Descartes® is pleased to announce the general availability of the Descartes Peoplevox™ 24.01-01 release. This will be the first release of 2024, and includes all of the changes we have been working on since the release freeze just before Black Friday last year.
In this first release, we are delivering a range of improvements to the new returns and RMA workflow that we introduced just before peak last year, we are preparing for the release of a new workflow to better support customization and personalization of items as part of the pick process, as well as a wide range of performance improvements and bugfixes.
We will also be preparing for a major new UI update, which will help to keep the look and feel of the application more consistent. For example, here are some previews from our development environment for the old returns screen on the updated UI:
And the action creation screen on the updated UI:
As you can see, the screens themselves are unchanged so you will be able to continue using your existing workflows and processes, but the navigation and overall user experience will move closer toward that of the new style being used on the locations and returns pages. We will be rolling this out over the coming weeks, but please reach out if you would like to be part of the first batch of users.
New Features
New Feature: Implemented a new version of the despatched items by package report (v5) that rolls up all of the improvements from the previous versions, and also leverages some new back-end improvements to provide much better performance. Note that with this version now available, the original version (v1) of the report will be phased out soon (661623).
New Feature: Implemented a new replenishment by service type report, designed to provide users with wider context on the items that need to be replenished, so that they can prioritize replenishment based on the carrier or service of orders that require those items, for example by giving greater priority to items needed to fulfil orders being shipped on next-day services, or with carriers that have an earlier pick-up time (934992).
New Feature: Completed the new UI screen to allow users to view and manage RMAs from within the web application (879437).
New Feature: Completed the RMA extension to the returns module on the mobile app. Users can now return items against an RMA using either the web or the mobile application (879437).
New Feature: Added a new report to support the returns and RMA feature called "Return authorizations". This report is designed to provide information about RMAs, including linked returns (if any), and can be used for both reviewing past returns as well as looking ahead to future inbound RMA items (887366).
New Feature: Completed the migration of the removals tab of the web app to the new UI. This will be available alongside the old UI under "Setup" (925666).
Enhancements
Enhancement: Started laying the groundwork for the upcoming app-wide UI update (940281).
Enhancement: Started laying the groundwork for an update to the reporting and dashboards to use the new UI (745000)
Enhancement: Several back-end improvements to performance and the Android sync process following investigation performed over the peak period (956204).
Enhancement: Enhanced the returns and RMA workflow - the status of the RMA will now be automatically recalculated as items are returned against it (919364).
Enhancement: Enhanced the returns and RMA workflow - it is now possible to automatically print item labels at the end of the return process. If the user pre-selects the documents and printers that they want to use, then the relevant labels will be sent to the printer as the RMA is completed (919363).
Enhancement: Enhanced the returns and RMA workflow - the returns summary report now includes information about any RMAs that are linked to the return (887365).
Resolved Issues
Resolved Issue: Fixed a bug with mobile transaction synchronization that could cause some receipts against purchase orders to fail (600152).
Resolved Issue: Fixed a bug with the initial release of the RMA feature that prevented users from uploading RMAs using a site reference (938403).
Resolved Issue: Fixed a bug with the initial release of the RMA feature that sometimes prevented users from completing a return if the RMA was linked to a sales order (945968).
Resolved Issue: Fixed a bug that prevented users from being able to delete an action for a sales order after items had been unpicked for it (916943).
Resolved Issue: Fixed a bug with the sales by item v2 report that prevented users from filtering it based on date columns (906945).
Resolved Issue: Fixed a rare bug with the replenishment process that could cause it to suggest locations in the wrong sequence (891114).
Resolved Issue: Fixed a rare bug that could cause the webhook processing mechanism to occasionally stall, and require manual intervention to restart (837090).
Resolved Issue: Fixed a rare bug on the actions tab of the web app that could occasionally cause a run-time error (951946).
Note: For a longer-term view of the changes coming to the system, particularly those that impact integrations, please take a look at the Coming Soon section:
Coming Soon
The numbers in parentheses come from our internal work-tracking system, and we present them here for you to reference if you have any questions. If you've raised a specific issue on the support desk, then we'll come back to you on that ticket with any relevant updates.
Tip: Submit enhancement ideas using our Idea Portal! You can find more information, and learn how to request access here.