How consignment flows through the warehouse
Who owns what
Nothing on the warehouse shelves belongs to the warehouse. Every item belongs to a supply partner, the company that sent it there to be stored and shipped. The warehouse is the supply partner's agent. It keeps the goods safe, ships them when told to, and reports exactly what happened.
That one fact shapes the whole system:
- Everything is grouped by supply partner. Items, orders, receivings and reports each belong to one supply partner. An order draws stock from one supply partner only.
- Every movement is recorded. The supply partner has to trust the count without standing in the warehouse. See The audit trail.
- Supply partners can look for themselves. The Supply Partner portal shows each one their own stock and activity, and nobody else's.
The path an item takes
| Step | What happens | Who does it | What it does to stock |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Stock is sent | The supply partner decides to restock and sends a spreadsheet of what's coming. | Supply partner | Nothing yet. |
| 2. Receive | The delivery is counted, checked and entered as a receiving. Damaged goods can go to quarantine. | Warehouse and office | Nothing until it's posted. |
| 3. Post to inventory | The office posts the checked receiving. | Office | On hand goes up. |
| 4. Order comes in | The supply partner (or the customer) emails an order. The office enters it. | Office | Nothing yet. |
| 5. Release | The office releases the order. ConsignTrak gives it its release numbers and prints the release the warehouse picks from. | Office | The quantity becomes committed, so nobody promises it twice. |
| 6. Pick | A warehouse worker picks the items with a phone and sets the stack in a staging area. | Warehouse | No change. |
| 7. Pack | The packer checks every line against the release and packs the boxes. | Warehouse | No change. |
| 8. Ship | The boxes leave, with tracking numbers recorded. | Warehouse and office | On hand goes down. The commitment is cleared. |
Some order lines never touch the shelf. With Supply Partner Direct, the supply partner ships the goods from their own stock. ConsignTrak still tracks the line so the order is complete, but no warehouse stock moves. See Orders.
What the warehouse doesn't do
People new to consignment often expect to see prices, invoices and payments. ConsignTrak leaves them out on purpose.
- No invoicing. The supply partner bills the customer directly.
- No price setting. The supply partner sets prices. Any prices you see are copied from the supply partner for reference.
- No payments or credits. Money goes between the supply partner and the customer.
- No reordering. The supply partner decides when to restock.
The warehouse's job is to be exact about the goods. The count on the screen is the supply partner's count too. That's why a stock change always leaves a record, and why a correction is a new record instead of an edit.
Where you'll see this
- Receiving and receiving on the phone: steps 2 and 3.
- Orders: steps 4 and 5.
- Picking and Packing, shipping and pickup: steps 6 to 8.
- Supply Partners: each supply partner's page, orders and activity report.
- Inventory & items: on hand, committed and available.