Introduction to Transfer Orders in ServiceNow
With Laurence Tindall
In this article, we are going to show you a feature in the ServiceNow Hardware Asset Management (HAM) application called transfer orders. Transfer orders allow asset managers to create a record of all asset transfers that happen to and from company-owned stockrooms.
Stock Replenishment/Transfer
Typically transfer orders are made when one stockroom has assets available in stock and another stockroom requires those assets to fulfill asset requests; this is also known as stock replenishment. Take for example, a large telecommunications organization has 100 Cisco switches in their San Diego warehouse, and there's a request for 50 at their Dallas warehouse. Because the Dallas warehouse doesn't have enough Cisco switches in stock, the stockroom manager then transfers 50 of the available switches from the San Diego warehouse.
This is a typical type of stockroom transfer that many companies perform on a day-to-day basis. Having a record of every asset stockroom transfer allows you and your team to have a clear and concise audit trail of all stockroom movements. By using this feature, stockroom managers are also able to see what transfers are incoming, and what assets are expected. Now that we've covered what a transfer order is, let's go into ServiceNow and create one.
Creating a Transfer Order
In this example, we're going to transfer a Lenovo ThinkStation computer from the San Diego South warehouse to the Southern California warehouse. The first thing you'll want to do is type in transfer orders in the application navigator, and click on the transfer orders module located under the inventory application. The transfer orders list view will now load; click on the new button, and the transfer order form will now load. In the first field, number, this is the unique system-generated number that is created to identify this transfer order.
The next field, from stockroom, is the stockroom from which you're going to be transferring assets. In today's example, we're going to select the San Diego South warehouse. Next, we have the to stockroom field; in this field, we need to specify the stockroom into which the assets will be transferred into. In today's example, we're going to select the Southern California warehouse. As you can see the from location and to location fields have automatically been populated with the locations that are associated with both of these stockrooms.
Next, we have the stage field; this field automatically displays the current stage of the transfer order. A transfer order can be in any one of the following stages:
Draft
Requested
Shipment Preparation
Partially Shipped
Fully Shipped
Received
Delivered
Canceled
In the next field, delivery by date, this is the date in which the assets are expected to be received at the destination stockroom. For this example, we’re going to select tomorrow's date since these two stockrooms are across the road from each other.
Transfer Order Line Form
Now that we've filled out the transfer order form, right-click on the form header and click save. There is now a Transfer Order Lines related list towards the bottom of the form. This related list is used to capture and display all of the assets that are being transferred. From a transfer order standpoint, they are referred to as Transfer Order Lines. Let's go ahead and add the Lenovo ThinkStation computer; to do this click on the new button, and you'll be directed to a blank Transfer Order Line form.
In the first field, number, this is the unique system-generated number for this transfer order line. In the next field, transfer order, this is the transfer order number that this transfer order line belongs to. Next, we have the model field; this field is used for selecting the model of the asset we are transferring. In this example, we are going to select the Lenovo ThinkStation S20. In the next field, asset, this field is used for selecting the exact asset that will be transferred. By clicking on the magnifying glass you're able to see additional columns of data which help with identifying and or scanning the correct assets. The asset tag or serial number columns are great for uniquely identifying specific assets.
Now that we’ve found and selected the specific asset we are looking to transfer, we’re going to save this Transfer Order Line. You'll now see that there's a Transfer Order Line tasks-related list available towards the bottom of the form, and there's an open task called ready for fulfillment; click on this task to open it. This task is used to ensure that the asset is ready for fulfillment in the transfer order process. In this example, the Lenovo ThinkStation is boxed up and ready to go so we are going to close this task.
You'll now see that the Transfer Order Line stage has changed to requested and two new tasks have been created. For the next task, prepare for shipment, we have the Lenovo ThinkStation ready in the warehouse for a local asset manager to hand over the computer to one of our delivery drivers, so we can close this task. Next, you can see another task that has been created for shipping the asset. Within this stage of the transfer order process, the asset is then shipped. For this example, we are going to close this task because the asset has already been shipped.
You can now see there's another task for receiving the asset; this task will typically be completed by the stockroom manager who is receiving the assets. In a real-life scenario, the stockroom manager for the Southern California warehouse receives the assets and closes this task. For the final task, there is one for delivering the assets; we are going to close this task since the assets have been delivered. We've now completed this transfer order, the stage has been set to delivered, and the Lenovo ThinkStation is now in stock and available in the Southern California warehouse.
Did you find this Introduction to Transfer Orders in ServiceNow article helpful? Are you ready to start your journey with ServiceNow? If you want to find out more information about GlideFast Consulting and our ServiceNow implementation services, you can reach out to us here.
About GlideFast Consulting
GlideFast is a ServiceNow Elite Partner and professional services firm that provides tailored solutions and professional services for ServiceNow implementations, integrations, managed support services, application development, and training. Reach out to our team here.