3PL Integration

Purpose

This procedure is a guide on how to manage order shipping through your 3PL integration.

3PL integration is recommended to reduce manual intervention and the time taken to process orders.

Overview

The following file types will be sent and received, they follow the journey of a product from creation to delivery:

File 1 - Product information, sent to the 3PL when the Purchase order is generated

File 2 - ASN for the purchase order lines to be received, sent to the 3Pl when a delivery is due to arrive

File 3 - Confirmation of receipt, received when the stock is confirmed as received into your inventory

File 4 - Order file, sent to the 3PL when the order can be picked and packed

File 5 - Order confirmation, received when the order has been packed and shipped

Product – File 1

Product data is sent when a purchase order is raised and generated.  All items listed on the purchase order will be sent, this gives the 3PL a catalogue of your items to allow receiving and shipping.

Selecting “Generate PO PDF” with automatically send the required information.

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ASN – File 2

The 3PL will receive advanced notification of items to be received.  The packlist quantity from the PO is the quantity that is sent here.

The file is created and sent automatically when an item is moved across from the ‘Arrive’ tab to unverified deliveries.

Once the file has been received the 3PL may then begin the receiving and putaway process.

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Purchase order receipt – File 3

Once a purchase order has been received at the 3PL you will receive a shipping confirmation file. 

The confirmation files can be viewed by opening ‘Unverfied deliveries’ and then selecting ‘Check 3PL qty’.

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This will open the following pop up.  This displays open purchase orders where a file has been received, the initial PO quantity and the quantity received at the 3PL.

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When ‘Import 3PL Qty’ is selected the to be received quantities against the PO will be populated.  The stock may then be checked into inventory.  Please note that pre-orders must be checked in manually.

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Sales orders – Files 4

When stock is allocated the order may be sent to the 3PL for picking and packing.

The sales order must only be sent when the order is ready to be picked, packed and shipped.

To send the order select ‘Send to 3PL’, you will then need to confirm that the order is to be sent.  Only the allocated stock quantity is sent.

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A confirmation will then be received.

Please note that there is the option to enable the auto sending of all online orders.

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Sales order confirmation – Files 5

When the sales order has been picked, packed and shipped a confirmation file will be received.  To view the confirmation files select ‘3PL integration’ before selecting ‘Checked for shipped orders’ and confirming the integration.

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Once the orders have loaded you can select ‘Pack now’ this will mark the order as packed.  It is recommended that ‘Show orders on Dispatch Tab’ is also selected to make it easier to go back and check what has been packed.

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You can see now that the order is packed and that the tracking number has been added.  It may now be invoiced.

Return orders

Return orders may also be integrated, this is recommended if online orders are being processed.

Updating inventory

It is also possible to schedule inventory updates between Indigo8 and the 3PL.

Typical Timeline for a 3PL Integration