DTC Order Fulfillment - SLA Calculation Algorithm

This a technical overview of how ShipCalm SLA Date is calculated in our WMS

Direct to consumer (DTC) orders are generally small size, small parcel shipments originating from Brand websites or drop-ship selling channels and going to residential or otherwise non-business addresses.

ShipCalm reserves the right to change our ShipCalm SLA algorithm.  For example, ShipCalm may add time to the DTC SLA date due to nationally recognized holidays when ShipCalm operations are closed.  Please reference our SLA definition document for details.

There are also specific time periods when ShipCalm suspends or alters the terms of this agreement due to predictable fluctuations in volume that create volatile variance such as holiday peak periods.  Please remember it is always ShipCalm’s intention to meet or exceed expectations.

ShipCalm SLA Date

The “ShipCalm SLA Date” is the day we expect an order to be marked as shipped from our facilities and a tracking number sent to the end-customer.  The selected carrier will usually pick up the shipment on this day as well.

Step 1: Set Order Ready Date based on fulfillability and warehouse-local NOON cutoff time

The ShipCalm Order Ready date is set if and only if an order is FULFILLABLE, meaning available inventory exists in the warehouse where the order is routed and an appropriate shipping carrier has been selected, as follows:

• If the order is FULFILLABLE from the warehouse where the order was routed, then:
  • If an order is created or updated in Infoplus BEFORE NOON in warehouse local time (12 pm PST for Whiptail Warehouse in California, and 12 pm EST for Camby Warehouse in Indiana), then the ShipCalm Order Ready Date is set to either:
    • A) The same business day as the Infoplus Last Modified Date or 
    • B) The next business day if the order was created on a non-business day.
  • If an order is created or updated in Infoplus AFTER NOON in warehouse local time, then the ShipCalm Order Ready Date is set to the next business day after the Infoplus Last Modified Date.
  • After the Order Ready Date is set, subsequent order modifications DO NOT change the Order Ready Date provided the order remains fulfillable.  
  • If the order becomes unfulfillable before it is shipped, then the Order Ready Date is reset.
• If the order is UNFULFILLABLE from the warehouse where the order is routed, then the ShipCalm Order Ready Date is unset  until the order becomes fulfillable.
  • If there is insufficient inventory available and the receipt of new inventory into the warehouse is completed BEFORE NOON in warehouse local time, then the ShipCalm Order Ready Date is set to the same business day as the inventory receipt date.
  • If there is insufficient inventory available and the receipt of new inventory into the warehouse is completed AFTER NOON in warehouse local time, then the ShipCalm Order Ready Date is set to the next business day after the inventory receipt date.
  • If there was no carrier or an invalid carrier selected for the order and a new valid carrier is selected BEFORE NOON in warehouse local time, then the ShipCalm Order Ready Date is set to the same business day as this change.
  • If there was no carrier or an invalid carrier selected for the order and a new valid carrier was selected AFTER NOON in warehouse local time, then the ShipCalm Order Ready Date is set to the next business day after this change.

At this point, we set: ShipCalm SLA Date = Order Ready Date.

Step 2: If necessary, add 2 business days for Compliance Requirements

The ShipCalm SLA Date may be extended out beyond our standard same day or next day fulfillment commitment if the order has special compliance requirements, for example, unique packing SOPs or other special handling requirements, non-standard packing slips, outbound serial number tracking, additional non-standard QC processes, etc.

In any of these situations, we set: ShipCalm SLA Date = Order Ready Date + 2 business days.

Glossary of Order Date Fields