Order Throttling For Kitchen Capacity

This is now available in the Incentivio Dashboard!
Check out our Dashboard - Kitchen Capacity (Order Limits) Guide for details!

This article will cover everything you need to know about the Order Throttling feature. This can be used alongside our existing throttling feature due to the fact that it is based on current kitchen capacity.

1. Feature Overview
2. How to Enable Order Throttling
3. How to Use the Order Throttling Table
4. Customer View
5. FAQ

Feature Overview

The Order Throttling For Kitchen Capacity feature allows you to manage your kitchen's capacity by limiting the amount of orders coming in through two different ways; the first way being Order Throttling by Order Count and the other by $ Amount Spent. You can set a limit on how many orders can be received and/or the $ amount that can be received in 15 minute increments throughout each day to ensure your kitchen can meet the orders coming in. 

• Throttling by Order Count
  • Set a limit for the number of orders you want to receive during specific periods of times
    • Example: no more than 10 orders from 12:00pm - 12:15pm, 12:15pm - 12:30pm, & 12:30pm - 12:45pm. 
       
• Throttling by $ Amount Spent
  • Set a limit for the total $ value of orders you are willing to accept for any time of day or day of the week.
    • Example: no more than $400 worth of orders from 12:00pm - 12:15pm, 12:15pm - 12:30pm, & 12:30pm - 12:45pm.
      
      

How to Enable Order Throttling

To enable and configure Order Throttling for Kitchen Capacity follow the steps below:

1. Log in to the Incentivio Admin Portal
   
   
2. On the left side menu, select Setup and then Store Ordering Setup
   
   
3. Edit the location you want to setup Order Throttling for
   
   
   
   
   
4. A new section will appear titled "Order Throttling by Quantity and $ Amount."
   
   • You can also add a custom message that is displayed to the customer if a selected time slot is full
     
     
5. Select the option(s) that you would like to throttle by clicking on the check mark box next to the desired throttle type
   • Here you can enable Order Throttling by Order Count and/or $ Value
     
     
6. Set a default value and apply it to the table
   • For throttling by Order Count, you will be able to set the Default Maximum Order Count per 15 minutes
   • For throttling by $ Value, you will be able to set the Default Maximum Total $ Value per 15 minutes
     
     
     
     
7. Once the default value has been applied, every cell in the table that your location is open for will be filled with that number. From here, you can now use the table to bulk edit specific days and time slots that may have a different number outside of the default value. 

How to Use the Order Throttling Table

The Order Throttling table allows you to do the following:

• Set a default value that is applied to every time slot
• Bulk edit the value for certain days and time slots
• Bulk edit the value to be unlimited for certain days and time slots

To set a limit for specific days and time slots, you will need to:

1. Select the days you want to add a limit value to from the days field
   
   
   
   
   
2. Once the days are selected, you can select the time slots that you would like to apply a limit value to from the Time Range field
   
   • The Time Range field will display times in 15-minute increments 
     
     
3. Once the days and time range have been selected, choose whether you want the limit to be Fixed or Unlimited
   • Unlimited - no limit for the selected time range
   • Fixed - allows you to enter a value that caps the amount of orders you receive for the selected time range
     
     
4. Click Apply and you will see the changes that you made reflected in the table

Other notes about the Order Throttling Table include:

• Time slots are grayed out where your location is closed
• Unlimited time slots will be left blank
• 15 minute time slots are standard and cannot be changed

Note: We cannot edit individual time slots on the table itself at this time, but are looking to add it in the near future.

Customer View

When Order Throttling is active, your customers will see when the next available time slot to place an order is. We have changed our time + date picker to only show the next available time slot, as well as show grayed out time slots after the next available time so they know what times are unavailable later. 

If your kitchen is at capacity according to the Order Throttling table, then a message will appear when customers are placing orders stating that "Due to high demand, the next available time slot for an order to be placed is later than expected" 

[insert customer facing pictures here]

FAQ

Q: Can I choose to throttle by $ Amount and Order Count

A: Yes, you can set both throttle types up. The time slot will be considered unavailable once either of the throttle types are met.

Q: For $ Value orders, what happens if someone places a $410 order and I have each time slot set for $200.

A:  The $410 order will look for the next available opening and assign the order value across multiple time slots. 

• So, if the first closest time slot has $10 left, then $10 of the $410 will be allotted to that time slot.
• The next time slot has $200 available, then $200 of the $410 will be allotted to time slot #2.
• The next time slot has $200 available, then the remaining $200 of the $410 order will be allotted to time slot #3.
• Using this example, then the next available time slot for anyone to put an order in will be time slot #4. 

Q: Can I use this alongside the "Pickup Order Throttling" and "Delivery Order Throttling" features? Or do I need to choose one or the other? 

A: You can use them all at the same time! The "Pickup Order Throttling" and "Delivery Order Throttling" features allow you to change the prep time based on time of day, day of week, and/or the size of the the order. The "Order Throttling by Quantity and $ Amount" feature is keeping a count of total orders per 15 minutes and/or $ value per 15 minutes, so the two features don't contradict each other and can be used simultaneously.