Default Order Times

If the majority of your Delivery and Will-Call Orders follow a similar structure, Default Times will give you a head start in the Order creation process.

Let’s say you always deliver on Fridays from 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM and pick up on Sundays from 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM. Or maybe you consistently pull your Orders on Thursdays and restock on Mondays.

Configure these as default settings and let RW fill in your Order Times for you. Once auto-filled, Order Times can always be edited on an Order-by-Order basis, but using Default Times will save you a bit of time upfront.

If you don’t use consistent default times across your Orders, feel free to head to the next section and come back to this setup later.

To set your Default Order Times, head to the “Account” icon in the upper right corner of your browser window.

Select “Order Settings” from the column on the left.

Here you’ll find the “Delivery Order Times” and “Will-Call Order Times” tabs.

Let’s start with “Delivery Order Times.”

Click the green “Edit” button.

All default times will be dependent on the Event Start Date & Time that you enter on an Order.

Event End Time

First, configure your Default Event End time.

Depending on when your events start, when do your events generally end?

After a certain number of hours? (e.g. 6 hours after Event Start)

At a specific time on a specific day? (e.g. 11:59 PM, on Event Day)

Choose which parameter is most applicable to your rental biz.

For example, if you enter the Event Start as Saturday at 4:00 PM with the Event End default set 6 hours later, RW will autofill Saturday at 10:00 PM for the Event End.

Or if your events always end at 11:59 PM the same day they start, then select the second option. Enter “11:59 PM” and choose “Event Day” from the drop-down.

Now that you’re getting the hang of it, let’s set up your Delivery & Return Windows.

Delivery & Return Windows

Your Delivery Start Time will be the moment your team can begin the delivery drop-off.

Here you’ll have four options for your Default Delivery Start Time:

1. A certain number of hours BEFORE the Event Starts (e.g. 4 hours before Event Start)
2. A specific time & a certain number of days BEFORE the Event Starts (e.g. 8:00 AM, 2 days before Event Start)
3. A specific time on a specific day of the week (e.g. 8:00 AM on Thursday)
4. TBD — if you generally don’t know Delivery Windows upfront (e.g. the Venues you work with usually set Delivery Times)*

Once you’ve chosen one of the above options, you’ll enter how long the Delivery Window should last in hours.

For example, if your Deliveries are from 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM on Friday, you’d enter “5” for your delivery length.

Next, choose your Return Window time frames. This is the window of time your delivery crew can pick up the rental pieces after the event.

Similarly, you’ll have four options for your Default Return Start Time:

1. A certain number of hours AFTER the Event Ends (e.g. 1 hour after Event End)
2. A specific time & a certain number of days AFTER the Event Ends (e.g. 8:00 AM, 1 day after Event End)
3. A specific time on a specific day of the week (e.g. 8:00 AM on Sundays)
4. TBD — if you generally don’t know Return Windows upfront (e.g. the Venues you work with usually set Delivery Times)*

Once you’ve made your selection, enter how long the Return Window lasts in hours.

Off-the-Shelf & Restock Times

Lastly, set up your default Off-the-Shelf and Restock Times. Remember these from the Quick Start Guide?

You’ll hear us talk about these fields a lot.

The Off-the-Shelf and Restock Times are THE MOST IMPORTANT fields on an Order in RW Elephant when it comes to Item availability.

The Off-the-Shelf Time is the moment you begin pulling and prepping the Order— before you deliver and even before you load the truck back at your warehouse.

For Default Off-the-Shelf Times, you’ll have three options dependent on the Delivery Start Time RW just auto-filled for you.

1. A certain number of hours BEFORE the Delivery Start (e.g. 5 hours before Delivery Start)*
2. A specific time & a certain number of days BEFORE the Delivery Starts (e.g. 8:00 AM, 1 day before Delivery Start)*
3. A specific time on a specific day of the week (e.g. 8:00 AM on Thursdays)*

Now, remember the Restock Time should account for all the time it takes after the Delivery Pickup. Including, but not limited to, driving back to your warehouse, unloading the truck, cleaning and inspecting the pieces, and finally restocking them on the shelves.

Default Restock Times will give you three options determined by the default Return End you’ve selected.

1. A certain number of hours AFTER the Return End (e.g. 12 hours after Return End)*
2. A specific time & a certain number of days AFTER the Return End (e.g. 4:00 PM, 1 day after Return End)*
3. A specific time on a specific day of the week (e.g. 5:00 PM on Mondays)*

TBD Caveats

If you choose TBD for your Delivery or Return Windows, there are a couple of things to keep in mind.

RW will leave the Delivery and Return Window fields blank on the Order if you’ve selected TBD.

On your Invoice PDFs, Delivery Tickets, and Pull Tickets, these windows will display TBD until you enter a time.

Once you’re happy with your Delivery Defaults, click the green “Save” button.

Will-Call Order Times

If you offer Will-Call as an option for customers to pick up their rentals, you may consider setting up your Will-Call Default Order Times as well.

Select the “Will-Call Order Times” tab.

Click the green “Edit” button.

Follow the same structure as your Delivery Order Times for Event End.

As for Delivery Start for Will-Call, this is the beginning of the time frame your customers can come to your warehouse to pick up their rentals.

Let’s use the example that your Will-Call Pickups are always the same time frame every week for all Orders. For instance, 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM on Fridays at your warehouse.

For this scenario, you’d choose the third option— a specific time on a specific day (e.g. 10:00 AM on Fridays before Event Start).

Enter the number of hours the Delivery Window (aka Pickup Window) lasts.

In this example, you’d enter “6” for your Delivery Window Length (i.e. 10:00 am to 4:00 pm is 6 hours).

Next, configure your Return Window— aka the window of time your customers can drop off their rentals after the Event.

Again, if you use the same time frame every week (e.g. 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM on Sundays), then you’ll choose the third option for the Return Start. For your Return Window Length, you’d enter “5” hours.

Lastly, configure your Off-the-Shelf and Restock Times, taking into account how much prep time you need before Pickups to get the items ready as well as any time after Returns to inspect and restock the Items.

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Now that you’ve set up your Default Order Times, you can begin creating Orders in a jiff!

Just remember when creating an Order, you’ll need to select the Order Type FIRST (i.e. Delivery or Will-Call) and then enter your Event Start. This will ensure RW auto-fills your times exactly how you’d like them.

So, let’s get to it!