Optimization objective: Minimize processing cost

Minimizing processing cost is one of the fulfillment objectives that Sterling Intelligent Promising considers when optimizing orders. When this objective is prioritized, fulfillment decisions are based primarily upon the most cost-effective way to process shipments or packages at nodes while still meeting customer expectations.

The processing cost is the amount of money it takes to fully process an order or release at a node.

Hourly rate × Hours to process a unit × Quantity on assignment = Processing cost

The result of this calculation is multiplied by the weight set for the Minimizing processing cost objective and then factored in optimization.

Sterling Intelligent Promising considers the following factors when optimizing orders based on processing cost:
  • Hourly rate.
  • Hours to process a unit.
  • Quantity on assignment.
To optimize the processing cost of an order, Sterling Intelligent Promising performs the following actions:
  • Improves overall optimization by accounting for labor wages and order processing rates in different locations
  • Assesses the labor efficiency for each fulfillment location during optimization

Example

For example, your business is hosting a sale. The event receives unexpectedly high demand, 10 times higher than what you expected. Rather than disappoint customers with late orders because of high demand, you increase the node capacity so that Sterling Intelligent Promising aligns sourcing assignments to the new capacity. You also increase the speed of balancing the network load so that Sterling Intelligent Promising prioritizes the shipping cost over node balancing.