Marketplace - Order Fulfillment Processing Activity Dashboard

The Order Fulfillment Processing Activity Dashboard is a combination of widgets: Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), focused metric tables, graphic displays of your data, data tables that can be quickly exported to a spreadsheet for further analysis. The data displayed on the dashboard is intended to give you actionable insights into how your orders are fulfilled: volume, speed, efficiency, where orders are fulfilled in multiple batches and locations, and where items are missed in the process.  If your operation has multiple fulfillment locations, this dashboard will help you understand the process in each of them and as they compare with each other. Separate exportable data tables give you details down to the minutes in the processing.

You will see a link to this document in the heading of the dashboard, click on Dashboard Help to access the document.

KPIs

At the top of the dashboard, a selection of KPIs indicate some of your efficiency metrics.  You will see an Item Pick Success Rate, which represents the # of items picked as a percentage of the # of attempted picks. For example, if an order has 5 items and 4 of them are picked in the initial batch cycle, the success rate for that cycle is 80%.  The Item Pick Success Rate includes # of Batches per Order - an order might be split into multiple batches if it will be filled at multiple locations, or is perhaps not found in the initial pick cycle. Picking orders in multiple batches is sometimes planned or unavoidable, for example where items in the order are not all stored in the same fulfillment location. There are situations, though, where items are not found where they are expected to be stored - you can find efficiencies here and see the results in an improved KPI for this metric.

A second KPI shows Batch Pick per Employee, which reflects the overall average number of batches picked by employees, and the overall average number of items picked by employee. From this KPI, click on the metric to see a detailed listing of the employee metrics - this information can be helpful to determine training opportunities as well as labor budgeting, at both the individual and location levels.

Below these KPIs are graphics illustrating a more detailed view, explained further below in this document.  Using the Fulfillment Location filter to the right of the dashboard, you are able to isolate the dashboard to specific locations - you might want to look specifically at warehouse locations, or conversely at non-warehouse locations to understand your process opportunities.

Note that on some of these KPIs, there is an info icon where you can quickly see the definition of the metric.  This is included where they metric might not be obvious to all users, for example with the "Item Pick Success Rate" metrics. Hover over the info icon to see the definitions:

In the middle of the dashboard you will see KPIs for # of Batches Created, Orders per Batch and Items per Batch.  On their own, these will give you insight to the volume in the process for the dates you select; using a combination of the date filter and the location filter can be helpful in allocating resources to the process.  You might find that volumes in certain locations are above or below your expectations or the assumptions used to allocate labor for this function. Also, use these KPIs to gain perspective on the information in the dashboard.  

Further down on the dashboard you will see the balance of the success rates, displayed as Item Missed Rates.  These are listed separately to allow for a detailed view (by clicking on the metric) of locations and order ids, where items were missed in the picking process.  You might find opportunities at certain fulfillment locations here, or trends in specific types of items or individual items.  For example, if your date range selection encompasses several months, you might see that certain fulfillment locations consistently miss item picks in a single item type; each month will be listed in a separate column to illustrate trends.  To the right of this KPI is an indicator for the # of items that were unfilled and cancelled; this also has a drop-down view of details, where you will want to focus on the heightened customer impact of product that was not able to be fulfilled in their orders.

The drop-down data views are exportable if you want to work with the data outside of the dashboard. Do this by clicking on the 3 dots at the top right corner of the widget, choose Download and export an image or file. The recommended file type for a spreadsheet is CSV.

Focused Metrics

The drop-down views provide a focused look at the details behind the KPIs.  There is also a data table that displays where item picks were missed, and then transferred to a different location for fulfillment.  These instances add expense both on labor and transportation costs; you will want to explore the causes and pay close attention to these details.

Details of items missed in the picking process:

Items that were missed and then cancelled:

Missed items that were fulfilled at multiple locations:

Graphic Displays

There are sections of graphic displays on the dashboard.  To compliment the item pick success rate, a pie chart displays how many orders were filled in a single batch vs. multiple batches.  If there are any unfilled orders, they will appear here as well. Filling orders in a single batch is naturally the ideal result, and you will want this to be the substantial amount of your orders.  Consider the additional expenses involved in processing orders in multiple batches, they include labor and transportation and could also have an adverse impact on your customers.  Using the filters for dates and locations, you can use this graphic to understand the current norms, and importantly to set goals for ongoing fulfillment.

To the right of the pie chart is a graphic comparing the number of batches 100% fulfilled vs partially fulfilled or unfilled. Each location is shown separately for additional perspective.  You are able to isolate the groupings by hovering, or clicking on the legend in the graphic - for example, hover over "Batches 100% Fulfilled" to fade out the other groupings, or click on any of them to turn them on & off.  Use this to compare locations with similar logistics, to measure over different date ranges how your full vs partial batch picks stack up, or see where batches are going unfilled.

There is a chart that shows how missed picks are allocated by date - this view will allow you to narrow down high-miss dates and work with your team to discover causes.  To the right of that is a chart that will show the number of missed picks in a view that allows you to rollover the sections by location to understand how locations compare with each other.  Both of these graphics are best used in conjunction with the rest of the dashboard; you might see something graphically that spurs you to filter the entire dashboard for granular details in a certain location, or on a certain date.  It is important to understand and document causes for anomalies, whether it be staffing, weather or other cause related - and as important to notice trends that can be addressed in an improved process.  Remember that you can filter Warehouse locations in or out of the views, using the filter to the right of the dashboard; this can help you gain perspective on non-warehouse operations.

To understand the types and specific items that are missed in your picking process, graphics are included that illustrate how these are allocated for both missed picks and for missed picks that are then cancelled.  You can use this information to help identify solutions.  Perhaps there are improvements you can make to inventory location, tagging or physical access. You might find gaps or opportunities in training, these could be for individual locations or employees. You might find other needs as well, perhaps a high traffic area needs more maintenance to allow a higher success rate when orders are picked.  You will want to weigh the costs of improving your successful picking rates against the value of a smooth process.

Exporting the Data Tables

The data tables at the bottom of the dashboard are granular listings of what is represented in the dashboard.  The tables will react to filters set as you are viewing the dashboard, so you are able to see more details about what is impacting the results. There may be times when you want to look at this data, filtered or not, in a spreadsheet or image.  By left-clicking on the 3 dots at the top right corner of the table widget, choose Download and export an image or file.  The recommended file type for a spreadsheet is CSV.  This functionality allows you to shape and model your data for reporting, and importantly to inform your business decisions.