Outbound Sorting

UI Configuration

All Outbound Sorting configurations are made through these screens:

Outbound Sort Zone Header
Outbound Sort Zone Detail

The Sorting feature is managed by Sort Zones. A Sort Zone is a group of outbound drop or staging locations that use the same sorting criteria. Each Sort Zone is defined for a facility.

To set up Outbound Sorting:

Create a Sort Zone record on the Outbound Sort Zone Headerscreen.
Enter a name for the Sort Zone and choose the outbound sorting criterion by which OBLPNs are sorted.

The outbound sorting criterion is resolved from completed allocation data for the scanned OBLPN. The selected criterion should return one clear value for the OBLPN. If the OBLPN returns no value or more than one value, RF sorting cannot determine a unique destination.

Sort Zone Details

Select the newly created Sort Zone record and open its details. The details screen displays the sort locations configured for the zone, the active pallet if one is assigned, and the criteria value currently assigned to that location.

Column	Description
Location	Physical outbound sort location, drop location, staging slot, or lane configured for the Sort Zone.
Pallet	The active pallet currently assigned to the sort location. This is populated by RF when users sort to a pallet.
Criteria Value	The outbound sorting value currently assigned to that location, such as route, destination, order type, ship-to, or another configured outbound criterion.

If the location has no Criteria Value, it is available for the next scanned OBLPN whose criterion does not already have an assigned location.
When the first OBLPN for a criterion is sorted to an available location, WMS stores that criterion value on the Sort Zone Detail.
If the RF flow sorts to pallets, WMS also stores the active pallet on the Sort Zone Detail.
When another OBLPN with the same criterion is scanned, WMS directs the user to the same sort location and, if applicable, the same pallet.
Criteria values should be cleared after the freight leaves the sort area so the location can be reused for a different criterion.

RF Configuration

The primary RF transaction for outbound sorting is RF Outbound OB Sort LPN(rf.outbound.cwrfobsortlpn). The RF module starts with the OBLPN scan and then sends the user either to a sort-to-pallet flow or a direct sort-to-location flow.

Parameter	Default	Description
sort-to-pallet	yes	Controls whether the RF user sorts the OBLPN to a pallet at the sort location. Set to no to sort directly to a location without scanning a pallet.
default-sort-zone	blank	When populated, RF uses this sort zone automatically and does not ask the user to scan the sort zone on every transaction.
allow-picked-status-only	no	When no, RF expects PACKED outbound LPNs. When yes, RF allows only PICKED outbound LPNs.

Using The Sorting Mobile Module

These are the steps to use the Outbound Sort LPN mobile module:

1. Enter the Outbound Sort LPN RF module.

2. Scan the OBLPN in the LPN field.

3. Scan the Sort Zone, unless the module is configured with a default sort zone.

4. WMS validates the OBLPN and determines the outbound sorting criterion from completed allocation data.

5. If there is already an active location for the criterion, RF displays the destination location. If a pallet is active, RF also displays the pallet to scan.

6. If there is no active location for the criterion, the user scans an available sort location in the zone.

7. If sort-to-pallet is enabled, scan the pallet to use at that location.

8. WMS updates the OBLPN to the sort destination and updates the Sort Zone Detail with the criterion and pallet information.

Sort To Pallet Flow

Use this flow when sorted OBLPNs should be grouped onto pallets before downstream staging, loading, or shipping.

The user scans the OBLPN.
WMS finds the criterion value for the OBLPN.
If a matching sort location and pallet already exist, RF directs the user to that location and pallet.
If no matching location exists, the user selects an available sort location and scans a pallet.
WMS assigns the OBLPN to the pallet and records movement history.
When the pallet is complete, the user presses Ctrl-E Close Pallet and scans the pallet to close it.

Sort To Location Flow

Use this flow when OBLPNs should be placed directly into outbound sort or staging locations without palletizing.

Set sort-to-pallet to no.
The user scans the OBLPN and sort zone, unless the zone is defaulted.
WMS displays the matching location if one already exists for the criterion.
The user scans the location to confirm placement.
WMS updates the OBLPN location and records movement history.

Example

A warehouse wants to sort packed outbound LPNs by route before loading. The implementer creates Sort Zone OBS_ROUTE and selects Route Number as the outbound sorting criterion. Three drop locations are added to the zone: DROP-R01, DROP-R02, and DROP-R03. The RF module is configured with sort-to-pallet = yes and default-sort-zone = OBS_ROUTE.

Scan	System Result
OBLPN100001	WMS derives route ROUTE-ATL. No active location exists. User scans DROP-R01 and pallet PALLET-ATL-001.
OBLPN100018	WMS derives route ROUTE-ATL. RF directs user to DROP-R01 and pallet PALLET-ATL-001.
OBLPN100044	WMS derives route ROUTE-DAL. No active location exists. User scans DROP-R02 and pallet PALLET-DAL-001.

Common Errors And Corrective Actions

Condition	Explanation	Corrective Action
Container invalid for sorting	The OBLPN does not have the status expected by the RF parameter.	Use the correct transaction setup or move the OBLPN to the correct status.
Sort zone invalid	The scanned or defaulted sort zone does not exist for the facility.	Correct the sort zone setup or RF default-sort-zone parameter.
No sort location available	No available blank Sort Zone Detail exists for a new criterion value.	Add more sort locations or clear stale criteria from completed lanes.
Criteria value missing	The selected outbound criterion cannot be resolved from the OBLPN's completed allocation data.	Review the chosen criterion and the OBLPN/order/allocation data.
Multiple criteria values found	The OBLPN resolves to more than one value for the selected criterion.	Use a different criterion or avoid mixing conflicting orders/allocations in the same OBLPN.
Location not valid for zone	The scanned location is not configured as a detail for the selected sort zone.	Scan a valid location or add the location to the sort zone.
Sorting pallet does not match	The location is already tied to a different active pallet or criterion.	Scan the displayed pallet, close the current pallet, or clear stale sort-zone detail data.

Implementation Notes

Choose a criterion that produces one value per OBLPN.
Create enough sort locations for the number of concurrent routes, destinations, stores, or other criterion values expected during peak operations.
Use default-sort-zone for dedicated physical sort areas to reduce scan effort.
Use separate RF menu entries if picked-status sorting and packed-status sorting are both required.
Clear completed or stale sort location assignments regularly so sort locations can be reused.
Train users to close pallets before moving them out of the sort location.