Order Cutoff Meaning

An order cut-off is the time of day after which an order will not be processed for the current dispatch cycle. Orders received before it are picked and delivered in that cycle; orders after it are scheduled for the next one.

Because picking, invoicing, load building and route planning all need a fixed order book. Adding an order after picking begins forces stock reallocation, repeated pick paths, extra invoice runs and changes to a vehicle already loaded in delivery sequence.

A late order delays every outlet after it on the route, not just itself, because the load plan and route sequence change. Cut-off indiscipline is the largest structural cause of poor OTIF in most operations and is frequently blamed on transport instead.

Work backwards from when the first vehicle must leave to finish its route within retailer receiving hours, subtracting loading, invoicing, picking at realistic throughput and order consolidation time. What remains is the latest defensible cut-off.

Let the system assign post-cut-off orders to the next cycle automatically rather than leaving it to a person at the counter, define a formal exception path with a cost attached instead of ad hoc favours, and report late-order percentage by salesman.