How to supply orders for TORU

How do TORUs know which item to pick next?

TORUs determine which item to pick next based on:

its priority
how easily it can be picked together with other items in the backpack
the age (how long it is already in the system).

Please note that TORU does not immediately start working on a new order, but first completes the already planned work. If you submit a high-priority order, TORU will not drop all other orders, but will first execute its previous plan before continuing with the new order.

TORU will not mix items from different processes or priorities within a single tour. Each backpack will be dedicated to either inbound or outbound items, not both.

More detailed information

The primary function of the Magazino batcher is to generate pick lists (tours) that maximize picking speed and minimize robot traffic congestion, thereby improving the efficiency of both inbound and outbound order processing.

Therefore, each TORU robot can process multiple pick lists simultaneously, or it can handle specific parts of a single pick list.
The batcher creates potential tours by grouping items together that:
- are physically located close together
- go to the same putwall / pick cart
- make full use of the robot’s backpack.
The tours are weighted by considering (among other factors) the following criteria:
1. the priority of items to be picked
2. the amount of items that can be picked during the tour (tour size)
3. the age of the included items (how long ago the order containing the items was transmitted from the customer).
The batcher prefers to execute big tours (with many items) first to make sure that the backpacks are always used to their optimum storage capacity.
The batcher typically waits to process small tours so that they can be combined with new orders to create more efficient, larger tours.
Optimizing for tour length and backpack usage maximizes the overall throughput (UPH) of the system.
- In contrast, maximizing the throughput of single orders, e.g. older or higher-priority orders, would have a negative impact on the overall throughput.
The Batcher has no order deadlines and no mechanism for meeting order deadlines; it simply processes the weighted tours one after the other.

How can I make optimum use of Magazino Batching?

Make sure to always leave enough time for the robots to finish the orders.
1. Generally, the more open orders there are, the longer the robots will take to process them. If you need orders fulfilled quickly, avoid overloading the system with too many requests at once.
2. As a general guideline, expect an order of 30-40 items to take approximately 1.5 to 2 hours to complete if there are other open orders in the system.
Make sure to transmit the orders using the correct priorities (orders that need to be completed quickly should have a high priority).

What can I do if my order is running late?

You can cancel the order manually using ARC:
- In ARC, click on “Orders”
- Enter the source or sink of the order you are looking for in the text field at the top left (e.g. the number of the pick cart)
- Click on “Status” to sort the orders by status
- To cancel a "Created" order, click the trash can icon. This will remove the order from the system, and TORU will no longer attempt to pick it.