Full-Pallet-First Picking for Bulk Orders
Table of Contents
- 1. What This Scenario Is
- 2. How to Set It Up in the System
- 3. What Daily Operations Look Like
- 4. Boundaries and Related Features
1. What This Scenario Is
Promotions, group buys, and store replenishment can ship more than one pallet of the same product at once. If shelf suggestions always clear picking faces or small residual quantities first, warehouse staff may have to visit several locations and assemble a quantity that could have moved as full pallets. Full-pallet-first picking uses shelves with enough capacity and full-pallet stock before handling the rest of the requirement, reducing unnecessary break-bulk work and travel on bulk orders.
| Business scenario | Operation to improve | Settings to combine |
|---|---|---|
| A promotion ships two pallets of one product | Avoid visiting several small residual locations first | Product full-pallet quantity + pallet-type shelf capacity + App or paper picking |
| A requirement contains full pallets plus a remainder | Move the available full pallets first, then fill the rest in the normal piece-picking order | The same settings, while preserving picking-face, small-quantity, and travel order for the remaining requirement |
2. How to Set It Up in the System
Quick links: Confirm the product's full-pallet quantity | Create and assign shelf types | Set shelf-type capacity for the product | Check before rollout
2.1 Confirm the Product's Full-Pallet Quantity
Start in Edit Product and confirm the large-unit pack size and the number of large units per pallet. The system calculates a full pallet in base units. For example, if a carton contains 10 pieces and a pallet holds 10 cartons, the full-pallet quantity is 100 pieces.
If the product does not have complete packaging and pallet settings, the system cannot determine the size of one pallet and keeps the normal picking order. These values also support pallet planning and related billing, so enter the physical packaging values rather than temporary numbers intended only to change picking order.
2.2 Create and Assign Shelf Types
Use Shelf Type Management to create types that distinguish each purpose, such as “Pallet Location,” “Light Rack,” and “Flow Rack.” Then use Batch Create Shelves, or shelf editing, to assign physical locations to the correct type.
A shelf type is only a classification. How many pieces of a particular product fit on that type still needs to be configured on the product. A type called “Pallet Location” does not by itself mean every product fits there as one full pallet.
2.3 Set Shelf-Type Capacity for the Product
Return to Edit Product. Under “Shelf Information,” use “Shelf type capacity limits” to select each shelf type and enter the maximum pieces of this product that one shelf can hold.
For a shelf type to qualify as a full-pallet source, its capacity must be at least the product's full-pallet quantity. If a small rack holds only 30 pieces, enter 30. It will skip the full-pallet stage but can still fill the remaining requirement in the normal order. Capacity is the physical limit for this product in that location type; a larger number is not inherently better.
2.4 Check Before Rollout
Choose a common bulk-order product and confirm that these records agree:
| Check | What to confirm |
|---|---|
| Product full-pallet quantity | After conversion to base units, it matches the physical pieces on one pallet |
| Shelf-type capacity | Pallet types hold at least one pallet; rack types use their real limits |
| Shelf classification | Locations where a full pallet can actually move are assigned the pallet type |
| Stock distribution | The test has at least one eligible shelf with a full pallet left after paper-picking reservations |
3. What Daily Operations Look Like
Quick links: How suggestions are split | Which picking flows apply the rule | When configuration or full-pallet sources are insufficient
3.1 How Suggestions Are Split
When the remaining requirement contains at least one pallet, the system checks each candidate shelf: whether its shelf type can hold a pallet and whether at least one pallet remains after other paper-picking reservations. Eligible shelves supply full-pallet multiples first. Every unmet quantity then returns to the existing picking-face, ground-level, small-quantity, and travel order.
If the same shelf supplies both pallet multiples and another quantity, the screen and paper reservation combine them into one entry instead of sending staff to the same location twice. The suggestion total never exceeds the item's remaining requirement.
3.2 Which Picking Flows Apply the Rule
| Entry point | What warehouse staff see |
|---|---|
| App picking | Suggestions are calculated when the picking list opens, with available full-pallet sources first |
| Paper picking creation | Suggested shelves and quantities are reserved using the same rule when the list is created |
| Reopening a paper picking list | The unfinished quantity is recalculated while preserving stock already picked into the tote |
See Confirm Picking List for confirming actual shelves and quantities. See Picking List Detail for reopening and remaining-item behavior.
3.3 When Configuration or Full-Pallet Sources Are Insufficient
If the product has no full-pallet quantity, or there are currently no eligible full-pallet sources, the entire suggestion keeps the normal picking order. If only some shelf types are missing capacity or hold less than one pallet, those shelves skip the full-pallet stage but remain available later in the normal order.
If eligible sources can supply only part of the full-pallet portion, the system takes the available pallet multiples first and then fills every remaining quantity in the normal order. The remaining quantity can still be one pallet or more; this does not mean that demand was omitted.
4. Boundaries and Related Features
Quick links: Rule boundaries | Related features
4.1 Rule Boundaries
- The system infers full-pallet sources from product settings, shelf type, and recorded quantity. It does not identify whether a separately wrapped physical pallet is present on the warehouse floor.
- Zone picking remains limited to the picking list's zone. A full pallet in another zone is not added to the suggestion.
- Quantities reserved by other paper picking lists are deducted first. If 1 piece out of 100 is reserved, the effective availability is 99 and does not qualify as a full pallet.
- Replenishment-location capacity and replenishment thresholds manage replenishment. They do not define the product's full-pallet quantity or determine whether a storage shelf is a full-pallet source.
- Eligible full-pallet sources keep the existing shelf order. This rule avoids breaking scattered residual stock first; it is not a global optimizer that guarantees the mathematically smallest number of source shelves.
4.2 Related Features
| Feature | Purpose | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Edit Product | Maintain packaging, full-pallet quantity, and per-shelf-type capacities | Go |
| Shelf Type Management | Create pallet-location, rack, and other shelf classifications | Go |
| Batch Create Shelves | Assign physical shelves to the correct type | Go |
| Confirm Picking List | Review and adjust paper suggestions and actual picked quantities | Go |
| Picking List Detail | Review App suggestions, remaining items, and reopening behavior | Go |