Pick Jobs

A pick job is the main entity in the picking process. It contains all the information that is important in order to carry out a picking task.

A pick job could be created automatically or by the API. One of the cases when a pick job is being created is the outcome of a Order Routing decision. In that case an order hits the system, it is being routed and a pick job is created.

Also a pick job could be created due to a re-route, which also involves Order Routing.

Creation of a Pick Job

"Why should I create a Pick Job via API? It is created automatically by the Order Routing!"

That's true. But: Even with Order Routing in place there might be situations where you (or a connector) needs to supply a pick job to the system. An example here would be the picking of goods, that should be picked but - surprise - are not "usual consumer orders" and thus should not be processed like those, e.g. presentation material for your employees on the road or to collect samples for quality control.

Also: fulfillmenttools is a modular platform. That means, that you could use the product Order Fulfillment even without using the product Order Routing at all. In that case your connector needs to take the role of creating the pick jobs - and it would do that as you can see in the following.

Creating a new pick job via REST API:

curl -sSL -X POST 'https://your.api.fulfillmenttools.com/api/orders' \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer <TOKEN>' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data-raw '{
  "facilityRef": "12345678-abcd-1234-efgh-567890123456",
  "orderDate": "2023-08-25T09:16:07.000Z",
  "tenantOrderId": "FC-4711-2361",
  "status": "OPEN",
  "pickLineItems": [
    {
      "article": {
        "tenantArticleId": "5020064",
        "title": "IT Rubber Duck",
        "imageUrl": "https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-nf2x4/images/stencil/1280x1280/products/246/9133/Computer-Geek-Rubber-Duck-Schanables-3__49617.1671801009.jpg",
        "attributes": [
          {
            "category": "descriptive",
            "priority": 100,
            "key": "Approximate Size: ",
            "value": "8.5cm x 8.2cm x 8cm"
          },
          {
            "category": "descriptive",
            "priority": 200,
            "key": "Squeaking",
            "value": "Soft rubber that makes squeaking sound when squeezed"
          },
          {
            "category": "descriptive",
            "priority": 300,
            "key": "Materials",
            "value": "Made of vinyl. Lead free and phthalate free"
          },
          {
            "category": "descriptive",
            "priority": 400,
            "key": "Caution",
            "value": "Small toys pose a choking hazard to children under the age of three. Use proper supervision."
          }
        ]
      },
      "quantity": 1,
      "scannableCodes": [
        "95030049900"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "paymentInformation": {
    "currency": "EUR"
  },
  "deliveryinformation": {
    "targetTime": "2023-08-26T14:00:00.000Z",
    "channel": "SHIPPING",
    "details": {
      "shipping": {
        "recipientaddress": {
          "salutation": "Mr.",
          "firstName": "Maurice",
          "lastName": "Szyslak",
          "street": "Domstr.",
          "houseNumber": "20",
          "postalCode": "50668",
          "city": "Köln",
          "country": "DE",
          "phoneNumbers": [
            {
              "value": "001-355-1337",
              "label": "private",
              "type": "PHONE"
            },
            {
              "value": "001-7648-4377",
              "label": "private",
              "type": "MOBILE"
            }
          ],
          "additionalAddressInfo": "63. Etage",
          "customAttributes": {}
        }
      }
    }
  }
}'

Some of the fields are explained in the following:

Mandatory fields

facilityRef

This is the id of the facility this pick job will be created in. This value is mandatory and needs to carry a valid facility ID.

orderDate

The date of the order.

pickLineItems

pickLineItems are an array of items that have to be picked in order to complete the pick job. The following fields are present in each of the pickLineItem:

• article: provides general information about the item

• quantity: quantity of the specific item that has been ordered

• measurementUnitKey: measurement unit if quantity deviates from pieces (e.g. liter, gram, sqm, etc.)

• secondaryQuantity: a secondary quantity might be used if an item can be measured in different ways (e.g. pieces and gram) and it is desired to retain both measurements

• secondaryMeasurementUnitKey: measurement unit if secondaryQuantity deviates from pieces (e.g.: liter, gram, sqm, etc.)

• scannableCodes: an array that contain codes (e.g barcodes, QR-codes, etc.) with which the item can be identified

• partialStockLocations: these location represent different physical locations from where the item can be picked from.

Optional fields

deliveryInformation

The delivery information contains crucial information regarding how the customer will receive the items of this pick job. It is an object that contains the following fields:

• targetTime: the date and time when this task is expected to be handed over to either the customer (in case of Click & Collect) the shipping service provider (Ship from Store). If this value is not passed it, it will be calculated dependent on various factors (e.g. opening times of the facility, pick up time of the carrier, time buffer, etc.)

• targetTimeBaseDate: the start date for the targetTime calculation, in case it will be calculated. This field depends on various factors (e.g. opening time of the facility, available time slots, picking times, etc.)

• details: has two optional fields (collect and shipping) which contain information about the respective channel. Depending on the way of fulfillment (Click & Collect or Ship from Store), the respective field with the information have to be entered.

shortId

The shortId is being used for identification purposes and consists of 2 letters and a number (from 1 up to 99). If not provided, it will be automatically created for Ship from Store tasks by using the first letters of the first and last name of the recipient from delivery from the shipping object inside the deliveryInformation (unrecognized letters will be replaced by 'X'). For Click & Collect tasks either provide your own shortId or it will be assigned as 'XX<number>'.

tenantOrderID

The tenantOrderId can be freely chosen and should identify the order associated with the pick job as well as the pick job itself.

orderRef

Optional reference to an (existing) order entity. Leave it out if you are not using Order Routing.

processId

Optional reference to an (existing) process entity. This can be used to group multiple pick jobs together, e.g. in a scenario where you want to create separate but related pick jobs for different facilities. If you create the first pick job, the returned result will contain a processId which you can then reference in the next pick job.

stickers

Stickers are a visual indicator in the clients that function as a support for the operator by displaying relevant information in a concise manner. See Tags and Stickers for more details.

Example from the Android Picking App

customAttributes

The customAttributes object is a json that carries information that might be relevant to the pick job and will be passed to further entities. The form and content of this object is completely free. Check out the Custom Attributes section for more details.

expectedLineItems

ExpectedPickLineItems are items that are expected to be available for picking by, for example, an expected inter facility transfer.