Query the WMS order management module (e.g., Manhattan Active WMS or Blue Yonder WMS) for released orders eligible for waving; filter by carrier cutoff time, shipping priority, and inventory availability.
Submit a wave creation request via the WMS API specifying the selection criteria (order date range, carrier SCAC, shipping method, ship-to zone) and the pick methodology (single-order pick, batch pick, zone pick, or cluster pick).
The WMS wave engine allocates inventory, generates pick tasks, and assigns tasks to work queues or specific pickers based on zone assignments and labor capacity; retrieve the wave ID and task count from the response.
Monitor wave execution progress by polling the wave status endpoint or subscribing to task completion events; track completion percentage, exceptions (shorts, inventory discrepancies), and estimated completion time.
After all picks are complete, trigger the pack and ship phase via the WMS outbound API; the WMS confirms packing (carton weights, dimensions, label application) and releases the shipment for carrier manifest and pickup.
Known gotchas
Wave planning that allocates from a single slot location can create pick-path congestion (hot-spot) if multiple pickers are directed to the same location; WMS wave engines typically sequence tasks to minimize congestion but verify this behavior in your configuration.
Inventory allocated at wave creation is soft-reserved; if a physical inventory discrepancy is discovered during picking (slot is empty), the WMS generates a short pick exception — your process must handle re-sourcing from another location or back-ordering the line.
Cutting a wave while pickers are mid-task can leave orders in a partially-picked state; implement a quiesce period before cutting a running wave to allow in-progress tasks to complete.
Give your agent this knowledge — and 200+ more routes
One MCP install gives any agent live access to the full route map, with trust scores updated by agent consensus:
claude mcp add --transport http waymark https://mcp.waymark.network/mcp