Efficient fulfilment management
Visual Planning® supports companies with centralised fulfilment planning and links orders, staff, warehouse areas, workstations, vehicles and dispatch dates in a single digital planning board. Planning managers can identify bookings, available capacity and potential bottlenecks at an early stage and can flexibly reallocate orders, staff and other resources in the event of changes.
Fulfillment comprises numerous interlinked processes
Fulfillment refers to the entire process of handling an order, from order receipt through to preparation and picking, right through to dispatch and handover to the customer.
This involves coordinating orders, staff, storage areas, picking stations, packing stations, vehicles, dispatch dates and other resources in terms of timing.
If the volume of orders increases or priorities change at short notice, bottlenecks, competing resource demands and discrepancies in information levels can quickly arise.
Visual Planning® brings together orders, tasks, appointments, capacities and resources relevant to planning in a central and configurable digital planning board.
This provides planning managers with a centralised overview of the current planning status, existing bookings and available capacity.
Centrally plan and coordinate fulfilment processes
The process steps displayed in Visual Planning® depend on the operational workflows and the specific system configuration.
New orders
Orders and requirements can be imported from an existing ERP, retail management or e-commerce system, or entered manually.
Order planning
Orders can be planned and grouped by date, priority, status, order type or other criteria.
Resource planning
Staff, storage areas, workstations, vehicles and other operational resources can be assigned to the designated tasks.
Order picking
Picking orders, responsibilities and planned processing periods can be displayed in appropriate views.
Packaging and deployment
Packaging stations, staging areas and necessary activities can be incorporated into the workflow planning .
Dispatch and handover
Dispatch dates, vehicles, loading bays and handover times can be linked to the relevant orders.
Features for digital fulfilment management
Functions, views, rules and data fields are structured in accordance with the respective fulfilment processes.
Central order overview
Orders, deadlines, priorities and status information are displayed in a single planning view.
Staff planning
Staff and teams can be assigned to shifts, tasks, storage areas or orders.
Capacity planning
Allocated and available capacity can be displayed for teams, workstations and other resources .
Flexible rescheduling
Orders, tasks and resource allocations can be adjusted centrally in the event of changes.
Planning rules
Rules may indicate overlaps, missing availability or invalid allocations.
Shift planning
Employees can be assigned to shifts and tasks depending on their qualifications, functional area and availability.
Dispatch planning
Dispatch dates, lead times and the required transport resources can all be planned together.
Reports and Key Figures
Planning data, capacity utilisation and status information can be analysed in configurable reports.
Interfaces
Order, personnel, resource and dispatch data can be exchanged with existing systems depending on the project.
Staff planning tailored to requirements
Staffing requirements can change significantly within a day or a week. Order peaks, seasonal fluctuations and last-minute absences have a direct impact on available capacity.
Visual Planning® can display planned orders and available staff capacity in combined views.
Staff can be assigned to warehouse areas, shifts, tasks and time periods. Existing assignments and absences remain visible.
Automatic determination of staffing requirements requires that the relevant order volumes, processing times and planning rules be provided.
Further information can be found at Staff deployment planning .
Shift planning in fulfilment
Staff can be assigned to shifts or tasks according to their availability, qualifications and area of responsibility.
For example, order picking, packing, goods-in, goods-out and dispatch can be represented as different areas of application.
Planning rules may indicate missing qualifications, absences or time overlaps.
Statutory, collective agreement and company-specific working time regulations must be reviewed and implemented in accordance with the specific requirements.
Handle logistics and order requirements
Orders, order lines, quantities, dates or other demand data can be imported from existing ERP, retail management, warehouse management or e-commerce systems, depending on the project.
The imported data can be used in Visual Planning® as a basis for staff, resource and process planning .
The nature, direction and update frequency of the data exchange are defined during the requirements and interface analysis .
Visual Planning® does not necessarily replace the existing ERP or warehouse management system, but can supplement it with flexible graphical planning views.
Exchange feedback and status information
Order status, scheduled dates and other planning information can be transferred to connected systems, depending on the available interfaces.
Feedback from warehouse, dispatch or other systems can also be incorporated into the planning views.
This enables the creation of a common information base for production planning, warehousing, dispatch and other relevant departments .
Which application remains the primary one for individual data is specified in the respective interface and process concept.
Display productivity and utilisation metrics
Visual Planning® can present existing planning and confirmation data in configurable reports and views .
Possible analyses may, for example, relate to order quantities, planned processing times, capacity utilisation, shifts or status information.
Which key figures are actually available depends on the data that has been maintained or made available via interfaces .
Visual Planning® does not optimise key performance indicators automatically. However, the reports can serve as a basis for specialist analyses and planning decisions.
Identify bottlenecks and overloads at an early stage
Capacity views can compare planned order quantities and available resources.
This makes it clear which employees, teams, workstations or dispatch resources are already working at full capacity .
Configurable thresholds and colour-coded indicators can highlight potential overloads or capacity shortages.
Decisions regarding priorities, additional shifts or alternative resource allocations remain the responsibility of the relevant planning managers.
Coordinate vehicles and dispatch resources
Vehicles, trailers, ramps, loading bays and other dispatch resources can be incorporated into fulfilment planning.
Availability, existing assignments, maintenance and other vehicle characteristics can be taken into account during allocation, depending on the configuration.
Delivery orders can be assigned to vehicles, dates and availability times.
Further information can be found at Fleet planning .
Include route and location information
Delivery addresses, locations and geographical information can be provided from existing systems, depending on the planning concept.
However, automated route navigation or comprehensive route optimisation is not necessarily an integral part of fulfilment planning.
Where required, relevant functions can be integrated via suitable mapping, telematics or logistics systems.
The available options depend on the third-party systems and interfaces used.
Provide planning information on mobile devices
Depending on the licence, configuration and system environment, shared planning information can be made available in a browser or on suitable mobile devices.
This enables authorised staff to access defined information on orders, tasks, deadlines and statuses whilst away from their usual workstation.
Feedback and status changes can also be recorded, depending on the process that has been set up.
Which functions are available on mobile devices depends on the Visual Planning client used and the specific configuration.
Managing access and responsibilities
User and access rights determine which orders, storage areas, resources and planning information individual users are permitted to view or edit.
Planners, team leaders, warehouse staff and other stakeholders can therefore work with role-based views.
Changes to the schedule are made centrally and made available to authorised users.
This helps to reduce the number of lists that are maintained in multiple places and discrepancies in planning statuses.
Typical areas of application in fulfilment
Visual Planning® can be configured for various warehouse, dispatch and order processes.
- E-commerce and mail order
- Retail and wholesale companies
- Contract logistics
- Warehouses and distribution centres
- Picking and packing
- Goods Received and Goods Dispatched
- Spare parts and service logistics
- Production-related logistics
- Dispatch and Ramp Planning
- Returns and order processing
- Cross-site logistics
- Staff and shift planning in the warehouse
Frequently asked questions about digital fulfilment management
What is fulfilment management?
Fulfillment management refers to the planning, control and coordination of the processes between order receipt, preparation, picking, packing, dispatch and handover to the customer.
What tasks does fulfilment management involve?
This includes, amongst other things, order planning, staff planning, capacity planning, order picking, packing, dispatch coordination and the planning of required resources.
Why is digital fulfilment management important?
It provides a central overview of orders, tasks, deadlines, capacities and resources. Changes and potential bottlenecks thus become apparent more quickly.
How does digital fulfilment management work?
Orders and fulfilment activities are linked in a digital planning board with staff, warehouse areas, vehicles, deadlines and other resources.
What are the benefits of digital fulfilment management?
It improves transparency regarding orders, responsibilities, allocations and available capacity. Last-minute changes can be incorporated centrally into the planning process.
Why is Excel often not sufficient for complex fulfilment?
With numerous orders, resources and last-minute changes, discrepancies in spreadsheet data can quickly arise. Overlaps and dependencies must be checked manually .
What are the disadvantages of fulfilment planning using Excel?
Changes often have to be updated across several files . This can lead to version conflicts, data transfer errors and incomplete planning information.
How does digital fulfilment support order planning?
Orders can be displayed by date, priority, status or other criteria and assigned to the required tasks and resources.
How does digital fulfilment improve warehouse planning?
Storage areas, workstations, staff and orders can be planned together. This makes existing bookings and available capacity more transparent.
How can you identify bottlenecks in fulfilment at an early stage?
Capacity and utilisation views compare planned requirements with available resources. This allows potential bottlenecks to be identified as early as the planning stage.
How does digital fulfilment help with last-minute changes?
New orders, rescheduled appointments, changes in priority or resource unavailability can be entered centrally and taken into account in further planning.
How do you coordinate several fulfilment processes at the same time?
Orders, storage areas, shifts, dispatch processes and resources can be planned in parallel in shared or separate views .
How does digital fulfilment reduce errors in order processing?
Centralised planning information, traceable changes and configurable rules can help to reduce data entry errors, duplicate processing and incomplete allocations .
Does digital fulfilment automatically improve delivery capacity?
Centralised planning can help to identify bottlenecks and capacity shortfalls at an earlier stage. However, actual delivery capability also depends on stock levels, staffing, transport capacity and other operational factors.
How does digital fulfilment support resource planning?
Staff, storage areas, workstations, vehicles and other resources can be displayed along with their availability and assigned to orders or tasks.
Can staff qualifications be taken into account?
Qualifications, authorisations, areas of responsibility and other employee characteristics can be taken into account in resource planning, depending on the configuration.
Can digital fulfilment be used on mobile devices?
Depending on the licence, configuration and system environment, shared planning information can be made available in a browser or on suitable mobile devices.
What are the benefits of hosted fulfilment planning?
A hosted solution provides Visual Planning® in a centrally managed system environment. Access, data backup, responsibilities and possible interfaces depend on the chosen hosting model.
Which businesses is digital fulfilment suitable for?
It is suitable for, amongst others, retail businesses, e-commerce, mail-order companies, logistics service providers, distribution centres and companies with complex warehousing and dispatch processes.
How does digital fulfilment improve transparency?
Orders, tasks, resources, capacities and deadlines are displayed in a central planning view. Authorised users can therefore work on the basis of a shared planning status.
How does digital fulfilment management reduce planning errors?
Centralised data management, traceable changes, planning rules and transparent process overviews can help to significantly reduce duplicate processing, data entry errors and communication problems.
An efficient Fulfillment requires a transparent Resource planning, a coordinated Staff deployment planning as well as an optimal Project planning.
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