Shipments

In PrepFlow, a shipment is a collection of orders grouped together with defined quantities for dispatch to a specific destination or integration (e.g., FBA, WFS, FBM).

Shipments are the bridge between inventory and outbound fulfillment — they track what’s being sent, through which integration, and at what stage of completion.

What Is a Shipment?

A shipment represents a group of orders that share a common destination or integration workflow.
Each shipment contains:

• The list of orders or inventory items included
• Quantities of each item being shipped
• The assigned client
• A status (Requested, Working, or Shipped)
• A linked workflow (e.g., FBA, WFS, FBM)

Shipments act as the operational container that moves your prep center’s work from
“ready to send” → “in progress” → “completed.”

How Shipments Are Created

Shipments can be created in three ways:

1. From the Inventory Page

Admins can manually create shipments using existing inventory.

• Go to Inventory
• Select the items you want to include
• Click Actions → Create Outbound Shipment
• Enter the quantities per item and optionally a shipment name
• Click Create Shipment

This method is most common for controlled, staff-created outbound workflows.

2. Automatically (via MOQ Settings)

If a client has a Minimum Order Quantity (MOQ) rule set, PrepFlow can automatically create a shipment request when the threshold is met.

For example:

If a client’s MOQ is 100 units, and their inventory reaches that amount, PrepFlow will automatically group those items into a Requested Shipment.

This helps automate recurring fulfillment cycles for clients with predictable volume.

3. Client-Initiated (Manual Requests)

Clients can also manually request shipments directly from their dashboard.
They select inventory or orders, define quantities, and submit a shipment request.

Client-created and MOQ-created shipments both start in the Requested status.

Shipment Statuses

Each shipment progresses through a clear, three-stage lifecycle:

Requested → Working

When a shipment is first created, it sits in Requested status:

• Not billed yet
• Can be reviewed or deleted
• Client can still unrequest or modify it

Once you open the shipment:

• Status changes to Working
• Client can no longer modify it
• Integration-specific workflow begins

Working → Shipped

After completing the workflow (e.g., FBA, FBM, Manual):

• Click Mark as Shipped
• Shipment moves to Shipped
• It is transferred from Worklist → Shipments to Outbound
• Billing and post-shipment logic is triggered (based on your settings)

Where to Find Shipments

Worklist → Shipments

Contains all active shipments:

• Requested and Working shipments
• Daily operational workspace
• Filtering, searching, and workflow actions

Outbound

Contains all completed shipments:

• Shipment details
• Integration type
• Completion timestamps
• Tracking and documentation

Outbound Scanning Tab

PrepFlow includes a Scanning tab in the Outbound section, designed to verify packages as they physically leave your warehouse.

Just like inbound scanning, this feature is built for accountability, loss prevention, and reconciliation — but focused on outbound shipments.

Purpose of Outbound Scanning

The outbound scanning workflow helps you:

• Confirm that packages actually left the warehouse
• Detect incorrect carriers before packages leave
• Catch duplicate or invalid tracking numbers
• Maintain a full audit trail of outbound package handling
• Identify who scanned each package if issues arise later

How Outbound Scanning Works

1. Go to Outbound → Scanning
2. Select the carrier you are scanning for:
   • UPS
   • USPS
   • FedEx
   • (others as enabled)
3. Begin scanning package tracking numbers using a barcode scanner

Scan Results & Warnings

PrepFlow validates every scan in real time:

✅ Successful Scan

A scan is successful if:

• The tracking number belongs to a shipment
• It matches the selected carrier
• It has not been scanned before

When successful:

• A confirmation appears on screen
• A success sound plays
• The scan is logged with timestamp and user

⚠️ Warning Scenarios

A warning (visual + sound) is triggered if:

• The scanned tracking does not belong to any shipment
• The tracking was already scanned previously
• The tracking carrier does not match the selected carrier (e.g., scanning USPS while UPS is selected)

Even when a warning occurs:

• The scan is still logged
• The system records who scanned it and when

This ensures nothing is lost or ignored, even in error cases.

Audit & Reconciliation

All outbound scans — successful or not — are stored permanently.

Each log includes:

• Tracking number
• Detected carrier
• Selected carrier
• Scan result (success or warning)
• Scanning user
• Date and time

This makes it easy to:

• Investigate missing or disputed shipments
• Identify process errors
• Improve outbound SOPs
• Resolve client claims with hard data

Finishing a Shipment

Once scanning and dispatch are complete, the shipment lifecycle is finished.
The shipment remains available in Outbound for reporting, reconciliation, and client transparency.

For workflow-specific details, see: Integrations → Fulfillment Type