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Why Won't an Order Allocate?

This guide explains why an order can show stock problems even when quantity exists somewhere in the system, and how to decide whether the fix is receiving, transferring, releasing, or leaving the reservation logic alone.

Key idea

Allocation is not just "does any quantity exist?"

Parcel Pilot looks at:

whether the line requires warehouse fulfilment
the correct tenant and client scope
the correct warehouse
whether the stock is in a pickable location
whether the stock is already reserved
whether the item allocates immediately or only at pick
whether a bundle component is the real limiting stock

Decision tree

Does the line require warehouse fulfilment?
Is stock present in the correct warehouse?
Is it in a pickable location?
Is it already reserved?
Does the item reserve now or at pick?
Is the line a bundle whose component is limiting availability?

What this guide explains

why on-hand stock and allocatable stock are not always the same
why some orders reserve immediately and others only when picked
why stock in the wrong location or warehouse does not help the current order
why bundles can fail because of a component shortage

Normal workflow

For a warehouse-fulfilled order:

the order lines resolve to warehouse-fulfilled lines
Parcel Pilot reserves immediate-allocation stock where possible
serialised or on_pick lines allocate later during picking
shipment creation uses stock that is both physically present and operationally available for that order

Quick glossary

On-hand: physical quantity exists
Reserved: held for one or more orders
Available: on-hand minus reserved
Immediate allocation: reservation happens before picking
On-pick allocation: reservation happens during picking or serial allocation

Common causes and safe next actions

Symptom	Why it happens	What to check	Safe next action
Stock exists, but the order still will not allocate	On-hand is not the same as available	Check On-hand, Reserved, and Available on the Inventory Unit	Investigate the reservation holder before moving or adjusting stock
Stock exists in another warehouse	Reservation and shipment checks run against the order warehouse context	Check the order warehouse and where the stock actually sits	Transfer stock into the correct warehouse or fulfil from the correct warehouse
Stock exists only in non-pickable locations	Non-pickable stock is not ready for normal shipment creation	Check location type and Pickable	Replenish or transfer stock into a pickable location
Stock is in QUARANTINE or RETURNS locations	Those locations are outside the normal outbound pickable pool	Check the location type and current inventory state	Move or process the stock through the correct workflow before trying to allocate it
Another order is already holding the stock	Reserved quantity has already reduced availability	Use Show orders holding reservation	Release or reallocate reservations only if the business priority is correct
The line is serialised or uses on_pick	Parcel Pilot does not create the same early reservation pattern as immediate-allocation stock	Check the item's serialised flag or allocation strategy	Pick or allocate the exact unit when the workflow reaches that point
The line is a bundle	Bundle availability comes from component stock, not the bundle parent	Check the limiting component stock and reservation state	Fix the component shortage or ship a smaller quantity
The line is non-shippable or virtual	It does not require warehouse stock	Check the line fulfilment classification	Do not try to allocate physical stock for that line
The SKU or item link is wrong	Parcel Pilot cannot reserve the correct stock if the order line does not resolve to the right item	Check the item mapping on the order line and the SKU on the Item record	Correct the line or item mapping before investigating stock
Allocation looks partial	Only part of the demand is currently available or reserved	Check outstanding quantity versus pickable available quantity	Use partial shipment logic when appropriate, or wait for the remaining stock
Discontinued stock exists, but the order still cannot use it	Discontinued stock is not ordinary active stock	Check the Inventory Unit status	Restore active stock only through the correct workflow, not by pretending it is already allocatable
Stock exists for another client or tenant	Cross-client and cross-tenant stock does not count for this order	Check the client and tenant on the stock record	Use stock belonging to the correct client and tenant only

On-hand versus available

This is the first allocation check to understand.

On-hand answers: does the quantity physically exist?
Available answers: can this order use it now?

If on-hand is 10 but reserved is 7, available is only 3.

That is why an operator can look at the shelf and still see stock, while Parcel Pilot correctly says the order cannot fully allocate.

Immediate versus on-pick strategy

Immediate allocation

Parcel Pilot reserves stock before shipment creation.
Inventory Units can show reserved quantity as soon as the order is reserved.

On-pick allocation

Parcel Pilot does not rely on the same early reservation pattern.
The actual reservation appears later when the unit is picked or the serial is allocated.

This means a line can be waiting for pick-time allocation even though another immediate-allocation SKU already shows reserved stock.

Wrong warehouse versus wrong location

These are different problems.

Wrong warehouse

the stock is not in the warehouse the order is shipping from
the fix is a warehouse transfer or fulfilling from the correct warehouse

Wrong location

the stock is in the right warehouse, but not in a pickable location
the fix is usually Transfer Stock to a pick face

See Locations - Pickable vs Non-pickable.

Reservations

Reservations can be correct or stale.

Use these checks:

open the Inventory Unit
use Show orders holding reservation
confirm whether the listed order should still be holding the stock

Safe corrections:

Release Reservation if the order is wrongly holding stock and no shipment should be created
reservation reallocation only when another open order should take priority for the same stock

Do not use an inventory adjustment to "free" reserved stock. An adjustment changes quantity, not reservation ownership.

Serialised stock

For serialised lines:

the correct serial must exist
the serial must be in the correct tenant, client, warehouse, and safe location
shipment deduction is blocked if the required serial allocations do not exist

If the wrong serial was picked earlier, use the picking workflow to correct the allocation rather than adjusting quantity.

Bundles

For bundle or kit lines:

the order-facing SKU is not the stock-holding unit
allocation depends on the component items
one limiting component can reduce bundle availability to zero

See Items - How Bundle Inventory Works.

Transfers versus adjustments

Use Transfer Stock when the stock is physically in the wrong location.

Use Record inventory adjustment when the quantity itself is wrong.

Do not use an adjustment to fake a move from bulk or quarantine to pick face. That hides the real location history.

Step-by-step investigation

Confirm the line still requires warehouse fulfilment.
Confirm the item and SKU resolve to the expected Item record.
Check the correct warehouse.
Check whether stock is in a pickable location.
Check on-hand, reserved, and available.
Check which orders are holding the reservation.
Check whether the item is serialised or on_pick.
If it is a bundle, check the limiting component.

Safe corrective action

Receive stock if it has not arrived yet.
Transfer stock into the correct warehouse or pickable location.
Release or reallocate reservations only when that reflects the real operational priority.
Use Cancel Remaining on the order line if the outstanding quantity will never be fulfilled.

Actions intended only for repair

Fulfilment Repair is not an allocation tool.
inventory adjustments are not a safe way to reassign reservation ownership.
manual status changes do not solve the underlying allocation reason.

Worked example

An order needs SKU-C x6.

What the operator finds:

On-hand = 10
Reserved = 8
Available = 2

Why the order will not fully allocate:

the stock exists physically, but most of it is already reserved

Safe next action:

use Show orders holding reservation
confirm whether those reservations are still valid
only release or reallocate the reservation if the other order no longer needs it

Related guides

Selective natural-language aliases

allocation failed
stock unavailable
cannot reserve stock
cannot pick