Use the Order Scheduling tab to limit the number of delivery orders or to-go items accepted for a defined time segment. This allows operations to accept only a number of future orders that is appropriate for the expected number of driver and kitchen resources. This limitation can reduce the number of customer complaints received as a result of over-committed driver resources and sub-standard food quality. The system manages the available time segments across multiple terminals on a first-come first-serve basis. You can make the schedule complex or simple, according to your business needs.

Order Scheduling tab

You configure Order scheduling in two parts:

Part 1 — Schedule

The schedule defines the business periods of the week. Business periods should include:

• Times when a site is closed and not accepting takeout and delivery orders.
• Meal periods, like breakfast, lunch, and dinner, when kitchen and driver staff are scheduled to fulfill takeout and delivery orders.
• Times between meal periods, where a site is open and accepting ATO orders, but capacity varies due to kitchen and driver staffing changes.

Business periods are broken into time segments. Time segments typically align with an average delivery run or logical business time period.

Part 2 — Capacity

The capacity defines the number of orders or items that can be produced within a given time segment. This is based on the schedule defined above.

Group Bar: Settings

Use the Weekly Properties options to enable or disable order capacity tracking, and define the default time segment lengths.

Enable order capacity tracking — Causes the program to track the number of orders and items, per time unit, enforcing limitations you place upon them. When selected, the Tracked Order Modes tab and Capacity Tracking tab appear. Related Options: To allow an employee to override the order capacity restrictions, select ‘Can override order capacity’ in Maintenance > Jobcodes > Pos Access Levels and then assign the access level to the employee.

Enable variable time segment by Order Mode — Allows you to choose a specific order mode for which to compare actual orders to configured order scheduling limits. Once you select the order mode to view, the order capacities appear on the Capacity Detail screen for each time segment, as usual. Documented Version: v17.1.

Default display time segment length — Defines major time segments that break the day into manageable periods. The program breaks the day up into the length of time you specify in the drop-down list. If you set this value at ‘15’, the program depicts the day in 96 segments of 15 minutes each.

This setting is also used as the ‘Inherited display time segment length’ for the weekly schedule. Unless overridden by the weekly schedule, this value becomes the ‘Inherited display time segment length’ for the day and sub-block settings.

When you select ‘Show time segment breakout,’ the display time segments appear on the Future screen, breaking the ‘Covered time span’ into multiple segments.

Default capacity time segment length — Specifies the length of time for which the program tracks order capacity. If you set this value at ‘15,’ the program depicts each segment of time throughout a day in 15-minute segments, except as modified in the ‘Order schedules’ section. You should base this time value on a length of time used to measure an average employees item count production or an average delivery run time for a driver.

Start day of the week — Specifies the day of the week on which your scheduling segments begin. Select the appropriate day from the drop-down list.

Order Scheduling id="schedules-tab"> Schedules tab

Use the Schedules tab to establish your weekly schedule and to define capacity tracking.

Group Bar: Order schedules

Provides configuration options for a selected time segment, and specifies order limits for each segment. Segments of time inherit order limits in accordance with a hierarchy, based on the weekly schedule, day, and sub-blocks, respectively. Each element inherits the characteristics of the one above it, and can pass them to the next lower segment at an equal or more restricted level.

This relationship is used to create a business schedule for the week.

• Use ‘Covered time span’ to create closed and open time segments for pre-open, lunch, dinner, and closed periods of the day.
• Create additional time spans to cover afternoon, happy hour, or late night time spans.
• Use ‘Capacity time segments’ to define how many items or orders a site can produce within that amount of time.
• Use ‘Display time segments’ to define manageable segments and how they appear on the Future and Dispatch screens.

For example, a lunch period may be made up of a two hour and 30 minute covered time span, using 15 minute capacity time segments, appearing in 15 minute display time segments. The afternoon period may be a four hour and 30 minute covered time span, using 15 minute capacity time segment, appearing in a 4 hour and 30 minute display time segment, since there are fewer orders during this time and the time breakout is not as important.

Each configuration element within Schedule Block Properties has an on-screen Help statement to explain its function. These configuration elements are as follows, with brief summaries of their Help statements.

Weekly Schedule Panel

This part of the screen enables you to review how a week is scheduled. Right-click the daily segment (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, etc.) to add a separate sub-block of time, or right-click within a sub-block of time to add a new sub-block within it. You can manipulate this section to collapse or expand all, one, or several specific time blocks to view their contents. Use the options in ‘Schedule Settings’ and ‘Capacity Tracking’ to define the times and order capacities for each selected time block.

Order Scheduling > Schedules id="schedule-settings-tab"> Schedule Settings tab

Use the Schedule Settings tab to define an override setting for ‘Capacity time segment length’ and ‘Display time segment length.’

Group Bar: General

Name — Specifies the label for a day-long time segment or for a smaller time segment within a day, Weekly and day names are not editable, e.g. Monday. Name sub-blocks within each day with an appropriate name, e.g. Lunch.

Show in week summary — This option is no longer used and is targeted to be removed from future configuration tools.

Group Bar: Capacity time segments

Capacity time segment length — Specifies a segment of time across which production capacity limitations apply, as defined by item or order limitations. If you specify 00:15:00 (no hours, 15 minutes, and no seconds), ‘limit item count’ and ‘limit order count’ capacities are based on how many items or orders a site can produce within the 15 minute capacity time segment.

Inherited capacity time segment length — The capacity time segment length defined by the ‘Default display time segment length’ in Weekly Properties.

Group Bar: Display time segments

Specifies if time segments appear on the Future and Dispatch screens, to help improve the management of orders in line with capacity management.

Show time segment breakout — Enable segments to appear within the ‘Covered time span’ on the Future and Dispatch screens based on the ‘Display time segment length’ setting.

Display time segment length — Defines how the time block is broken out on the Future and Dispatch screens, when you select ‘Show time segment breakout.’ A four hour breakfast ‘Covered time span’ may be broken out into 15 minute display segments to better manage capacity and dispatch. Typically, a ‘Display time segment length’ equals the ‘Capacity time segment length’ setting within the sub-block. However, they can vary, to limit FOH scrolling and to account for smaller screen resolutions.

Inherited display time segment length — The display time segment length defined by ‘Default display time segment length’ in Weekly Properties.

Order Scheduling > Schedules id="capacity-tracking-tab"> Capacity Tracking tab

Capacity tracking defines the number of future orders and future order items employees are allowed to schedule during a capacity time segment. If a capacity is not specified, the system uses the inherited delivery capacity. Required Options: You must select ‘Enable order capacity tracking’ for this tab to appear.

Return to the Schedules tab, select a time segment in the ‘Order schedules’ preview frame. Click the ‘Capacity Tracking’ tab to the right to edit the capacity for the selected time segment.

item capacity — Defines the number of items, in the item category, that can be produced within the ‘Capacity time segment length’. The ‘.... item capacity’ can be set at the Weekly Schedule, weekday, or segment level. The ‘... item capacity’ should account for the expected number of kitchen staff scheduled within the selected segment and their expected productivity.

Inherited item capacity — Capacity tracking can be set at the ‘Weekly Schedule’ and weekday level. The ‘Inherited ... item capacity’ displays the item capacity set weekly or by weekday, if configured. If both are set, the weekday item capacity appears as the inherited. This allows you to set the normal capacity for most segments, then override the item capacity by order type on segments when staffing increases or decreases.

order capacity — Defines the number of orders, for the selected order mode type, that can be produced within the ‘Capacity time segment length’. The ‘... order capacity’ can be set at the Weekly Schedule, weekday, or segment level.

Order Scheduling id="tracked-order-modes-tab"> Tracked Order Modes tab

Use the Tracked Order Modes tab to provide the ability to limit order or item counts for an order mode.

Group Bar: Settings

Order and item count limitations are configured by selecting an order mode, such as Delivery.

Order mode type — Click Add to select order modes to include in capacity tracking.

Limit order count — Enables ATO to limit the number of future orders, for a selected order mode, that can be scheduled. The exact number of orders is configured in a later section by day and time segment.

Limit item count — Enables ATO to limit the number of items on future orders, for the selected order mode, that can be scheduled.

Labor time capacity tracking — Enables the system to limit the amount of labor time on future orders, for the selected order mode, that can be scheduled.

From item category — Specifies an item category for which ATO limits an item count. Select an existing category or create a new category in category maintenance by clicking the ‘From item category’ link. The objective of an item category is to include items produced by the kitchen that have a productivity threshold based on the number of kitchen employees expected for a given day or segment.

Tracked with... — Allows the item count limit to be combined with other order mode types. If the kitchen can only produce x number of an item category, this may split up between delivery, call-in, and Web orders. The selected order mode type is automatically enabled and grayed out. Select additional order mode types to combine item category counts toward the item category count limit. Additional tracked with order mode types include:

• call-in
• catering
• curbside
• delivery
• faxed in
• walk-in
• Web