Kit Generation & Order Distribution

Overview

Kit generation is an ordering method which is predicated on the notion of grouping items (and quantities thereof) onto their shipping containers - most often racks - such that many of the same configuration can be constructed for production / loading efficiency.  If done well, huge efficiencies can be had, but it requires planning to ensure the kits generated have good assortments suitable for the store destinations to which they'll ultimately be delivered.  Avantalytics offers a  flexible demand-based kit generation module to aid in this process.

Main Steps 

1. Upload Warehouse Inventory
2. Create a baseline Ordering Template
3. Generate Kits
4. Distribute Kits to stores to create an order.

The process begins with a warehouse assortment and grouping of items which can be "kitted" together.  The user can choose default groupings or generate one-off groupings to enforce rules for which items can be combined to form racks.  The baseline ordering template uses this rule set and can be used to help store demand guide kit generation to make more appropriate kits.  Kit generation then can be done using the ordering template as a framework.  Once kits have been made, the final phase is to distribute kits by choosing which ones should go to which stores.

Kit Generation Algorithm Output Overview

When generating kits, the computer will evaluate your requested inputs and attempt to generate kits based on the following overall priorities in order.  The amount of each can vary depending on demand, product mix, and other factors.  The key part to recognize is the order as kits labeled as  FRLO and DB or MFUC are less optimal, usually, for store distribution, while PR and FR indicate there are specific stores with the demand to satisfy with these  racks.

FR == Full Racks – the computer first attempts to see if any store demand profiles may accommodate the assembly of full racks. As these are the easiest to construct, any potential full racks are evaluated first.

PR == Partial Racks – the second highest phase attempts to see which stores demand profiles could accommodate some significant portion of a rack filled with a single item. This is sometime called and "anchor item" as it will be what constitutes the majority of  the rack.  If an anchor item is appropriate and found, additional shelves of other products will be used to balance the remainder of the rack until it is full.

MFR == Min Fill Racks – if no specific demand profile exists after the first two phases above, the next phase is where racks are built by including the minimum multiple of a given item and  then moving on to the next items still available in the universe of applicable items (see more about super pack category and rack prefixes)  until the rack is full.  This is usually a very assorted rack of product.

FRLO == Full Rack Left Over – this rack is built near the end of the cycle and is a rack that was assembled as a full rack of one product, simply because there were no other remaining options to fill the rack with.  This happens often when the number of items to choose for building racks are few and one item has dramatically more inventory than the other candidates. 

DB == Dust Bin – these racks signify they were built in the "dust bin" process where odds and ends products are combined simply to exhaust all the product in rack construction. They can be heavily assorted or not, depending on the leftover products.  Typically they represent less than 5% of the overall product.