Request a shipment from the portal

Summary

A shipment notice asks the warehouse to prepare and dispatch your goods: which products, how many, by when, where to and with which carrier. Sending it creates a draft shipment that the warehouse reviews, confirms, allocates and dispatches.

It is done in the portal, Shipments section, Notify shipment button (also on the Overview page).

Before you start

Your account needs Write on Shipments.
The warehouse must have the shipping module enabled. If you work with several warehouses, pick the one the goods ship from at the top: the notice is created in the selected warehouse and you only see stock there.
The products must already exist in your catalog for that warehouse. Products cannot be created here.

Step by step

Click «Notify shipment».
Enter the requested date and any transport details you have.
Enter the destination.
Add the lines with their quantity.
Attach documents if you have them.
Click «Send notice». You get «Shipment notice … sent to the warehouse» with the shipment number, and the new shipment opens.

Transport details

Field	Required?	What to enter
Requested ship date	Yes	Today or a future date. It is the date you ask for, not a confirmed appointment.
Reference	No	Your order number, up to 64 characters.
Carrier and Driver	No	Who picks up, if you already know.
Trailer / Container #	No	The trailer or container number that will be loaded.
Seal #, PRO # and Tracking	No	Whatever you have from the carrier. If you do not know yet, leave it blank; the warehouse fills it in.
Notes	No	Preparation or delivery instructions, up to 2000 characters.

Destination

Ship-to name is the consignee. Below it goes the address: Address Line 1 and Line 2, Postal Code, Country, State and City. Typing the postal code fills in city and state. None of the destination fields is required, but a shipment without an address means the warehouse has to call you.

The lines and available stock

Each line is one of your products and a quantity greater than zero: here the quantity is required. Search by SKU or name, or use the magnifying glass to pick several at once.

Next to each product you see what is Available (your pieces minus what is already set aside for other shipments). If you ask for more than is available, the quantity turns red as a warning, but the notice can still be sent: the warehouse will allocate whatever there is.

You can also load lines with Import lines from Excel/CSV, just as in the inbound notice: SKU and quantity columns, up to 500 rows and 5 MB; SKUs that are not yours are listed separately and not added. Make sure every imported line has a quantity: a line without one prevents sending the notice.

The documents

In the Attachments block, drag or choose up to 10 files, PDF, JPG or PNG up to 10 MB each: the purchase order, the consignee labels, the instruction letter. They are attached to the shipment and the warehouse sees them there.

What happens next

At the warehouse: a Draft shipment is created with «portal» as its source and your shipment number. The staff bell shows «New shipment notice» if the warehouse has that event on.
The warehouse confirms it and allocates the goods. At that point the allocated amount comes off your Available figure in the Inventory section.
In your list you follow it: Confirmed → Allocated (or Partially allocated, if there was not enough) → Loading → Shipped.
When the shipment is closed, your stock goes down and, if your warehouse set it up, you get the shipment-shipped email with what went out.
If the warehouse charges for shipping, the charge is created when the shipment is closed, according to your rates.

The full path is in From order to departure.

Full example

Luis Pérez, from Pacific Brands, needs to send goods to Central Warehousing on Tuesday:

Requested date: Tuesday the 20th. Reference: ORD-1204. Carrier: Southern Logistics. He leaves the rest of the transport blank.
Destination: Central Warehousing, its address and postal code.
Lines: MP-300 × 200 (Available 500) and MP-310 × 80 (Available 60, shown in red).
He decides to send it as is and attaches the purchase order.

The warehouse confirms and allocates: all of MP-300 and 60 of MP-310. The shipment is Partially allocated and the warehouse calls him to decide whether to wait or ship 60. They ship 60; the shipment-shipped email shows 80 ordered and 60 shipped.

Edit or cancel

While the shipment is still a Draft with no truck assigned, its detail shows the blue box with Edit notice and Cancel notice. It only applies to shipments your company requested from the portal.

Edit notice changes the date, transport, destination and lines; the new lines replace the old ones. The document number stays the same.
Cancel notice asks for a Reason (3 to 500 characters) and cannot be undone from the portal.

Once the warehouse confirms it, changes are requested from the warehouse directly.

Special cases and limits

Goods not available: the notice does not block, but the warehouse can only allocate what there is. Any shortfall is sorted out with you.
Products in another warehouse: a shipment leaves from a single warehouse. If you need goods from two warehouses, send a notice in each.
The shipment detail shows the quantity ordered per line; the actual shipped quantity arrives in the shipment-shipped email.
Cancelled by the warehouse: if the warehouse cancels the shipment, you see it as Cancelled in your list.
Shipments the warehouse created: if the warehouse entered the order itself (by phone, API or EDI), you see it in your list and its detail, but you cannot edit or cancel it from the portal.
Several destinations: each notice has a single consignee. To ship to two addresses, send two notices.

What the warehouse sees

Your notice appears in the warehouse’s shipment list like any other shipment, as a Draft, with your document number, your reference, the destination you entered, the lines ordered and your documents in its attachments. The warehouse can fill in details you left blank (carrier, trailer, seal) and, on confirming it, allocates the goods following its outbound rules (usually oldest first). From there it prints its outbound documents, loads and closes the shipment.

Messages you may see

Message	What it means
«Shipment notice … sent to the warehouse.»	The draft shipment was created with that number.
«Notice updated.»	Your changes were saved; the number is the same.
«Notice … cancelled.»	The shipment is cancelled and cannot be reactivated from the portal.
«SKUs not found in your catalog (not added):»	When importing, those codes are not yours in the selected warehouse.
«Pick an option from the list»	You typed in the search but did not pick a product.
«Your account does not have access to this section»	Your account does not have Write on Shipments.

Best practices

Check what is Available before sending; if something shows in red, decide whether to wait or remove it.
Request as far in advance as possible.
Enter the consignee’s full address, including postal code.
Put your order number in Reference so you can find it later.
If you change your mind, cancel the notice while it is still a draft instead of creating another one on top.

Troubleshooting

A product I do have does not show up.

Check you are in the warehouse where it is stored. Only your active products in the selected warehouse appear.

Sending shows an error on a line quantity.

In shipments every line needs a quantity greater than zero. Remove lines you are not using.

Sending shows an error on the date.

The requested date is required and cannot be in the past.

I can no longer edit the shipment.

The warehouse has confirmed it or assigned a truck. Ask for the change directly.

Frequently asked questions

Can I change the address after sending?

Yes, with Edit notice, while the shipment is still a Draft with no truck. After that, ask the warehouse for the change before it is loaded.

Can I request a product that is not in my inventory?

No. Unlike the inbound notice, products cannot be created here: only what already exists in your catalog for that warehouse can be shipped.

What if I request more than is available?

The notice is sent anyway. The warehouse allocates what there is and the shipment may stay Partially allocated until the difference is sorted out with you.

How do I request something urgent?

Send the notice with today’s date and also let the warehouse know by phone or email: the portal does not set priorities.