Of all the challenges e-commerce fulfillment operations face (diminishing delivery windows, unpredictable fluctuations in order volumes and items ordered, stabilizing operating expenses in an unstable production environment), perhaps the most challenging of all is the need to accommodate unpredictable fulfillment windows.
One of the great unknowns for ecommerce operations is the fulfillment window that will accompany any given order. No doubt all ecommerce orders need to be filled quickly, but some orders require even more expedited fulfillment windows than others.
There are many reasons for this, like an overnight delivery requirement, last-minute orders entering the system close to shipping/carrier induction cut-off times, or customers who just happen to live in locations that are farther from the fulfillment center.
Whatever the reason, to be successful, ecommerce providers must find a way to respond to these orders on the fly, without compromising the deliverability of other orders already in their system.
So how do you dynamically adjust your fulfillment process to accommodate orders that require a shorter delivery window?
The answer depends on the warehouse software that controls your operation.
Software Matters
Depending on the software managing a fulfillment operation, an operation may or may not be able to adequately respond to an expedited delivery requirement on the fly.
Suppose, for example, that you’re running a fulfillment center in Lancaster, Pa and have an order moving through the facility that needs to be delivered in Philadelphia the next day in order to meet the customer’s service level agreement. Having been entered into the system in the morning, the order has been both picked and routed and is currently in a pack station with a couple hours to spare before its slotted parcel carrier induction time.
Now, suppose another order comes in for the same items that were picked for the Philadelphia order. This one is also slotted for delivery the next day, but in Denver, CO — and the carrier induction cut off time for that service is only minutes away.
If you’re running a fulfillment operation that’s directed by a traditional warehouse management system, the WMS is going to be limited and disruptive in its ability to react.
Unfortunately, warehouse management systems can only allocate inventory ahead of order fulfillment in a wave-based fulfillment process. Subsequently, the WMS can’t dynamically prioritize new orders entering the system, without a good deal of disruption to the entire fulfillment operation. And while WMS suppliers may tout their software’s ability to execute dynamic waves, these small or single item waves for expedited orders tie-up a large amount of resources while that wave is allowed to process through. They also disallow other resources to gain critical access to the database while the long, slow-churning, wave-based query is processed.
In high transaction production environments, this can result in disruptions such as all RF gun users being bounced out of the system because of timed-out database queries, forcing them to login again and try to pick-up where they left off. So the advantage gained from expediting one order comes at a price to others.
If on the other hand, you’re running an operation that features a waveless approach to order fulfillment directed by MSI Automate’s sophisticated Automate warehouse software platform, the software will simply reassign the inventory originally designated for the Philadelphia-bound order to the Denver-bound order and re-pick the order for Philadelphia in time to get both orders out the door for next day delivery.
This ability to dynamically reassign in-motion inventory is the key to a successful e-commerce or omnichannel competitive strategy. As the cornerstone to a fulfillment operation’s ability to make last minute fulfillment decisions, it enables retailers to take advantage of processing opportunities that would not otherwise be available and may not have even been evident when an order or set of orders was first pulled into the system.
Sharpen Your Ecommerce Edge
Having the ability to postpone inventory allocation decisions requires a fulfillment solution that has both real-time visibility over in-motion inventory and real-time control over inventory allocation. By combining these capabilities with robust algorithms for continuously assessing and calibrating the delivery requirements of e-commerce demand, MSI Automate’s Automate Software allows retailers to use last minute decisions to not only solve the challenges of last minute online customer requests, but also take advantage of processing commonalities across orders from various sales channels and capitalize on fulfillment opportunities as they arise.
Specifically designed for high transaction production environments, the Automate platform is structured to perform under the industry’s most rigorous production requirements, while enabling levels of operational efficiency and customer service that would not otherwise be possible.
Utilizing a truly waveless fulfillment approach to order processing, Automate provides retailers with a layer of flexibility that is not available in systems that must rely on the handoff of inventory control between a WMS and WCS or even many standard WES offerings.
In doing so, it empowers retailers to satisfy customer requests by dynamically keeping pace with fluctuations in order demand and thereby gain a strategic edge in the marketplace through greater customer loyalty and repeat business.
Walter High is VP Marketing at MSI Automate, where he has worked since 2012.