Scenario: Defining shipping cutoff times

In Sterling Intelligent Promising you can schedule multiple shipping cutoff times and carrier pickups throughout the day. This flexibility helps you to define precise deadlines by which orders must be processed to meet customer delivery expectations. You can configure a node cutoff time for both PICK or SHIP orders and shipping cutoff times specifically for SHIP orders. Then, an order is finalized for shipment when capacity is available and the required shipping notification time is completed.

Shipping group cutoffs

In this example, the following setup is available:
  • Inventory availability window from 1 January to 31 January with 100 qty
  • Capacity shifts are from 9 AM to 12 noon and 1 PM to 5 PM
  • The capacity shift fulfills 4 qty
  • Lead time: 1 hour
  • Shipping cutoff times: 10 AM and 2 PM
  • Node cutoff time: 4:30 PM
  • Carrier service pickup schedule: 12 noon, 4 PM, and 9 PM
  • Ship time: 12 PM
  • Delivery time: 12 PM on day 2
  • Current time: 15 January, 8 AM
  • Ordered quantity: 1 qty
  • Transit time: 24 hours

When the e-commerce application receives an EDD or a CheckoutAssignment API request, the system automatically accounts for the lead time. As it is 8 AM, and the lead time is one hour, the earliest capacity slot that can be considered is 9 AM. After applying the lead time, the system considers capacity for the full ordered quantity of 2 at the 9 AM to 12 noon slot.

Shipments are postponed to the next pick-up if the order is placed after the cutoff for the current pick-up.

To determine the earliest pickup schedule, the lead time and cutoff times are considered. Pickups are scheduled from 12 PM to 9 PM. There is a cutoff at 10 AM exclusive. As a result, the pickup at 12 noon is met and the order is picked up for shipping at 12 noon. One shipment is created at 12 PM that gets delivered the next day at 12 PM. Adding the final transit time, the item will be at the customer's door at 12 PM the next day.

Next, as a node cutoff time is scheduled for 4:30 PM, this cutoff time implies the end of the day and no orders are processed from that time on at the node that day. Orders are considered for processing again at the start of the following day on 16 January.

Shipping group cutoffs and notification time

In this example, the following setup is available:
  • Inventory availability window from 1 January to 31 January with 100 qty
  • Capacity shifts are from 9 AM to 12 noon and 1 PM to 5 PM
  • The capacity shift fulfills 4 qty
  • Lead time: 1 hour
  • Shipping notification time: 2 hours (Item or Node shipping group)
  • Shipping cutoff times: 10 AM and 2 PM
  • Node cutoff time: 4:30 PM
  • Carrier service pickup schedule: 12 noon, 4 PM, and 9 PM
  • Ship time: 12 PM
  • Delivery time: 12 PM on day 2
  • Current time: 15 January, 8 AM
  • Ordered quantity: 1 qty
  • Transit time: 24 hours

When the e-commerce application receives an EDD or a CheckoutAssignment API request, the system automatically accounts for the lead time. As it is 8 AM, and the lead time is one hour, the earliest capacity slot that can be considered is 9 AM. After applying the lead time, the system considers capacity for the full ordered quantity of 2 at the 9 AM to 12 noon slot.

Shipments are postponed to the next pick-up if the order is placed after the cutoff for the current pick-up or if the notification time ends after the current pickup.

To determine the earliest pickup schedule, the lead time, shipping notification time, and cutoff times are considered. Pickups are scheduled from 12 PM to 9 PM. The shipping notification time is applied at 9 AM and there is a cutoff at 10 AM exclusive. As a result, the pickup at 12 noon is met and the order is picked up for shipping at 12 noon. One shipment is created at 12 PM that gets delivered the next day at 12 PM. Adding the final transit time, the item will be at the customer's door at 12 PM the next day.

Next, as a node cutoff time is scheduled for 4:30 PM, this cutoff time implies the end of the day and no orders are processed from that time on at the node that day. Orders are considered for processing again at the start of the following day on 16 January.

If an order is placed before a cutoff then the order proceeds with shipment only if the notification time elapses before the pickup. Otherwise, the order is postponed to the next pickup. Sterling Intelligent Promising prioritizes the order placement time over the notification time to determine the eligibility of the order for shipping. For example, when an order is placed at 3:15 PM, after the 2 PM cutoff, then the next pickup at 4 PM is missed, since it will be 4:15pm after applying the notification time. As a result, the order is shipped at the next pickup at 9 PM.

Node cutoff

This example uses the same setup as the shipping group cutoffs example except for the following time adjustments:
  • No shipping group cutoffs
  • Pickup is scheduled at 9 PM
  • Delivery time: 9 PM on day 2
  • Order time: 11AM

An order is placed at 11 AM but before it is considered for processing the lead time of one hour must elapse at 12 noon. As the capacity window ends at 12 noon the capacity is consumed at the next capacity window at 1 PM. The shipping notification time from 1 AM to 3 PM is considered. As a result, the order is available for pickup at 9 PM.

Similar to the shipping group example, in addition to the lead time and the shipping notification time, the system now considers the shipping cutoff times and the node cutoff time. These times are used to determine the earliest pickup and delivery to the customer. Then, adding the final transit time, the item will be at customer's door at 9 PM the next day.

For more information about node cutoffs and shipping group cutoffs, see Shipping cutoff times.