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What to do if the processing time for an order for aliexpress expires. Aliexpress order processing time is running out: how to extend the processing time Ready-made instructions for processing orders and shipping

Magazine "Warehouse complex", No. 8, 2007 // August, 2007

The picking process is associated with many indicators of the efficiency of the warehouse, the sales department, and the customer service process as a whole. The quality of order fulfillment creates a certain image of the company in the market and provides it with a certain level of competitiveness.

The largest amount of resources is spent on the work of the warehouse in the process of fulfilling orders. Therefore, the more accurate resource planning is, the faster and better the warehouse performs its work on picking customer orders.

In the process of fulfilling customer orders, there are several stages in which optimization is possible. But before considering optimization methods, let's analyze the stages of the order fulfillment process itself.

As a rule, customer orders are received and processed by employees of the commercial department, passing them on to the warehouse, where orders are transformed into a task for selecting goods and preparing the order for shipment. In the process of registering an order, the customer service manager uses information about the balance of goods in the warehouse, nomenclature, batches, series, expiration dates.

After registering the customer's order in the Corporate Information System (CIS), the order arrives in the (Warehouse ACS). The warehouse operator forms a task for the selection of goods, transfers the task to pickers.

There is a selection of goods, its transfer to the zone of control and packaging. Then, the order, completed and ready to be sent to customers, is placed in the shipping area.

According to the experience of implementing AXELOT projects, there are 4 main areas for optimizing the process under consideration (Fig. 1):

1. Stage of acceptance and processing of the order

2. Information exchange between warehouse and commercial department

3. Planning the picking operation and issuing tasks to pickers

4. Transfer of the selected order to the control zone. Inspection and packaging of goods

Rice. 1. Problem areas in the picking process

Receiving and processing customer orders

There are three factors that can affect the stability of the warehouse at the stage of placing an order by the client: the urgency of orders, the uneven receipt of orders and the placement of additional orders by one client on the same date of shipment.

Many are familiar with the situation when the bulk of orders come in the evening, and the shipment of goods is expected in the morning. At the same time, urgent orders may arrive in the morning, which must be selected and packed before the start of the morning shipment. This problem is primarily relevant for distribution centers (suppliers retail stores), as well as for warehouses finished products food production. For a warehouse, such dynamics turns into emergency work, the need to organize a night shift.

It is not uncommon for retail stores to place multiple orders throughout the day depending on changes in current demand for goods. This, in turn, increases the time for processing orders by operators, as well as the total time for order picking in the warehouse. Few companies go to the trouble of setting a clear schedule for placing orders, and the problem of uneven receipt of orders, as a rule, is solved by organizing a second shift (afternoon or night).

The placement of urgent orders or many additional orders can be reduced by developing a special pricing policy. For example, do not provide discounts for additional and urgent orders or introduce a surcharge. However, this method does not completely eliminate the problem of additional orders. Therefore, before orders are transferred to the warehouse for picking, it is recommended that they be additionally processed in order to combine orders to one delivery address (Fig. 2).

Until the orders are transferred as tasks for the selection of goods, they are accumulated in the database of the CIS or ACS of the warehouse, where their automatic processing is possible.

Incoming orders from a customer with the same parameters (customer, delivery address, contract number, order category, shipment date) must be combined into one order. In this case, the total number of identical goods is calculated. The criteria should be checked immediately after the next order is received by the information system. This will reduce the total number of orders, and hence the time for their completion.

Rice. 2. Algorithm for combining an order

Exchange of information between information systems of the warehouse and commercial department

Table 1 reflects the main types of information that is used by various departments of the enterprise in the process of picking customer orders.

Table 1.

Type of information

A source of information

Consumer of information

Quantity of goods, parties, series

To ensure the reliability of information about the goods, it is necessary to register all operations for the movement of goods in the warehouse automated control system, to conduct timely inventories, especially in case of detection of shortages and regrading in the cells of the warehouse

The manager of the commercial department promptly informs the client about the presence or absence of goods in the warehouse

Warehouse employees, while working on customer complaints, use information about the availability and movement of goods in the warehouse to confirm the validity of the claim and identify the person responsible for the error

The number of basic units (pieces) in a transport or production container

When goods are received, information about the types of transport units is entered into the warehouse automated control system

When accepting an order, the manager of the commercial department directs the buyer to the quantity of goods, a multiple of the package. Thus, the need to open boxes, whole packages is reduced, which, in turn, leads to a reduction in picking time and ordering errors.

Order Fulfillment Status

At all stages of the order passing through the company's divisions, employees create various internal documents and assign statuses to them (for example, planned, in progress, completed)

Account managers can track the status of the order, timely coordinate with the client the time of shipment or, for example, possible changes in the order

Total order volume, number of packages, overall characteristics of packages

Information is entered into the warehouse automated control system after the order is packed

In the future, it is used by employees of the transport department when planning routes, flights, vehicles

Planning the picking operation and issuing tasks to pickers

Optimization of the selection planning operation is mainly related to the possibilities modern systems warehouse management. The systems that AXELOT uses in its work provide the execution of two blocks of functions. Firstly, the information system works as a repository of a huge amount of information about products, their series, batches, required storage conditions, expiration dates, packaging sizes, investment levels, etc. Secondly, the embedded placement and selection algorithms can perform control function, allowing the warehouse operator to automatically generate tasks and distribute them among storekeepers, loaders, drivers of high-altitude equipment.

Sometimes in the process of fulfilling customer orders, the sales manager practices the reservation of a certain product. This can lead to an increase in the stock level, as more goods are usually reserved than are then shipped. There may also be a situation of illiquid goods with an expiring or expired shelf life, since any sales manager will first of all strive to provide his customer with the best product.

Reservation of goods for customer orders is recommended to be carried out automatically when planning the selection operation, according to the algorithm embedded in the warehouse ACS. The fundamental rule in this algorithm is a predetermined order for selecting goods in a warehouse by batch or series:

1. FIFO (first-in, first-out) - “first in - first out” - goods are shipped from a batch that arrived at the warehouse earlier than others.

2. LIFO (last-in, first-out) - “last in - first out” - a product from a batch that arrived at the warehouse later than others has a high priority in shipment.

3. FEFO (first-ended, first-out) - "first ends - first out." As a rule, the expiration date is used as a criterion that determines the priority of shipment: goods with a lower remaining shelf life are shipped first.

4. LEFO (last-ended, first-out) - “last ends - first out” - goods with the longest remaining shelf life are shipped first.

The assignment to the warehouse for picking goods from storage places is added to the order subject to the above rules. Mostly, when shipping to customers, the selection procedure is FIFO (non-food group of goods) or FEFO (pharmaceuticals, products, other goods with a limited shelf life).

In addition to batches and series, when planning the selection, the following are taken into account:

Type of transport unit of goods. In warehouses where shipment in small packages and individual pieces is practiced, as a rule, a piece selection zone is allocated. In this case, whole pallets are shipped from the reserve (wholesale) area of ​​the warehouse.

The area where goods are placed in the warehouse. If the warehouse is located in a multi-storey building or in a warehouse, there are several rooms with different storage conditions, it is advisable to divide the items in the order into several selection tasks in accordance with the existing areas.

Picker route. When forming a task for picking, it is advisable to sort the lines in accordance with the order in which the picker visits the storage locations. The routes of movement of equipment and personnel in the warehouse are determined at the stage of developing the layout of the warehouse complex. In the warehouse automated control system, the route is set by assigning a bin rating. Picker routes are built according to the rules below.

General rules for forming a picker's route:

  • The picker's route should take the shortest way around the places of goods selection and exclude unnecessary movements of the employee, including for the use of improvised means (ladders, stackers).
  • It is desirable to organize the movement in such a way that pickers do not have to go through the same aisle twice.
  • The beginning and end of the route of pickers should also be optimally oriented relative to the location of the shipping expedition area.
  • The warehouse management information system should allow building a route for a picker, regardless of the designation of storage locations in the warehouse.
  • If part of the order items is subject to selection from all tiers of the selection zone, including hard-to-reach ones, it is necessary to separate the selection from hard-to-reach tiers into a separate task. Hard-to-reach tiers mean the upper tiers of racks, from which the picker can select goods only with the help of auxiliary means or mechanisms. Thus, the picker walks the route twice, first picking goods from the lower tiers, and then picking goods from the upper tiers a second time using a ladder or stacker. The total time for the selection of goods by order is reduced.

Transfer of the selected order to the control zone. Inspection and packaging of goods

In order to reduce the risk of shortages or oversorting in customer orders, the warehouse uses the output control function. After the completion of the selection, the orders are transferred to the teams of controllers and packers, who check the compliance of the selected goods with the data in the order, pack the orders, forming packages, and, if necessary, mark the goods and / or orders. As a rule, the area for checking and packing orders is located in close proximity to the shipping area.

If, during the check of the selected goods, the controller reveals a discrepancy with the ordered quantity (shortage, surplus, regrading), the warehouse operator should generate a task for inventory of the cells in which the goods of this name are placed, and then generate a task for placing the surplus in the warehouse and selecting the missing quantity according to order.

Although temporary blocking of cells and taking inventory can slow down the work of the warehouse, AXELOT consultants strongly recommend that these operations be carried out. Otherwise, it is impossible to ensure the availability of up-to-date and reliable information on the number of goods in stock.

For fast execution It is recommended to indicate in the picking task to which control table the selected goods should be moved.

In the case when the order is divided into several tasks, indicating the number of the control desk will allow you to consolidate all parts of the order already at this stage.

Even if the order is not divided into several parts, a note about the number of the control desk to which the goods need to be moved will help to evenly distribute orders between the controllers. To do this, the warehouse ACS should accumulate information on the total amount of work performed by controllers for the current shift.

The speed of control of picked orders depends on the volume of the order, the number of lines in the order, the number of packages in the order, and the weight of the order. To analyze the scope of work performed by the controller, it is usually sufficient to use one parameter - the volume of the order.

The basic principle underlying the algorithm for distributing orders in the control zone is as follows: the next picked order must be placed on the control table with the smallest total volume of orders received earlier (Fig. 3.).

In addition to uniform load distribution and consolidation of parts of the order, the fast and high-quality work of the controller will be ensured by an equipped and well-lit workplace. It is important that sufficient packaging material is always available.

Fig.3. Uniform distribution of orders to control tables

In conclusion, I would like to say a few words about the problem of compliance with safety regulations. Unfortunately, when visiting warehouses, it is not uncommon to see how warehouse employees, during order picking, climb to the upper tiers of the racks, standing on the forks of the stacker, or climb the rack using horizontal beams as stairs. This sooner or later leads to tragic consequences. Therefore, when developing the layout of the warehouse and the technology for performing warehouse operations, it is necessary to ensure the prevention of such cases. The following measures will contribute to this:

  1. Allocation of the active selection zone with boxes, packages, pieces in the lower tiers of pallet racks, or organization of a separate selection zone with shelf racks of low height
  2. Timely replenishment of goods in the selection zone
  3. The use of upper hard-to-reach tiers only for storing goods and picking up goods in whole pallets using a stacker
  4. Separation in time of operations performed by a stacker and performed manually by a picker, which will exclude the possibility of people and equipment working in the same passage

So to ensure high efficiency order picking process, firstly, a competent and thorough approach to designing storage areas and development of technological operations, and secondly, the maximum use of the capabilities of modern automation tools.

The functioning of the warehouse complex, designed taking into account the characteristics of the goods and the specifics of the enterprise, will require fewer resources for the processing of goods, provided that the stable and safe work of the warehouse staff is maintained.

A properly selected warehouse management system will allow you to establish a timely exchange of accurate and complete information between company departments, automate the process of accepting many management decisions. But, regardless of whether these tasks are solved by the employees of the enterprise, or with the involvement of consultants on process design and warehouse automation, it is necessary to consider what exactly A complex approach will allow you to get a tangible result for the enterprise as a whole.

Olga Kaverina, consultant on warehouse logistics AXELOT

Functioning of logistics systems aimed at meeting the effective demand of consumers. The products of the logistics system of the enterprise is the execution of consumer orders.

Order is an information unit of logistics operations. In the general case, it is a form that goes through all stages of the customer service process. An order, as a rule, combines all documents related to a particular transaction (agreement, contract).

Technological process of order fulfillment is a set of sequentially performed logistics operations. The sequence in which work is performed is determined by priority rules.

Customer service time- the time interval between the receipt of an order for the supply of products and the receipt of the ordered products by the consumer. This includes, in particular:

1) the time of placing the order in the prescribed manner (the time spent on correcting and clarifying the order);

2) time to transfer the order to the supplier;

3) the waiting time for the execution of the order, i.e. the time from the moment the order is received by the system until the start of service;

4) lead time of the order by the supplier;

5) the time of delivery of manufactured products to the customer.

Order Fulfillment Procedure- logistics operations related to the production and delivery of products to consumers based on their orders.

Order cycle:

1) for the seller, this is the time from the moment the order is received to the moment when the product arrives at the warehouse, where it is accepted by the consumer;

2) for the buyer - this is the period of time from the moment the order is placed until the moment the products are received.

Order cycle stages:

1) order planning - for a more even loading of production capacities, enterprises can draw up plans that distribute consumer orders over time;

2) transfer of the order - occurs in the period of time between the placement or sending of the order by the consumer and the receipt of the order by the seller;

3) order processing – collection, storage, transmission and processing of order data;

4) order picking and picking - carried out in accordance with the order picking sheet;

5) order delivery. There are two options: the recipient takes the products out of the warehouse on his own, or the order is delivered by the supplier to the recipient's warehouse.

Order performance indicators.

1. Order fulfillment speed - the time from the moment the order is received to its execution (delivery to the consumer).

2. Uninterrupted execution of logistics operations - ^ rations - the ability of the enterprise service system to maintain the expected timing of order fulfillment over many functional cycles.

3. The level of deficiencies in customer service - reflects the likelihood of failures in transport and logistics services;

4. Flexibility of logistics operations - the ability of the enterprise service system to meet the special needs of consumers.

Typical situations requiring flexibility:

1) support for unique sales and marketing plans;

2) introduction of a new product;

3) tailoring the service level to specific markets or customers;

The goods ordered and paid for by the buyer on Aliexpress enter the processing stage. This will be indicated by the corresponding order status. But here, many buyers have questions about how long an order for Aliexpress is processed, what is order processing in general, and what to do if the processing time has come to an end.

After the seller checks the payment for the goods, a time interval begins, averaging from 3 to 10 days. During this period of time, the merchant must pack the parcel, send it to the customer and notify the shipment on the site itself. What is the processing time for an order on Aliexpress.

But this period is set by the Chinese merchant himself, so the processing time can be much longer. The shipping time can be:

  1. fast - some merchants do not delay the shipment of goods and act within 2-3 days;
  2. medium - usually ranges from 5 to 15 days;
  3. long - usually from 15 to 30 days, buyers order goods from such merchants if it is much cheaper than from others, or such a thing is not sold at all from other suppliers.

This is how long an order for Aliexpress can be processed. And you can find out how long it will take the seller to process the order directly on the product page - it indicates how long the parcel will be sent to the addressee.

And the time of sending the parcel is coming on working days - from Monday to Friday, and do not count holidays. For example, the processing time increases if the order of goods on the site is made when the Chinese celebrate the New Year.

The order is being processed for a long time: what to do?

Parcels from Aliexpress often have to wait at least 2-4 weeks. The situation is aggravated by the fact that the seller processes the order for a long time and does not send the parcel. Why does it take a long time to process an order for Aliexpress? This happens because the supplier himself determines the time he needs to collect the order and send it to the addressee. And, as a rule, respectable suppliers act within the allotted time for order processing.

If the buyer did not pay attention to the deadline for sending the order, which is a lot, then you can do this:

  1. Write to the seller and ask to expedite the sending of the parcel. The seller will answer whether he can do it or not, and will also state the reasons for the delay of the goods.
  2. Request an order cancellation. In this case, the supplier will either fuss and send the package as soon as possible, or accept the cancellation of the order. But there are merchants who go to the trick - they inform the buyer that the goods have already been shipped. In this case, you need to require the track number of the parcel from the supplier.

To avoid an unpleasant situation, it is important to pay attention to the delivery time of the order. If you want the package to reach you faster, then choose goods from trusted sellers who guarantee shipment within 3-5 days.

Order Processing Time Expired: What Happens?

When the supplier is late in sending the parcel, that is, the processing time for the order for Aliexpress expires, then you should not worry - the order will be automatically canceled, and the buyer will receive back all the money paid for the goods.

This will happen within 3-5 days, but sometimes the refund is delayed up to 15 days. But in any case, the customer will receive all his money. The return occurs to the place where the payment for the goods was made - to a bank card, electronic wallet.

Is it possible to extend the processing time and why?

If the order processing time for Aliexpress has ended, the order is canceled. But until the expiration of this period, you can extend it, and this response from the supplier is not required. Need only in personal account Click the "Extend Processing Time" button.

The buyer may need to extend this period if he really needs the ordered goods. At the same time, the customer is ready to wait for the parcel to be sent for a long time. Also, the merchant himself may ask for an extension of the time for sending the parcel, indicating the reasons for the delay. There is nothing wrong with extending the time for order processing, no - the buyer will only have to wait longer for the ordered goods.

Cancellation of an order while it is being processed

The buyer has the right to refuse the order during the period of its processing by the seller. To do this, go to "My Orders" and click "Cancel Order".

In the window that opens, indicate the reason for the refusal and confirm the action. To expedite the return of paid for goods Money must be given as good a reason as possible.. Therefore, you should not write that the merchant does not send the order for too long - it is better to write that the style or size of the product was chosen incorrectly.

After specifying the reason, you need to decide whether the customer wants to file a complaint against the seller. If the cancellation of the order occurs on a personal initiative, then it is better to answer no. If the customer could not bear it, could not wait for the parcel to be sent due to the fault of the supplier and cannot get his money back for a long time, then you can open a dispute.

Timers on Aliexpress - why do you need them

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The process consists of several stages:

  1. Receiving and processing orders with subsequent transfer of information to the picking area;
  2. The process of picking and shipping goods to the customer.

The first stage is usually the responsibility of the employees of the commercial department. Orders are accepted either by telephone, fax or e-mail. If the order arrives in electronic form, then, as a rule, order forms are sent (generally accepted formats are *.xls, or the database format *.dbf).

The order must contain:

  • quantity of goods
  • its name
  • note and other data as needed.

The article is indicated by agreement, although it does not apply to the mandatory attributes of the order. In cases where the supplier of the goods assumes 100% return of expired products, there is the concept of auto-order. This process carries out either Sales Representative, or a manager for the formation of company orders, based on the balance and sales of each type of product from its buyer.

In the process, an employee of the commercial department usually sees the remains of one or another product. In the event that the required item is not available, he must inform the customer about this and offer him to increase the volume of goods by a similar item.

Often, under certain conditions, employees have to work in emergency mode. This usually happens in the following situations:

  • with a large number of urgent orders;
  • in case one customer places several additional orders for one shipment date;
  • with uneven receipt of orders (especially late in the day).

Quite often at distribution centers for retail stores, you can see a picture when orders from customers arrive late in the evening, and products need to be shipped early in the morning. This is especially true when products have short sales periods, and store owners, in order to avoid delays, are waiting for the end of the influx of buyers in order to place orders for relatively correct balances. The warehouse can solve this problem by arranging a night shift for sales department employees and order picking employees.

Some stores, depending on demand, may send several orders per day, or make unplanned urgent orders. These factors significantly increase the burden on the sales department employees. To eliminate such loads, it is necessary at the conclusion of the contract, in the supply agreement, to clearly prescribe an individual schedule for the delivery of products. As a rule, the order for 1-2 days precedes the day of delivery. The schedule, as a rule, indicates in what period of time it should be ready for shipment. If the client does not want to order goods according to a certain schedule, then it is possible to reduce the number of additional and urgent orders without providing additional discounts for the goods, as well as by introducing an extra charge for urgent orders. The use of such fiscal measures must be clearly thought out and justified. The customer should be warned about them separately.

Process Automation

The problem of several orders for one delivery date can be solved by automating the process: during the working day, to the accounting program from Email order forms from buyers can be loaded, if there are several orders from one supplier, then in the program they are combined into one common one and processed accordingly.

Identification of the same order occurs according to the following parameters:

  1. client name,
  2. sending email address,
  3. date of shipment of the goods,
  4. contract number, etc.

Further, employees of the commercial department transfer information to the department of picking and packaging of goods. This process is very important and responsible, since the human factor is most involved here, and, therefore, errors are more likely. An address storage system in a warehouse will help to reduce them to a minimum. The presence of subsequent control over the correctness of order picking by warehouse controllers also has a positive effect on the quality of work.

An important quality indicator is the speed of picking goods. Proper organization routes of warehouse workers greatly increases this speed. Its principle is to exclude unnecessary movements of working personnel and auxiliary loading equipment. Such routes are initially planned during the development of storage facilities, they should follow the shortest way around the points of selection of goods. It is undesirable to perform work twice in the same passage. It is best if the route starts at the farthest point from the exit to the warehouse, and ends closer to the exit. This is done in order to reduce the effort to move goods intended for subsequent picking.

Another effective method

One of the most effective methods reducing labor costs for product packaging is the delivery of goods in standard factory packaging (box, pack, pallet, etc.). This question is at the beginning. sales department must discuss with customers. In this situation pitfall there may be an error in determining the number of product units per common package. For example, this is quite common when picking canned food in iron cans. There are 36 cans in one box and 32 cans in the other. In order to avoid such mistakes, warehouse workers must know the assortment of the warehouse, or this should be taken into account when installing a software package for monitoring and managing warehouse cargo flows.

The method of combining orders into a single batch is quite popular today. This method most relevant in cases of delivery of goods by car in one direction. The main advantage of this method is the single route of the order picker, which saves a lot of time on movement approximately in proportion to the number of orders in the batch. But when sorting goods according to customers, additional time is nevertheless spent. Some warehouses successfully use the practice when the sorting process is assigned directly to the freight forwarder when the goods are unloaded to the buyer.