SFS Waving

How to wave shipments in Flexe.

IN THIS TOPIC

• Navigating the Waving Templates Page
• Creating a Wave Template
• Editing a Wave Template
• Deleting a Wave Template
• Waving
  • Waving with Custom Templates
  • Waving with Past Due Templates
  • Waving by Carrier & Reservation

This guidance only applies if Scalable Fulfillment Solution (SFS) functionality has been enabled for your reservation(s). For more information about SFS, reach out to your Flexe Logistics Analyst. 

Waving is the first step of the process of fulfilling orders in the Flexe system. Waving sorts open shipments by certain criteria into groups for picking, sorting, and packing.

Once created, each wave contains one or more smaller batches which can then be printed and assigned to one or more mobile device users for picking then packing.

Navigating the Waving Templates Page

To view shipments that need to be waved, select Wave Templates from the left menu in Flexe. 

Dashboard

Here you can view the following information about orders waiting to be fulfilled: 

Ship By

This dropdown displays all dates that currently open shipments must ship by. Once selected, you can view Total Shipments for that date by their current status:

• Un-Waved - Shipments that have not been addressed and must be waved to be picked/packed.
• Not Started - Shipments that have been waved, but picking has not been started for the batch they’re associated with.
• In Progress - Shipments that have been or are currently being picked or sorted
• Packed - Shipments that have been packed. 
• Complete - Shipments that are complete (waved, picked, packed and closed via an outbound load).

Refresh

This button refreshes the page and updates the status and progress of each batch accordingly. You can also view when the page was last refreshed. 

Alerts

Select Alerts when a number appears beside it, to review any issues that occurred during the waving process. You will need to resolve any issues to wave the shipments affected.

Alert Message	Resolution Path
Could not wave [Shipment ID], item [SKU name] needs to be restocked in a pickable location.	When this occurs check locations with this SKU, to make sure they are in unlocked pick locations. If not move or unlock inventory.
A locked location is blocking the wave.	Review locations and resolve issue resulting in locked status.
Insufficient inventory to wave shipments.	Check inventory for this item, if none can be located, reach out to [e-mail].
Unable to automatically split large shipment [Shipment ID], Please manually split and wave again.	When this occurs, reach out to [e-mail] for assistance.
Could not wave [Shipment Id], shipment details not found.	When this occurs, reach out to [e-mail] for assistance.

 

Past Due

All past due shipments are automatically added into a past due wave template, separated by carrier.

Wave By Template

View all wave templates created for your warehouse, with shipments available for each.

Wave by Carrier and Reservation 

Additional waving options that allow for waving by filters without creating a new wave template.

Creating a Wave Template

A wave template is a customizable set of filters you can save and use to wave shipments more efficiently. 

To create a wave template in Flexe:  

1. Select Wave Template in the left menu under Outbound.

2. Select Create New.

3. Enter a Template Name and select the Reservation the template will apply to.

4. Select a Carrier and Service Level using the dropdown menus.

Note: Only one carrier can be selected per wave template, but multiple service levels can be selected for a specific carrier.

5. Select an Order Profile. 

Choose one of the following options:

• Both (Single+Multi Unit) - Wave both single and multi line shipments at the same time. This is only an option for select reservation types. Shipments will still split into different batches per type once waved. 
• Single unit -  Includes only shipments requesting one each.
• Multi unit - Includes shipments requesting two or more eaches.

Note: This selection is important, as each option may potentially have distinct workflows depending on the SKUs themselves, or your reservation. Ask your Flexe Logistics Analyst for recommendations.

6. Select Packaging Requirements (optional).

This field is optional, but allows for more detail in planning batches based on order profile. You can select one of the following packaging requirements: 

• Ship Alone - Items that will not ship with other items. 
• Overbox Required - All shipments that require overboxing. 
• Ship As-Is - Items that can ship in their original packaging with a shipping label applied if shipping as a single order item; or, items that should be packed in an overbox if multiple ship-as-is items are on an order. 
• Hazmat - Items that require hazmat labeling. 
• Site to Store - Orders that will ship to a store for customer pickup.

7. If available, select an option to Specify SKU Mix. 

If this setting is enabled for your reservation you can choose from the following options:

• Both (default) - No change to current waving
• Single-SKU Only - Only select shipments that contain a Single SKU
• Multi-SKU Only - Only select shipments that have multiple SKUs

8. Restrict template to specific SKUs (optional).

This selection is optional, but gives you the ability to wave by a specific SKU or a specific combination of SKUs. With this setting enabled, the template will always filter by the SKUs you've selected.

Note: If more than one SKU is selected, the template will only pick shipments requesting the exact combination of SKUs selected. It will not include shipments requesting one or the other.

 

9. Enter in a specific Purchase Order (optional).

This is optional, but allows you to filter for specific purchase orders. This may be useful if the shipper always places a similar purchase order for specific types of shipments.

10. Enter a Postal Code Range (optional). 

With this setting, you can isolate shipments into batches by ZIP code range. You need to enter a full ZIP code for both the Start of range and End of range fields.  

Note: This feature is optional--but if you enter a start of range, you'll also need to enter an end of range. For example, if you need to isolate ZIP codes beginning in 900 through 923, you can enter "90000" for the start of range and "92399" for the end of range.

11. If available, set Custom Client Attributes.

If this setting is enabled for your reservation, you can use the dropdown menu to create a wave template with predefined custom attributes and values.

Note: For more information about whether custom attributes are right for your reservation, reach out to your Flexe Logistics Analyst. 

12. Go back to the top of the page and select Save.

Note: If you don't complete all required fields, the template will not save. You'll need to go back and make an entry for each required field.  

Editing a Wave Template

1. Go to the Wave Templates page and find the template you want to edit.

2. Open the menu (three dots) next to the template, and select Edit.

3. Edit any field on the existing Wave Template and click Save. 

Deleting a Wave Template

Templates can be deleted. Keep in mind that deletion is permanent; if you have  further need of the template, you’ll need to create it again. 

To delete a template:

1. Go to the Wave Templates page and find the template you want to delete.

2. Open the menu (three dots) next to the template, and select Delete.

3. Select, Yes permanently delete [template name].

Waving 

Waving with Custom Templates

Once your wave templates are created and shipments have entered the system, you can begin waving the shipments:

1. Select Wave Templates.

2. Find the wave template you want to use. 

Find the template from the selection of available wave templates on the page. Each  will show how many open shipments can currently be waved with that template.

3. Select Wave next to the template you want to use.

4. Enter the total number of shipments to wave, then select Create Waves.

5. Check for a confirmation message at the bottom of your screen.

Waving with Past Due Templates

The Flexe platform automatically groups all past due shipments into wave templates by carrier. These wave templates should be used to ensure that all past due shipments are fulfilled prior to working on the current day’s shipments.

Note: The Past Due template is based on the Service Level Agreement (SLA) with the customer, and configured by Flexe.

To use the Past Due wave template:  

1. Go to the Wave Templates page, and look for the Past Due section.

 If there are past due shipments found in the Flexe platform, the past due wave template automatically shows onscreen. 

2. Select Wave next to the past due shipments you want to wave.

3. Enter the total number of shipments you want to batch, then select Create Waves.

Waving by Carrier & Reservation

To wave shipments by carrier and reservation: 

1. Select Wave Templates from the left menu in Flexe.

2. Select a Carrier from available options.

3. Select one of the available reservations in the dropdown menu.

4. Select Add Filter to filter available shipments by additional parameters. 

You can choose from the following options: 

• Service Level - Filter by a specific service level based on the unwaved shipments.
• SKU ID - Filter by a specific SKU.
• Pick Method -Filter by a specific pick method such as: 
  • Ship Alone - Shipments that appear here are for a single each of a single SKU.
  • Single item pick and pack - These shipments are all for a single SKU, though the quantity may vary.
  • Multi-item pick and pack - The eCommerce shipments under the Multi-SKU headers contain more than one SKU per shipment, and are grouped according to the fastest moving SKUs across those shipments.
• PO Includes - Filter by a specific purchase order.
• Ship As Is - Filter by all Ship As Is shipments.
• Includes Hazmat - Filter by all shipments that must include hazmat labeling.
• Pack-Time Label Generation - Filter by all shipments that require pack-time label generation (PTLG).
• Site to Store - Filter by all shipments that will be sent to store for customer pickup. 

5. Select Wave to wave all matching shipments. 

6. Enter the number of shipments to wave, and select Create Waves.

7. Once you select Create Waves, check for the confirmation message. 

Waving on the Shipments Page

To learn more about waving shipments directly from the Shipments page in Flexe, go to Waving Shipments.