Updating Order Status at the Line or Unit Level

Overview: The Allow Partial Updates preference for an organization controls whether you update order line status at the order line level or at the unit level. This option is available only if the organization has the Allow Split Order preference selected.

Example: An order line has a quantity of 5 units. The location has only 3 units of the item available. If the Allow Partial Updates preference is:

selected, the assigned location can send a status update rejecting 2 units
unselected, the location must accept or reject the entire order line

Quantity always required: When this is preference selected, the location sending a status update always needs to specify the quantity to update as well as the line number. Similarly, the quantity is a required field when you use the Edit Order Item window to update an order line.

Creating a new order line: If the Allow Partial Updates preference is selected, when the Routing Engine receives a status update whose quantity is lower than the total line quantity, it creates a new order line for the specified status, and decreases the quantity for the existing order line.

Example: Order line 1 has a quantity of 7 units and is currently in picked status. The assigned location sends a status update indicating that 3 units are fulfilled. The Routing Engine:

creates line 2 for a quantity of 3 and a status of fulfilled
updates line 1 to a quantity 4, and leaves the status as picked

Note:

The Routing Engine creates a new line with the next available line number. For example, if there were already 3 lines on the order, the Routing Engine creates line 4 for the 3 fulfilled units.

Split line not required: Although the Routing Engine effectively splits an existing line when it receives a partial quantity update, it is not necessary to have the Allow Split Line preference selected. The Allow Split Line preference controls whether to split a line at initial order assignment, not whether to split a line due to later changes in status.

Rejecting individual units and the Search Retries setting: The Routing Engine uses the Search Retries setting to determine the total number of times it can attempt to reassign delivery and ship-for-pickup orders when they are rejected by their fulfilling or sourcing locations. This limit applies to the entire order, regardless of whether the organization supports split orders, split lines, or partial status updates.

Example: The Search Retries preference is set to 2. If the organization supports:

Split order but not split line or partial status update, the order is assigned to the Default Unfulfillable Location after the order is rejected 2 times.
Split order and split line but not partial status update, the order line is assigned to the Default Unfulfillable Location after the total number of line rejections received and “reshop” attempts is 2, regardless of whether the rejections were for the same line or different lines.
Split order and partial status update, the order line is assigned to the Default Unfulfillable Location after the total number of unit quantity rejections received and “reshop” attempts is 2, regardless of whether the rejections were for the same line or different lines, or whether the rejections were for the full line quantity or a partial line quantity.

Rejecting individual units and reshopping to different fulfilling or sourcing locations: When the Routing Engine receives a status update rejecting a quantity of a delivery or ship-for-pickup order line, it uses its standard logic (including probability rules and zones) to assign each rejected quantity. If a location rejects a partial quantity of a line in 2 separate status updates, the Routing Engine assigns each partial quantity to a different fulfilling location.

Example:

Location A rejects all 3 units of an order line in a single status update, and the Routing Engine assigns all 3 units to location B.
Location A rejects 1 out of 3 units on an order line, and the Routing Engine assigns the unit to location B. If location A then rejects the remaining 2 units of the order line, the Routing Engine assigns the 2 units to location C.

Current Order Broker line number required for status update: When the Allow Partial Update preference is selected but the Use Requesting System Line Number in Status Update flag is not selected, or the status update does not come from the originating location, the line_no specified in a status update request message needs to match the current line number in Order Broker, and the specified quantity cannot exceed the current quantity on the order line. In order to be sure of sending the current line number, the requesting system should first send a status inquiry request before sending the status update request.

Example: Location A sends its line #11 for 3 units to Order Broker as a delivery order. In order to send a status update request to cancel the line, the location must first send a status inquiry request. The status inquiry response indicates that the current line numbers in Order Broker are:

line 1 in accepted status, with a quantity of 1
line 2 in picked status, with a quantity of 2
The location then sends a status update request for the current quantities of lines 1 and 2, indicating to cancel both lines.

Note:

Sending the status inquiry first also enables the requesting system to confirm that the order line has not been canceled or fulfilled.

Screen differences to note: When any line on an order splits, either through initial order assignment or a partial quantity status update, then the Detail tab on the Order screen groups the split lines under the requesting system line number. If none of the lines are split, then the Detail tab provides maintenance or display access only through the original requesting system line number; otherwise, you need to select the current line number in Order Broker to maintain or display. See Reviewing or Updating Order Broker Orders and the Order screen for more information.

Before turning on partial quantity updates: Before you enable this option, it is important to confirm that updating a partial quantity of a line is supported by all systems integrating with Order Broker.