Fulfillment Zone Wizard

Purpose: Use the Fulfillment Zone Wizard to create or edit zones you can use to restrict locate item searches and fulfillment or sourcing assignment to particular store or warehouse locations based on the order’s shipping or pickup address.

Used for the Routing Engine module.

Steps to creating a zone:

Specify Zone Name: specify the name for a zone, the organization where it applies, and optionally flag it as active.
Zone includes Shipping Addresses in: specify the geographical areas included in the zone.
Define locations: specify the locations that are eligible to fulfill orders in the zone. Optionally, you can define one or more secondary locations to use if an order cannot be fulfilled by the primary location(s).
Review Zone: review the zone before you accept your entries or changes.

When does the Routing Engine start using a zone? The Routing Engine does not restrict orders or locate items searches to a zone unless:

the Use Zone Fulfillment flag at the Preferences screen is selected, and
the zone is flagged as Active

For more information: See Using Zones for Fulfillment for an overview.

How to display:

creating a zone: click New at the Fulfillment Zones screen
changing or reviewing a zone:
click the edit icon () next to a zone at the Fulfillment Zones screen, or
click Edit at the Browse Fulfillment Zones window

Note:

Available if Use Routing Engine is selected at the Tenant screen. Only users with Fulfillment Zones authority can display this screen. See the Role Wizard for more information.

In this topic: Steps in the Fulfillment Zone Wizard:

Specify Zone Name

Purpose: Use this first step in the Fulfillment Zone Wizard to specify the Name of the zone, indicate whether the zone is currently Active, and optionally to select a different organization.

How to display:

creating a zone: click New at the Fulfillment Zones screen
changing a zone:
click the edit icon () next to a zone at the Fulfillment Zones screen, or
click Edit at the Browse Fulfillment Zones window

Fields at this screen

Field	Description
Organization	The organization where the zone controls location selection. Only orders associated with this organization are subject to the zone fulfillment restrictions. Required. The organization from the Fulfillment Zones screen defaults here, but you can override this default when you are creating a new zone. You cannot change the organization for an existing zone. Controls displayed locations: When you advance to the Zone includes Shipping Addresses in step, only locations associated with this organization are available for selection.
Zone Name	The name of a zone. Zone names can be 1 to 40 positions in length and must be unique in Order Broker, not just within the organization. The name can include special characters and spaces.
Active	Indicates whether the Routing Engine should start using the zone fulfillment restrictions immediately after you complete the wizard. Defaults to unselected. You can also change the setting of this flag at the Fulfillment Zones screen. Note: The Routing Engine does not use zone fulfillment restrictions unless the Use Zone Fulfillment flag at the Preferences screen is selected, even if the zone is flagged as Active.

Field

Description

Organization

The organization where the zone controls location selection. Only orders associated with this organization are subject to the zone fulfillment restrictions. Required. The organization from the Fulfillment Zones screen defaults here, but you can override this default when you are creating a new zone. You cannot change the organization for an existing zone.

Controls displayed locations: When you advance to the Zone includes Shipping Addresses in step, only locations associated with this organization are available for selection.

Zone Name

The name of a zone. Zone names can be 1 to 40 positions in length and must be unique in Order Broker, not just within the organization. The name can include special characters and spaces.

Active

Indicates whether the Routing Engine should start using the zone fulfillment restrictions immediately after you complete the wizard. Defaults to unselected. You can also change the setting of this flag at the Fulfillment Zones screen.

Note:

The Routing Engine does not use zone fulfillment restrictions unless the Use Zone Fulfillment flag at the Preferences screen is selected, even if the zone is flagged as Active.

Completing this step:

Optionally, select a different organization from the Organization drop-down box to indicate the organization where the zone restrictions should apply. The organization defaults from the Fulfillment Zones screen. The organization controls the locations available for selection when you set up the zone.

Note:
This option is available only when you are creating a zone.
Enter or change the Zone Name. Names can be 1 to 40 positions long and must be unique in Order Broker, not just within the organization. If you entered a name at the Fulfillment Zones screen, it defaults here. The name can include special characters and spaces.
Optionally, select the Active flag to have the zone become active as soon as you complete the Fulfillment Zone Wizard. The flag is unselected by default. You can also change the setting later at the Fulfillment Zones screen.

Click Next to continue to the Zone includes Shipping Addresses in step, or click Cancel to exit the Fulfillment Zone Wizard without saving your entries.

Zone includes Shipping Addresses in

Purpose: Use this second step in the Fulfillment Zone Wizard to specify the geographical areas to include in the zone. The Routing Engine uses the zone to select fulfilling or sourcing locations if the shipping address on a delivery or ship-for-pickup order, locate items request, or product availability request falls within the geographical areas you specify here.

Rules for Selecting Geographical Areas for the Zone

Options for geographical area selection: You can set up a zone to include shipping addresses in:

one or more ranges of three-position zip code prefixes (SCFs) within the United States, or
one or more states, provinces, or territories within a country, or a combination of states, provinces, or territories in multiple countries, or
one or more countries

Combining options: A zone can include more than one of the above options as long as the countries are not the same so that the areas do not overlap with another active zone.

Example: A zone might include shipping addresses in:

a range of zip code prefixes (SCFs) in the United States, plus one or more provinces in Canada
one or more provinces in Canada, plus Greenland (entire country)
a range of zip code prefixes in the United States, plus Canada (entire country)

Invalid combinations: To avoid an overlap, a single zone cannot include different types of options for the same country, such as:

the entire United States plus a particular state or zip code prefix range
a particular state in the United States plus a zip code prefix range
Canada plus a particular province of Canada

Multiple active zones cannot specify the same option: You cannot set up more than one active zone within an organization that specifies the same geographical option. For example, you cannot set up two active zones in the same organization that both specify Massachusetts. Also, you cannot set up two active zones in the same organization that specify overlapping zip code prefix ranges. However, the same zone restrictions can exist within any number of inactive zones.

Hierarchy for zone selection: You can set up different zones that include the same geographical areas, but at different levels; for example, you might have a zone that includes Massachusetts, and another zone that includes a zip code prefix range of 021 through 024, and another zone that specifies the United States. When determining which zone applies, the Routing Engine uses the following hierarchy:

Use the zone that matches the shipping address based on zip code prefix range; otherwise,
Use the zone that matches the shipping address based on state, province, or territory; otherwise,
Use the zone that matches the shipping address based on country; otherwise,
Do not restrict location assignment by zone; just use the rules set up at the Preferences screen.

Note:

Using fulfillment zones for countries other than the United States and Canada is supported only if the Use Proximity Locator preference is unselected for the organization.

Fields at this screen

Field	Description
Selected geographical locations (fields at the top of the screen)
Country	The country included in the zone.
State / Province	A state, province, or territory of the country that is included in the zone.
Zip Code Prefix Range	The beginning and ending three-position zip code prefixes to include in the zone. Specifying a zip code prefix range is available for U.S. addresses only.
Geographical selection fields (fields at the center of the screen)
Country	Select a country to include in the zone. I You can select multiple countries. For example, you can select both the United States and Canada. The countries are in alphabetical order. To select an entire country: Select the country from the dropdown list and click Add. To make the State / Province field active: Select a country, such as Canada, that has a defined list of states, provinces, or territories. To make the Zip Code Prefix From and Zip Code Prefix To fields enterable: Select the United States. Restrictions: You cannot select a country if the zone already includes a state, province, or territory, or a zip code prefix range in that country. You cannot select a country that is already assigned to another zone in the organization, even if the other zone is inactive. Note: Using fulfillment zones for countries other than the United States and Canada is supported only if the Use Proximity Locator preference is unselected for the organization.
State / Province	Optionally, select a state, province, or territory to include in the zone. This option is available only if there is a defined list of states, provinces, or territories for the selected Country. States, provinces, and territories are in alphabetical order. Leave this field unselected if: the zone includes the entire country, or the zone includes a zip code prefix range in the United States You can select multiple states, provinces, or territories in one or more countries. For example, you can select: both the United States /Maine and Canada/Ontario, or both the United States/New York and the United States/New Jersey Note: You do not specify a state when adding a zip code prefix range to a zone; you should specify the United States and the zip code range only. To select a state, province, or territory: Select a country that supports states or provinces, such as Canada, from the Country dropdown list. The State/ Province list becomes active. Select the state, province, or territory from the dropdown list. Click Add. Restrictions: You cannot select a state, province, or territory if the zone already includes the country, or if the zone already includes a zip code prefix range for that country (U.S. only). You cannot select a state, province, or territory that is already assigned to another zone in the organization, even if the other zone is inactive.
Zip Code Prefix From	Enter the first and last three-position numeric zip code prefix (SCF) to include in the zone. For example, you can enter 015 and 017 to include the zip codes from 01501 through 01799. This option is available for the United States only. When you enter a zip code prefix range, you cannot also enter a state. To select a zip code prefix range: Select the United States from the Country dropdown list. Complete the Zip Code Prefix From and the Zip Code Prefix To fields with three-position zip code prefixes. Note: Do not select a state from the State / Province dropdown list. Click Add. Restrictions: You cannot enter a zip code prefix range if the zone already includes a U.S. state or the entire United States. You cannot enter a range that overlaps a range included in a different zone in the organization, even if the other zone is inactive. The screen does not validate that your entries are existing SCF codes for the United States; however, your entries must be numeric.
Zip Code Prefix To

Adding a geographical area to a zone:

Select the geographical areas to include in the zone. For each geographical area, enter either:
- a country, or
- a country and state, province, or territory, or
- the United States and a zip code prefix range
See the field descriptions above for more information.
Click Add to add the area to the zone. The screen displays an error if your entry is already assigned to this or another zone, or if it is not a valid entry for the current zone; otherwise, it adds the area to the list at the top of the screen.
Optionally, click Reset to clear the current selection from the State / Province dropdown or the current entries in the Zip Code Prefix From and Zip Code Prefix To fields.

Changing an existing area for the zone:

Highlight the geographical area in the list at the top of the screen to have the information default to the middle of the screen.
Edit the information as needed.
Click Change.

Deleting a geographical area from a zone:

Highlight the geographical area in the list at the top of the screen.
Click Delete.

Completing this step: Click:

Next to continue to the Define locations step.
Previous to return to the Specify Zone Name step.
Cancel to exit the Zone Fulfillment Wizard and discard your entries or changes.

Define locations

Purpose: Use this step to select the primary and, optionally, alternate locations that can fulfill delivery or ship-for-pickup orders shipping within the zone and to include in locate items searches. You select primary and alternate locations by dragging the locations to the correct area of the screen.

How to display: You advance to this step by clicking Next at the Zone includes Shipping Addresses in step.

Which locations are available for selection? This screen includes all locations in the organization, regardless of whether the locations are currently flagged to support shipment (for delivery orders) or sourcing (for ship-for-pickup orders) based on the settings at the Preferences screen. However, the default unfulfillable location is not available for selection.

Types of locations at this screen: This screen includes:

Eligible Locations: Locations with the organization that are not currently selected as either a primary or alternate search location for the zone. Locations that remain in the eligible location listing are never selected for delivery or ship-for-pickup orders shipping within the zone or included in locate items searches.
Primary Search Locations: The preferred location(s) for assignment of delivery or ship-for-pickup orders that are shipping within the zone. If there are multiple primary search locations specified that might be able to fulfill the order, the Routing Engine uses the criteria specified at the Preferences screen to select locations. If an order can be fulfilled within the primary locations, the Routing Engine does not consider the alternate search locations, regardless of the Preferences settings for your organization.
Alternate Search Locations: The location(s) to select if the primary search locations could not fulfill the order or meet the locate items search criteria. If there are multiple alternate search locations that might be able to fulfill the order, the Routing Engine uses the criteria specified at the Preferences screen to select locations.

How do locations default to the Primary Search Locations list? If any of the locations in the organization match the state / province or zip code prefix range specified at the Zone includes Shipping Addresses in step, these locations default to the Primary Search Locations list when you are creating a new zone; however, you can move these locations to a different list, or move other eligible locations to the Primary Search Locations list.

Fields at this screen

Field	Description
The following information is displayed for Eligible Locations, Primary Search Locations, and Alternate Search Locations. See the New Location screen for more information.
Location	The code identifying a location. Location codes can be 1 to 10 positions in length, and must be unique for the system.
Name	The name describing the location. Location names can be 1 to 40 positions in length, and do not need to be the same as the name or description of the location in the integrated system, such as Order Management System or Xstore.
City	The city where the location is located. Can be up to 35 positions.
State/Province	The state, province, or territory where the location is located. Can be up to 3 positions. Validated against the ISO code.
Country	The code identifying the country. Can be a two-position alpha, three-position alpha, or three-position numeric code, validated against the ISO 3166 list of country codes.
Postal Code	The U.S. ZIP code or Canadian postal code for the location.
Rank	The rank you have assigned to the location. Informational. Up to 10 positions.
Region	The region you have assigned to the location. Informational. Up to 20 positions.
System	The system where the location is located.

Selecting primary and alternate search locations:

Drag locations from among the Eligible Locations, Primary Search Locations, and Alternate Search Locations lists as needed to specify the preferred and alternate locations for the zone. You can also:
select multiple locations at once by holding the CTRL key and clicking each additional location
select a group of locations by clicking the first one and then holding down the SHIFT key when you click the last one
Optionally, sort on a column, expand a column, or rearrange columns before selecting locations. For example:
Click the Region column heading to sort locations by region.
Position the cursor between the Name and City column headings until the cursor turns into a double-pointed arrow, then drag the City column heading to the right to enlarge the Name column.
Position the cursor on the Rank column heading, drag the entire column to the left, and drop it between the Location and Name columns.
Filter: Optionally, enter a full or partial location field to restrict the displayed locations to your entry. For example, enter a Postal Code of 016 to restrict the listed locations to those whose postal codes start with 016.

Completing this step: Click:

Next to continue to the Review Zone step.
Previous to return to the Zone includes Shipping Addresses in step.
Cancel to exit the Zone Fulfillment Wizard and discard your entries or changes.

Review Zone

Purpose: Use this step to review a zone you have created or changed, and to accept or reject your entries or changes.

How to display: You advance to this step by clicking Next at the Define locations step.

This step displays the zone you have created or changed using the Fulfillment Zone Wizard. See the Specify Zone Name step for information on the geographical locations included in the zone, and see the Define locations step for information on the primary and alternate locations for the zone.

Zone restrictions for active zones:

A zone restriction (for example, state, province, or territory within a country) can exist in just a single active zone, but
The same zone restriction can exist within any number of inactive zones.

As a result, the Fulfillment Zone wizard applies the following rules:

You can't create a new active zone that includes a zone restriction that already exists within another existing active zone.
You can't activate an existing inactive zone if it includes a zone restriction that is already within an existing active zone.
You can't add a zone restriction to an active zone if the restriction is already included in another existing active zone.

Completing this step: Click Save to accept your changes and save the zone, or click Cancel to reject all changes to the zone and return to the Fulfillment Zones screen. If you click Cancel while creating a new zone, the zone is not saved.

Optionally, click Previous to return to the Define locations step.

When does the Routing Engine start using a zone? The Routing Engine does not restrict delivery or ship-for pickup orders or search responses to a zone unless:

the Use Zone Fulfillment flag at the Preferences screen is selected, and
the zone is flagged as Active

Troubleshooting Zone Fulfillment

Purpose: The following table provides possible explanations for questions related to zone fulfillment.

Issue/Question	Possible Explanation
The Routing Engine is not using zones to select fulfilling locations	Zone not active? Check the Fulfillment Zones screen to make sure the zone is currently flagged as active. Preference not selected? Check the Use Zone Fulfillment setting at the Preferences screen. Locations do not support order type? Check the settings of the Delivery Available or Ship For Pickup Sourcing Available flags at the Preferences screen. You can change this setting at the organization, location type, and location level; the most specific setting takes precedence. Location excluded based on probability rules? Probability rules can still exclude a location even when you use zone fulfillment. See the Probability Rule Overview for background. Country not U.S. or Canada? Zone fulfillment for countries other than the United States and Canada is supported only if the Use Proximity Locator preference is unselected for the organization. Country for address not specified? If a locate items request does not specify a country and no country is associated with the requesting location, zone fulfillment restrictions do not apply and all locations for the organization are eligible to be included in the response (subject to the settings at the Preferences screen and any probability rules).
Can you override location selection by zone?	Locate Items can specify a requested_location: If a locate items request specified a requested location, the response includes just the requested location regardless of whether the location is associated with the zone for the shipping address. SubmitOrder can specify a fulfilling location: If the submit order message specifies a fulfilling location, the Routing Engine assigns the order to the location regardless of whether the location is associated with the zone for the shipping address.

Issue/Question

Possible Explanation

The Routing Engine is not using zones to select fulfilling locations

Zone not active? Check the Fulfillment Zones screen to make sure the zone is currently flagged as active.
Preference not selected? Check the Use Zone Fulfillment setting at the Preferences screen.
Locations do not support order type? Check the settings of the Delivery Available or Ship For Pickup Sourcing Available flags at the Preferences screen. You can change this setting at the organization, location type, and location level; the most specific setting takes precedence.
Location excluded based on probability rules? Probability rules can still exclude a location even when you use zone fulfillment. See the Probability Rule Overview for background.
Country not U.S. or Canada? Zone fulfillment for countries other than the United States and Canada is supported only if the Use Proximity Locator preference is unselected for the organization.
Country for address not specified? If a locate items request does not specify a country and no country is associated with the requesting location, zone fulfillment restrictions do not apply and all locations for the organization are eligible to be included in the response (subject to the settings at the Preferences screen and any probability rules).

Can you override location selection by zone?

Locate Items can specify a requested_location: If a locate items request specified a requested location, the response includes just the requested location regardless of whether the location is associated with the zone for the shipping address.
SubmitOrder can specify a fulfilling location: If the submit order message specifies a fulfilling location, the Routing Engine assigns the order to the location regardless of whether the location is associated with the zone for the shipping address.