xoScan: Barcode-Based Warehouse Management and Order Picking

The barcode on the packing slip or delivery note loads the order into xoScan; the “Warehouse” column shows the storage location in the main warehouse. Click to enlarge.

If your store prints a prefix or suffix from the number range before or after the order number (such as “AR2039449”), xoScan will still recognize the document barcode. from 4.9.94

Who is authorized to use xoScan?

You can specify whether the “xoScan” menu item appears for a user group under Settings → Administrators → User Groups. There is no separate permission for posting: Anyone who works with xoScan can post goods and complete orders.

• Keyboard mode: The scanner must operate as a keyboard, via USB or Bluetooth.
• Same keyboard layout: Set the scanner to the same layout as your computer, such as German. Otherwise, letters and special characters in item numbers will be transposed.
• Enter or Tab after the code: It doesn’t matter. xoScan ignores both and processes the code as soon as the scanner stops sending data for a quarter of a second.
• 2D codes: xoScan treats QR and Data Matrix codes with line breaks as a single scan.
• Disable buffer or batch mode: A scanner with a buffer sends collected codes without a pause after a connection is lost. xoScan cannot distinguish between them and will not post any of them.
• Long codes: If individual characters are lost on shipping labels, slow down the transmission to the scanner (keyboard speed or pause between characters).

• Stay focused: Do not click in other fields or windows while scanning. If the animation stops, click the barcode icon; xoScan will then be ready again.
• Every scan counts: If you scan an item twice, xoScan counts two units. In the inventory entry screen, you can correct quantities in the table before finalizing.
• Nothing is posted in advance: Inventory and order status do not change until you scan the completion barcode.
• Reloading means starting over: If you reload the page or switch tabs, xoScan discards all previous scans.
• Manual entry: This works if you type quickly. After a quarter-second pause, xoScan processes whatever has been entered up to that point. For an order, enter the order number without letters (e.g., “19301”); xoScan does not recognize the printed pack number from the packing list (e.g., “PL19301”).

After scanning the document barcode, xoScan displays the order; each item scan is counted in the “Scanned” column and turns the row green. Click to enlarge.

What information does xoScan display for the order?

• The shipping and billing addresses, as well as any notes the customer added to the order.
• The shipping method. Shipping methods from “xoScan: Highlight Shipping Methods” appear with a red background and flash, such as Express or Pickup.
• For each item: image, item number, GTIN, name, and characteristics, plus how many units are coming from which warehouse and the warehouse location.
• Sorted by warehouse location ex-factory to keep the walking distance in the warehouse short.

One row per “Before” status: target status and text block for the customer email or “Do not send email.” Click to enlarge.

Set Shipping and Cancellation Statuses

You can specify which statuses are considered “shipped” and which are considered “canceled” under Orders → Order Status: Open the status and enable “Shipping” or “Cancellation.” This determines the notifications sent to Billbee and marketplaces, as well as the cancellation lock.

Under Orders → Order Status, the “Cancellation” and “Shipping” toggles determine how xoScan handles a status. Click to enlarge.

• One row per previous status: If there are multiple rows for a status, the first one applies.
• No matching transition: If the order is in a status with no corresponding row, xoScan reports, “No status change is defined for this status; nothing was posted.” from 4.9.127
• Multiple packing stations: If another packing station or the cancellation reconciliation has since changed the status, xoScan does not post anything and prompts you to rescan the order. from 4.9.127

xoScan flags an order with a “Canceled” status in red as soon as it loads, and also displays a notification window. Click to enlarge.

For other sourcing channels, such as marketplaces, xoScan only checks the status in the store. Make sure that the status assigned to canceled imports is marked as “Canceled” under Orders → Order Status.

In the stock receipt process, each scan counts toward the destination warehouse; the entry is not posted until the completion barcode is scanned. Click to enlarge.

Multiple Warehouses

Multiple warehouses are available if “Settings → Checkout → Inventory → Advanced Warehousing” is enabled. In this case, xoScan displays one row per warehouse for each item based on the destination warehouse definition. The quantity field for the destination warehouse is highlighted in green. The store prints the location of the main warehouse on the packing slip. xoScan displays the storage locations of the other warehouses during picking.

What the stock update does not do

• It updates the inventory of the item itself, not that of individual attribute combinations. You continue to manage inventory levels for each variant within an item in the product details.
• It does not reactivate items that the store has deactivated when they are sold out (Settings → Checkout → Inventory → Set Sold-Out Products to Inactive). Reactivate such items in the item maintenance screen after posting.
• It does not create an entry in the item’s change log.

• Every warehouse displayed is overwritten: If you’re working with multiple warehouses, finalizing each item in the table sets the inventory for each displayed warehouse to the table value—even to 0. If you’re counting only one warehouse, set the target warehouse definition to that specific warehouse beforehand, or enter the inventories of the other warehouses into the table.
• Counting an item in a single pass: If you finalize an item twice, the quantity from the second finalization takes precedence. If an item is located in multiple locations, scan all units before finalizing.
• Reset afterward: After the inventory, reset the mode to “Add-on,” otherwise the next goods receipt will overwrite the inventory.

All xoScan settings are listed under Settings → Interfaces → Inventory Management/ERPs/Accounting → xoScan. Click to enlarge.

This also includes Settings → Design → Receipts → Barcode (PDF) for the document barcode, Settings → Checkout → Inventory → Advanced Inventory Management for multiple warehouses, and under Orders → Order Status, the “Ship” and “Cancel” toggles.

• Finding orders for an item: In the order overview under Orders → Orders, the Item No./GTIN filter field displays all orders that contain the item. You can enter the item number or the GTIN, or scan the barcode directly into the field. Leading zeros are ignored for GTINs. from 4.9.85
• Maintain warehouse location: xoScan sorts the items in an order ex-works by warehouse location. If this is maintained, the picking route in the warehouse is shorter.
• Closing Barcodes as Labels: The barcodes are Code 128 with the text “ submit;ok ” (Closing) and “ submit;ok2 ” (Closing without verification). When printed and attached at the packing station, “Completion” works in both tabs, while “Completion without verification” works only in the picking tab.
• Clean up duplicate EANs: The message “found multiple times” indicates items that share a code. This is often an old duplicate that you can deactivate.
• Read customer notes: xoScan displays order comments in yellow above the line items, such as packaging requests.