Release
Release (/fulfillment/release) is the advanced tab that decides when paid orders reach the floor. Warehouse software calls this “waves”; we call it what it does.
On this page
Section titled “On this page”- Continuous is the default
- When holding work back helps
- How release works
- Releasing at a set time
- Release statuses
- See also
Continuous is the default
Section titled “Continuous is the default”Out of the box, release is continuous: a paid, allocated order becomes floor work immediately. Most warehouses should leave it that way — continuous flow is simpler, and the floor pulls work when it is ready rather than waiting for a batch to be cut.
When holding work back helps
Section titled “When holding work back helps”Batched release earns its keep in a few specific situations:
- Carrier cutoffs — cut a release timed to the collection so everything in it makes today’s van.
- Zone balancing — release work sized to the people actually on shift, rather than flooding the queue.
- Priority separation — release express orders as their own batch so they cannot get buried behind standard ones.
If none of those describe your operation, continuous release is the right answer.
How release works
Section titled “How release works”Work accumulates instead of flowing to the queue. You cut a releaseReleaseLetting held picking work reach the floor, in a batch rather than continuously. Warehouse software traditionally calls this a wave. Read more → — by warehouse, priority, carrier cutoff or whatever filter fits — and everything in it becomes floor work at once, appearing in the queue as normal pick tasks.
There is no release setting elsewhere: each release’s timing is decided right here, when you create it.
Releasing at a set time
Section titled “Releasing at a set time”Give a release a time in Send to picking at when you create it. At that time it goes to picking by itself, if it is still planned. The list shows the time under the release name.
The same plan rules apply as when you click Release to floor. If your plan does not allow new orders, the release stays planned, the list says it did not go, and a warning appears under Alerts. It is not tried again by itself: release it by hand once your plan is confirmed.
Leave the time empty to send the release by hand.
To give a planned release a time, click Set time on its row; to move its time, click Change time. Remove the time sends it by hand again. A time in the past is refused.
Release statuses
Section titled “Release statuses”A release moves through planned → released → closed. Closing or deleting a release puts its unfinished tasks back into continuous picking rather than dropping them.
See also
Section titled “See also”- Queue — where released work lands.
- Fulfillment settings — how work is assigned once it reaches the floor.
- Plain-English names — why this is not called “waves”.