This page shows how Descartes Peoplevox customers use action profiles to create pick actions automatically: one runs its day shift with nobody creating actions by hand, the other releases picking in three waves at fixed times. Use their set-ups as a starting point. For what each field does, see Understanding and Using Actions.

Key Points

Give each kind of order its own profile: held, express, single, multi. Separate profiles are easier to read, pause and fix.
A profile with a Minimum order threshold creates nothing until enough orders qualify, so add a clear-up profile with no threshold at your cut-off.
A Daily profile runs at the time of day in Schedule from. For several fixed times, use one profile per time.

Flowchart: held orders go to a sweep profile, express orders to the express profile, standard orders batch at the threshold or at the cut-off clear-up.

Tip: Plan your set-up as a workflow before you create profiles. It helps you define what each profile needs to do.

Before You Start

Applies to: Actions > Action profiles and Actions > Setup > Order filters in the web app. Profiles create pick actions only.
Requires: a saved order filter for each kind of order, and the roles you release actions to.
Permissions: read access to action profiles to view them, edit access to create, edit or run them.
Doesn't cover: allocating from bulk or by zone (see Advanced action creation (Advanced allocation)).

Example 1: Run the Day Shift Unattended

Your company's day shift runs from 06:00 to 15:00, with nobody creating actions by hand. Team leaders no longer stop to batch work. Five profiles run through the day, between 06:00 and 14:30 on the days the shift works:

Action profiles list showing stop-ship sweep, express, singles, multis and clear-up profiles with their schedules.

The thresholds stop a picker being sent out for a handful of orders: set yours from the batch a picker can carry, then adjust after a week. Only one action creation runs at a time, and when profiles fall due together the lowest Sequence runs first, so held orders are swept out and express orders batched before the standard waves.

Hold Stop-Ship Orders Automatically

A stop ship flag stops an order being despatched, not picked (see Stop Ship). Setting this profile to priority 1 means the system checks for flagged actions on the cadence that you set it:

In Actions > Setup > Order filters build a new order filter for orders with the stop ship flag set.
Create a profile with that filter, Assign role to [No one], and run it Every 15 minutes with sequence 1.
A supervisor reviews the held orders. Cancelling an order deletes its unstarted action. If the hold is lifted, delete the action in Actions > View actions so the order returns to the pool.

Pause Profiles on a Busy Day

On a busy day the retailer runs only express: set each standard profile to "Inactive", or turn off Scheduling enabled and turn them back on when express is clear. Profiles pause one at a time, so name them by shift to find the set quickly.

The Profile active selection toggles the profile on and off if needed.

Catch the Last Orders of the Day

Near the cut-off, a clear-up profile batches the remaining orders at the end of the day:

Create a profile with the same order filter and action type as your standard profiles, and leave Minimum order threshold empty.
On the Schedule tab, turn on Scheduling enabled, set Recurrency to Daily and Schedule from to the cut-off, for example 14:30. The Day time window must include that time.
Give it the highest Sequence number, so it runs after the standard profiles.

Process for setting up a clear-up profile, which excludes Express and orders with the Stop Ship flag.

To decide on the day instead, leave it unscheduled and click Run profile at the cut-off.

Roll Out in Stages

Start with one profile in a quiet period and small batches of single-item orders. Check each run in Actions > Action creation activities to confirm the intended items are pulling through correctly. Add the next profile only when the first behaves as expected.

See action creation activities on this page to confirm status, timestamps and originating profiles. For more details on an individual activity click "View Action Activity".

Example 2: Release Actions at Fixed Times

Your company has two shifts. You want to release picking waves at 06:00, 12:00 and 16:00 so that work reaches each shift in a predictable pattern. This needs three profiles with the same order filter, action type and batch size:

Action profiles list with three daily wave profiles whose executions are set to: 06:00, 12:00 and 16:00.

Peoplevox counts a profile's runs from its Schedule from time, so each runs once a day at that time on every selected week day, if the time is inside the Day time window. The end of the window is excluded, so a window ending at the run time misses it. Putting the time in the name shows the day's schedule in the profile list.

Adapt the Examples to Your Workflow

You may need to fine-tune these examples or build new ones. Consider the following when you set up action profiles for your current workflows:

Decide whether to split work between profiles or combine it.
Decide how your work splits: by order priority, carrier, size, zone or destination.
Match urgency with schedule cadence and priority. For example: Express orders repeat once every 15 or 30 minutes at priority 1, 2-3 day delivery runs once per day.
Decide whether you want a person in the loop. A profile does not have to run on a schedule. You can set it up and run it by hand.
Test one profile first to become familiar with the process, then improve it and build on it.

If Something Goes Wrong

What you see	Why	What to do
Orders are still unbatched at the end of the day	The Minimum order threshold was not met on the last run.	Add a clear-up profile with no threshold at the cut-off.
A Daily profile ran at the wrong time, or not at all	It runs at the time in Schedule from, only inside the Day time window on a selected day.	Correct Schedule from, widen the window to include it, and check Next execution at.
Express orders went into a standard wave	The standard profile ran first, or its filter also selects express orders.	Give express a lower Sequence and exclude express services from the standard filter.
A profile ran but created no actions	No orders matched its filter, or too few for the threshold.	Open the run in Action creation activities, then check the filter.

Before You Contact Descartes Customer Support

Note these details so Descartes Customer Support can find the run quickly:

The profile name and site
The action creation ID from Action creation activities, if the run appears there
The date and time it ran or should have run, with your time zone
A sales order number that was, or was not, batched as you expected

Understanding and Using Actions, for every field on the action creation page and the action profile.
Advanced action creation (Advanced allocation), for allocating from bulk locations or by zone.

Automating Action Creation: Worked Examples