Request and approve stock transfers

Use a transfer request to ask for stock at a destination, then review where that stock should come from. Submitting the request records demand. Approving origins commits stock and creates the transfers and pick work needed to move it.

This guide uses a request for 72 each of Kraft mailer (MAILER-KR6) at Outlet, supplied from Main Warehouse. Substitute your own locations and actual requirements. Although one case contains 24 each, enter 72 when the line's Unit is each—not 3.

Before you start

The material must exist, and the destination must be an active location connected to a stock pool. The source and destination must represent different pools; two Shopify locations that share one physical pool do not need a transfer between them. See Locations and stock pools.

Requesting and approving are separate permissions. A person who can request stock may still need someone else to approve its origins. Approval depends on eligible origins and stock that can be claimed now, not simply the quantity shown as on hand.

Create the request

1. Open Inventory → Requests, then select New request. The Requests tab initially shows submitted requests; change Decision status if you need to find drafts or earlier decisions.
2. Set Destination to Outlet. The requester chooses where stock is needed; the approver chooses its origins later.
3. Enter Needed by if there is a deadline. Add useful Notes, such as the replenishment reason or receiving constraints.
4. Under What is needed, use Search materials to add Kraft mailer. Check the material and Unit, then enter 72 in Quantity.
5. Add other required materials or use Remove to discard an unwanted line. Every included line needs a positive quantity accepted for that material's unit.
6. Select Save draft to review the request before submitting, or Create and submit to send it directly for approval.

A draft can be submitted from its detail page using Submit for approval. Creating or submitting it does not ship stock, receive stock at Outlet, or create a purchase order. Verify the destination and quantities before submitting; the detail page is primarily for decisions and progress tracking.

Review and approve origins

1. Open the submitted request from Requests. You can also select Needs approval from Transfers.
2. Check its destination, deadline and requested quantities. In Approve, select Propose origins.
3. Review each candidate's Claimable now, Lead time (days) and Eligibility. Not covered is the quantity the proposal cannot currently supply. Inbound (forecast only — not claimable) is information about expected stock; it cannot be approved as though it were already available.
4. Review the prefilled Origin location and Quantity from for each proposed pool. For the example, confirm Main Warehouse and 72 each. If you cannot identify a displayed location or pool reference, have an administrator confirm it before approving. A replacement origin location must belong to the proposed pool.
5. Adjust the quantities or select Exclude for an origin you do not want to use. Include restores an excluded origin. The total selected for a line cannot exceed its Unallocated quantity.
6. Select Approve selected origins. Check the updated decision and line quantities before moving to Pick, dispatch and receive transfers.

Approval is the commitment step. It creates the associated transfer work for the selected origins; it does not mean the goods have reached Outlet. One request can be supplied from several origins, and those portions can move and arrive separately.

If availability changes after the proposal, Zapstra Inventory Management can refuse approval and load a refreshed proposal. Review it and approve deliberately again. An oversized approval is refused rather than silently reduced.

If you already know the origin and have both permissions, Inventory → Transfers → Create transfer offers Create and approve now. Choose the origin, destination and quantities first; this button records the request and approval together. If approval is refused because you lack permission, Submit as a request instead preserves the requested lines and destination for someone else to approve.

Partly approve or reject the outstanding quantity

Suppose Outlet requests 72 each, but you approve only 48 each from Main Warehouse. The request becomes Partly approved, with 48 allocated and 24 unallocated. The approved portion can proceed while the remaining 24 each awaits another decision.

Return to Propose origins to approve the remaining quantity when an eligible source is available. To decline it, enter a Reason for rejection and select Reject request. On a partly approved request, rejection applies to the unallocated remainder; it does not undo the 48 each already approved.

Read decision and execution separately

The request carries two statuses because approval and physical fulfilment happen at different times.

The line table separates Requested, Allocated, Unallocated, Rejected, Cancelled, Shipped and Received. Allocated stock is not received stock. A fulfilled request can include cancelled or rejected quantities; Received tells you what actually arrived. Use the quantities and individual transfer records to understand a split request, rather than relying on one badge.

Cancel the right scope

Enter a useful Reason before cancelling:

• Cancel request is available before approval, for a draft or submitted request.
• Cancel the unshipped remainder cancels the quantity still Unallocated. It leaves already approved transfers and their stock commitments in place.
• Cancel everything not yet shipped also attempts to cancel approved transfers that have not shipped. It requires approval permission. Shipped work remains available for receipt and any short-receipt decision.

Cancellation is not a reversal of goods already moved. If A cancellation is still running on this request appears, inspect the current request and retry that cancellation to resume it. Do not create a replacement request merely because some associated transfers have cancelled and others have not.

Recover from unavailable data or a conflict

If locations or requests could not be loaded, use Try again or reload. An unavailable list does not mean there are no records. If no origin passes eligibility checks, review the named reasons and location setup; increasing the requested quantity will not make an ineligible origin usable.

For This request has moved on since the page loaded, select Reload, review the current quantities and decide again. After a timeout, inspect the original request before repeating approval or creating another request. Include its reference when contacting Support.

Related guides

• Pick, dispatch and receive transfers
• Understand stock quantities and record adjustments
• Manage users and permissions