Ever want one item on your order to get pulled before the rest? Is there something in your collection that takes a little extra time to turn around?
Now you can create alternate Off-the-Shelf and Restock Times for individual items.
Maybe your Linens need an extra couple of days to be cleaned and pressed after an event before they’re ready to go back out on another Order. Perhaps you need to pull your chalkboard sign three days before the event so the calligrapher can write that scrolly script.
Within RW Elephant, an Order’s Off-the-Shelf & Restock Times are the most important anti-double-booking feature. This window tells RW how long the Items will be reserved for a particular Order.
Specifically, the Off-the-Shelf Time should be set to the date and time you physically start pulling Items off the shelves to prep for delivery.
The Restock Time should be set to the date and time the Items are returned after the event; including any time needed for cleaning, inspection, etc. before the items are ready to go back out on another Order.
If you have Items on an Order that aren’t necessarily pulled or restocked at the same time, ALTERNATIVE Off-the-Shelf & Restock Times will come in handy!
With Alternative Off-the-Shelf & Restock Times, you set an Order’s overall Off-the-Shelf & Restock Times and then have the ability to pad an individual Item with additional time if it needs more attention before or after the event.
Enable Alternative Off-the-Shelf & Restock Times
Alternative Off-the-Shelf & Restock Times require Admin permissions to enable.
To enable, Admins can head to the Account icon in the upper right corner.
Select “Order Settings” in the column on the left.
Click the green “Edit” button.
Tick the box to “Enable Alternative Off-the-Shelf & Restock Times.”
Please note that once Alternative Times are enabled, they cannot be disabled.
Once you’re ready to enable, click the green “Save” button.
You’ll need to log out of your Account and log back in to see the feature fully enabled.
Head to Orders to check out this new feature in action.
Orders
To get started with Alternative Off-the-Shelf & Restock Times, you’ll first want to set the Order’s overall Off-the-Shelf & Restock Time within the Event & Contact Detail tab of the Order.
Keep in mind that the Order’s overall Off-the-Shelf & Restock Time should be the SHORTEST window possible for the Order (i.e. the Items that have the quickest turn around).
Alternative Off-the-Shelf & Restock Times can only ADD time to the already existing Off-the-Shelf & Restock Time for the overall Order.
For instance, let’s say your Linens need extra time AFTER the event to be cleaned. Additionally, your Vases need to go to the florist BEFORE the event. You’d pad extra time to these Items as seen in the graphic below:
You can ADD time before or after the Order but the Alternative Time CANNOT be shorter than the Order’s overall time.
You wouldn’t set Alternative Times that are shorter than the Order’s overall Off-the-Shelf & Restock Times as in the example below for upholstered seating:
Instead, you’d set the Order’s overall time to that of the upholstered pieces (the shortest window) and pad additional time for other items that need more attention before or after the event.
Set Alternative Times
When you’re ready to set an Alternative Time for an Item on an Order, navigate to the Order and select the Line Items tab.
Click the green “Edit Order” button.
Within the Line Items, select the Item you would like to add time to.
Right click on the Item and select “Adjust Off-the-Shelf & Restock Times.”
A new pop-up window will open to Adjust the Item’s Times.
At the top of the pop-up, you’ll find the Order’s overall Off-the-Shelf & Restock Time in blue as a reference as you’re adjusting Times.
Adjust the Off-the-Shelf and/or Restock Time of the Item in one of two ways:
- Select a specific date and time (i.e. 10/01/21 6:00PM)
- Enter an extra duration of time (i.e. 2 days, 1 week)
You’ll only need to adjust the times that are different than the Order’s overall time.
For example, if you just want to pull the Item earlier, use the calendar picker to choose an earlier day and time for the Off-the-Shelf Time.
Or enter a specific number of days or weeks to pull the piece “Early by.”
Similarly, enter a new specific date or extra time in the Restock section that the Item will be delayed by.
When you’re all set, select “Update Times.”
If the change was successful and there are no conflicts, the Item will now have a BLUE clock icon next to it.
Right click on the blue icon and select “Display Alternative Times” to view the alternative time(s) for the item.
The pop-up will display the order’s overall Time and any alternative times you have entered.
If you’d like to revert back to the times of the Order select “Reset to Order Time” or select “Adjust Times” to further modify the times.
Alternative Times Potential Conflicts
If there was a conflict with the time that you tried to change the Item to, RW will alert you by displaying a RED clock icon next to the Item as well as the clock icon column header will turn RED.
This RED icon is alerting you of a potential conflict for the Item’s alternative times. At this point, RW could not and did not change the times to what you attempted, and you’ll need to review before moving on.
Right click on the red icon and select “Display Alternative Times” to view the potential conflict.
The pop-up will display the times ”You tried” in red.
The green section will display the “Max Safe Zone” that RW suggests. This window is the max window the Item is available within the times you tried.
If you’d like to use the suggested “Max Safe Zone” click the green “Use Safe Zone” button.
If you’d like to keep the Item’s times what they were before you tried to make a change, select “Clear Alert.”
Or select “Adjust Times” to manually edit the times to something new (please note that whatever you choose must be within the Maximum Safe Zone).
Time View
Within the “Line Items” tab of an Order, you’ll find a toggle option in the upper right corner. This toggle allows you to switch between the regular “Line Items” view and the “Time View.”
The “Time View” allows you to view any of the Alternative Times on the Order at once.
Additionally, unlike the Line Items View, the Time View is sortable by columns.
This especially comes in handy when you want to change the times for multiple Items in a particular category.
For example, maybe all of the Stoneware or Flatware on the Order needs two extra days for cleaning before they can be restocked.
In this instance, click on the “Category” column to sort by category.
To select multiple Items at once, select the first Item then hold down “Shift” on your keyboard as you select the last Item in the category.
This will highlight all of the Items between the first and last Item.
Now right click on the Items and select “Adjust Off-the-Shelf & Restock Times.”
In the pop-up, adjust the Times and select “Update Times” to update for all the selected Items.
Keep in mind that when updating times for multiple Items at once, if there is a conflict for ANY of the Items, ALL of the selected Items will receive a RED clock icon.
You’ll then need to go through and manage each of the alerts individually. Some may not actually have a potential conflict but will need to be attended to and confirmed.
Pull Tickets
When Delivery Day approaches, your alternative times will display on the Order’s Pull Ticket.
Pull Tickets will group Items first by their Off-the-Shelf & Restock Time, then by Category, then alphabetically.
Updating Order’s Overall Off-the-Shelf & Restock after Alternative Times
If an Order’s Off-the-Shelf or Restock Time is changed and there are Items on the Order with Alternative Times, RW will attempt adjusting the Items according to the new Time.
Essentially, RW will keep the same buffer window of the original Alternative Times if the overall Off-the-Shelf & Restock Times are updated.
For instance, if you alter the Restock Time to two hours later, RW will attempt to shift all the Alternative Restock Times two hours later as well.
If there is a conflict, those Items will have a RED clock icon next to them. You’ll need to resolve it on an individual-item basis. See how to resolve Potential Conflicts above.
Default Alternative Times
For Items that will always have the same buffer window before or after an Order’s Off-the-Shelf & Restock Time, you can set Default Alternative Times.
For example, maybe your Linens always take three days after they come back from the event to be sent off to the cleaners and returned before they can be rented out again.
To set a Default Alternative Time for an Item, head to the Items icon in the upper left corner of your browser window.
Select the Item you’d like to update.
Click the green “Edit Item” button.
Below the Item image, you’ll find the Alternative Times fields:
You can add more time BEFORE the Order’s Off-the-Shelf Time or more time AFTER the Restock Time of the Order it’s added to.
Enter (in hours) how much time the Item needs before or after the Order.
For instance, with the above Linen example, you’d enter 72 in the “Alt. Restock” field to represent the three days needed for cleaning.
When you’ve finished entering your Defaults, click the green “Edit Item” button.
From now on, anytime you add this Item to an Order, it will take into account the buffer window set through the Default Alternative Time.
Keep in mind that existing Orders with this Item will not be updated. Only Orders the Item is added to after the change was made will have your Default Alternative Time(s).