How to Create & Manage Purchase Orders Efficiently

Welcome to your go-to guide for managing inbound inventory at Shipping Pilot. This article walks you through the full process of creating, tracking, and managing Purchase Orders (POs) in our system.

1. Create a New Purchase Order

• Navigate to the Purchase Orders section in the platform.

• Click the “Create PO” button at the top right.

• Select the correct warehouse location.

• Choose your vendor from the dropdown (either by company name or supplier).

 2. PO Number & Tagging

• Enter a custom PO number (e.g, PO-06042025-England) for internal tracking.

• Select from one of the Shipping Pilot tags to categorize the inbound shipment:

  • SP-Freight – (For palletized or LTL shipments)

  • SP- (For small parcel shipments

  • SP-Container- (For full container shipments)

✅ Pro Tip: Tags help streamline reporting and filter views later!

3. Add Tracking Info

• Include the carrier tracking number, order date, and expected delivery date.

• This ensures your receiving team is prepared ahead of time.

4. Handling Backorders & Reorders

• Add backordered or reordered items directly to the PO.

• Reorder quantities are based on preset thresholds for each SKU.

5. Add Products to the PO

• Search and add individual products (e.g., snowboard wax, standard snowboard).

• Set accurate quantities for each item.

Note: Kit SKUs cannot be added as standalone items. Please list each kit component individually.

6. Sell-Ahead Quantity (Optional)

• Enable Sell-Ahead if you want to make items available to customers before they’re received at the warehouse.

7. Save & Finalize

• Review your PO and click “Save” to complete the process.

8. Manage All POs

• Head back to the PO Management Dashboard to:

  • Track open or closed POs

  • Monitor in-transit items

  • View all incoming inventory

9. Status & Receiving

• Product quantities appear once added.

• The PO will auto-update to “Closed” once all items are fully received and scanned by the Shipping Pilot warehouse team.

10. Advanced Features & Reporting

• Upload or Export CSVs to bulk edit or archive data.

• Use column filters to sort POs by:

  • Status

  • Warehouse

  • Receipt progress

  • Custom tags

• Create tailored reports using tags to track vendor performance, product lead times, and shipment types.