Starshipit WMS expedited fulfilment (Pack Now & Batch Pack Now)

Starshipit WMS includes expedited fulfilment features designed to dramatically speed up the order processing workflow. These flows are ideal for:

• Urgent orders
• Orders where the picker and packer are the same person
• End-of-day waves where many orders need to ship quickly
• High-volume flash sales

The two expedited modes are:

• Pack Now – expedite a single order
• Batch Pack Now – expedite multiple orders together

Both workflows skip the traditional picking process and move orders straight to a packing bench, while still keeping stock allocation accurate and tracked.

What is expedited fulfilment?

In a normal workflow:

1. Order is released
2. Stock is allocated
3. A picker walks the warehouse and picks each item
4. Items are moved to a packing bench
5. Packing is completed

Expedited fulfilment compresses these steps by assuming picking is completed instantly. This is appropriate when the warehouse worker either:

• Already has the items in hand, or
• Will pick them manually without scanning through the WMS interface

The WMS still:

• Allocates stock properly
• Creates pick jobs
• Marks them as Completed automatically
• Moves inventory to a packing bench location
• Records all movements and allocations

Pack Now (single-order expedite)

Pack Now is used to fast-track a single order.

How Pack Now works

1. Select the order in WMS.
2. Click Pack Now.
3. Choose which Packing Bench the job should be directed to via the selection dialog.
4. WMS immediately:
   • Allocates stock
   • Creates a pick job
   • Marks the pick job as Completed
   • Moves all items to the chosen Packing Bench
5. The order now appears in the Packing dashboard ready to be packed.

From the user’s perspective, the order “teleports” from the shelf to the packing bench. Physically, the warehouse operator simply goes and retrieves the items immediately.

Typical use cases

• Urgent customer orders
• Single-item or small orders
• Pickers/packers working as one person
• Manual fulfilment environments where scanning every pick is not required

Batch Pack Now (multi-order expedite)

Batch Pack Now is the batch version of expedited fulfilment. It processes multiple orders at once.

How Batch Pack Now works

1. Select multiple orders.
2. Choose or generate a Batch Pick ID.
3. Select a Packing Bench.
4. Click Batch Pack Now.

When triggered, WMS will:

• Create a combined batch pick job for all selected orders.
• Instantly mark the pick job as Completed.
• Move all allocated items to the chosen packing bench.
• Require you to generate a Packing Summary before finalising the batch.

The packing summary lists the total SKUs and quantities across all orders. Staff then retrieve items in one warehouse pass using the summary, bring items to the bench, and sort them per order during packing.

Typical use cases

• End-of-day order waves
• Flash sales and promotions
• Many orders with overlapping SKUs
• Teams wanting to consolidate picking into fewer warehouse passes

How allocation works in expedited flows

Even though picking is skipped, allocation still follows all standard rules:

• Location priority (pick face first, bulk second)
• Product allocation strategies (FIFO, FEFO, Serial, etc.)
• Batch/serial number selection where required

WMS ensures:

• Stock is reserved for each order
• Allocated stock cannot be assigned to another order
• Stock movements reflect correct batches/serials

Packing flow after expedite

Once orders reach the packing bench, the packing process is identical to normal packing:

1. Select the order or batch from the Packing dashboard.
2. Scan/confirm items.
3. Capture serial/batch numbers (if applicable).
4. Pack into cartons.
5. Print labels via Starshipit.

Because picking was fast-tracked, extra care should be taken at packing to confirm quantities and SKUs.

Stock movements and audit trail

Even in expedited workflows, WMS still records all movements automatically. Examples include:

• PICKED – when the pick job is auto-completed
• PICK_STAGING or TO_PACK_BENCH – moving items to the packing bench
• SHIPMENT – once the shipping webhook confirms dispatch

These appear in the stock movement logs exactly the same as normal workflows, keeping your inventory audit trail intact.

Handling cancellations or order changes

Expedited workflows create grouping dependencies, especially in batches. WMS handles cancellations using Starshipit’s order_deleted and order_changed webhooks.

Order cancellation after expedite

When an expedited order is cancelled:

• WMS removes the order from the batch (if possible).
• Releases allocated stock back into availability.
• Updates or cancels related pick/pack jobs.

In complex batches, removal may cause a JOB_CONFLICT which requires manual reconciliation.

Order changes

If the order is updated after the expedite:

• The old allocations and jobs are cancelled.
• The order returns to PENDING.
• You can expedite it again or follow the standard picking workflow.

When to use expedited fulfilment

Use expedited flows when:

• You need to minimise the time from order to dispatch.
• The picker is already retrieving the items manually.
• You have a sudden spike in orders needing same-day dispatch.
• You want to consolidate picking at the end of the day.

Best-practice tips

• Use Pack Now sparingly for urgent orders or very simple workflows.
• Use Batch Pack Now for high-volume waves where pickers can collect items in one pass.
• Always generate a packing summary before batch packing.
• Scan at packing to reduce errors caused by skipping item-by-item picking scans.
• Keep batch size manageable to make sorting at the packing bench practical.
• Monitor stock levels closely before expediting — all items must allocate successfully.

Kitting

Kitting is the process of assembling component products into a finished bundle or kit SKU. This is relevant when you use require stock bundles that need to be pre-built before they can be allocated and shipped.

Kitting dashboard

A dedicated Kitting section is available from the navigation. The kitting dashboard shows all kitting jobs sorted by created date by default, so the most recent jobs appear first. Standard dashboard actions (assign, delete, refresh) are available.

Bulk storage allocation for kitting

Kitting jobs can allocate components from BULK_STORAGE locations in addition to pick-face locations. This means kitting can proceed even when pick-face locations are empty, as long as the component stock exists in bulk storage.

Expedited kitting

An Expedited Kitting form allows you to create and execute a kitting job in a single step. Select a bundle product, specify the quantity and destination location, and submit. The job is created and processed immediately, bypassing the normal multi-step workflow.

This is useful when you need to quickly build kits to fulfil urgent orders or top up stock ahead of a promotion.

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