Shipment Management

The Shipment Management feature handles the outbound flow of inventory. When products need to leave the warehouse, shipments ensure the correct stock is reserved, consumed in FIFO order, and tracked through to delivery.

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How Shipments Work

The shipment lifecycle follows a clear sequence:

1. Shipment Created -- a new shipment is initiated with the required products and quantities
2. Stock Reserved -- the system places the required quantities On Hold using FIFO order
3. Shipment Confirmed -- once goods are dispatched, held stock is permanently deducted
4. Delivery Tracked -- the shipment status is updated as it progresses

FIFO in Action

When reserving stock for a shipment, the system always picks the oldest available stock first. This ensures proper stock rotation and accurate cost-of-goods calculations.

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Creating a Shipment

1. Navigate to the Shipments section from the Inventory menu
2. Click New Shipment
3. Fill in the shipment details:
   • Recipient / Customer -- who the shipment is going to
   • Shipment Date -- when the goods will be dispatched
   • Reference Number -- optional external tracking or order reference
4. Add Shipment Items:
   • Select a Product
   • Enter the Quantity to ship
   • The system automatically checks availability across all warehouses
5. Click Save

On save, the system reserves stock by placing the required quantities On Hold across the relevant stock records, following FIFO order.

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Stock Holding Process

When a shipment is saved, the stock holding mechanism works as follows:

Step	Action
1	Identify all stock records for the requested product
2	Sort records by creation date (oldest first)
3	Deduct from the oldest stock's Available quantity until the shipment need is met
4	Move deducted amounts to On Hold on each affected stock record
5	If total available is insufficient, the system warns before allowing the shipment

Example

Suppose you need to ship 50 units of Product A, and the following stock exists:

Stock Entry	Created	Available
Stock #1	Jan 5	30
Stock #2	Jan 12	40

The system will hold 30 units from Stock #1 (consuming it entirely) and 20 units from Stock #2, leaving Stock #2 with 20 available.

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Shipment Statuses

Status	Description
Draft	Shipment created but stock not yet reserved
Pending	Stock has been reserved (on hold), awaiting dispatch
Shipped	Goods dispatched; on-hold stock permanently deducted
Delivered	Shipment received by the recipient
Cancelled	Shipment cancelled; on-hold stock is released back to available

tip

If a shipment is cancelled, all on-hold quantities are automatically released back to available stock. No manual adjustment is needed.

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Managing Shipments

Viewing Shipments

The Shipment List page shows all shipments with the following filtering options:

• Status -- filter by Draft, Pending, Shipped, Delivered, or Cancelled
• Date Range -- filter by shipment date
• Product -- find shipments containing a specific product
• Search -- free-text search across reference numbers and recipients

Editing a Shipment

You can edit a shipment while it is in Draft or Pending status:

1. Open the shipment record
2. Modify items, quantities, or details as needed
3. Click Save -- the system recalculates stock holds automatically

warning

Once a shipment status is set to Shipped, it cannot be edited. If corrections are needed after dispatch, use Stock Adjustments to reconcile.

Confirming Dispatch

When goods are physically dispatched:

1. Open the shipment record
2. Click Mark as Shipped
3. The system permanently deducts the on-hold quantities from stock
4. A stock ledger entry is created for each affected stock record

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Integration with Stock Management

Shipment Management and Stock Management are tightly integrated:

• Stock Availability -- the shipment form checks real-time availability before allowing you to save
• On Hold Updates -- saving a shipment immediately updates the On Hold and Available figures on affected stock records
• Stock Ledger -- every reservation, dispatch, and cancellation is logged in the stock ledger for full traceability
• FIFO Consistency -- the same FIFO rules apply across all shipment operations

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Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
Insufficient stock warning	Check available quantities; process pending receipts first
On-hold quantities not releasing	Ensure the shipment is properly cancelled, not just deleted
Shipment cannot be edited	Only Draft and Pending shipments can be modified
Stock figures not updating after dispatch	Verify the shipment status changed to Shipped; check for errors in logs
FIFO order seems incorrect	Stock is sorted by creation date; verify receipt processing dates