Order Streaming a new style of picking
What is Order Streaming?
Order streaming was conceived as a response of growth of e- commerce and omnichannel supply chains. This is a software that allows you to meet ever-increasing customer demand in an omnichannel retail environment by enabling handling the orders quickly and efficiently.
Order streaming is another characteristic included in WMS, able to examine the warehouse capacity constraints and then releases the works, when is necessary, ensuring resources usage in the most optimal way. This system is able to evaluate the orders from pool versus picking activity in place, versus the equipment in usage and it can prioritize the orders with high priority. If the stock is reserved, this system allows to borrow stock from a task in progress in order to complete the prioritized order.
Although wave processing (the traditional WMS style) is one of the best methods for planning and execution, but due to the fact the work is released in batches and creates tasks for the pickers and can bring constraints regarding people and equipment.
Therefore if we compare Order streaming with wave processing, we can see that wave processing is based on selecting the order from pool and organize them on waves based on predicted dimensions and pre-configured criteria like: batch, product category, customer, route and so on, while order streaming is looking at capacity constraints and after releases the works, for this activity is not necessary the human intervention, it is initiated automatically.
Manhattan Associates explains in the below video how order streaming works and how this process can eliminate the bottlenecks and reduce time during the entire order preparing process for delivering:
Order Streaming Explained
Order streaming benefits
The main order streaming benefits considered are time saving and efficient equipment utilization, things that are leading to productivity gains inside warehouse.
Time saving is coming from the fact that the system constantly evaluates the orders from pool, prioritize them according importance- first to be delivered without being necessary the human touch.
Order streaming is more oriented to push- based model, the dynamic way, assigning task assembly in real time, than pull- based model and this means that you can have a more accurate monitoring of capacities, keeping the process proactive and not restricted on the estimated capacities, therefore the MHE-equipment is more accurately distributed.
In conclusion order streaming process is considered a best-of-breed WMS solution for dynamic processing like in the case for e-commerce orders and it is prepared to face the retail customer increasing in general. Also order streaming process is able to boost productivity in your warehouse.
Good luck in choosing the best WMS solution according to your needs and resources! Aptus team is your provider whatever you choose!
