Create Picking Waves for Outbound Orders

Last updated: 2026-08-12

1. Scenario

Wave creation assigns reviewed, inventory-allocated, unshipped orders to picking waves. After creation, GWMS records the wave number, picking method, picker, and order details so the warehouse can print picking lists, pick inventory, perform secondary sorting, or ship by order.

This page supports three business types:

• 【Dropshipping】: supports 【Pick by SKU】, 【Secondary Sorting】, and 【Pick by Order】.
• 【Stock Transit】: uses Pick by Order and creates one wave for each order.
• 【Container Redistribution】: uses Pick by Order and creates one wave for each order.

Do not use this page for orders that have not been reviewed or allocated, have already been waved or shipped, or are parent orders in a parent-child order group. Stock Transit orders must also pass customer-service review.

2. Steps

Prerequisites

1. Your account can access GWMS-Outbound Management-Wave Creation and use 【Create Wave】.
2. The order is 【Reviewed】, 【Not Waved】, and 【Not Shipped】.
3. Inventory has been allocated. Orders that require labels must have usable label files.
4. A Stock Transit order has passed customer-service review.

2.1 Find orders ready for wave creation

1. Go to GWMS-Outbound Management-Wave Creation.
2. Select 【Warehouse】 and 【Business Type】. 【Dropshipping】 is selected by default. If your account has only one warehouse, GWMS selects it and runs the search automatically.
3. Set filters as needed:
   • 【Carrier】, 【Zone】, 【Location】, 【GSKU】, and 【Serial Number Management】;
   • 【SKU Quantity】 range, 【Picking Quantity】 range, 【Customer Code】, and 【Created At】;
   • 【Order No.】: accepts WMS order number, platform order number, reference number, tracking number, and return tracking number. Separate multiple values with spaces or commas;
   • 【Order SKU Type】: 【Single SKU Single Item】, 【Single SKU Multiple Items】, or 【Multiple SKUs】. The number beside an option is the matching order count;
   • 【Shipping Channel】: only channels with wave-ready orders for the selected warehouse and business type are shown. The number beside an option is the order count.
4. Click 【Search】.

System feedback:

• GWMS prompts 【Please select a warehouse】 or 【Please select a business type】 when either required value is missing.
• Zone and shipping-channel options reload when the warehouse or business type changes, and previous selections are cleared.
• Results are sorted by creation time in descending order. Each row represents one order, and the GSKU column lists each item as GSKU*quantity.
• Use 【Save Filter】 to store the current conditions. Use 【Restore Filter】 to apply, reorder, or delete saved filter presets.

2.2 Select orders and check the summary

1. Check 【Customer Code】, 【WMS Order No.】, 【Order SKU Type】, 【GSKU】, 【Location】, 【Channel】, and 【Created At】.
2. Select the orders to include.
3. Check 【Order Count】, 【Item Quantity】, 【SKU Count】, 【Location Count】, 【Total Volume (m³)】, and 【Total Volume (cuft)】 above the list.

With no selection, the summary covers all current search results. After selection, the label changes from 【Query】 to 【Selected】 and the summary covers selected orders only.

2.3 Open the Create Wave dialog

1. Click 【Create Wave】.
2. GWMS validates the selection:
   • no selected order: 【Please select data to create waves】;
   • mixed business types: 【Orders of different business types cannot be mixed in one wave】;
   • 【One Item per Package】 and 【Multiple Items per Package】 cannot be mixed;
   • if multiple carriers are present, choose 【Ignore and Continue】 or 【Cancel】 in the confirmation dialog.
3. After validation, GWMS opens 【Create Wave】.

2.4 Set the picking method and confirm

1. Select 【Picking Method】:
   • 【Pick by SKU】: available for Dropshipping and selected by default when every selected order is Single SKU Single Item;
   • 【Secondary Sorting】: used for consolidated picking followed by order sorting; it is the default when the selected Dropshipping orders are not all Single SKU Single Item;
   • 【Pick by Order】: organizes picking by order. Stock Transit and Container Redistribution only provide this method.
2. Set 【Orders per Wave】:
   • shown for Pick by SKU and Secondary Sorting;
   • also shown for Dropshipping with Pick by Order;
   • blank or 0 creates one wave for all selected orders; a positive integer splits orders into waves of that size.
3. Optionally select 【Picker】 and enter 【Remarks】. Picker options come from the selected warehouse.
4. Click 【Confirm】.

2.5 Check the result

GWMS displays 【Creating waves...】 during processing. When creation succeeds, the 【Waves Created Successfully】 dialog lists each 【Wave No.】, 【Picker】, and 【Carrier】. Click 【Confirm】 to close it and refresh the list.

Result:

• Selected orders change from 【Not Waved】 to 【Waved】 and receive a wave number and wave time.
• New waves start as 【Not Picked】 and 【Not Shipped】.
• GWMS creates picking details from allocated locations and sorts them by the warehouse picking route.
• Orders that require labels are included in the wave label ZIP. Orders configured without labels are skipped.
• Continue in GWMS-Outbound Management-Wave Management to print, pick, or cancel the wave.

3. Notes

3.1 The page only lists wave-ready orders

GWMS always limits this page to Reviewed, Not Waved, and Not Shipped orders, and excludes parent orders in parent-child groups. Stock Transit orders that have not passed customer-service review are also excluded. These fixed statuses are not editable filters on the page.

3.2 How orders are split into waves

Example: select 25 Dropshipping orders and enter 10 in Orders per Wave. GWMS creates three waves containing 10, 10, and 5 orders.

Stock Transit and Container Redistribution always use one order per wave, so Orders per Wave is hidden.

For Dropshipping with Pick by Order, a single-order wave uses the WMS order number as its wave number. A multi-order wave receives a new wave number.

3.3 GWMS validates orders again on submission

An order may change after the page is opened. On confirmation, GWMS checks that every order and detail still exists, is not assigned to another wave, has passed review, has allocated inventory, and has not shipped. If validation fails, refresh the page and select eligible orders again.

3.4 Label problems can stop wave creation

For orders requiring labels, GWMS assembles label files while creating the wave. A missing label URL, missing label file, or packaging error stops the operation. Repair or retrieve the label on the outbound order, then retry. Orders configured not to require labels are unaffected.

3.5 Canceling a wave

Cancel an unshipped wave in GWMS-Outbound Management-Wave Management. GWMS clears the wave assignment and returns its orders to 【Not Waved】. A wave cannot be canceled if any order in it has shipped.

4. FAQ

Q1: Why are Zone and Shipping Channel cleared after I change Warehouse or Business Type?

A1: These options are generated from wave-ready orders in the current warehouse and business type. GWMS clears and reloads them to prevent an out-of-scope filter from being reused.

Q2: Why can't I find an order?

A2: Confirm the selected warehouse and business type, then check that the order is reviewed, inventory-allocated, not waved, and not shipped. A Stock Transit order must pass customer-service review. For a parent-child group, use the child order.

Q3: Why can't the selected orders be waved together?

A3: One operation can contain only one business type and one package type. Split the selection by business type and by One Item per Package or Multiple Items per Package. Multiple carriers are allowed only after confirmation.

Q4: Why are Secondary Sorting and Pick by SKU unavailable for Stock Transit or Container Redistribution?

A4: These business types always use Pick by Order and create one wave for each order.

Q5: What should I do if GWMS says an order already belongs to a wave?

A5: Find the order in GWMS-Outbound Management-Wave Management. If it must be waved again, confirm it has not shipped and cancel the original wave first.

Q6: What should I do if a label file is missing during wave creation?

A6: Return to the outbound order and retrieve or repair its label, then retry. If the order is configured not to require a label, GWMS does not include it in the wave label ZIP.