Real-world example: Transfer order for Cozy Slumber, a weighted blanket company. They use a 3PL and Amazon FBA with a WMS Integration.
Cozy Slumber is a weighted blanket company. They store their inventory at a third-party logistics (3PL) warehouse. They use Transfers to move products and have a WMS integration.
Scenario: To utilize Amazon's FBA service, they need to transfer 50 blankets of their popular "Serenity Sleep" blanket from their 3PL to an Amazon FBA warehouse. This warehouse a WMS-managed location in their Settle account.
Process:
Create a transfer order:
Cozy Slumber creates a new purchase order by clicking the +Create Transfer button from the Transfers section in the left-hand navigation.
Source Location: They will select their 3PL warehouse as the "Source Location."
Destination Location: They will select their designated Amazon FBA warehouse as the Destination Location. This is a WMS location in their account.
Items to Transfer: They will add line items to the Transfer Order, specifying:
Product: Serenity Sleep Weighted Blanket
Quantity to transfer: 50 units
Initiate the transfer:
Cozy Slumber coordinates the physical transfer of the 50 Serenity Sleep blankets from their 3PL to the Amazon FBA warehouse, adhering to Amazon's shipping guidelines.
Updating inventory in Settle upon shipment:
As the blankets are shipped from the 3PL as confirmed by their 3PL confirms, Cozy Slumber will process the Transfer Order in Settle. This action will:
Decrease the inventory quantity of the Serenity Sleep Weighted Blanket at the 3PL Warehouse location.
The inventory at the Amazon FBA Warehouse location will not immediately increase.
Receiving at Amazon FBA (GRN Sync):
Automated GRN via WMS: When the shipment is received at their FBA warehouse, the receiver will record the received quantities in their WMS system. This receiving information will then be synced back to Settle as a Goods Received Note (GRN) that is linked to the specific Transfer Order. This GRN appears in the sync center for Cozy Slumber to review the quantities received by Amazon. Once linked, the inventory quantity at the Amazon FBA Warehouse location in Settle will increase to reflect the received stock.
Reconciliation (Settle vs. Amazon):
Cozy Slumber should still regularly review Amazon's inventory reports against the inventory levels shown in their Amazon FBA Warehouse location in Settle. This will ensure accuracy and identify any discrepancies.
Key Takeaways for this workflow:
Transfer to WMS: Transfer Orders are used to move inventory to a WMS location, in this case, Amazon FBA.
Inventory decrease at source: Inventory is decreased at the source location (3PL) upon shipment.
GRN sync for destination: The inventory increase at the WMS destination (Amazon FBA) is triggered by a Goods Received Note (GRN) synced from the WMS and linked to the Transfer Order in Settle.
Sync Center management: Cozy Slumber will monitor their Settle sync center to link or confirm GRNs from Amazon to the relevant Transfer Orders.
Regular reconciliation remains important: Comparing inventory levels between Settle and Amazon's reports is still essential for accuracy.
🤯🤯 Want to see this in action for yourself? Connect with your Settle representative for a demo.