General Data Architecture for PackNet
General Data Flow
This section will discuss the data flow process of PackNet. Note, the data flow structure process does not allow for any modifications. For any questions or concerns please reach out to a Packsize representative.
Import Data Flow
Data is imported into the PackNet system via Import Service. This service is responsible for facilitating appropriate communication mechanisms needed by Packsize customers. The Import Service transforms customer data formats into PackNet data formats.
Import Service is responsible for facilitating communication mechanisms needed by Packsize's clients. This service utilizes two key features: Packaging Creation and Import Pipelines.
Packaging Creation
Allows customers to manually create packaging Solutions including cartons, labels, prints, and fill.
Facilitates relationships between the items and data of batches of work, grouped work, carton priority, required production times, and more.
Stored in a database and will remain within the database until the job has been produced.
Once produced, the information about the job will eventually be removed after 30 days based on TTL (Time-to-Live).
The TTL cannot be changed.
Import Pipelines
Applies additional business logic to customer data to help facilitate customer workflows and data transformations.
Interfaces and intelligently integrates with additional Packsize products, such as PackNet DIM and PackNet Cube.
Provides user interface to facilitate end user modification of pipelines.
Staging Service
Once data has been processed by the import pipelines, it is sent to the staging service. The staging service is responsible for analyzing the imported packaging solutions, configured machines, and available materials currently in the system to determine what production options are available.
Production options are a set of results that can be used to understand "what if" scenarios.
Packaging Solutions that have no valid production items are failed and can not be produced.
Selection Service
Next, packaging solutions are sent to the selection service. The selection service is the queue of work associated with a production group (PG).
Work will always be assigned to a single PG.
Once work is associated with a PG, it cannot be sent to another PG.
The PG will contain a list of corrugated bale widths, machine groups (MG), and the packaging solution used to optimize work. Refer to the Production Groups or Machine Groups for more information on PGs and MGs.
As stated in the Import Data Flow section above, packaging solutions are stored in a database and will not be removed. However, this can be altered in three ways:
A machine that is capable of producing can actively select the item.
Work has been removed by the end user via the User Interface (UI).
It has been programmed via a customer integration with the PackNet Application Programming Interface (API).
Important
Do not make any packaging solution alterations without first consulting your Packsize representative.
Selection Pipeline
All PGs contain a selection pipeline that is configured in the PackNet UI. This is leveraged when a specific MG makes a request for a new work item.
This feature is responsible for delivering the most appropriate work item for the machine group based on all of the context available. This could be as simple as the available loaded bales on the configured machines or as complicated as a combination of the loaded bales, the customer create-by-date (cut time), the assigned priority of work, the status of classifications and the carton property groups, etc.
The selection pipeline consists of three main components: filter, sort, and rules.
Filter
Available work is first filtered out or made ineligible for the specific MG.
This could be work the packaging solution has deemed not producible on the MG that is making the request. Thus, it would only provide the MG with work that would fit the requesting MG's parameters.
Filtering allows the customer to control the release of work based on parameters set by the packaging solutions. PackNet will continue to store the work in the database until it is needed to be produced.
Sort
After work has been filtered, the next task for the selection pipeline is to sort the remaining work in order to determine priority.
Sorting can be configured in the UI. Refer to the Selection Pipeline for more information.
Sorting, like filtering, can be a simple First In, First Out (FIFO) production or more complex based on set parameters put forth by the end user.
The intent of the sorting is to pare down the available producible work to the single item that should be produced.
Rules
The final component in the selection pipeline is the pipeline rules.
These rules provide control over settings that apply to selection.
Rules can apply certain tiling constraints, batching behaviors, and many other features.
Refer to the PackNet Core User Manual for more information on setting up selection pipeline rules.
Production Service
Once an item has been selected, it is then transitioned to the production service. The production service is responsible for coordinating the packaging solution flow and tracking the selected Packaging Solution as it is physically produced on the machine hardware.
This service is responsible for coordinating the dispatch of work to hardware, as well as knowing when an item is fully completed or if the machine failed to produce the work.
Audit Service
Every part of the pipeline discussed above communicates to the audit service to provide visibility to what is happening as the data progresses. The PackNet UI leverages the audit data to visualize the solution in the dashboard and search UI.