About Order Routing
When an order is placed on the website, it is assigned to a store, or offered to a group of stores according to predetermined criteria.
The following rules explain the manner in which orders are allocated, according to the selected model:
| • | Competition |
| • |
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| • | Pick-up in store (BOPIS) |
Competition
The shipment is offered to all stores that have the requested items in stock. Stores are given a specific time frame to seize the offered shipment. The first store to seize the shipment becomes responsible for its fulfillment and the offer is no longer available to other stores.
If a store is unable to fulfill shipments or if it realizes that the requested items cannot be sold (because they are damaged or being used as demos in the store, for example), the store can ignore the offer.
If a store seizes the shipment but is unable to complete item picking or shipment fulfillment within the allotted time, the shipment will be offered to all the other stores that have the items in stock and did not actively ignore the offer.
If no store seizes the shipment within the allotted time frame, the offer expires and the shipment is attributed to an alternate resource such as a warehouse for fulfillment.
Least Recently Used (LRU) Geographical Location
When an order is placed, the shipment is automatically attributed to a store by an algorithm that:
| • | Lists all the stores that have all the requested items in stock. |
| • | Among these stores, identifies |
The store must accept the shipment within a predetermined time frame. If the shipment is not accepted within the allotted time, the shipment is attributed to the next store on the list using the criteria listed above.
The store can also refuse the shipment if its stocks are incorrect, if the items are damaged or if they are being used as demos in the store, for example. A store that has refused a shipment will not have it offered again.
If no store accepts the shipment within the allotted time frame, the offer expires and the shipment is attributed to an alternate resource such as a warehouse for fulfillment.
Here is a concrete example.
Your company has 3 stores: Store A, Store B and Store C. The stores have the following inventory:
| Store A | Store B | Store C |
|---|---|---|
| 2 Large white shirts | 3 Large white shirts | 5 Large white shirts |
| 3 Medium red shirts | 1 Medium red shirt | 3 Medium red shirts |
| 1 Small black shirt | 1 Small black shirt | 2 Small black shirts |
First order: Customer orders 2 Large white shirts. The order is assigned to STORE A.
Second order: Customer orders 2 Medium red shirts. The order is assigned to STORE C since STORE B does not have enough Medium red shirts in stock.
Third order: Customer orders 2 Large white shirts. The order is assigned to STORE B since STORE C and STORE A are not the least recently used stores.
With the 3 orders fulfilled, the stores now have the following inventory:
| Store A | Store B | Store C |
|---|---|---|
| 0 Large white shirt | 1 Large white shirt | 5 Large white shirts |
| 3 Medium red shirts | 1 Medium red shirt | 1 Medium red shirt |
| 1 Small black shirt | 1 Small black shirt | 2 Small black shirts |
Fourth order:Customer orders 2 Large white shirts and 1 Small black shirt.
The round-robin algorithm checks the item availability:
| • | Store A does not currently have any Large white shirts. |
| • | Store B does not have enough Large white shirts to fulfill the order. |
| • | Store C is the only one that has sufficient quantities of the requested items to fulfill the entire order. The order is assigned to it, even if store A is the least recently used. |
Pick-up in Store (BOPIS)
When the customer chooses to pick up their order in store, they select the location where they want to pick up their purchases.
| • | If the system finds that the store selected by the customer has all the requested items in stock, the shipment is automatically assigned to that store. The shipment is automatically Ready for picking. If the store is unable to fulfill the entire shipment, |
| • | If the store selected by the customer does not have the requested items in stock, the shipment is assigned to |