Capacity service

Use the Capacity service to define resource capacity and capacity constraints across your fulfillment network. This provides accurate estimated delivery dates and clear insights into inventory availability. The Capacity service determines whether a location has sufficient capacity to fulfill an order. Then, if the Capacity service is used to define capacity for a node, capacity categories and workflows are created to describe the tasks and sequence of tasks that are required to fulfill an order.

Capacity constraints enhance the shopper experience and improve fulfillment decision accuracy by incorporating the physical constraints at fulfillment locations. You can configure the following key items.

Capacity categories: The tasks that are required to complete a fulfillment operation.
Units of measure (UOM): The measurement to determine the amount of capacity consumed in orders.
Associated workflows: Capacity workflow supports association at the node, node type, and delivery method level so every fulfillment request is applied.
Capacity availability overrides: The ability to bypass the capacity constraints in the availability reporting.

In every store channel, the two primary transaction types include shopping inquiries and fulfillment commitments. Regardless of the interaction, Sterling Intelligent Promising must derive an accurate fulfillment estimate to determine when a product can be picked, packed, and prepared for shipment specifically.

To determine the appropriate sourcing location for a fulfillment request, Sterling Intelligent Promising evaluates two key factors:

Inventory availability: Determines whether there is sufficient inventory available to complete the required fulfillment tasks.
Capacity availability: Determines whether the location has the capacity to complete the required fulfillment tasks.

The Capacity service plays a critical role in determining the inventory and capacity availability. When capacity is defined for a node, it acts as an extra constraint during fulfillment sourcing. If capacity is not defined for a node,Sterling Intelligent Promising considers this as infinite capacity and it does not restrict fulfillment based on resource availability.

The Capacity service is divided into two components.

Capacity configuration: Defines the capacity structure, rules, and constraints related to task execution at a fulfillment location. For example, the capacity UOM and the capacity workflow.
Capacity availability: Depicts the real-time availability of capacity at a certain location. This availability is used during sourcing to evaluate whether the location can fulfill the order.

Fulfillment location capacity

To configure capacity for a fulfillment location, you must define the operational characteristics of a fulfillment location, specifically the capacity categories. These categories include the task that is completed and the capacity workflow that describes the sequence in which the task is completed.

The following key capabilities are available to configure the fulfillment location capacity.

Capacity categories: Represents the individual tasks that are required to complete a fulfillment operation. For example, item retrieval, packing, and shipment preparation. Each category contributes to the overall capacity planning and task allocation. For more information see, Capacity categories, Enabling capacity categories for capacity availability, and Configuring capacity categories.
Capacity workflow: Defines the order sequence of the capacity categories. This sequence ensures that tasks are completed in the correct logical order. For example, shipment preparation must occur after packing and by reversing this sequence, the task is invalid. Capacity workflow supports association at the node, node type, and delivery method level so every fulfillment request is implied. For more information, see Capacity workflow and Configuring the capacity workflow.
Max Capacity Consumption Days: While capacity planning can span an indefinite horizon, this setting restricts how far into the future a location’s capacity is shown for fulfillment purposes. For example, if the intent is to allow only same-day order fulfillment, the fulfillment manager can set this value to 1 day, limiting order capture to current-day capacity only. For more information, see Tenant settings.

Capacity UOM

Product quantity doesn't measure all fulfillment tasks. To support different operational models, the Capacity service provides the following two UOM options.

UNIT: Each individual product unit that is fulfilled consumes one unit of capacity.
RELEASE: Each shipment, regardless of the number of items, consumes one unit of capacity. This allows an entire order to consume just a single capacity unit potentially.; Note: Currently, only the UOM unit option is supported.

Capacity availability considerations for the Promising service

The Estimated Delivery Date and Checkout Assignment APIs support the inclusion of capacity category definitions during fulfillment sourcing. Fulfillment nodes without available capacity are excluded automatically from consideration by the system. For more information, see Using capacity categories for capacity availability.

To view the various scenarios, see Scenario: Calculate item delivery or pickup date based on finite capacity windows, and Scenario: Calculate pre-purchase pick-up and shipment assignments using finite capacity windows.

Capacity availability considerations for the Optimization service

You can configure capacity availability for optimization. For more information, see Configuring capacity for the Optimization service.

Note: The capacity definitions and calculations that relate to the Optimization service are separate from the capacity definitions and calculations for promising decisions.

Capacity availability consideration for the Inventory service

You can configure capacity availability for inventory. For more information, see Configuring capacity-based availability for the Inventory service.