TABLE OF CONTENTS

See other details for the rest of a WOS Integration or go back to the main page for a list of system-specific integrations

Typical Integration

Downloading Orders into WOS is a basic integration that is included in almost all projects. A typical order download flow is fairly simple and represented by the image below. The Host system is checked for new orders. The orders are then created in WOS. The team in the warehouse batches, picks, and packs the orders. Integrations to get shipping labels or to create fulfillments back into the Host system can be created after either the Picking or Packing steps.


Note: Integrations to retrieve and print shipping labels is described in Shipping and Label Integrations. Options around packing slips are also described in that page


Order Types

WOS only has one Type of Order that picks against inventory. If the Host system identifies Wholesale, Transfers, Work Orders, or other "Types" of Orders, anything that picks against inventory needs to come to WOS as an Order. Without a specific Type field on the Order, the Type and process around the Order needs to be designated in other ways. Adding a prefix to the Order Number or using one of the Custom Fields are common ways to make that designation.


Field Mapping

Fields from the Host system can be mapped and brought into WOS during the integration. As much as possible, the Fields in WOS should be used the way they are intended. When this is not possible, the purpose for using that Field should be reviewed against how that Field is used in WOS. Below are a few specific Fields to be aware of when mapping into WOS.


  • Order Number

    • WOS requires the Order Number be a unique value, but it can be almost any value. Some Host systems have multiple reference values to identify an Order. Any of these can be used as the Order Number when coming into WOS.

  • Order Status

    • The default Order Status is "Available". Orders can be set to "Hold" when first created if that is setup as part of the integration.

  • Pick Method

    • The default is to allow an Order to be picked with Batch Pick or Single Pick, without any restriction. It can sometimes be helpful to setup other Order Types (Transfer Orders, Work Orders, etc.) to be Single Pick and all other Orders be Batch Pick. As long as these Orders can be identified, this can be setup in the integration so an Order is created in WOS only eligible to be picked one of the two available methods.

  • Cart Type

    • It can sometimes be helpful to preassign a cart type in the integration for certain Types of Orders. These Orders will show up in the Assigned grid in the Batch Build page. This helps prevent these Orders from being included in other batching operations if they need to be singled out.

  • Area

    • WOS can use Areas to separate inventory for different purposes. An Area Allocation can make sure Orders only pick from inventory in the matching Area. If this is being used, the Area should be set on the Order in the integration so it's included when the Order is created.

  • Allocating on Import

    • Most of the integrations built by WOS set up the Order to allocate against available inventory soon after the Order is created. This can be turned off so that Orders are created without trying to find available inventory. The orders can then be allocated within WOS at a time that makes more sense.


Accommodating Missing Required Fields

WOS must have an Order Number, Item Number, and Quantity to create an Order. If one of those values is missing, or if the Quantity is 0, WOS can't create the Order and it causes the entire Batch of Orders to fail. The standard integration will remove Orders that have a 0 quantity, a blank Item Number, or missing Order Number so that the other Orders in the Batch can be created. The integration can be built to accommodate for those issues.

  • A line with 0 quantity can be filtered off the Order so the order is created with all the other lines
    • It is possible to also just update a 0 qty line so it doesn't fail, but this approach is not recommended because it might be impossible to know what quantity should actually be there. By fixing the error, the team in the warehouse gets no notification that the Order had an error.
  • A line with a blank SKU can be updated with a "NoSKU" item
    • Instead of letting the order fail to be created, a blank Item Number can be filled in with the value "NoSKU"
    • NoSKU gets created as an Item. If this is ever seen on an Order, the team in the warehouse knows they need to look and identify which item needs to be picked
    • The integration can add the item's description to the Notes field so the details can be found in WOS
    • View this page for more details about how this works: (TBD)


Partial Orders

WOS expects an Order to be picked complete. If there is a need for an Order to be partially picked, maybe because of a backorder or other needs, the remaining lines on the Order will need to be created as an additional Order in the system. The Order Number should be appended with an incrementing number to make it unique. 

There are some standard processes around creating partial Orders. Some customization around this process can be accommodated in the customer's integration project. 


Order Updates and Cancelled Orders

WOS does not currently allow Order updates after the Order is created. In the past we have found the physical processes of picking inventory to make Order updates difficult. WOS does not currently have a Cancelled Status for Orders for the same reasons. We recognize this is an opportunity and will be looking to add these features in the future.

The integration can setup some approaches for accommodating these as best as possible. In both cases (an update or cancellation), the Order in WOS is deleted. In the case of an update, the new Order is then created with the current details. If the Order is locked and can't be deleted, the integration can send out a notification so a team member can review and find the locked Order. The Order could have specific fields updated to help identify that a change could not be made.

There are some standard processes around these flows. Some customization around this process can be accommodated in the customer's integration project. 


Fulfillments or Shipments back to Host

After the Order is completed in WOS, it's possible to report a status back to the Host system. This option varies by the capabilities of the Host system. Sometimes the Host only wants a tracking and status to indicate the Order is shipped, meaning it's not possible to report back details about the lines that were picked. More common is the ability to indicate which lines were picked so the Host system knows which lines remain open. In almost all cases, the Order in WOS needs to have Order and line level ID numbers that allow that automated call back to the Host system. 


A few options regarding creating fulfillments include the following.


Fulfillments when Shipping system is the Host

When the integration was setup to download Orders from a shipping system, the most common approach is creating a label that ships the Order. The shipping system would push the details back up to the Host system.

Depending on the shipping system, there could also be an option to mark the Order as completed after packing instead of when the label was created.

Fulfillment on Pick Complete

WOS has a trigger indicating an Order has been picked complete. This trigger can be used to push details back to the Host system to start the fulfillment process.

Fulfillment on Pack Complete

WOS has a trigger indicating the Order has been packed. Each app (Packing, Verify, PackOne) provides a separate trigger that can be used.

Fulfillment after Tracking pulled from Shipping

If WOS is the middle piece between a Host system and a shipping system, then there are internal tools after the Order is packed to identify and push Orders to the Host system. This allows a time period for shipping issues to be worked through, tracking to be found and applied, and create the fulfillment with shipping details included.


Pack Only Orders

It's possible to create an Order in WOS that is already in a fully picked status and just need to be Verified or Packed. This can be used to simply verify an Order as it's packed without having to perform the pick and decrement inventory.