Catch-Weight Orders
What this does
Ordering by weight lets a user order a product by a target weight (or any other number-type stock attribute) instead of by a count of cases or pieces.
Products such as meat are sold in cases, but every case weighs something different. Each LPN carries its own average weight per case as a stock attribute. When you order by weight, Teamship:
- Totals how much weight is available across every LPN of the product
- Lets you enter the weight you want
- Rounds that target to a whole number of cases (or pieces) that can actually be picked
- Allocates specific LPNs using FIFO
- Tracks the difference between what was ordered and what is being shipped
The rest of the order — picking, packing, documents and charges — works the same way as any other shipping order.
When to use
Use Order by {attribute} when:
- The customer thinks in weight (for example, "1,000 lb of top sirloin") rather than cases
- Stock of the same product varies in weight from pallet to pallet
- The customer wants to choose by stock characteristics such as zone (frozen or fresh), feed type or receive date
Use Order by UOM (the default) for everything else. It works exactly as ordering always has.
Key terms
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Ordered Weight | The target the user typed. Fixed once the target is locked and never changes. |
| Estimated Weight | Any figure the system calculated: quantity × the LPN's attribute value. For a product, it is always the live sum of its rows. |
| Catch Weight | The actual weight captured during picking, for products with catch weight enabled. |
| System overridden | Tag on a row where a warehouse user replaced the system's FIFO allocation. |
💡 A row reading "2 cases, 200 lb" shows Estimated Weight, never Ordered Weight, because 200 lb was calculated, not typed.
Choosing the ordering method
When creating a shipping order, after the customer and warehouse lookups (warehouse lookup only for customers), Step 1. Add Products shows an Order by dropdown:
- Order by UOM — the default. Regular product search, Multi-Add Products and Bulk Details Upload all work as before.
- Order by {attribute name} — one entry for each number-type stock attribute enabled for the organisation, named after the attribute (for example, Order by Avg wt/case).
Things to know:
- If the organisation has no number-type stock attributes, only Order by UOM is shown.
- Multi-Add Products and Bulk Details Upload are hidden while an attribute entry is selected.
- The method applies per product you add, not per order. You can switch between adds, so one order can contain both UOM-ordered and attribute-ordered lines.
→ See: Custom Product Attributes
Searching for stock
Search criteria available to both warehouse users and customers:
- Product title/SKU — can be added more than once; each match is returned as its own row
- Attribute — narrows results by stock attribute value
- Zone — narrows results by zone (for example, Frozen, Dry, Picking)
Repeated Product title/SKU criteria widen the results. Attribute and Zone criteria narrow every product within them.
Customers can choose a zone, but never see individual locations or LPNs.
Search results
Unlike other searches in Teamship, results show one row per product, combining all of its stock groups. Each row shows:
- Total available, in the attribute's unit (for example, lb)
- The equivalent case (or piece) count
- The system average per UOM across LPNs
How the available total is calculated
- For each LPN: attribute value × available quantity
- For each location: the sum of its LPN totals
- For the product: the sum of its location totals
Each LPN can carry a different attribute value. LPNs with no value for the selected attribute are excluded from the total, and the number excluded is shown.
The total is calculated when you search and is never written to inventory.
Entering a target and locking it in
Each product in the results has its own target, rounding choice and allocation. There is no single target for the whole search.
- Enter the target weight for the product.
- Choose a rounding option. If FIFO can't hit the target exactly, Teamship offers {UOM} round up or {UOM} round down (for example, Case round up / Case round down).
- Round up gives a total equal to or above the target.
- Round down gives a total equal to or below the target.
- All LPNs except the last are taken whole; rounding only affects the final partial LPN. You never get a fractional case or piece.
- Selecting a rounding option locks the target. FIFO allocates LPNs against it once, at this moment, and never runs again.
- The allocation rows appear (warehouse only — see below).
- Select Add to order.
The header band shows Ordered Weight and Estimated Weight side by side (for example, Ordered Weight 1,000 lb · Estimated Weight 1,024 lb).
Customer view vs warehouse view
| Customer | Warehouse | |
|---|---|---|
| Before Add to order | Header band and rounding choice only. No allocation rows. | Header band plus one row per allocated LPN: stock attributes, zone, location, LPN, estimated weight, quantity, Change and Remove |
| After Add to order | Rows with stock attributes, zone, estimated weight and quantity | Same, plus Location and LPN |
Customers never see Location, LPN, Change or Remove.
The warehouse view is detailed enough that pickers don't need to do any arithmetic — for example, "4 cases from LPN 24893, 2 from 24894, 1 from 24895."
The header band is the whole of the variance display. It is always visible and never blocks the order; there is no tolerance threshold.
Changing the allocation (warehouse only)
After FIFO runs, the allocation is fully at the warehouse user's discretion. Change and Remove do not re-run FIFO, and nothing is rebalanced automatically.
Removing a row
- Select Remove on the row.
- Confirm in the Remove this pallet? dialog, which shows how much the order drops and the new estimate against Ordered Weight.
The row is deleted and Estimated Weight drops by that row's weight. Nothing replaces it. To make the weight back up, use Change on another row.
Changing a row
Change is also how you add more pallets to a line — there's no separate add flow.
- Select Change on the row. The Change Selection popup opens straight away, pre-selected with that row's current LPN and quantity.
- The Swapping Out summary shows the row being replaced, including its estimated weight, so you can see the number you're working against.
- In the grid, enter a quantity (in the product's UOM — never weight) on each LPN you want. Each one appears as a card under Selected LPNs. Clear the field or use the card's remove icon to deselect it.
- Watch Total Quantity and Total Weight update as you type. Progress against Ordered Weight is shown (for example, 900 of 1,000 lb), with a distinct state when you go over.
- Select Swap Selection and confirm.
The grid:
- Is limited to the product and inherits any attribute or zone filters from your search
- Has columns for quantity, zone, location, LPN, available, weight, UOM, warehouse, company and every stock attribute of the product
- Supports per-column filters, Reset Filters, Show/Hide Columns and pagination
Rules:
- Any LPN of the product can be selected. Teamship never blocks a combination or snaps back to the Ordered Weight — overage and underage are shown, not prevented.
- Quantity can't exceed Available on that LPN. An over-entry shows an error on the field and disables Swap Selection until fixed.
- Blank, zero, negative and fractional quantities are rejected (blank or zero means the LPN isn't selected).
- Total Weight uses the attribute being ordered by for each LPN, not the product's static weight.
Confirmation on save
| Your selection | Confirmation |
|---|---|
| Same total as the row it replaces | Single confirmation — overrides FIFO for this row only; the order estimate stays the same |
| Different total | Two steps — first shows how the order estimate moves against Ordered Weight, then asks you to confirm overriding FIFO with nothing adjusted back |
On save, the original row is replaced with one row per selected LPN, each tagged System overridden, and the change is recorded in Change History.
Adding a product that's already on the order
Warehouse users can search and add a product that is already on the order:
- The new addition gets its own target and rounding choice and is allocated on its own.
- On save, it merges into the existing product. Ordered Weight increases by the new target and Estimated Weight by the new estimate.
- Rows that share a stock group and LPN merge by quantity; others are added as new rows.
The product ends up with a single Ordered Weight and a single Estimated Weight. Each addition can be traced in Change History.
Picking and switching LPN
Attribute-ordered lines are picked the same way as other lines. The difference is when a picker changes LPN.
Whenever a picker changes the LPN or location on an attribute-ordered line — through Switch pick on mobile or by editing location or LPN in Scan Sequence — Teamship shows a Change LPN? confirmation:
- If the new LPN has a different attribute value, it shows the before and after estimate (for example, "your 2 cases come to about 128 lb instead of 200 lb").
- If the value is the same, it still appears and says the estimated weight is unchanged.
On the pick screen, switch options are limited to LPNs in the picker's current location.
On confirm:
- The quantity stays the same
- Estimated weight is recalculated from the new LPN's attribute value
- The change is recorded in Change History, LPN history and LPN product history against the picker
Lines ordered by UOM don't show this warning.
Catch weights
For products with catch weight enabled:
- Each row on the order shows its catch weight alongside its estimated weight.
- The header band shows Total Catch Weight next to Estimated Weight — the sum of catch weights captured across the product's rows. It updates as catch weights are saved.
- On the catch weight screen in Scan Sequence (GS1, default and custom sequences), a button previews every catch weight captured in that sequence. Values update as they are entered or edited.
Only warehouse users can edit catch weights.
Change History and variance
The section formerly called Deleted Products is now Change History. It records every line-level change, not just removals, using the same layout as LPN history.
Events recorded
| Event | Warehouse label | Customer sees it? |
|---|---|---|
| Product added | Product added | Always |
| Product removed | Product removed | Always |
| Quantity updated | Quantity updated | Always |
| LPN removed | LPN removed | Always, as Stock removed |
| LPN updated | LPN updated | As Stock updated, only if attributes, zone or estimated weight changed. A move between LPNs with identical attributes is hidden. |
Columns
Event ID, Event, Performed By, Date, Time, Title, SKU, Qty Before, Qty After, LPN, Location, Zone, Shipping Order, plus the organisation's stock attribute columns.
Customers don't see the LPN and Location columns, and the word "LPN" never appears in their view. Their entries show quantity, estimated weight and changed attributes as before → after, with changes highlighted. Because average weight per case is itself a stock attribute, a weight change is always explained.
Performed By is shown to both roles. Warehouse users see every entry and column.
Rules
- Entries are never edited or deleted, even if the line is removed or the order cancelled or closed.
- Attribute values are recorded as they were at the time, so later stock corrections don't rewrite history.
- LPN changes share one Event ID across Change History, LPN history and LPN product history, so the three can be reconciled.
- Change History is included in the shipping order export.
Rounding, overrides and fulfilment variance are each recorded on the order and can be told apart.
Lines not ordered by attribute keep their existing behaviour, including the rule that you must ship exactly what was ordered.
How other features handle attribute-ordered lines
| Area | Behaviour |
|---|---|
| Kit products | Can't be ordered by attribute. Search shows no stock and the message "Ordering kit products by {attribute name} is not currently supported." |
| Quarantined stock | Quarantined products can't be added. Quarantined pallets are excluded from the available total and from FIFO. If every fulfillable pallet is quarantined, the product can't be added. |
| Products with no attribute value | Still appear in search, but return no stock with an error explaining the product has no value for that attribute. |
| Reserved and on hold | Updated by the same rules as UOM-ordered lines. |
| Picked rows | Can't be edited or removed. Error: "Unpick the picked products to edit or remove." |
| Closed orders | No edit, LPN change or delete actions on attribute-ordered lines. |
| Deleting an order | Only allowed when all products are unpicked. Deleting returns stock and resets reserved and on hold. |
| Order charges | Auto-apply and auto-calculate charges (per SKU and per UOM) work as for UOM lines, and recalculate whenever committed quantity changes — including through Change, Remove and re-adding a product. |
| Documents | BOL, picking list and packing list work exactly as they do today. |
Draft orders
When an order with attribute-ordered lines is saved as a draft:
- LPN is not kept (the same as Multi-Add Products lines). Stock group, zone, Ordered Weight and Estimated Weight are kept.
- Order by {attribute} is not available while the order is a draft.
- Attribute-ordered rows show delete only — no edit icon, because there's no LPN to switch.
- When the draft is opened, Teamship checks stock and highlights any row whose quantity is no longer available. Deleting that row updates the estimated weight.
Roles and permissions
Warehouse users
- Order by UOM or by attribute
- See the full LPN allocation before and after adding to the order
- Change and Remove allocation rows
- Re-add a product already on the order
- Switch LPN during picking and edit catch weights
- See all Change History entries and columns
Customers
- Order by UOM or by attribute, and filter by product, attribute and zone
- Enter a target and choose a rounding option
- See Ordered Weight, Estimated Weight and rows with attributes, zone, estimated weight and quantity once added
- Never see locations, LPNs, Change or Remove
- See a filtered Change History
Administrators
- Maintain the number-type stock attributes that appear as Order by options
Common issues
| Issue | Likely cause |
|---|---|
| No Order by {attribute} option | The organisation has no number-type stock attribute, or the order is a draft |
| Multi-Add Products / Bulk Details Upload missing | An attribute ordering method is selected. Switch to Order by UOM. |
| Product returns no stock with an error | It's a kit, is quarantined, or has no value for the selected attribute |
| Available total seems low | LPNs without a value for the attribute, or quarantined pallets, are excluded |
| No allocation rows shown | A rounding option hasn't been chosen yet, or you're viewing as a customer |
| Estimated Weight differs from Ordered Weight | Rounding, a warehouse Change/Remove, or a picker switching LPN. Check Change History. |
| Swap Selection is disabled | A quantity is greater than that LPN's available stock |
| Can't edit or remove a row | The row has been picked, or the order is closed |
| Can't delete the order | Some products are still picked |
| Draft row is highlighted | The stock it referenced is no longer available. Delete the row. |