Pick, dispatch and receive transfers

Record each stage of a stock move when it happens: pick at the origin, dispatch the shipment, then receive the quantities that physically arrive. An approved request, a dispatched shipment and stock received at the destination are separate results.

The example is 72 each of Kraft mailer (MAILER-KR6) moving from Main Warehouse to Outlet. Use your actual shipment and the unit shown on each line. A carrier's delivered status does not replace your receipt.

Find the transfer work

For an approved transfer request, open Inventory → Tasks → Transfer tasks. Open the task for the correct transfer and shipment. The work types are Pick, Dispatch, Receive and Short receipt; their statuses are To do, In progress, Done, Cancelled or Exception.

Only perform the action appropriate to the current task. Approval creates pick work; completing the necessary picks makes dispatch work available, and dispatch creates receiving work. If the list could not be read, retry it rather than assuming there is nothing to do.

Pick at Main Warehouse

Open the Pick task and check the transfer reference and material quantities.
Under Pick this shipment, choose the Origin stock pool for Main Warehouse. This loads the bins holding the materials. Selecting a pool does not change the approved origin.
Choose the actual Bin and enter Quantity picked for each line you are picking now. For the example, enter 72 each only if you have picked all 72.
Select Record picks, then review the recorded result and Already picked quantities.
If you pick in stages or from different bins, enter only the next additional pick after checking the previous result. Replace the earlier form values; do not submit the same physical pick again.

Picking assigns specific stock to the transfer's existing commitment. It does not record departure or add stock at Outlet. Dispatch becomes available once the shipment's required picks are complete. A bin outside the approved origin pool is refused; if the expected bin or stock is missing, check bins and stock assignment before proceeding.

Dispatch the shipment

Return to Transfer tasks and open the corresponding Dispatch task.
Check that the goods are ready to leave. Enter Carrier and Tracking number when applicable.
Select Dispatch when the shipment departs, then verify the recorded result.

Dispatch reduces Main Warehouse's on-hand stock and moves that quantity into stock in transit. It also consumes the transfer's stock commitment. The goods are not yet on hand at Outlet. See Stock quantities for how commitments, in-transit stock and availability differ.

Receive a full or partial delivery

Open the shipment's Receive task at Outlet. Count the goods that have arrived and verify their identity and unit.
Enter Quantity received for each line being received now. These are additional quantities for this receipt, not cumulative totals. Leave untouched lines blank; the form requires a positive quantity for every included line.
Make an explicit choice in Is this group closed short? There is no default:
- No — the rest is still in transit keeps any outstanding quantity open. Use this when you are not declaring a missing balance final.
- Yes — whatever has not arrived is not coming ends receiving work for this shipment group and raises any shortage for review.
Select Record receipt and check the recorded quantities and task status.
If more arrives later, reopen the outstanding Receive task and record only that additional delivery.

The short-close choice applies to the whole shipment group, including any lines left blank. Keep it open if any of that shipment is still expected.

For example, if 48 of the 72 each arrive first, record 48 and choose No. When the remaining 24 each arrive, record 24, not 72. Each receipt increases Outlet's on-hand stock and reduces the quantity still in transit from Main Warehouse.

A normal partial receipt leaves receiving work open. Full receipt finishes that work. Closing short also finishes the receiving task, but it does not mean the missing goods were received or that the underlying transfer is Completed.

Resolve a final shortfall per allocation

A Short receipt task directs you to Open the transfer request. Under Short receipts awaiting a decision, handle each displayed allocation separately. An allocation is the portion of one request line assigned to one origin shipment.

Identify the affected allocation and confirm what shipped and what was received.
Choose What happens to the shortfall:
- Close it — nothing more is coming cancels that missing quantity on the request.
- Reallocate it — put the quantity back up for approval returns that quantity to unallocated demand. It needs another reviewed approval; no replacement transfer is created automatically.
Enter a useful Reason, select Resolve this leg, and verify the request's quantities.

Do not treat another origin's shipment as missing just because it has not arrived yet. For a request split into 48 each from Main Warehouse and 24 each from another origin, a final receipt of 44 from Main Warehouse creates a shortfall of 4 each on that allocation. The other 24 each remains a separate shipment in transit.

Closing a request shortfall is not an inventory write-off. If missing stock remains in transit, investigate the shipment and its inventory history using Reconciliation and activity. If nothing at all arrived, do not enter a fictitious positive receipt to reach the short-close control; contact Support with the transfer reference.

Work from a transfer record

Inventory → Transfers also exposes a direct transfer workflow. Select Create transfer, choose Origin and Destination, add materials and quantities, and review the commitment before selecting Create Transfer. The locations must belong to different pools, and direct creation requires both requesting and approval permissions.

On an Open transfer, use Assign Shipment to Lines to select the lines travelling together, add carrier/tracking details and select Assign Shipment before using Ship. A shipment's Print shipping label downloads a receiving label identifying that shipment; it does not purchase carrier postage. Carrier status and ETA appear when available.

For a simple transfer with one shipped shipment, the detail page offers Confirm Receipt. Review every Receive Qty first: these fields start at the planned quantities, not a calculated remaining balance. Enter only the quantities arriving now. A partial receipt does not close the missing balance. Use the Receive task for request-based transfers, especially further partial deliveries and explicit short-close decisions. If a direct transfer has several shipments or already has a partial receipt and no Receive task is available, contact Support before another detail-page receipt.

Complete Now on an Open transfer posts the full planned shipment and receipt together. Use it only when the entire physical move has already happened and both ends are confirmed. Cancel applies before shipping. Reverse on a Completed transfer reverses recorded inventory effects when permitted; it is not a way to resolve a shipment still in transit. Review the confirmation and resulting stock before continuing.

Verify the outcome and recover safely

Check the transfer's Planned and Received line quantities, shipment progress, and any associated request. Transfer statuses are Open, In Transit, Completed, Cancelled and Reversed. A task marked Done describes that task, not necessarily the entire transfer or request.

Shopify quantities follow the affected pool's inventory authority and syncing settings. Recording a transfer does not by itself enable syncing. Verify both Zapstra Inventory Management stock and the relevant Shopify locations when checking the final result.

If a task has changed since loading, reload and review it before resending. After a timeout or uncertain response, check the original task, shipment and quantities first. Report persistent placement refusals, missing data or unexplained in-transit balances through Support; do not post an extra transfer or receipt to make a badge look complete.