Our Orders Ship Late
A late order usually spent most of its time waiting: for a wave release, for a picker, for a pack station, for the truck. Picking faster helps only if picking is the slow step. Order cycle time by step shows where the hours go.
What Is Usually Going On
- Orders are released in large waves, so they wait for the wave and then flood pick and pack at once.
- Labor is planned to total units, not to the hourly profile of when orders arrive and trucks leave.
- One step, often pack or a shared sorter, cannot keep up at peak.
- Short picks hold orders until the item is found or replenished.
- Carrier cut-off times are not tied to the release plan.
How to Fix It
- Measure order cycle time by stepTimestamp release, pick start, pick done, pack done and ship for a sample of orders. Find the largest gap.
- Apply Little's LawOrders open / orders shipped per hour = hours an order spends in the building. Fewer orders open at once means a shorter cycle at the same rate.
- Find the slow stepCompare units per hour at pick, pack and ship against the rate needed at peak. The lowest one sets the pace.
- Release smaller wavesRelease orders more often in smaller batches, at the rate the slow step can take.
- Staff by the hourStaff each step to the hourly order profile and the carrier cut-offs, and move people to the slow step at peak.
- Stop short picks at the sourceLog short picks by item and trigger replenishment before the pick face runs out.
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Common Questions
Should we pick faster or release differently?
Find the slow step first. If orders wait mostly before pick, release is the problem. If they wait at pack, more pickers only make the pile at pack bigger.
What is order cycle time?
Time from order release, or receipt, to ship. Measure both, since the time before release counts for the customer too.
Do waves have to go?
Not always. Smaller, more frequent waves keep most of the planning benefit and cut the wait. Some operations move to continuous release once pick and pack are balanced.