Order Release
Order release in warehouse operations is the process of authorizing or releasing an order into the production process for pick, pack, and ship fulfillment. Orders are typically released after order placement is confirmed and it has passed the required approvals and checks that are part of a company’s order fulfillment process. Various factors, such as the availability of resources or resources, the completion of quality checks, or the receipt of payment may trigger the release of orders.
Blog: The Basics of Warehouse Automation
On the front end of the order management cycle, the release process requires coordination of warehouse activities and resources to fulfill an order. Tasks may include releasing raw materials or components for production or finished goods for delivery and coordinating other resources, such as equipment and labor, to support the fulfillment process. Release cycles may also be subject to certain conditions or constraints such as capacity limits or delivery schedules.
The order release process’s efficiency directly impacts fulfillment productivity, throughput, and customer satisfaction. Some organizations may manually manage the release process, which becomes cumbersome and labor-intensive as order volumes grow.
In this scenario, ensuring the smooth flow of goods through the pick, pack, and ship process becomes challenging, resulting in bottlenecks that cause slowdowns. As a result, order fulfillment cycles become delayed, and labor costs may increase as the warehouse strives to meet throughput requirements.
Release Planning Software to Maximize Efficiency
Today, manual release planning tasks are being replaced by advanced software such as Numina Group’s RDS™ Order Release module, a component of its RDS Real-Time Warehouse Execution and Control software.
RDS Order Release is a flexible and powerful order release management module that uses intelligence automation (IA) software to optimize order fulfillment productivity. RDS goes far beyond traditional wave, batch, or continuous order release methods.
RDS includes algorithms to select orders based on multiple variables to efficiently balance work modeled on historic picking performance and real-time metrics of the DC zone’s picking performance. RDS considers picking tasks and travel time in each zone to synchronize the batch wave picking completion time across the DC.
RDS also includes the capability to create optimized pick paths for various processes, incorporating workers, autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), pick modules such as goods-to-person (G2P) systems, and more.
Order Release + Voice-Directed Picking Technology
The most significant productivity increases can be achieved by combining order release planning software with a real-time pick-by-voice system that guides the order picker’s tasks based on the optimized release plans generated by the planning module.
Advanced voice picking systems such as Numina’s RDS Victory Voice™ Suite provide a flexible, integration-ready solution that directs lean, paperless picking operations and warehouse work tasks and guides workers to validate pick, pack, and ship operations. Advanced voice-picking systems can increase picking productivity by 50% or more.
In summary, effective order release management is critical for the efficiency and effectiveness of a supply chain or logistics operation, as it helps to ensure that orders are fulfilled in a timely and accurate manner. It can also help to reduce costs and improve customer satisfaction.
Learn More
Product: RDS Order Fulfillment Automation Suite
Video: Warehouse Automation Design for Perfect Order Practices
Blog: Order Picking Automation Options to Resolve Warehouse Labor Shortage Challenges
