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Registering and Receiving an Expected Delivery

Use this guide when you know stock is coming into the warehouse and you want to plan it before it arrives.

This is the normal workflow for supplier deliveries, client-arranged inbound stock, and any delivery the warehouse should be expecting in advance.

When should I use this?

Use Register Expected Delivery when you want to:

  • tell the warehouse what is coming in
  • list the SKUs and expected quantities before the vehicle arrives
  • track receiving progress after the delivery starts
  • avoid creating stock too early

If the goods have already arrived and you just need to book them in, use Working with receipts instead.

Who does what?

Client users can:

  • register an expected delivery for their own client
  • add the expected items, quantities, and references
  • edit the plan before warehouse receiving starts
  • view progress after receiving has started

Warehouse and admin users can:

  • review the delivery plan
  • define handling units such as pallets, boxes / cartons, totes, or parcels before receiving starts
  • print A4 handling-unit labels for the planned pallets, cartons, or other units
  • click Start Receiving when the stock arrives
  • record what actually arrived
  • choose putaway locations
  • complete receiving so stock is added to inventory

How it works

The expected delivery is the plan.

The warehouse then receives against that plan.

Stock is not added to inventory just because the delivery was registered. Stock is only added when the warehouse finishes the receiving step.

Client workflow: create the inbound delivery

Use this route when you need to tell the warehouse what is coming before it arrives.

  1. Open Inventory Inbounds and click Register Expected Delivery.
  2. Choose the Client and Warehouse.
  3. Let ParcelPilot generate the Inbound Reference.
  4. Complete the planning fields that help the warehouse identify the delivery:
    • Supplier / Sender for who is sending the goods
    • External Reference for your PO, ASN, booking, container, or supplier reference
    • Expected Delivery Date when you know the arrival date
    • Client Notes for useful delivery instructions or context
  5. Add the expected SKU lines under Item and Expected quantity.
  6. Use Line Notes where a specific line needs extra context.
  7. If the items are serialised and you already know them, add Expected Serials. This is optional.
  8. If you want the warehouse notice sent straight away, turn on Notify warehouse team.
  9. Click Create or Save while you are still preparing the delivery, then use Submit when the plan is ready for warehouse receiving.

Add Handling Units

A Handling Unit is the physical unit the stock will arrive in, such as a pallet or a box / carton.

Use Handling Units when you want the warehouse to know how the delivery is physically grouped before the lorry arrives.

Add one Handling Unit

  1. Open the inbound.
  2. In Handling Units, click Add Handling Unit.
  3. Choose the Handling unit type.
  4. Enter the Sequence within type if you need to override the next number.
  5. Turn Contents known on if you know what is on that unit.
  6. If Contents known is on, add the Planned contents by choosing the Inbound line and entering the Allocated quantity for each product.
  7. Save the Handling Unit.

Add multiple Handling Units

  1. In Handling Units, click Add Multiple Handling Units.
  2. Choose the Handling unit type.
  3. Enter How many units?
  4. ParcelPilot creates the numbered units for you.
  5. Edit any unit later if you want to add Planned contents.

When you do and do not need allocations

You do not need to know exactly which products are on each pallet or box.

If you know a delivery consists of two pallets but do not know which products are on each individual pallet, you can still create the two Handling Units without allocating their contents.

The current UI distinguishes these situations:

  • Contents unknown: the physical unit exists, but you do not know its SKU breakdown yet.
  • Known, no allocations: you turned Contents known on, but you have not entered the line-by-line quantities yet.
  • Allocated contents: the unit shows planned line and quantity totals, and the inbound summary can show Partially allocated or Fully allocated.

Generate Handling Unit labels

Use Handling Unit labels when a physical pallet or box should travel to the warehouse with a ParcelPilot identity attached.

You can print:

  • Print Label for one Handling Unit
  • Print All Handling Unit Labels for the whole inbound

Each A4 label shows the current planned identity for that unit, including:

  • the Handling Unit identifier, such as HU-00007648
  • the unit label, such as Pallet 1 of 2 or Box / Carton 1 of 3
  • the inbound and client details
  • the destination warehouse delivery address
  • expected contents where they were supplied
  • the QR code the warehouse can scan on arrival

Attach the correct label to the matching physical pallet or box, especially when you have allocated individual contents to specific Handling Units.

If contents were not specified, the label still gives the warehouse the Handling Unit identity, sequence, inbound reference, and destination details, but it will not pretend to know the exact SKU breakdown.

Labels can be reprinted later from the same Print Label or Print All Handling Unit Labels actions.

What happens after dispatch

After the stock has left the sender:

  • the warehouse can scan the Handling Unit QR when the pallet or box arrives
  • the scan page is informational first and does not create receiving records just by being opened
  • an authorised warehouse user chooses Start Receiving This ... or Continue Receiving This ... to open the normal receiving workflow
  • ParcelPilot records the actual goods received against the inbound through the existing controlled receiving process

Client-facing progress stays read-only and practical:

  • where a Handling Unit has a quantity plan, ParcelPilot can show planned versus recorded quantities
  • where no Handling Unit quantity plan exists, ParcelPilot shows the actual activity recorded for that unit instead of a misleading completion percentage
  • final client-visible discrepancy wording may appear after the inbound is completed

For the warehouse arrival workflow, see Receiving an inbound delivery from a Handling Unit label.

Warehouse workflow summary

When the delivery arrives:

  1. Open the inbound or scan the Handling Unit QR.
  2. Review the pallet or box details on the Handling Unit page.
  3. Click Start Receiving or Resume Receiving from the inbound, or Start Receiving This ... / Continue Receiving This ... from the Handling Unit page.
  4. Record the physical stock that actually arrived.
  5. Finish with Complete Receiving when the accepted stock should be added to inventory.

For detailed warehouse instructions, see Receiving an inbound delivery from a Handling Unit label and Scan stock in.

What happens next?

After Complete Receiving:

  • the received stock is added to inventory
  • the linked receipt shows the final received quantities
  • the expected delivery shows whether it is finished or still waiting for the rest of the stock
  • the warehouse can continue later if only part of the delivery arrived

Common questions

When is stock actually added?

Not when you register the delivery.

Not when you save receiving progress.

Stock is added when the warehouse completes receiving.

Can we receive only part of the delivery?

Yes. If only some of the stock arrives, the warehouse can receive that part first and leave the rest for later, or close the shortfall if the UI offers that option.

Do handling units change receiving?

Handling Units are still planning records.

They help describe the expected physical pallets, cartons, and similar units before receiving starts.

The actual received evidence still comes from the normal receipt and Scan Stock In workflow.

When warehouse staff launch receiving from a Handling Unit page, ParcelPilot still writes the warehouse evidence to the linked receipt and controlled receiving records rather than to the Handling Unit itself.

What happens when I scan a Handling Unit label?

The label QR opens the canonical Handling Unit scan page for that physical unit.

This page stays informational when it first opens. It shows the Handling Unit identity, inbound, client, warehouse, and planned contents where available.

If the inbound is submitted and the signed-in user is allowed to receive stock, the page shows Start Receiving This ... or Continue Receiving This ... for that unit type.

Receiving still only starts when the operator clicks that button.

The QR page itself does not create a receipt or record stock movement just by being opened.

The page now also shows read-only Receiving Progress for that specific handling unit.

This progress is derived from the normal controlled receiving evidence on the linked inbound, not from a separate handling-unit status field.

Warehouse users can see planning-vs-recorded detail such as planned quantity on that unit, recorded quantity, remaining quantity, and operational notes when activity was recorded elsewhere or outside handling-unit context.

Client users only see a safer summary and any client-visible discrepancy wording after the inbound is completed.

Do I need to allocate contents for every pallet?

No.

If you know there will be 2 pallets but you do not know which SKUs are on each one yet, you can define the pallets and leave the contents unknown.

If contents are known but not allocated yet, ParcelPilot can still show handling-unit activity later, but it treats that as activity without a handling-unit plan rather than as matched receiving progress.

Can receiving charges be changed?

Yes. The receipt may start with a default receiving-charge choice taken from the item, but the warehouse can still change the receipt-line setting during receiving.

What if this is an older record?

Older records may still use the previous receipt workflow. Use this guide for new expected deliveries.

Things to check if something looks wrong

  1. Make sure the inbound has the right Client and Warehouse.
  2. Check that the SKU lines and quantities match the physical delivery.
  3. If stock is missing from inventory, confirm the warehouse clicked Complete Receiving.
  4. If serialised stock will not post, check that the required serials were captured.
  5. If only part of the delivery has arrived, check whether the inbound was left open for another receiving pass.

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