Scan & Allocate
Allocate Rental Item Type placeholder lines to specific physical units by scanning each unit as you load it, instead of picking units one at a time in a modal.
What it is
When a Rental Order is written against a Rental Item Type, the line is a placeholder: it says "one excavator of this type" without yet naming which excavator. At some point that placeholder has to be tied to an actual unit on the fleet (a specific Rental Item) so the right serial number goes out and the right unit is reserved. The usual way to do that is the manual allocation picker, one line at a time.
Scan & Allocate is the barcode-driven alternative. You open one dialog, scan each unit as you stage it, and the matching placeholder line is allocated to that unit on the spot. The dialog keeps a running count and tells you, after every scan, whether it worked or why it did not. It is the natural fit when you are standing in the yard with a scanner and a load to put together, rather than sitting at the order clicking through a modal.
When to use it
Use Scan & Allocate when you have several Rental Item Type lines to allocate and the units carry a scannable identifier (the Rental Item No. or a serial number). It is quicker than the modal when you are working through a physical load, because the act of picking up and scanning a unit is the act of allocating it.
Use the manual Allocate picker instead when you are at a desk and want to choose units by eye from a list, or when you are allocating a single line and a scanner is not to hand. Both routes end in the same place.
The two entry points
The same dialog opens from two places, depending on how heavy your shipping process is.
From the Rental Order. The Scan & Allocate action on the Rental Order's ribbon opens the dialog scoped to that order. It works through the order's own open Rental Item Type lines. This is the route for businesses that do not run a separate shipment step and want to allocate units straight on the order.
From the unposted Rental Shipment Order. The Scan & Allocate action on the Rental Shipment Order's ribbon opens the same dialog scoped to that shipment. It works through the shipment's open Rental Item Type lines, allocates the unit on the originating Rental Order line, and then mirrors the resolved unit back onto the shipment line. This is the warehouse route: you allocate as you stage the load for a specific shipment.
The dialog
The Scan & Allocate dialog has a Scan group at the top and a Remaining to allocate list below it.
Scan group
Remaining to allocate
A list of the Rental Item Type lines on the document that are still placeholders (not yet allocated). Each row shows:
The list shrinks as you scan: each successful allocation removes that line from the remaining set. When the list is empty, every Rental Item Type line on the document has been allocated and you are done.
How a scan is resolved
On each scan, the dialog does the following, in order:
The scanned code is matched against Rental Item No. first; if no Rental Item carries that No., it is then matched against Serial No. The first match wins. If neither matches, the scan is rejected as not found.
The resolved unit's status must be Available or Maintenance. A unit that is on hire, lost, or otherwise unavailable is rejected with its current status named in the reason.
The unit's Rental Item Type is matched to the first open, unallocated Rental Item Type line of that type on the document. If there is no open line of that type, the scan is rejected.
The line is converted to a Rental Item line allocated to that unit, and the unit is reserved according to your Rental Setup (when Auto Reservation is on). From the shipment entry point, the resolved unit is also written back onto the shipment line.
Using the dialog
From the Rental Order or the unposted Rental Shipment Order, use the Scan & Allocate action. The Remaining to allocate list shows every Rental Item Type line still waiting on a unit.
Scan the unit's barcode (or type its No. or Serial No.) into the Scan field and press Enter. The unit is resolved, allocated to the matching open line, and reserved.
Last scan shows green on success or red with a reason on a reject. Allocated this session ticks up by one for each successful allocation, and the line drops off the Remaining list.
A reject does not stop the loop. Read the reason, set the offending unit aside (or grab the right one), and scan the next. The dialog stays open and keeps going until you close it.
Once Remaining to allocate is empty, every type line has a unit. Close the dialog; the order (or shipment) reflects the allocations.
Why a scan gets rejected
A rejected scan never errors out or stops the run. It shows a reason in red on Last scan and waits for the next scan. The reasons you will see:
Scope and limitations
Scan & Allocate covers one transition only: Rental Item Type to Rental Item. Keep these boundaries in mind:
Rental Item Type lines only. The dialog works through Rental Item Type placeholder lines. Resource Group lines, which resolve to a Resource, are not handled here; allocating a Resource Group stays a manual pick.
Bulk-item types are blocked. A Rental Item Type flagged as a bulk item cannot be scan-allocated. The allocation guard rejects it, so those lines stay as placeholders for handling another way.
Open lines only. Only lines that are still open and unallocated are candidates. Lines that have already been allocated, shipped, or otherwise progressed do not appear on the Remaining list and will not match a scan.
Related pages
- Rental Order: the order-level entry point for Scan & Allocate, and where allocated lines end up.
- Rental Shipment: the shipment-level entry point, used when you allocate as you stage a load.
- Rental Item Types: the placeholder types that scanning resolves to specific units, including the bulk-item flag.
- Rental Items: the individual units a scan resolves to, by No. or Serial No.
- Lost Items: a lost unit will not scan-allocate; its status keeps it out of the available pool.