Process shipments
/visma-net-erp/help/sales/process-shipments
section
Shipping goods is the main part of the order fulfillment process.
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# Process shipments
Shipping goods is the main part of the order fulfillment process.
Shipping goods is the main part of the order fulfillment process.
This part includes an overview of the shipment processing in Visma Net.
About shipment processing options
/visma-net-erp/help/sales/process-shipments/about-shipment-processing-options
page
Shipments, which are a key part of the order fulfillment process, can be incoming or outgoing.
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# About shipment processing options
Shipments, which are a key part of the order fulfillment process, can be incoming or outgoing.
Shipments, which are a key part of the order fulfillment process, can be incoming or
outgoing.
Outgoing shipments (based on the **issue** operation) involve goods
shipped to customers, while incoming shipments (based on the **receipt**
operation) involve customer returns based on return orders.
This topic discusses
outgoing shipments (we will refer to them as shipments).
For details on incoming shipments, see: [About predefined order types for customer returns](/visma-net-erp/help/sales/process-returns/about-predefined-order-types-for-customer-returns/).
## Creating shipments
In Visma Net, you can directly create a shipment document for a particular sales order in the following ways:
+ In the classic [Sales orders (SO301000)](/visma-net-erp/help/sales/sales-windows/sales-orders-so301000/) window, by selecting **Actions** - **Create shipment** in the window toolbar,
+ In the new [Sales orders (SO30100S)](/visma-net-erp/help/sales/sales-windows/sales-orders-so30100s/) window, by clicking **Create shipment** in the window footer.
The [Shipments (SO302000)](/visma-net-erp/help/sales/sales-windows/shipments-so302000/) window can be used to create a consolidated shipment for multiple sales orders of the same customer.
To create multiple shipments for multiple sales orders of multiple customers, use the [Process orders (SO501000)](/visma-net-erp/help/sales/sales-windows/process-orders-so501000/) window.
In order to optimise the picking process for multiple employees and offer separate deliveries over time, you can create multiple shipments for one sales order and one warehouse by using the [Shipments (SO302000)](/visma-net-erp/help/sales/sales-windows/shipments-so302000/) window. See also: [Create multiple shipments for one sales order](/visma-net-erp/help/sales/process-sales-orders/create-multiple-shipments-for-one-order/).
The system automatically assigns reference numbers to the created shipment documents, in accordance with the numbering sequence assigned to shipments in the [Sales order preferences (SO101000)](/visma-net-erp/help/sales/sales-windows/sales-order-preferences-so101000/) window.
## Shipments with zero lines
Your organisation may prefer to send customer invoices that list all the items from their
sales orders so that they can see which items were ordered but at the time were
unavailable.
To allow the system to add these zero lines to shipments, select the
**Add zero lines for items not in stock** check box in the [Sales order preferences (SO101000)](/visma-net-erp/help/sales/sales-windows/sales-order-preferences-so101000/) window.
Selecting this option also can be helpful
if you do not want to rely completely on availability data, because in some cases,
although the system shows an item as not in stock, the quantities required for a
shipment may be available for some reason.
You should select this check box if you
have item classes for items of which negative quantities are allowed and if
shipments are created manually on a per-order basis; then users can edit the
shipments and specify the quantities that are currently not reflected on the books
correctly and may be available on shipment confirmation (for instance if shown as
quantities on purchase receipts).
For example, if for a purchase order line with the
**Back orders allowed** shipping rule, the available quantity
of the item is zero, the shipment will not include this line if the **Add zero lines for items which are not in stock** option is not selected; while if
it is selected, the shipment will include a zero-line for this item, and you will be
able to enter the quantity that is actually available for this order line.
If the **Add zero lines for items which are not in stock** option is selected, you
should decide whether to allow the creation of shipments with all zero-quantity
lines.
You can allow the creation of such shipments by selecting the
**Create zero shipments** check box in the [Sales order preferences (SO101000)](/visma-net-erp/help/sales/sales-windows/sales-order-preferences-so101000/) window.
However, we do not recommend using this option
if in your organisation, shipments are generally created automatically by using the [Process orders (SO501000)](/visma-net-erp/help/sales/sales-windows/process-orders-so501000/) window.
## Shipping rules and partial shipments
When you create a shipment for a sales order (by using either the [Sales orders (SO301000)](/visma-net-erp/help/sales/sales-windows/sales-orders-so301000/) or the [Process orders (SO501000)](/visma-net-erp/help/sales/sales-windows/process-orders-so501000/) window), the system checks the
availability of the items included in the sales order and uses the shipping rules to
determine whether the shipment can be created.
If the shipment is created, the
system changes the order status to **Shipping**.
When you create a shipment by using the [Sales orders (SO301000)](/visma-net-erp/help/sales/sales-windows/sales-orders-so301000/) window, if
the system detects that no shipment can be created according to the shipment rules
(due to a shortage of items), the system displays a warning; you then decide how to
process the order further.
However, if you use the [Process orders (SO501000)](/visma-net-erp/help/sales/sales-windows/process-orders-so501000/)
window to create a shipment (or multiple shipments) and the system detects that no
shipment can be created for an order according to the shipment rules, the system
changes the status of the order to **Back order**. This system behaviour allows
you to set up automatic processing of sales orders in the [Process orders (SO501000)](/visma-net-erp/help/sales/sales-windows/process-orders-so501000/) window to be performed on a schedule. For more
information on shipping rules, over-shipment, and under-shipment, see: [About shipping rules](/visma-net-erp/help/sales/process-sales-orders/about-shipping-rules/).
For sales orders with the predefined type **SO**, partial shipments are generally allowed
if the **Shipping rule** field in the **Delivery settings** tab in the [Sales orders (SO301000)](/visma-net-erp/help/sales/sales-windows/sales-orders-so301000/) window has the **Back orders allowed** option selected and the **Back orders allowed**
shipping rule is selected for at least one order line.
These settings let you ship
the available quantity of goods in one shipment and the remainder in one shipment or
multiple shipments as the goods are received.
## Partial shipments and free items
If a sales order is fulfilled with multiple partial shipments, the **Free item shipping** setting, located on the **General information** tab of the [Sales order preferences (SO101000)](/visma-net-erp/help/sales/sales-windows/sales-order-preferences-so101000/) window, controls how free items should be shipped: proportionally to the amounts of goods in the partial shipments ( **Proportional** ), or sent with the last shipment ( **On last shipment** ).
If free items are sent with the last shipment and only part of the needed quantity of free items is available, only the available quantity is shipped, and no back order is initiated for the missing free items.
If the quantity of the free items should be distributed between the partial
shipments, the total quantity of free items on all partial shipments for the order
may be less than the quantity initially calculated for the applicable group
discount, because the system rounds the free item quantity down on each partial
shipment.
In such a case, you can add the missing quantity of the free item manually
to any of the partial shipments.
## Consolidated shipments
You can consolidate shipments, creating one shipment document for multiple sales
orders of the same customer, unless the **Ship separately** check box in the [Order types (SO201000)](/visma-net-erp/help/sales/sales-windows/order-types-so201000/) window is selected for
the order type being used.
As long as the check box is cleared, you can use the [Process orders (SO501000)](/visma-net-erp/help/sales/sales-windows/process-orders-so501000/) window to create one
shipment for multiple sales orders associated with the same customer.
Sales orders
with the predefined order type **SO** don't require goods to be shipped
separately for separate sales orders.
The **Use customer's account** setting in a shipment document is
copied from the sales order.
Thus, if you mass-process multiple sales orders that
have different states of the **Use customer's account** check box
on the **Delivery settings** tab of the [Sales orders (SO301000)](/visma-net-erp/help/sales/sales-windows/sales-orders-so301000/) window, the system will
group the sales orders by the state of this check box and create two consolidated
shipments: The first shipment will include the sales orders in which the check box
is selected, and the second shipment will include the sales orders in which this
check box is cleared.
## Pick lists
With Visma Net, you can print a pick list for a particular shipment with the **On hold** or
**Open** status by clicking **Action** - **Print pick list** in the window toolbar of the [Shipments (SO302000)](/visma-net-erp/help/sales/sales-windows/shipments-so302000/) window.
If
you need to print pick lists for multiple shipments, you can select the
**Print pick list** action in the [Process shipments (SO503000)](/visma-net-erp/help/sales/sales-windows/process-shipments-so503000/) window and process all the shipments on the list or only
the selected shipments.
If a pick list was once printed for a shipment, the shipment
will be listed in the [Process shipments (SO503000)](/visma-net-erp/help/sales/sales-windows/process-shipments-so503000/) window for this processing only
if the **Show printed** check box is selected, which helps avoid
double packing for the same shipment.
The pick list is prepared based on item availability information and the pick
priorities of warehouse locations.
If the highest priority location has insufficient
stock of any of the requested items, the system will search for another location
with some quantity available for shipping to fill the remainder.
On a pick list, items are ordered based on location, pick priority, and expiration dates of items.
## Automatic packaging suggestions
If you use a set of standard boxes for shipping goods, you can configure the system to suggest boxes for each sales order based on the packaging options and weights specified for stock items. For details on configuring this functionality, see: [About automatic packaging for non-integrated carriers](/visma-net-erp/help/sales/configure-automatic-packaging/about-automatic-packaging-for-non-integrated-carriers/).
If this functionality is configured, you will be able to view the suggested minimal set of
boxes for a shipment on the **Packages** tab of the [Shipments (SO302000)](/visma-net-erp/help/sales/sales-windows/shipments-so302000/) window.
If needed, you can manually
correct information about packages to match the quantities and weights of the actual
packages.
If the shipment is sent under a ship via code, the information about packages can be used by the system to calculate the freight amount.
## Shipment confirmation
After all the required goods are picked and packed, you can confirm the shipment by clicking **Actions** - **Confirm shipment** in the window toolbar of the [Shipments (SO302000)](/visma-net-erp/help/sales/sales-windows/shipments-so302000/)
window.
(If you need to print a shipment confirmation document before the shipment is confirmed, you can use the [Shipment confirmation (SO642000/SO64200S)](/visma-net-erp/help/sales/sales-reports/shipment-confirmation-so642000-so64200s/) report.)
This action updates the available quantities and
changes the status of the associated sales order.
During shipment confirmation the
system checks that for all items for which lot or serial numbers are tracked, the
appropriate numbers were specified.
Whether the order status is changed to **Completed** or **Back order** depends
on the availability of the ordered items and on the shipping rules specified for the
order lines and the whole order.
For more information, see: [About shipping rules](/visma-net-erp/help/sales/process-sales-orders/about-shipping-rules/).
If you need to correct a shipment that has been confirmed, click **Actions** - **Correct shipment** in the toolbar of the [Shipments (SO302000)](/visma-net-erp/help/sales/sales-windows/shipments-so302000/) window to
open the shipment and make the required corrections.
The associated order's status
is changed to **Shipping** once you open the shipment. You can confirm the
shipment after you have edited it.
If an order that has a confirmed shipment has been was cancelled, you can reopen the order by clicking **Actions** - **Re-open order** in the toolbar of the [Sales orders (SO301000)](/visma-net-erp/help/sales/sales-windows/sales-orders-so301000/) window. You can then delete or correct the shipment by using the [Shipments (SO302000)](/visma-net-erp/help/sales/sales-windows/shipments-so302000/) window.
## Variations of the shipment processing
To complete the confirmed shipments, you must generate sales invoices
and inventory issues and release them.
For generating and processing invoices and
issues you can select one of the following workflows:
Workflow I:
: First generate sales invoices, then release them. On release of these invoices, inventory issues are generated automatically.
Workflow II:
: First create issues, and then generate invoices. Release invoices and issues.
Both workflows are described in more detail in the subsections below.
## Workflow I
This workflow is used by most organisations.
You can prepare an invoice for a
particular order by clicking **Actions** - **Prepare invoice** in the toolbar of the [Shipments (SO302000)](/visma-net-erp/help/sales/sales-windows/shipments-so302000/)
window, or you can create invoices for multiple selected shipments by
executing the **Prepare invoice** action in the [Process shipments (SO503000)](/visma-net-erp/help/sales/sales-windows/process-shipments-so503000/) window.
Edited invoices will be put on credit hold if the **Hold invoices on failed credit check** check box is selected in the [Sales order preferences (SO101000)](/visma-net-erp/help/sales/sales-windows/sales-order-preferences-so101000/) window.
Inventory issues which are created automatically when you release the invoices and
will be released automatically if the **Automatically release inventory documents** check box is selected in the [Sales order preferences (SO101000)](/visma-net-erp/help/sales/sales-windows/sales-order-preferences-so101000/) window.
If this check box is cleared, you have to release inventory issues.
## Workflow II
If due to shipment policies, your organisation processes customer invoices later than it does inventory issues, you can first create issues and then generate invoices.
You can create an inventory issue for a particular order by clicking **Actions** - **Update inventory** in the toolbar of the [Shipments (SO302000)](/visma-net-erp/help/sales/sales-windows/shipments-so302000/) window, or you can create inventory issues for multiple selected shipments by executing the **Update inventory** action in the [Process shipments (SO503000)](/visma-net-erp/help/sales/sales-windows/process-shipments-so503000/) window.
You can prepare an invoice for a particular order by clicking **Actions** - **Prepare invoice** in the toolbar of the [Shipments (SO302000)](/visma-net-erp/help/sales/sales-windows/shipments-so302000/) window, or you can create invoices for multiple selected shipments by executing the **Prepare invoice** action in the [Process shipments (SO503000)](/visma-net-erp/help/sales/sales-windows/process-shipments-so503000/) window.
To adjust the dates in the invoices generated for confirmed shipments, you can use the **Use shipment date for invoice date** check box in the [Sales order preferences (SO101000)](/visma-net-erp/help/sales/sales-windows/sales-order-preferences-so101000/) window as follows:
+ Select this check box to set the shipment date as the invoice date
+ Clear the check box to use the current business date as the default date for the invoice
If there is a significant time interval between the release of issues and the release of
invoices in your organisation, you may need to delay posting the costs to the COGS
accounts.
To do this, select the **Use shipped-not-invoiced account** check box in the [Sales order preferences (SO101000)](/visma-net-erp/help/sales/sales-windows/sales-order-preferences-so101000/)window, and then select the appropriate **Shipped-not-invoiced account** field and **Shipped-not-invoiced sub account** to be
used to temporarily record the costs.
After that, on release of issues, the costs of shipped items will be temporarily recorded to this shipped-not-invoiced account (with the specified subaccount); then later, on release of invoices, the costs will be moved from the shipped-not-invoiced account to the appropriate COGS /expense accounts.
Related pages
Tasks
Windows
Print pick lists for multiple shipments
/visma-net-erp/help/sales/process-shipments/print-pick-lists-for-multiple-shipments
section
Print lists for shipments can be printed on per shipment basis from the Shipments (SO302000) window.
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# Print pick lists for multiple shipments
Print lists for shipments can be printed on per shipment basis from the Shipments (SO302000) window.
For more information: [Shipments (SO302000)](/visma-net-erp/help/sales/sales-windows/shipments-so302000/).
Print lists for shipments can be printed on per shipment basis from the [Shipments (SO302000)](/visma-net-erp/help/sales/sales-windows/shipments-so302000/) window.
Alternative, you can print multiple pick lists
for multiple shipments by using the [Process shipments (SO503000)](/visma-net-erp/help/sales/sales-windows/process-shipments-so503000/) window.
1. Go to the [Process shipments (SO503000)](/visma-net-erp/help/sales/sales-windows/process-shipments-so503000/) window.
1. In the **Action** field, select **Print pick list**.
1. Optional: In the **Start date** and **End date** fields, specify the date range for the dates of the type you selected.
1. Optional: To further narrow the list of orders, select a particular customer in the **Customer** field.
1. Optional: In the **Ship via** field, select a particular ship via code.
1. Optional: In the **Warehouse** field, select the source warehouse for shipments.
1. Optional: Specify and apply a filter to select orders by specific criteria.
> [!NOTE]
> You can create a reusable filter for the window that, once created, gives you the ability to display particular documents each time you bring up this field. For more information, see: [Filters (CS209010)](/visma-net-erp/help/customisation/customisation-windows/filters-cs209010/).
1. Select the shipments for processing by selecting the check boxes next to them (in the column with a check box as a heading).
1. Click **Process**. The  is displayed if the processing is successful.
Related pages
Concepts
Tasks
Windows
Print shipment confirmations for multiple shipments
/visma-net-erp/help/sales/process-shipments/print-shipment-confirmations-for-multiple-shipments
section
Shipment confirmations can be printed on per shipment basis from the Shipments (SO302000) window.
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# Print shipment confirmations for multiple shipments
Shipment confirmations can be printed on per shipment basis from the Shipments (SO302000) window.
For more information: [Shipments (SO302000)](/visma-net-erp/help/sales/sales-windows/shipments-so302000/).
Shipment confirmations can be printed on per shipment basis from the [Shipments (SO302000)](/visma-net-erp/help/sales/sales-windows/shipments-so302000/) window.
Alternative, you can print multiple shipment
confirmations for multiple shipments by using the [Process shipments (SO503000)](/visma-net-erp/help/sales/sales-windows/process-shipments-so503000/) window.
1. Go to the [Process shipments (SO503000)](/visma-net-erp/help/sales/sales-windows/process-shipments-so503000/) window.
1. In the **Action** field, select **Print shipment confirmation**.
1. Optional: In the **Start date** and **End date** fields, specify the date range for the dates of the type you selected.
1. Optional: To further narrow the list of orders, select a particular customer in the **Customer** field.
1. Optional: In the **Ship via** field, select a particular ship via code.
1. Optional: In the **Warehouse** field, select the source warehouse for shipments.
1. Optional: Specify and apply a filter to select orders by specific criteria.
> [!NOTE]
> You can create a reusable filter for the window that, once created, gives you the ability to display particular documents each time you bring up this window. For more information, see: [Filters (CS209010)](/visma-net-erp/help/customisation/customisation-windows/filters-cs209010/).
1. Select the shipments for processing by selecting the check boxes next to them (in the column with a check box as a heading).
1. Click **Process**. The  is displayed if the processing is successful.
Related pages
Concepts
Tasks
Windows
Process a back order for a sales order
/visma-net-erp/help/sales/process-shipments/process-a-back-order-for-a-sales-order
page
When you register a sales order on an item that can not be completely shipped because of the insufficient quantity of the item, it is possible to create a back order for that item.
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# Process a back order for a sales order
When you register a sales order on an item that can not be completely shipped because of the insufficient quantity of the item, it is possible to create a back order for that item.
To be able to create a back order for the item, the option **Back orders allowed** has to be selected in the **Shipping rule** column on the sales order line.
## Processing a back order
1. Go to the [Shipments (SO302000)](/visma-net-erp/help/sales/sales-windows/shipments-so302000/) window.
1. Create a shipment for the sales order for the quantity that can be completed. Select **Actions - Place on back order**. The sales order status changes to **Back order**.
1. Create and receive the purchase order that makes it possible to complete the sales order.
1. Go to the [Process orders (SO501000)](/visma-net-erp/help/sales/sales-windows/process-orders-so501000/) window. You can now create a shipment for the back-ordered item on the sales order.
Create multiple shipments for one order
/visma-net-erp/help/sales/process-shipments/create-multiple-shipments-for-one-order
section
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# Create multiple shipments for one order
1. Go to the [Shipments (SO302000)](/visma-net-erp/help/sales/sales-windows/shipments-so302000/) window.
1. Select **Customer**, **Location**, **Warehouse ID**, **Operation** and **Shipment date**.
1. In the **Document details** tab, click **Add order**.
1. Select **Order type** and **Order no.**. The order lines from the selected order will be displayed in the table.
> [!NOTE]
> Order lines that have been shipped completely or that are already in a shipment that has the status **Open**, will not appear in this table.
1. Select the lines you want to include in the shipment. Click **Add** or **Add and close**. This will save the shipment.
1. In the [Shipments (SO302000)](/visma-net-erp/help/sales/sales-windows/shipments-so302000/) window, click  and repeat Step 2 to 5 to create a new shipment for different order lines.
1. Repeat this procedure for all shipments you want to create for the same order.
Related pages
Concepts
Windows
Add shipment lines that are not in a sales order
/visma-net-erp/help/sales/process-shipments/add-shipment-lines-that-are-not-in-a-sales-order
section
To be able to add a shipment line that is not in a sales order, the shipment should already have at least one line from a sales order.
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# Add shipment lines that are not in a sales order
To be able to add a shipment line that is not in a sales order, the shipment should already have at least one line from a sales order.
1. In the [Shipments (SO302000)](/visma-net-erp/help/sales/sales-windows/shipments-so302000/) window, create a shipment with a sales order line or open an existing shipment with at least one line from a sales order. You can only add lines to shipments that have the **Open** status.
1. Click .
1. Fill in the mandatory fields **Item ID**, **Warehouse**, **UoM** and **Shipped qty.**, and if needed, fill in other fields.
1. Click . **Result**: the line is added to the shipment and to the sales order from the first shipment line.
> [!NOTE]
> if you delete an added shipment line, you will be asked if you want to delete the corresponding line in the sales order as well.
Related pages
Concepts
Cancel shipments
/visma-net-erp/help/sales/process-shipments/cancel-shipments
page
To enable the option to cancel shipments,
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# Cancel shipments
To enable the option to cancel shipments,
## Prerequisite to cancel shipments
1. Go to window [Sales order preferences (SO101000)](/visma-net-erp/help/sales/sales-windows/sales-order-preferences-so101000/), section **Shipment settings.**
1. Check the box **Update the warehouse automatically when shipment is confirmed**
1. Check the box **Enable shipment cancellation**.
Result: You have enabled the option to cancel shipments.
## Cancel a shipment
1. Go to window [Shipments (SO302000).](/visma-net-erp/help/sales/sales-windows/shipments-so302000/)
1. Select the shipment you want to cancel. Ensure **Status** is **Confirmed**
1. Click the button **Action** at the top of the window.
1. Select **Cancel shipment**.
Result: Your shipment transaction is cancelled.
## Confirm the cancellation
1. Stay in window [Shipments (SO302000)](/visma-net-erp/help/sales/sales-windows/shipments-so302000/).
1. Go to tab **Orders**, column **Inventory correction ref.no.**
### Results
+ A new **Inventory correction ref.no.** for the issue is created.
+ The cancellation issue is displayed in the window [Issues (IN302000)](/visma-net-erp/help/inventory/inventory-windows/issues-in302000/) with **Trans. type** equals **Return**.
+ Cancelling a shipment has the same effect on the FIFO calculations as creating a receipt. This means the item(s) will be placed as the last bought item(s) and with the same value as they had when creating the shipment.
+ In the cancellation issue, under the tab **Financial details**, you will find the link to window [Journal transactions (GL301000)](/visma-net-erp/help/general-ledger/general-ledger-windows/journal-transactions-gl301000/). By cancelling a shipment, a record for the reverse of the cost of goods sold is created in the **General ledger**.
+ You can see the shipment in the window [Sales orders (SO301000)](/visma-net-erp/help/sales/sales-windows/sales-orders-so301000/), tab **Shipments**, now with **Status** equals **Cancelled**.