Task Group

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To avoid conflicts, a task group should only be handled by one port at a time.

taskgroup_id

The taskgroup_id is a unique identifier for a task group. This value uniquely distinguishes the task group from all others in the system.

shipment

A shipment represents a collection of task groups that are normally picked together (i.e. loaded onto the same pallet).

The shipment property is a numerical identifier, and task groups with the same shipment value belong to the same shipment.

A task group can belong to only one shipment, as the shipment property holds a single value.

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The purpose of shipments is to ensure that a given set of task groups are finished together before the port(s) continue with other task groups. So having only a single task group in each shipment is pointless.

The shipment property is optional, and a task group is not required to belong to a shipment.

category

The category property restricts which Ports are allowed to pick tasks from a task group.

A task group must belong to exactly one category, and only Ports that are configured to allow that category are permitted to select and pick the task group.

req_time

The req_time property is used to prioritize task groups.

It is not logically connected to the current system time, but instead acts as a sorting value together with the priority property.

Whether a task group can be started or completed before its requested time depends on available system resources and the operational situation, such as the composition and status of the task queue. It is not a strict or binding parameter.

This property can be used when operations require the implementation of a warehouse cut-off time.

priority

Task groups are prioritized based on their req_time and priority. Task groups with the earliest requested time have the highest priority.

If multiple task groups share the same requested time, they are ordered by priority, where a lower numerical value indicates a higher priority, meaning priority 1 is higher than priority 2.

AutoStore does not strictly follow this ordering and may deliver lower-priority task groups earlier in order to optimize overall system throughput.

start_time

The start_time property defines when a task group becomes eligible for selection. If the start_time is set, the task group will not be selected by AutoStore (i.e. delivered to a port) until the specified time is reached. However, the task group can still be prepared using available system resources.

The start_time property is optional, and if it is not set, the task group may be selected immediately after it is created.

suspended

A task group that is suspended will not be selected by AutoStore.

The suspended property may be set by the closeport method if the WMS closes a Port while the task group is selected.

The suspended state is cleared when the WMS explicitly selects the task group again (i.e. update_taskgroup).

The suspended property is optional.