Getting an order out of the door is four steps, and each one moves a different number. Understanding which is which saves a lot of confused stock counts.
Commit → Pick → Pack → Ship
What each step does
Commit locks the inventory at a specific bin. Nobody else can take it, and the system now knows exactly which stock is going on this order.
Pick is the physical act — someone walks to the bin and takes it off the shelf. The stock leaves that location and belongs to the order.
Pack is a status change. The goods are boxed and labelled, nothing moves.
Ship marks the order gone. This is the point your On Hand finally drops.
Which numbers move, and when
This is the part worth keeping.
Step | Available | Available to pick | Stock at the bin | On Hand |
Confirm the order | ↓ | — | — | — |
Commit | — | ↓ | locked | — |
Pick | — | — | ↓ | — |
Pack | — | — | — | — |
Ship | — | — | — | ↓ |
Two things fall out of that, and both are common questions:
Your On Hand does not drop when you pick. The goods are off the shelf but still in the building, so they still count as stock you hold. They leave when you ship.
Available drops the moment you confirm the order, long before anything is committed. That is what stops the same stock being promised to two customers.
Stepping back
Every stage has an undo — Uncommit, Unpick, Unpack — and they appear on the shipment as you go forward. Uncommitting puts the stock back to available to pick, so someone else can have it.
See Undo a shipping step.