Package allocation allows you to properly pack a SKU for order. Review how a package gets allocated and why this is important.
What is Allocation?
There are various inventory statuses in the system which include: On Hand, Available, Non-sellable, Packaged, and Stock Claims. Allocated is an inventory status that is the sum of the SKUs required to fulfill all draft and scheduled orders in your system. Order allocation will happen automatically when an order is created, either as a scheduled or draft order.
Allocating Inventory Items
Manually allocating items to an order can occur to any order that has a Draft or Scheduled order status and has a No in the allocated column. This would typically only be required if inventory has been previously unallocated. On the main Packing page, click on an order with these status criteria. On the order page, you will see the Allocate button in the bottom-left hand corner. You can manually change the allocation status to Yes of an order by clicking this.
NOTE: The allocate button will show on an order that is currently in a deallocated state and the order status is Draft or Scheduled.
When you click Allocate you will receive the following confirmation message: "To pack the items in this order they must be set to Allocated, reserving them for fulfillment of the order. Would you like to set the items to Allocated?". Select Allocate Items and inventory will be allocated to your order.
NOTE: Only allocated orders can be packed. Check out this article for more information on how to pack an order.
Deallocating Inventory Items
You may need to deallocate inventory for a variety of reasons. A reason could include that your order is in draft state and you would like to use the inventory for another order. Another reason could be you scheduled an order too far in advance and now need the inventory to fulfill another order. To deallocate inventory, navigate to the Packing page and then click on your order. The Deallocate button will be in the bottom lefthand corner. When you're ready to then pack this order you would go ahead and re-allocate the inventory following the same process.