Page 258 - DCAP312_WEB_TECHNOLOGIES_II

Web Technologies-II

Notes to name a few. Since these other order sources could quickly exhaust stock, it is important to
have an automated and regularly scheduled inventory update from the WMS to shopping cart.

Typically inventory levels are updated once a day or once per week depending on the popularity
of the products. This ensures that items which are out of stock are not be displayed (or they
will be listed as out of stock) to consumers visiting your customer’s online store. By properly
reflecting out of stock status, you can better manage backorder issues and customer expectations.

Real-time Communication of Order Details Between Shopping Cart Software and WMS
The continued growth of online retail sales have been a boom for fulfilment houses year round.
From mega-sites like Amazon.com and e-Bay to hosting companies that service one person
operations, online retailers have streamlined the buying process by implementing virtual
“shopping carts “ with a convenient “checkout “ button to pay for and complete a transaction.
Shopping cart software saves the buyer and seller time and expense by automating the buying
process. Your warehouse can also take advantage of this automation by tapping into these
shopping carts for order processing and status updates.
Shopping cart software and warehouses primarily communicate through three methods:
1. Email Alerts

2. Batch Processing by Manual Import/Export
3. Automated Integrations (APIs and Web Service Calls) between systems.
The first and most basic method is through e-mail alerts sent to the fulfilment house. This one-
way notification is fine for drop shipments and partners who do not ship regularly but is not a
guaranteed message delivery method.

The second method is integration through batch processing which allows the fulfilment house to
process multiple transactions by manually importing and exporting data files between systems.
Batch processing requires user interaction to import and export flat files to move data between
systems. This method is relatively inexpensive and is familiar to most experienced computer users.

Flat file imports and exports can also be implemented very quickly. Unfortunately, batch
processing creates delays in the information pipeline which is inefficient be definition.

Handling Larger Order Volumes
Operational inefficiencies can be magnified as order volumes increase. This is especially true when
seasonal workers are brought in that may not be as familiar with the warehouse or inventory
setup as your regular staff. A solid Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for pulling orders is a
great place to start, but enforcement can be difficult in times of high activity. Right when you
need it most! As your order volumes increase, let your employees focus on accurate fulfilment
while your WMS optimizes your workflow and enforces your picking rules.
Limiting movement and repetition in the warehouse is key to improving productivity. Pick line
locations and pick location priority settings can be used to direct your staff to the most logical
items to pick based on shortest distance, least touches, package configuration or a number
of other criteria. When set up correctly, your WMS can automatically allocate product from
these optimized locations. Mobile scanning features can enforce the pick another way to limit
movement and touches in the warehouse are to utilize batch or wave picking methods. Wave
picking works by reviewing a large batch of orders and “plotting“ the best course through the
warehouse to pick product from each location. This means that if all multiple orders require
items from the same location, the operator will pick all items at the same time. Once all items
have been picked, the operator will segregate the product into the correct orders during the
packaging process. Batch picking eliminates redundant location picking and greatly reduces
distance travelled in the warehouse.

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