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Bulk Shipping Orders

What this workflow does​

Bulk Shipping Orders are used to ship large quantities of inventory that are not processed through ecommerce pick/pack workflows.

This workflow is designed for:

  • Palletized or bulk shipments
  • Freight-based shipping (LTL / FTL)
  • Warehouse-managed outbound coordination
  • Manual or imported SKU selection

Bulk shipping orders move inventory out of the warehouse in consolidated shipments.

When to use bulk shipping​

Use a Bulk Shipping Order when:

  • Inventory is shipping in pallets or large units
  • Items are not being packed as individual ecommerce orders
  • A warehouse user will manage pallet dimensions and freight details
  • Shipping requires PRO numbers, carrier coordination, or documents

Bulk shipping is commonly used for:

  • Wholesale shipments
  • Transfers
  • Large customer restocks
  • Freight pickups

Order lifecycle overview​

Bulk shipping orders progress through two operational phases:

  1. Order creation – Items, quantities, and destination are defined
  2. Warehouse shipment preparation – Picking, pallet details, timing, documents and billing are finalized

Each phase introduces operational and billing impact.

Orders appear in the bulk shipping order directory under the Draft, Open and Completed tabs.

Phase 1: Creating a bulk shipping order​

Order creation defines what inventory is leaving the warehouse and where it is going.

This phase may be completed by:

  • Customers
  • Warehouse users
  • Administrators

Warehouse users start from the New Order button on the bulk order directory.

Selecting inventory​

Inventory can be added to a bulk shipping order using:

  • Advanced SKU filtering
  • Attribute-based search
  • Manual SKU selection
  • Multi-Add Products
  • Bulk Details Upload (import template)

Filtering supports complex criteria, allowing users to locate inventory across:

  • SKUs
  • Product titles
  • Custom attributes
  • Lot codes or other identifiers

When you search by an attribute that is a dropdown type, Teamship shows a dropdown of every value of that attribute in the customer's stock in that warehouse. Select a value to list all products that have it.

This allows large shipments to be built efficiently without selecting items one by one.

Choosing how to order​

Step 1. Add Products has an Order by dropdown:

  • Order by UOM (default) – the standard workflow described on this page, including Multi-Add Products and Bulk Details Upload.
  • Order by a number-type stock attribute (for example, average weight per case) – order a target weight or amount instead of a unit count. Multi-Add Products and Bulk Details Upload are hidden while this is selected.

Attribute ordering is only offered to organizations that have a number-type stock attribute. See Catch Weight Orders for how it works.

Multi-Add Products​

Multi-Add Products opens a popup where you can select many products and LPNs at once, like a shopping cart. The product selection table includes:

  • Location and Zone of each LPN
  • Weight per UOM (from the product page)
  • LPN product wt (lbs) – the UOM quantity on the LPN multiplied by the weight per UOM. You can sort and filter on this column.

The selected products section shows Total Qty and Total Weight for everything you have selected.

If you enter more than the available quantity for a line, an error appears when you click Add Products and that line is not added. Error entries are highlighted; click one to search for that product in the left panel so you can correct it. The error clears as soon as the quantity is fixed.

LPNs added through Multi-Add show without the "LPN-" prefix in the LPN field.

Customers only see Multi-Add Products (and the Ship by LPN tab) if a warehouse user has enabled Ship by LPN for that customer. Only warehouse roles can change this setting.

Bulk Details Upload​

Use Bulk Details Upload to import products from a spreadsheet. The Download Template button is inside the upload popup.

In the template:

  • There is no warehouse column – the warehouse comes from the order.
  • Stock attribute columns are labelled with "{Stock Attribute}" after the name (for example, Status {Stock Attribute}), and only take values for attributes enabled on the product.

Stock checks when adding products​

  • If some of the quantity you add is sitting in a picking location, Teamship shows the message "Some quantity in this order is present in picking locations" so the warehouse can relocate stock if needed.
  • An order can only be submitted if there is enough non-quarantined stock to fulfill 100% of it. Otherwise you'll see "Does not have enough non-quarantined stock to fulfill the order."

Ship-to and shipping details​

During order creation, users provide:

  • Destination name and address, or a saved address chosen from the customer's address book
  • Company Name (optional)
  • Contact information
  • Shipping method (LTL / FTL or parcel)
  • Optional Shipment ID, PO number, supplier, and carrier details
  • EDI fields, if the customer has them configured (see EDI Configuration)
  • Supporting documents (BOLs, instructions, etc.)

Shipment ID is no longer mandatory.

Using a saved address​

Above the Ship To fields, a Select from Address Book dropdown lists the customer's saved addresses by nickname, with the address shown underneath. Selecting one fills every Ship To field (overwriting anything already typed). You can still edit the fields afterwards.

  • If the customer has a default address, it is pre-selected on new orders.
  • The order keeps a copy of the address. Later changes to the address book do not affect existing orders, and editing Ship To on an order does not update the address book.

Saving as a draft​

Click Save as Draft at the bottom of the form to save the order without submitting it. Drafts appear in the Draft tab of the directory and do not reserve or deduct stock.

When you submit a draft, all validations run again (customer, warehouse, SKUs, available quantity). Only when they pass does the order move to the Open tab and stock is reserved. You can delete a draft you no longer need.

Products added through Multi-Add are kept on a draft, but their specific LPNs are not – Teamship re-allocates stock when the draft is submitted. Multi-Add Products is not available while editing a draft.

Submitting​

Once submitted:

  • The order is sent to the warehouse
  • Notifications are issued
  • The order becomes available for warehouse processing

Customers can submit bulk shipping orders but cannot complete warehouse-only steps.

Phase 2: Warehouse shipment preparation​

This phase can only be completed by warehouse users.

It finalizes when and how the shipment leaves the warehouse.

Assigning and tracking the order​

  • Assign To – sits next to Pick Status on the order detail page. Choose any user with access to the warehouse; the selection saves automatically. The assignee also shows (read-only) on the scan gun and in the Assignee column of the bulk shipping order directory. The assignee can't be changed once the order is completed.
  • Pick Status – saves automatically when changed, on web and on the scan gun.
  • Progress % – the directory has an optional Progress % column showing how much of each order has been scanned. You can sort and filter on it.

Picking​

Print or download the picking list from the order. The picking list:

  • Shows the Shipment ID in the header
  • Includes a Zone column for each location
  • Shows LPN numbers without the "LPN-" prefix
  • Lists the same product together even when it is spread across several LPNs
  • Shows a Downloaded/Printed on date – the date the list was generated, not the order date

Pick on the scan gun or, if your warehouse uses one, with an outbound scan sequence.

Things to know when picking:

  • You can't pick more than the order quantity. Entering a higher quantity shows an error.
  • For products added through Multi-Add, the picker can switch to a different LPN on the scan gun (or in a scan sequence) if the new LPN has enough quantity. The reservation moves from the original LPN to the new one and the change is logged in the LPN's stock movements.

Shipping readiness and pallet details​

Warehouse users define:

  • Earliest ship-ready date
  • Number of pallets
  • Pallet dimensions, entered in Length × Width × Height order
  • Pallet weight (optional)
  • Commodity – a free-text description for each pallet row (up to 75 characters), on web and scan gun

Accurate dimensions and weight help ensure correct freight handling and billing.

Multiple pallet sizes may be added if the shipment is not uniform.

Charges and billing​

During this phase, warehouse users may apply:

  • Pallet in / pallet out charges
  • Administrative or handling fees
  • Any additional outbound charges

Charges may be system-defined or manually added depending on configuration.

Packing list and printing​

A packing list may be generated and printed for inclusion with the shipment. Its layout comes from the warehouse's Bulk Order Packing List template, which can be customized (including an optional Zone column). See Document Templates.

When you click the printer icon, a print popup lets you choose the printer and number of copies.

Bill of Lading (BOL)​

Bulk shipping orders can generate a Bill of Lading from the BOL button on the order.

How BOL fields are filled​

BOL fields are filled from field mappings that pull data from the shipping order:

  • Warehouse level – set up from the BOL Configuration section of the warehouse profile.
  • Customer level – optional overrides set up from the customer profile's Templates tab. A customer with no overrides shows Using Defaults; use Reset to Warehouse Defaults to remove their overrides.

Both levels include a Company Name field, which also appears in the full address blocks.

Customer EDI values can be mapped into BOL fields too. See EDI Configuration.

When a BOL is first created it takes a snapshot of these values. Later changes to the mappings do not change existing BOLs.

Editing a BOL​

In the BOL editor:

  • Click any field to edit it. Changes save when you click away, and the field is marked Overridden. Click Clear on a field to return it to the mapped value.
  • Add or remove rows in Description of goods (packages, commodity, dimensions, HS code, class, stackable). Total Packages and Total Weight calculate automatically.
  • Sign in the Shipper, Consignee and Carrier signature fields.
  • Refresh from Shipment updates fields from the latest order data but keeps your overrides.
  • Reset BOL to Shipment Data clears all overrides and signatures and reloads everything from the order.

Printing a BOL​

Choose Download PDF, or Print to send it to a connected printer (choose the printer, 1–10 copies and single- or double-sided). BOLs with many line items continue onto additional pages, with totals and signatures on the last page.

Who can use BOLs​

  • Warehouse users can create, edit and print BOLs for their own warehouses, including on completed orders. A BOL can't be voided once the order is completed.
  • Customers can view and download a generated BOL for their own orders. If no BOL has been generated, the BOL button shows Not generated. Customers can't configure BOL mappings.

Completing and deleting orders​

Completing orders​

Complete orders one at a time from the order page, or several at once from the Open tab: tick the orders, then choose Mark as Completed from the Action dropdown and confirm. Only orders that are 100% picked are completed; the confirmation lists any that were skipped, with their progress and assignee. Completed orders move to the Completed tab and their transactions are generated.

Completed orders can't be reopened. Warehouse users can still print the packing list and pick ticket from a completed order.

Deleting an order​

Warehouse users can delete an open order with Delete Order on the order detail page, as long as no units have been picked. You'll be asked to confirm twice and give a reason. Teamship records who deleted it, when and why, and removes it from the open orders list. Customers can't delete bulk shipping orders. See Delete Orders.

Communication and documentation​

Bulk shipping orders include a message thread that allows:

  • Warehouse users to communicate with customers
  • Customers to provide clarification or instructions
  • Documentation of exceptions or changes

Messages are retained as part of the order record. Message timestamps are shown in EST.

Automation and downstream effects​

Once warehouse preparation is completed:

  • Inventory is decremented automatically
  • Order status is updated system-wide
  • Billing entries are recorded
  • Shipment data becomes visible to customers

No manual inventory adjustments are required.

Bulk shipping order directory​

Besides the standard columns, the bulk shipping order directory includes:

  • Warehouse
  • Shipment ID (after company name, in default views)
  • Assignee (warehouse users)
  • Progress % (optional)

You can also add your own calculated columns to a saved view.

Bulk shipping orders can also be created and edited through the API (editing is available to warehouse roles).

Roles and visibility​

Warehouse users​

  • Assign orders and update pick status
  • Pick, including switching LPNs on the scan gun
  • Finalize shipment readiness
  • Define pallet dimensions, weight and commodity
  • Apply charges
  • Generate documentation (picking list, packing list, BOL)
  • Complete or delete orders
  • Coordinate outbound execution

Customers​

  • Create bulk shipping orders and drafts
  • View shipment details and items
  • View and download a generated BOL
  • Communicate with the warehouse
  • Cannot edit pallet or billing details
  • Cannot see the packing list or pick ticket

Administrators​

  • Configure charges and rules
  • Configure BOL mappings and packing list templates
  • Review outbound activity
  • Manage customer permissions, including whether a customer can use Ship by LPN and Multi-Add Products