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Set up put wall slot reservations as part of building a real-world scenario of an order fulfillment center.
Any referenced datasets can be downloaded from "Module downloads" in the module overview.
Transcript
00:03
As part of building a simulation for order consolidation in a fulfillment center,
00:08
you can assign orders to a specific put wall slot and direct the pick items for an order to that specific slot.
00:15
This allows you to consolidate items for an order in one place before packing them.
00:21
In the Process Flow shown, the logic is already created for the order and pick processes.
00:27
Zoom in on the Create Order and Reserve Putwall Slot section of the Order logic.
00:32
The three activities shown here are the main activities used to structure the slot reservations.
00:39
In conjunction with the activities in the process flow,
00:42
you also need to set up your storage system in the 3D model using Racks from the Warehousing section of the Library.
00:50
Here, Gravity Flow racks were used.
00:53
Racks automatically add slots to your storage system.
00:57
Click Toolbox > Storage System.
01:03
In Storage System Properties, you can set up the visualization for your racks, as well as apply other settings.
01:11
Here, click the Slot Labels tab.
01:15
Adding slot labels to the racks creates a pool of available slots; however, the slot labels are not automatically assigned to the racks.
01:24
Select a Rack in the model and then double-click it.
01:28
Expand the sections to view the different rack properties, such as Storage Object.
01:35
Here, you have the option to set the Slot Assignment Strategy to determine how slots are assigned.
01:41
For example, if you select First Slot with Space, then each item will go to the first available slot.
01:49
However, this setting does not allow you to consolidate multiple items for an order in one slot.
01:55
In this scenario, you need to build the logic to reserve a specific slot for an order,
02:01
and then assign the corresponding items to that slot as well.
02:05
Back in Storage System Properties, set the Default Value to “0”.
02:11
Name the Slot Labels “Reserved”, and assign a Color Palette, in this case, ColorPalette3.
02:20
Click OK.
02:22
Then, in the Library, under Warehousing, select Paint Slot Labels.
02:29
In Properties, select the Reserved Label.
02:34
Select the Value you want to paint.
02:37
In this case, the slots are already painted with the 0 value.
02:42
Select 1 and set the Mode to Paint Individual Slots.
02:49
Then, paint the slots directly in the model using your cursor.
02:53
Adjust the Mode as needed to more efficiently paint slots.
02:58
For example, you can Paint All Slots in Same Cell or Paint All Slots at Same Level.
03:05
In this case, use Paint All Slots in Same Object, set the Value to 0, and paint the slots in the Model back to zero.
03:15
Open the Process Flow again.
03:19
In the Order logic, after the order arrives and a size is applied, you can identify and assign a slot to the order.
03:27
To do so, use a Find Slot activity from the Warehousing section of the Library.
03:33
Here, the activity is called Find a Random Slot in a Random Putwall.
03:38
The Query is set to “WHERE Reserved is 0 ORDER BY RAND() ASC”.
03:47
This finds a random slot with a Reserved value of zero.
03:52
The activity then assigns a label to each order token that references that slot, with “token.slot”.
04:01
Next, use an Assign Labels activity, here called Locate Slot Putwall Location, to add two additional labels to the order token.
04:10
The first label, Putwall, has a value of “token.slot.as(Storage.Slot).storageObject.
04:21
This looks at the slot label and declares it a Storage Slot.
04:25
The code then looks for the corresponding storage object, or put wall, for that slot.
04:31
Select each put wall in the model.
04:34
In Properties, under Labels, you can see that a Station Number is assigned to each put wall.
04:42
Back in the activity, the second label, StationNum, has a value of “token.Putwall.Station”.
04:50
This is set up to find the Station Number for the assigned put wall and apply the corresponding label to the order token.
04:57
The Station Number for the order token is likewise applied to the picks when they are created in the pick logic,
05:03
ensuring the pick items exit at the appropriate station for the order slot.
05:08
Run the model.
05:10
Select an item in the model.
05:14
In Properties, notice the Station Number.
05:17
In the model, the control point directs item flow based on this label.
05:23
For example, if a pick item has a StationNum label of 2, then the control point sends the item to the Station 2 put wall.
05:32
Now, items will route to the appropriate put wall.
05:36
However, you also need to ensure items arrive at the correct slot for their order.
05:42
In the Pick logic, use a Custom Code activity.
05:46
Here, it is called Assign Pick to Order Slot.
05:50
Edit the Custom Code.
05:54
In this case, the code is set up by selecting the pick list options Add > Control > Warehousing > Assign a Slot (Direct).
06:06
Notice that the Item is set to “token.item”.
06:10
This matches the label in the Create Pick activity.
06:14
Back in the Custom Code activity, the Slot is set to “token.Slot” to assign the order slot to the pick token.
06:23
Finally, you need to ensure that the slot is flagged as reserved so that other orders are not assigned to the same slot.
06:31
Back in the Order logic, use an Assign Labels activity.
06:36
In this example, Flag Slot as Assigned is used to assign a label of “token.slot”
06:42
to change the “Reserved” label on the slot to a “1” when it is assigned to an order.
06:47
Look back at the Find Random Slot in Random Putwall activity.
06:52
Setting up this flag for the slot means that when a new order arrives and the Query is performed, only slots with a 0 show up.
07:01
The slots that are flagged with a 1 will be omitted from the query and cannot be reserved.
07:07
At the end of the order logic, in the Exits on Conveyor to Shipping section, another Assign Labels activity is used.
07:16
Open Flag Slot as Available.
07:19
When orders are completed, they are set up to revert the Reserved label back to a “0” to flag the slot as available again,
07:27
so that the slot can be assigned to another order.
07:31
Now that you know how to set up put wall slot reservations as part of building an order consolidation scenario,
07:38
you are ready to learn how to track items within your fulfillment center model.
Video transcript
00:03
As part of building a simulation for order consolidation in a fulfillment center,
00:08
you can assign orders to a specific put wall slot and direct the pick items for an order to that specific slot.
00:15
This allows you to consolidate items for an order in one place before packing them.
00:21
In the Process Flow shown, the logic is already created for the order and pick processes.
00:27
Zoom in on the Create Order and Reserve Putwall Slot section of the Order logic.
00:32
The three activities shown here are the main activities used to structure the slot reservations.
00:39
In conjunction with the activities in the process flow,
00:42
you also need to set up your storage system in the 3D model using Racks from the Warehousing section of the Library.
00:50
Here, Gravity Flow racks were used.
00:53
Racks automatically add slots to your storage system.
00:57
Click Toolbox > Storage System.
01:03
In Storage System Properties, you can set up the visualization for your racks, as well as apply other settings.
01:11
Here, click the Slot Labels tab.
01:15
Adding slot labels to the racks creates a pool of available slots; however, the slot labels are not automatically assigned to the racks.
01:24
Select a Rack in the model and then double-click it.
01:28
Expand the sections to view the different rack properties, such as Storage Object.
01:35
Here, you have the option to set the Slot Assignment Strategy to determine how slots are assigned.
01:41
For example, if you select First Slot with Space, then each item will go to the first available slot.
01:49
However, this setting does not allow you to consolidate multiple items for an order in one slot.
01:55
In this scenario, you need to build the logic to reserve a specific slot for an order,
02:01
and then assign the corresponding items to that slot as well.
02:05
Back in Storage System Properties, set the Default Value to “0”.
02:11
Name the Slot Labels “Reserved”, and assign a Color Palette, in this case, ColorPalette3.
02:20
Click OK.
02:22
Then, in the Library, under Warehousing, select Paint Slot Labels.
02:29
In Properties, select the Reserved Label.
02:34
Select the Value you want to paint.
02:37
In this case, the slots are already painted with the 0 value.
02:42
Select 1 and set the Mode to Paint Individual Slots.
02:49
Then, paint the slots directly in the model using your cursor.
02:53
Adjust the Mode as needed to more efficiently paint slots.
02:58
For example, you can Paint All Slots in Same Cell or Paint All Slots at Same Level.
03:05
In this case, use Paint All Slots in Same Object, set the Value to 0, and paint the slots in the Model back to zero.
03:15
Open the Process Flow again.
03:19
In the Order logic, after the order arrives and a size is applied, you can identify and assign a slot to the order.
03:27
To do so, use a Find Slot activity from the Warehousing section of the Library.
03:33
Here, the activity is called Find a Random Slot in a Random Putwall.
03:38
The Query is set to “WHERE Reserved is 0 ORDER BY RAND() ASC”.
03:47
This finds a random slot with a Reserved value of zero.
03:52
The activity then assigns a label to each order token that references that slot, with “token.slot”.
04:01
Next, use an Assign Labels activity, here called Locate Slot Putwall Location, to add two additional labels to the order token.
04:10
The first label, Putwall, has a value of “token.slot.as(Storage.Slot).storageObject.
04:21
This looks at the slot label and declares it a Storage Slot.
04:25
The code then looks for the corresponding storage object, or put wall, for that slot.
04:31
Select each put wall in the model.
04:34
In Properties, under Labels, you can see that a Station Number is assigned to each put wall.
04:42
Back in the activity, the second label, StationNum, has a value of “token.Putwall.Station”.
04:50
This is set up to find the Station Number for the assigned put wall and apply the corresponding label to the order token.
04:57
The Station Number for the order token is likewise applied to the picks when they are created in the pick logic,
05:03
ensuring the pick items exit at the appropriate station for the order slot.
05:08
Run the model.
05:10
Select an item in the model.
05:14
In Properties, notice the Station Number.
05:17
In the model, the control point directs item flow based on this label.
05:23
For example, if a pick item has a StationNum label of 2, then the control point sends the item to the Station 2 put wall.
05:32
Now, items will route to the appropriate put wall.
05:36
However, you also need to ensure items arrive at the correct slot for their order.
05:42
In the Pick logic, use a Custom Code activity.
05:46
Here, it is called Assign Pick to Order Slot.
05:50
Edit the Custom Code.
05:54
In this case, the code is set up by selecting the pick list options Add > Control > Warehousing > Assign a Slot (Direct).
06:06
Notice that the Item is set to “token.item”.
06:10
This matches the label in the Create Pick activity.
06:14
Back in the Custom Code activity, the Slot is set to “token.Slot” to assign the order slot to the pick token.
06:23
Finally, you need to ensure that the slot is flagged as reserved so that other orders are not assigned to the same slot.
06:31
Back in the Order logic, use an Assign Labels activity.
06:36
In this example, Flag Slot as Assigned is used to assign a label of “token.slot”
06:42
to change the “Reserved” label on the slot to a “1” when it is assigned to an order.
06:47
Look back at the Find Random Slot in Random Putwall activity.
06:52
Setting up this flag for the slot means that when a new order arrives and the Query is performed, only slots with a 0 show up.
07:01
The slots that are flagged with a 1 will be omitted from the query and cannot be reserved.
07:07
At the end of the order logic, in the Exits on Conveyor to Shipping section, another Assign Labels activity is used.
07:16
Open Flag Slot as Available.
07:19
When orders are completed, they are set up to revert the Reserved label back to a “0” to flag the slot as available again,
07:27
so that the slot can be assigned to another order.
07:31
Now that you know how to set up put wall slot reservations as part of building an order consolidation scenario,
07:38
you are ready to learn how to track items within your fulfillment center model.
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