How Orders Enter eWAVE

Before picking can begin, orders must exist in the system. eWAVE supports three ways orders are created:

• Native Odoo Sales Orders: if your organisation uses Odoo's sales module, confirmed sales orders can be automatically visible in eWAVE's outbound queue. No manual re-entry — the same platform generates and fulfils the order.
• EDI or API integration: for operations integrated with external order management systems (marketplace platforms, 3PL customer portals, ERP systems), orders are imported via the ewavei ERP connector module using EDI 850 (Purchase Order) format or REST API calls. Orders appear in the outbound queue within minutes of being placed on the external platform.
• Manual order creation: Back Office Users can create orders manually for non-standard situations — sample shipments, internal transfers between warehouses, emergency re-ships. Manual orders support the same picking, packing, and routing workflows as automatically imported orders.

Once an order is in the system with Open status (10), it sits in the outbound queue waiting to be included in a wave. Priority flags, customer-level cutoff times, and service-level requirements can all influence which orders are selected for the next wave — and in what sequence.

The Wave Concept

eWAVE introduces the wave — formally called the Fulfilment Run — as the primary organising unit for outbound work. A wave is a batch of orders that will be processed together: inventory is allocated to the batch simultaneously, picks are optimised across the batch as a whole, and cartons flow through packing in a coordinated sequence.

By batching orders, the system can make intelligent decisions that would be impossible when handling orders individually. Multiple orders that need items from the same aisle are served in a single pass rather than sending separate pickers to the same location repeatedly. Replenishment needs for the entire batch are assessed together so forward-pick faces are filled once rather than triggering repeated replenishment during picking. Carton cubing calculations are run across the entire batch simultaneously, which is more efficient than calculating one order at a time.

Four Picking Strategies

Strategy Selection Guide

The Allocation Engine

When a wave is released, the allocation engine runs and reserves inventory for every order in the batch. The engine evaluates the warehouse's move type rules to determine which storage positions to draw from and in what sequence. Key concepts:

• Forward-pick-first: rules can be configured to always draw from forward-pick face locations before touching reserve pallet storage. This keeps the pick path short and the reserve area stable.
• FEFO enforcement: if First Expiry, First Out is required for regulated products, the allocation engine selects LPNs with the earliest expiry date when multiple are available. This is enforced at the system level, not left to picker judgment.
• Replenishment triggers: if a forward-pick face does not have sufficient stock for the wave's demand, the allocation engine can automatically trigger a replenishment task before the wave's picks are released to floor staff. Pickers do not start until replenishment is confirmed complete.
• Allocation by LPN vs quantity: in LPN-tracked locations, the system allocates specific LPNs to specific orders. In SKU-tracked locations, it allocates by quantity. Pickers are directed to the right location regardless of tracking type.

Order Lifecycle

Short-Pick Handling

A short pick occurs when a picker arrives at a location and the expected inventory is not there — the system believed 10 units were available but the location is empty, damaged, or holds only 6. Short picks happen in any warehouse and the key is handling them cleanly rather than letting them corrupt order fulfilment:

• The picker records the actual quantity picked on their mobile screen and flags the short pick.
• The system creates a short-pick exception record and immediately searches for an alternative allocation — another location where the remaining units can be found.
• If alternative inventory exists, the picker receives a new location direction for the balance. The order picks continue without waiting for supervisor intervention in most cases.
• If no alternative inventory exists, the order is partially fulfilled. A backorder is automatically created for the unfulfillable quantity, and the supervisor receives an alert with the shortage details.
• The short-pick record triggers a cycle count for the short-picked location — the discrepancy between system expectation and physical reality is investigated and corrected before the location is allocated again.

Backorder Management

When an order cannot be fully fulfilled in a wave — due to inventory shortfall, damage, or deliberate partial shipment — eWAVE creates a backorder. The backorder contains the unfulfilled lines at their original order quantities and waits in the Open status queue. When inventory is replenished (received from a supplier, returned by another customer, or transferred from another location), the backorder is eligible for inclusion in the next wave.

The backorder inherits the priority level of the original order. If the original order was marked high priority, the backorder gets the same priority — ensuring that the delayed portion of a customer's shipment is not lost at the bottom of a large order queue.