Order Association
Order association is the process in PackNet that ties an SP00 label to a carton. An SP00 label is a standardized shipping or product label used in warehouse and distribution environments, typically containing pre-printed, uniquely generated barcodes. These barcodes will be leveraged within the warehouse as the unique identifier for the carton enabling routing on the conveyor, SLAM processes, QC processes and much more.
Deploying these labels is useful in Packsize warehouse automation projects because it establishes uniqueness across the cartons generated by Packsize machines. This makes sure that the correct products are being shipped to customers and eliminates the possibility of shipping out duplicate cartons for the same order.
Because the barcode identifiers are unique on the roll of labels, the Packsize machine must carefully manage the unique identifier for the order as the carton is created. Once produced, the machine must scan the SP00 label contents after it has been applied to the carton and communicate both the unique customer defined order identifier and the unique SP00 label identifier. Then the order association information is communicated back to the warehouse management software (i.e., WMS, WCS, WES), and the order is automatically inducted onto the conveyor for routing to the next step of the process (i.e., picking).
Order Association Setup
PackNet helps simplify the management of pre-printed labels by making sure the correct data is transmitted in a timely manner to the integrated system. Due to the real-time nature and time sensitivity involved with SP00 labels, PackNet leverages real time communication mechanisms of the Event Notification feature.
Events are dispatched real-time to the integrated system allowing them to quickly associate the order identification information in their systems. This association needs to be done quickly, typically before the first touchpoint on the conveyor system where a barcode scan is required.
Order Association Message Type
An order association Event Notification requires a Packaging Solution - Produced Status message type. This causes a message to be sent once the machine has produced the carton. The message will contain information describing the order id, the status of the packaging, and the barcode scan of the carton.
Data Format
The Payload of the massage is a standard JSON object representing all the components related to the packaging solution.
When a barcode has been scanned, the data scanned from the SP00 label will be associated with the cartons[0].productionData.barcode field. The order id will be found in the alias or the licensePlateNumber field depending on how the Import Pipeline is configured to store this unique identifier.
Order Association Failure
When an order association fails, the solution is left with a labeled carton on the conveyor line. This can be problematic for downstream systems and it is critical that the carton gets routed to an exception handling area for further diagnosis of the failure. This is typically a Hospital lane, jackpot lane, or error lane that has been installed immediately after the Packsize packaging machine.
It is critical to work with the Packsize Solutions team to make sure that this exception handling lane has been designed into the solution. When this lane encounters a carton, it will look up the barcode of the SP00 label and when found, allow the carton to continue downstream. When the identifier is not found, the carton must be rejected and routed to the exception lane.
Once the carton is in the exception lane, the operator can leverage the data within PackNet to understand where the failure may have originated. Because these failures involve multiple systems, PackNet will only be able to tell part of the story. It is important for the operator to also have access to the integrated system to better understand whether the failure originated from Packsize or the management system.
Note
Review the cartons[0].productionData.failureReason field to make sure no failure reason is displayed. When a failure reason is displayed, the order should not be associated with the label and the carton should be sent to the hospital lane.