NOTE
The Pio app functionalities presented in this article are only visible to Pio Admins.
Topics covered in this article
Order prioritization types
How to set the rules
Block orders from going to picking
Important to remember
When do rules come into effect?
Order prioritization types
Pio Admin users can choose how to prioritize orders that come to picking by adding business rules. There are three types of order prioritization rules:
Shipping methods
You can prioritize specific shipping methods. Suppose you for example know that DHL always comes to pick up the packages at 2 PM. In that case, you can set a prioritization rule that prioritizes all the orders where DHL is the chosen delivery method and make sure that they are sent to ports before 1 PM so you have time to pack them all before they are collected.
Webshop/order channel
If you have several webshops or order channels, orders from a specific webshop can be prioritized. You can add a rule to prioritize orders from a specific store that need to be fulfilled before 11 AM.
Tags
The third option is to use order tags in your webshop and create a rule for them. You can for example create an order tag 'Urgent' in your webshop and create a rule that matches that tag to send those orders to picking immediately.
Note that the tag name in your webshop and the tag name in Pio has to be 100% match. Note also that your webshop and integration towards Pio need to support tagging. This is the default functionality in Shopify and in the Pio Shopify integration.
How to set the rules
Go to Dashboard > System Settings > Organisation settings > Order prioritization.
If this is the first time you are creating prioritization rules, select the green 'Create new rule' button:
If you have created rules before, but want to add another rule, click the 'Create new rule' button in the top right corner:
First, select the type of rule you want to make (category). Then select the rule variant. If you are making a rule for shipping methods or webshop, Pio will automatically show you the available options (shipping methods/webshops that you have).
If you create a rule for a tag, add the tag name in the 'Order tag' field. The tag name has to be a 100% match to the tag name you use in your webshop (for example 'Urgent').
Lastly, choose the handling time. You can also set custom handling time.
Create a new prioritization rule
The following example shows how to set up a rule to prioritize all orders with the shipping method 'Fedex Home Delivery', and make sure they will be sent to picking before noon.
1. Select the 'Category' Shipping:
2. Select the shipping method to prioritize:
3. Select a given 'Handling time' or 'Set custom time' for when the orders should be prioritized to:
4. Save the new rule
A warning will show when you click 'Save'. This is just a reminder that having multiple prioritization rules can slow down the order preparation.
Custom handling time for rules
You can set a custom handling time for any type of rule, instead of using the predefined handling times. The custom handling time can be set to 'Before', 'Within', or 'Block'. Use 'Handling time: Within' to specify the hours and/or minutes the orders should be picked within.
Block orders for picking queue
You can block specific orders from going automatically to picking by using order prioritization rules. Add a new rule with the category and type you want to block, and then select: 'Set custom time': 'Block'.
These orders will be transferred to Pio, but they will not go to picking and will stay as 'Blocked' until someone manually changes them.
This is useful when you have multiple online stores, for example for B2B and B2C orders. You can use tags to block the B2B orders and have full control of when the order should go to picking.
Force a blocked order to the picking queue
If an order is blocked from going to picking, you still have the option to force it into the picking queue. Find the order in Pio app admin > Orders and select 'Queue all missing items':
Important to remember when setting up the rules
Having many rules will harm the performance of the system, so we recommend keeping the number of rules at a minimum. A store should never add more than a maximum of 5 rules.
You can drag and drop the rules in the overview list to prioritize them by holding the dot icons on the left-hand side circled below.
If rules conflict with each other (same handling time for example), the rule on top of the overview will be prioritized.
When do rules come into effect?
The rules will be applied immediately. This is something to take into account if you create new rules or change existing rules that are very different from existing rules.
The new rules will also affect the orders already in progress and planned by Pio, so it can greatly slow down the system while the system plans everything again. That's why we recommend creating rules outside of busy picking periods.