Wave Release

To begin, the simplest way to begin a pick batch is to select “Begin Picking”. Unconstrained, this will issue the next most important pick batch to the requesting operator. However, not all picking is unconstrained: operators may be working in different zones, or wish to execute picks with different priorities, or even a specific order. For these reasons, ShipHawk WMS offers a simple filter page for the operator to set before requesting the next pick.

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ShipHawk WMS also has a visual dashboard to display real time status of all picking operations, for unreleased tasks, released tasks, and completed tasks -- all filterable by “on or after” date.

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Operator Performance can also be analyzed using a real-time performance dashboard, which allows selection of Sites, Metrics, Operators, and Date Ranges, as shown below (operator names removed for privacy).

Tabular data can also be requested for offline data analysis (operator names removed for privacy):

Over a dozen different metric can be reported against, including various picking, receiving, and replenishment rates, and rates per hour:

All tasks (Batches, Super Batches, Clusters, Consolidations, and/or Orders) must be released by an authorized operator responsible for work flow, using the ShipHawk WMS Wave Release page. An operator can enter one or many filters in the page below prior to entering the Wave Release the page. These filters shown below will limit the pool of unreleased orders shown to the operator for Wave Release.

All candidate tasks will be displayed to the operator based on the filter(s) defined. This page allows the operator to select and release as many or few tasks as desired. It also provides a status of all released tasks, as well as all tasks currently assigned to, and being worked on, by operators. Lastly, this page displays any order or item that cannot be allocated due to unavailable inventory.

Picking

Before a pick task (Batch, Super Batch, Cluster, Consolidation, or Order) is started, ShipHawk WMS will always display a profile of “what is to come” and allow the operator to “skip” this pick batch if necessary. A simple parameter-based formula computes the “Estimated Time” in minutes based on the number of containers, bins, items, and units, with the default assumption of 5 seconds per container, 30 seconds per bin, 15 seconds per item, and 2 seconds per unit. You can change the defaults for the formula using the ‘Set Pick Standards (pickstandards)’ rule (see Rules ).

In this example, the operator is issued a Cluster Pick (see above); hence a cart is initially scanned to begin the process.

Then, for each tote or container required in the process, the operator will scan the tote or container ID to be used, as well as a shelf ID or alias, based on where the tote or container is placed on the cart.

At the conclusion of cart setup, ShipHawk WMS presents a summary of the setup, allowing the operator to proceed directly to picking, or “Start Over”, if desired.

The operator is then directed to travel to a specific bin where it is validated with a scan.

Once arrival at the proper bin is validated, the operator will be asked to locate a specific item and scan or verify it. Short Pick and Skip Pick options are available at this stage. At this stage, a Short Pick indicate that the item cannot be found. Skip Pick simply moves this pick to the end of the pick tour, for any number of operational reasons.

Once the item is verified, ShipHawk WMS will direct the operator to pick a specific quantity of that item to a specific tote/container. The tote/container ID or the shelf alias may be scanned to verify the pick.

NOTE: If a “case pack” (number of units in a case or carton) is defined for the item being picked (see Item Master Setup section), and the option to enable Full Case Picking is set (see Configuration Setup section), and the unit quantity to be picked is greater than the case pack quantity defined, ShipHawk WMS will instruct the operator to pick full cases of the item, rather than the unit quantity. An option to automatically create and assign, or scan, an SSCC-18 container ID is also available for each full case picked. Any residual quantity (not a multiple or a full case), will be redirected to another pick to an overpack container.

If, for some reason, the entire quantity is not available, the operator may select the Short Pick option and enter the quantity actually available (see cycle count section for consequences of this action). This will trigger ShipHawk WMS to redirect the tote(s) affected by this short pick to a Resolve Short pick area upon completion of the pick tour.

NOTE: ShipHawk WMS does not redirect a picker to find new inventory in case of a short pick; rather the affected tote is directed to a special exception area where operators skilled in reconciliation will use specific ShipHawk WMS features to retrieve appropriate inventory from other bins to remedy the shortage. If no inventory is available to satisfy the shortage, the order can be held for future receipt (creating a crossdock demand that will alert receiving when the inventory arrives) or shorted and shipped as is, upon approval.

Once all picks have been completed, ShipHawk WMS will direct the operator to discharge the tote/containers to a specific pack station. As noted above, any totes/containers affected by short picks will be directed to a Resolve Short Pick area. Pack rules are defined which control this behavior.

At any time, an operator may suspend and subsequently resume a pick.

Real time status of all outbound activity is visible using the ShipHawk WMS Order Status Summary page (also accessible via the Administration menu) as show below. This page displays order-based status, from picking, through packing and shipping.

Orders Picked Per Hour

The Operator Performance Dashboard can display a metric for Orders Picked Per Hour:

This metric displays the hours of picking for each operator per day. The metric is based on the ‘hours of picking’ and the ‘number of picks per day’ for a given operator.

Important: The ‘hours of picking’ is calculated from the ‘timestamp of the last pick of the day’ minus the ‘timestamp of the first pick of the day' for a given operator. The metric’s ‘Orders Picked Per Hour’ for an operator is then the ‘number of picks per day’ divided by the ‘hours of picking’. Keep in mind this metric assumes the operator has only been doing picking during the ‘hours of picking’ on a given day. If the operator was also doing tasks other than picking on a given day (before the ‘timestamp of the last pick of the day’ takes place), the Orders Picked Per Hour in the metric could appear lower than the operator's actual picking pace per hour.