What is Advance shipping notice?

For a small Shopify store, an advance shipping notice lets you plan ahead instead of being surprised by a delivery truck. If a supplier tells you 200 units of a candle SKU are shipping and due in five days, you can schedule staff time to receive and shelve it, and you can hold off on reordering that item since more stock is already on the way.

Use it to update your own records before the box arrives. Mark the quantity as incoming inventory, note the expected date, and compare it against what actually shows up when you receive the shipment. Mismatches between the notice and the delivery are worth flagging with the supplier early.

Example

A supplier emails a store owner that 150 units of a lavender candle SKU shipped today and will arrive in 4 days. The store owner logs this as incoming inventory and skips placing a new order for that candle, since 150 units are already on the way.

Common mistakes

• Treating the notice as guaranteed stock on hand instead of stock still in transit.
• Not checking the received quantity against the notice, which lets shortages or damage go unnoticed.
• Ignoring the notice and letting the forecast assume no stock is coming, which can lead to duplicate orders.

Advance shipping notice and SteadyShelf

SteadyShelf tracks incoming purchase orders and their expected arrival so you can see what is already on the way before deciding whether to reorder a SKU.

SteadyShelf is launching on the Shopify App Store. Join early access to get the install link first.

Related terms

Incoming inventory · Receiving · Purchase order · Lead time · Packing slip

Full inventory glossary

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