Date Released
2020	6.20	TBD	2016	Mar 2020 ( Est)
2019	6.10	Mar 2022	2016	Apr 2019
2018	6.00	Mar 2021	2016	Oct 2017
2017	5.40	Mar 2020	2011	Oct 2016
2016	5.30	June 2017	2011	Nov 2015
2015	5.20	June 2016	2011	Apr 2015
2014	5.10	Nov 2015	2011	Feb 2014
2013	5.00	NA	2011	Dec 2012

Support end dates have been projected based on the assumption that Sage will continue releasing their updates in the March / April timeframe. If this changes, so could the support end dates for some releases.

The full Sage supported versions document may be viewed directly in their knowledgebase here.

ScanForce Announces Production Management Automation

January 22, 2020 by Darcy Boerio

The release of Sage Production Management made big headlines in the Sage 100 community in 2019. Replacing several legacy applications – Work Order and MRP – the new module is written in the “framework” essentially meaning that it has more modern technology that is consistent with much of the rest of Sage 100cloud.

Here’s a helpful reference for more about Production Management itself:

Sage 100 Work Order vs Production Management

Manufacturing is a big vertical for Sage 100, with many Sage 100 partners reporting an uptick in adoption of Sage 100 as a whole by manufacturers in 2019. For new Sage 100cloud adopters, this is a no-brainer. They won’t have an option to use the legacy WO and MRP.

But for existing Sage 100cloud customers, they need to decide when the time is right for them to switch over (they’ll all have to make the move eventually). Adoption by this group has been slow by all accounts, which is not uncommon when people are being asked to leave what they know for something new that hasn’t been on the market long enough to garner proven success. Naturally people want others to be the “guinea pigs” and identify holes in the solution that the publisher can repair before they jump into the fray.

One such hole was the lack of an integration to ScanForce’s mobile barcode scanning technology. Users of Work Order and MRP were previously able to use mobile barcode scanning devices by ScanForce to automate actions like capturing material issues and completions as well as Labor Tracking. Only after the release was ScanForce able to access the functionality in order to develop their integration to Production Management.

Another problem that needed to be resolved after the initial release was that it didn’t initially integrate with DSD/ScanForce Multi-Bin, which is included out-of-the box for free with every license of Sage 100cloud. So if you were using the free multi-bin tool that comes with Sage and you wanted to move to Production Management, you would need to adopt a different multi-bin tool or forego multi-bin functionality in the PM process.

Fortunately, both of these issues have been resolved! In December, 2019, ScanForce announced compatibility between Production Management and DSD/ScanForce Multi-Bin. And today they’ve announced the February 1 general availability of the integration of their barcode scanning technology with Production Management.

You can read more about the solution on the ScanForce blog and/or join them for a live webinar:

Keep an eye on Wayne’s blog as things develop – you know he’ll give you the scoop!

Sage 100cloud Manufacturing is Becoming Sage Operations Management

January 21, 2020 by Wayne Schulz

Beginning February 2020, Sage 100cloud Manufacturing ( also known as Job Ops ) will rebrand as Sage Operations Management.

Why Is Sage 100cloud Manufacturing Changing Names?

Later in Q2 2020 Sage will release two new Sage 100cloud Industry Solutions:

Sage 100cloud for Distribution
Sage 100cloud for Manufacturing.

The name change to Sage Operations Management will help to avoid confusion between the product and our new bundled solutions.

Additionally, Sage 100cloud Manufacturing is a powerful product that can provide significant value to businesses in many industries outside of manufacturing (ex. professional and field services). Changing the name to Sage Operations Management will allow Sage to more easily position and sell into a much-expanded market.

Changes to the product name will be released in conjunction with Sage’s March product release for Sage 100 / Sage 100cloud.

Watch your email for an invitation to an upcoming webinar outlining these changes.

Customer Webinar – Sage Operations Management
March 5, 2020 – 1:00 PM ET

Partner Webinar – Introduction Sage 100cloud 2020.0
March 10 2020 – 2:00 PM ET

Sage 100cloud Premium ( SQL ) Frequently Asked Questions

January 16, 2020 by Wayne Schulz

Sage 100cloud Premium is a version of Sage 100cloud which runs on a SQL database. The primary benefits to this are (a) more secure data files and (b) faster reporting through external tools connected via native SQL drivers.

With Sage 100cloud subscription licensing there is no longer an additional cost for a user on Sage 100cloud Standard or Advanced to move to Premium ( SQL ).

To make the move to Sage 100cloud Premium you request new registration keys from Sage ( allow up to 7 days for this to process ). You can either contact Sage directly at 800-854-3415 or through your Sage partner.

Frequently Asked Questions About Sage 100cloud Premium

Note: This info is supplemental in nature and not intended to replace Sage’s official supported platforms or the advice of your Sage partner. These FAQ items were generated in 2019 and may not have been updated for subsequent changes to either Microsoft or Sage products. Use this information to supplement and not replace your own technical resources.

Sage OEM Runtime Version of Microsoft SQL

Sage promotes its OEM version of Microsoft SQL Server Runtime Edition as optimally configured.

The SQL Server Runtime license is a license that lets an independent software vendor (ISV) embed the complete SQL Server code into a solution for use only by the ISV application. The customers of the ISV cannot use this SQL Server product to run other applications or to develop new applications, databases, or tables.

The “optimizations” are actually listed on pages 99 and 100 in the Admin guide and it basically saves checking the right components and clicking Next a few times during the install.

“Optimized” is a bit misleading. It really means “configured for basic compatibility with Sage 100 Premium”. The installer defaults to Mixed Mode Authentication (required for Premium and prompts to create a ‘sa’ password) and uses the default collation method (basically it chooses Case Insensitive for you) and default language of English.

Sage recommends tempdb database should be at least 1/3 the size of largest database. Here is more information on best practices for tempdb sizing.

It does not “optimize” for performance since it does not, for example, ask you where to create the Sage 100 databases (like on a drive with more disk space), what setting to use for Database Recovery Model, etc. You have to move/set those things AFTER installing.

The OEM license is running SQL Server 2014 (2016, 2017 and now 2019 are available) and cannot legally use that SQL Server instance for anything other than Sage. If SQL Server is hosted in a data center there are license restrictions on the OEM SQL license.

ISVR licenses/Licensing Mobility Eligibility

The ISVR restrictions are outlined in the ISVR Agreement. It is not currently an option with ISV Royalty Licenses because LM (License Mobility) is a benefit of Software Assurance and ISVR does not offer Software Assurance, only Embedded Maintenance. The End Customer can have the Unified Solution running on Outsourced Servers, but not on shared (Cloud hosted) servers.

Several reports from consultants that the OEM download link only goes to the end-user.

How Many Microsoft SQL Licenses Are Required To Run Sage 100 Premium?

The short (and safest) answer is one for each Named user (not just the concurrent count) of Sage, plus the service account. The official Microsoft response is that any user that could access the environment (even temporarily) should be fully licensed.

Per Sage – Sage 100 Premium requires two licenses; one for the MAS_User account and another for the MAS_Reports account in SQL. You will need more licenses depending on individual needs: Administration, other databases or 3rd party methods of accessing Sage 100 data, etc.

However, the consensus among consultants seems to be:

I’m not sure the exact licensing for the Sage run-time, but as far as Microsoft’s concerned with SQL Server Standard or Enterprise, you either license by the processor core (all physical cores on the box or at least 4 if SQL is virtual) or per-User, and per-User means any user that could ever potentially touch the SQL server for data. If you have more than 30 users, per-core is usually cheapest. If you have less than 30, per User is the way to go.

So for per-User licensing, any Sage user would require a SQL CAL.

Additional Server recommendations:

Sage has the following MS SQL server configuration recommendations.

Server RAM:

A rough estimate for amount of RAM could be calculated as 1 GB for each concurrent user or size of database (in GB) whichever is higher but not less the 32 GB. There are more sophisticated ways to monitor this but minimum should be 32 GB or even 64 GB RAM.

SQL Server Memory Allocation:

SQL Server will allocate all the RAM to itself until the server is rebooted or the service restarted. To prevent the operating system from being robbed of RAM use the “Memory Allocation’ setting.

In Object Explorer, right-click the Server and select Properties.

Click the Memory node.

Under Server Memory Options, enter the amount that you want for Minimum server memory and Maximum server memory. Microsoft recommends the Maximum to be set from ½ to ¾ of the Server’s total RAM.

Tempdb:

The tempdb is a temporary global workspace for storing tables and processing queries. If your application is causing the tempdb to grow larger this will cause bottleneck until the tempdb is increased. Instead it is wise to bump up the size of this table.

The tempdb database should be at least 1/3 the size of largest database.

Hard Drives:

Hard drives with optimum speeds should be considered ever Solid State Drives. Also, the .mdf log files are competing for read and write access to the hard drive. There will be separate .mdf file for the data, transaction, and backup logs. To eliminate the competition these .mdf files can be place on separate physical drive letters. The location of these logs can be determine from Server Properties -> Database Settings.

Consultant Provided Additional Recommendations:

· Windows 2012 R2 Server or 2016.
· SQL Server 2014 or 2016 standard
with mixed mode authentication enabled.
Be sure to set the server collation method as SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS (if not, there will be data integrity issues).
This collation method is normally set by default when the server is setup with a default language of US English.
If using a different language setting, be sure to set this collation method as part of the SQL Server installation.
Default SQL data path should have sufficient space for the databases / log files.

Required access:
Full administrator control over the server.
SQL “sa” password.
Remote access using a method that allows us to reboot the machine and reconnect afterward.
We run the services under a Windows login. If there is a password policy that involves expiring passwords, we’ll want a utility Windows login with admin access over the server and a password that does not expire.

Recommendations

Work with your Sage partner to developer a list of current requirements – the information on this page has likely been updated as both Microsoft and Sage release new versions of their respective solutions.
Consult Sage’s Supported Platforms Matrix for Sage 100 which outline the very latest supported hardware and operating systems for each of the Sage 100cloud editions ( Standard, Advanced, Premium)
Most third-party integrations will work without change however you should verify with each ISV whether they are compatible with Sage 100cloud Premium ( SQL )
In order to upgrade to Sage 100cloud Premium all of your Sage modules MUST be at framework. Please discuss this FIRST with your Sage partner.