How stock is allocated to orders

In short

When an order is accepted, Stockist reserves particular units for each line, oldest or soonest to expire first. The first order accepted keeps its stock, and a short order tops up by itself as stock arrives.

Stock is reserved at acceptance

The moment an order is accepted, each line reserves units of the client's stock. This is its Allocation: named units in named locations or containers, not a count.

The order then shows Allocated, Partially Allocated or Awaiting Allocation, and the Order Timeline says how much each line got:

Stock partly allocated: NTC-TEE-SGE-M 120 of 121. The rest waits for stock.

An order held at intake reserves nothing until its holds clear and it is accepted. An order on a client account that is On Hold is still allocated.

Which stock can be allocated

Only Allocatable Stock is reserved. That is the client's Available stock at the order's warehouse:

• in a location that is Active, allows picking and is marked allocatable;
• in a location that isn't Flagged for Count;
• loose, or in a container, open or closed;
• not expiring before the order's Must-Ship-By day.

Stock on the dock, in staging or in quarantine is never allocated. To pick only from pick faces, mark your reserve locations not allocatable: see Add or change a location.

Which units go first

The client's Stock Rotation Policy, frozen when the order was accepted, decides:

Policy	Goes first
FIFO	The stock received first. Stock received on the same day counts as equally old.
FEFO	The earliest expiry date. Stock with no expiry date comes after all dated stock.
None	Whatever fills the line in the fewest picks.

Rotation beats walking: a FIFO order takes the oldest stock even when newer stock is closer. Between units of equal rank, pick faces come first, then the fewest locations, then the earliest Pick Sequence.

The first order keeps its stock

A later order never takes stock reserved for an earlier one, even if it must ship sooner. Only a person can move it, with a Reservation Move: see Move reserved stock between orders.

Short orders top up

A short order gets a Top-up within seconds of the client's stock becoming allocatable at its warehouse. That happens after putaway, a quarantine release, stock given back, or a move into a pick location. Nobody selects anything.

The order with the earliest Must-Ship-By is topped up first, then the one accepted first. A top-up that completes an order clears its Not enough stock hold.

Stock in Reserve

Sometimes the client has the stock, but in locations allocation doesn't use. A short order then lists it under Stock in Reserve, such as "NTC-SOCK-3PK (line 1, 3 short): 4 at COL-PR-A-01-C-2".

That Stock in Reserve is the warehouse's to move. Move it to a pick location and the order tops up at once. Clients never see this section.

When reserved stock is lost

Reserved stock can be marked Damaged or Not Found, or counted short. Stockist drops that reservation and looks for other stock straight away: a Reallocation.

If none is found, the order goes back to Partially Allocated or Awaiting Allocation and waits for a top-up. A short pick works the same way: see Short picks and Location Counts.

The Release Point and Backorders

A fully allocated order can be released as soon as nothing holds it. A short order waits until its Release Point, shown on the order. That is the Latest Same-Day Acceptance of the collection it must ship by.

If it is still short then, the client's Partial Shipments rule decides:

• On: the order goes with what it has, and the rest becomes a Backorder. The Backorder is a new order with its own ORD number and the same Client Order Reference. It keeps the original's Must-Ship-By and Committed Ship-By, so it is often overdue from the start.
• Off: the order waits under Not enough stock: see Not enough stock.

An order with nothing allocated is never released or split, whatever the rule says.

Changes before release

Until an order is released, its reservations follow every change. A reduced line gives back the units rotation would take last, and a raised or added line allocates more. Cancelling gives back everything: see Edit, hold or cancel an order.

An Account Manager, a Warehouse Manager or an Admin can also select Move to another warehouse on the order. This Warehouse Move gives back its stock and allocates afresh at the new warehouse. Once released, an order's stock can't move to another order or warehouse.

What staff and clients see

Staff see each line's allocated and short quantities and its reserved stock, with location or container, lot and expiry. Clients see the allocated and short quantities, and the lot and expiry where they matter, but never locations.