Clustering

📦 Understanding Clustering in Canary7

🔗 What is Clustering?

Clustering in Canary7 is a two-step system that groups individual jobs (usually shipments) into clusters for more efficient processing.
It helps warehouse operatives pick multiple orders simultaneously, each into a designated container or Cluster Position.

🔄 How Clustering Works

1. 🧠 Cluster Job Creation Master
   Defines the logic for clustering, including:

   • Job Types

   • Max/Min Cluster Positions

   • Sorting rules

2. 📋 Cluster Planner
   Applies your clustering rules to selected jobs and generates optimised cluster jobs for execution.

🧱 Cluster Job Creation Master

This module defines how jobs should be grouped into clusters.
Each Cluster Position represents a tote or container (e.g., Cluster 3 = Tote 3).

📌 Note: This Job Creation Master does not include a WHERE tab, unlike others.

Add Cluster Job Creation Master

📝 General Tab – Required Fields

🔄 Job Type Tab

• Primary Selection – Tick the Job Type selected in the General tab

• Additional Job Types – Optionally include others if clustering needs to handle multiple job types

Click Submit to continue editing.

🔢 Order By Tab

Click on Order by Tab

To access:

1. Locate your Cluster Job Creation

2. Click the ⋮ Three Dots > ✏️ Edit

3. Open the Order By Tab

Drag fields such as:

• Location Code

• Pick Walk Sequence

This controls the sequence of instructions within each cluster.

📋 The Cluster Planner

🗂️ Job List Tab

• Shows all current jobs (e.g., shipments)

• Users tick jobs to include in a plan

• Open the Ellipsis menu and click “To Plan” to move selected jobs forward

🔧 Plan Creation
Create a new plan or select an existing one
📝 Provide:

• Plan Name

• Cluster Job Creation configuration

📘 Plan Tab

This tab manages your cluster plans:

🧾 Summary

✅ Use Cluster Job Creation Master to define the structure
✅ Use Cluster Planner to select, group, and plan jobs
✅ Execute plans to generate optimised, efficient cluster jobs

📦 Cluster Picking – Executing the Job

Here is an example of a typical Cluster Picking execution

Note: This may change depending on the number of verifications you have selected on your Shipment Picking Profile

• 🧮 Scan From Location Check Digit

🔍 Verify Item Code

🔢 Verify Quantity

✅ Scan the Label of your Cluster Tote

Note: If you run out of space in your initial Cluster Position Tote, you can scan another Container in, this will associate a secondary container to that Cluster Position

December 2025 Updates (Staging only) 

Note: The below functionality is currently only available on staging environments:

🔄 How Clustering Works

1. 🧠 Cluster Job Creation Master
   Defines the logic for clustering, including:

   • Job Types

   • Max/Min Jobs

   • Max Instructions

   • Where Criteria

   • Sorting Rules

2. 📋 Cluster Planner
   Applies your clustering rules to selected jobs and generates optimised cluster jobs for execution.

🧱 Cluster Job Creation Master

This module defines how many jobs and instructions should be grouped into clusters, along with defining the maximum weight of the cluster job.

Add Cluster Job Creation Master

📝 General Tab – Required Fields

🔄 Where Tab

With the 2025 changes to Cluster Job Creation Master, the job tab has been removed and replaced with the where tab.
This operates similarly to other 'Where' functions found within Canary7. 

📝Adding Order by's 

To access:

1. Locate your Cluster Job Creation

2. Click the ⋮ Three Dots > ✏️ Edit

3. Open the Order By Tab

   Drag fields such as:

   • Location Code

   • Pick Walk Sequence

🔢Cluster Order By Tab

This controls the order in which jobs are selected to be added to the cluster.

🔢Order By Tab

This controls the order in which instructions are selected to be added to the cluster. 

📋 The Cluster Planner

🗂️ Job List Tab

• Shows all current jobs (e.g., shipments)

• Users tick jobs to include in a plan

• Open the Ellipsis menu and click “To Plan” to move selected jobs forward

🔧 Plan Creation
Create a new plan or select an existing one
📝 Provide:

• Plan Name

• Cluster Job Creation configuration

📘 Plan Tab

This tab manages your cluster plans:

Creating Clusters On Demand

Creating on Demand Clusters is on possible on Auto Initiation. 

Inside the Shipment Picking Profile menu users will find the cluster tab and inside a check box to enable Cluster Job on Demand.

When enabled drop down option will appear that will allow the user to select which Cluster Picking Job Creation Master is run when initiating a job.
The available selection from the drop-down will be based if any of the enabled job types on Shipment Picking Profile match the job type of the Cluster Picking Job Creation Master. 

📦 Cluster Picking – Executing the Job

Here is an example of a typical Cluster Picking execution

Note: This may change depending on the number of verifications you have selected on your Shipment Picking Profile

• 🧮 Scan From Location Check Digit

🔍 Verify Item Code

🔢 Verify Quantity

✅ Scan the Label of your Cluster Tote

Note: If you run out of space in your initial Cluster Tote, you can scan another Container in, this will associate a secondary container to that Cluster Position