Packing

Go to: Inventory → Packing → Structure / List / Detail

Packing answers a question the stock ledger cannot: how is this stock physically arranged? The ledger tells you there are 4,800 pieces in the finished goods store. Packing tells you they are in 200 cartons of 24, and that 40 of those cartons are stacked on pallet 7.

There are three screens, and they do different jobs:

Screen	What it is	When you use it
Structure	Reusable packing templates — how many pieces per carton, cartons per pallet	Set up once per item or packing style
Detail	The actual physical packings that exist right now	View, approve, split, convert, and nest real packs
List	The packing list document that accompanies a shipment or receipt	Per dispatch or per inbound consignment

1. Packing Structure (templates)

Go to: Inventory → Packing → Structure

A packing structure describes the packaging hierarchy for an item — the recipe for how it is packed.

Structure fields

Field	What it means
Name	Template name (e.g. Export carton — 24s)
Item	The item this structure packs
Description	Notes
Is Active	Whether the template is available for use
Status	Draft → Approved

Levels — the packaging tiers

Each level is one tier of packaging:

Field	What it means
Structure Type	The packaging type for this tier
Display Name	Label shown on the tree
Is Default	Whether this tier is used by default
Sort Order	Position in the hierarchy

ERPX seeds these packaging types:

Type	Type
Carton	Shipping Label
Inner Box	Strapping Band
Poly Bag	Stretch Wrap
Liner / Insert	Pallet
Sealing Tape	Product Label

Links — how tiers nest

Links say how many of a child tier go into a parent tier:

Field	What it means
Structure Type	The child tier
Child	The tier being contained
Qty of Child	How many children per parent
Parent Level	The containing tier (empty for the top level)
Parent UOM	UOM of the parent tier
Is Default	Whether this link is the default path

Example structure for a T-shirt:


Pallet
└── Carton × 40 per pallet
    └── Poly Bag × 24 per carton
        └── T-Shirt × 1 per bag

Approve the template before you expect to use it. ERPX validates the hierarchy on save — a link that would create a cycle (carton inside a bag inside that carton) is rejected.

2. Packing Detail (physical packings)

Go to: Inventory → Packing → Detail

Each Item Packing record is one real pack that exists in a warehouse: this carton, holding this quantity of this item from this batch, sitting in this warehouse, created by this document.

Packing fields

Field	What it means
Label	The pack’s identifier, generated from the label format
Label Format	`item_batch` or `item_batch_sequence`
Packing Sequence	The sequence number within its item/batch pool
Item	What is inside
Batch	Which batch, for batch-tracked items
Quantity / Original Quantity	Current and as-created contents
Unit of Measurement	Unit the quantity is in
Warehouse	Where the pack physically is
Structure Type	Which packaging tier this pack is
Parent Packing	The pack containing this one, if nested
Source Document	The document that created it
Posting Date	Effective date of the pack
Status	Draft → Approved → Cancelled

Views

View	Shows
List View	A flat searchable list of all packings
Tree View	The nesting hierarchy — pallets containing cartons containing bags

Where packings come from

Source	How
Manufacturing Entry	The main path — the Packings tab lets you generate packs from a packing structure as production output is recorded
Packing Detail screen	Create packs directly, individually or in bulk
Generate from structure	Apply an approved template to a quantity and let ERPX create the whole hierarchy

Actions on a packing

Action	What it does
Approve	Makes the pack real and available. Approving a parent approves its children
Split	Divides one pack into two
Convert	Changes the pack’s UOM / tier
Nest (Pack)	Puts packs inside a parent pack
Detach / De-link	Removes a child pack from its parent
Cancel	Voids the pack
Delete	Removes a Draft pack
Bulk Approve / Cancel / Delete	The same actions across a selection

Multi-batch packs are restricted. A pack that physically holds pieces from more than one batch keeps a per-batch breakdown, and operations that cannot preserve that split — split, convert, and additions — are rejected on it. Keep one batch per pack where you can.

The packed-vs-stock invariant

You can never have more stock packed than you have in stock. Packed pieces can only leave a warehouse through their packings, so ERPX checks this on every outward document from the posting date onward and blocks anything that would break it. If a transfer or issue is refused for this reason, fix the packing plan rather than the quantity.

Packing during a Stock Transfer

Moving packed stock forces a choice: does the carton travel intact, or is the stock unpacked first? That is planned in the Packing Consumption panel on the transfer — see Stock Transfer.

Unapproving or cancelling the transfer reverses the packing effects: moved packs return to the source warehouse with their original posting date, and detached children are re-linked to their parent.

Packing Ledger

Every packing movement is recorded, so a pack’s history is fully traceable:

Transaction type	Meaning
create / approve	Pack created / made available
transfer	Pack moved between warehouses
split / merge	Pack divided / combined
convert	UOM or tier changed
addition	Quantity added to a pack
consume	Pack contents consumed
repack	Contents re-packed, possibly across warehouses
detach	Child pack de-linked from its parent
cancel_reverse	A previous transaction reversed

See the Packing Ledger and Packing Report.

3. Packing List (the document)

Go to: Inventory → Packing → List

A packing list is the document that travels with goods, listing what is in each package. There are two types:

Type	Created against	Used for
Issue	A Delivery Note	Outbound — tells the customer and the carrier what is in each carton
Receive	A GRN	Inbound — records how a supplier’s consignment arrived

Packing list item fields

Field	What it means
Package Group	Groups rows belonging to one package set
Package Number	The package identifier
Item	What is in the package
Quantity	How much
Unit of Measurement	Unit of the quantity
Packing Type	Carton, pallet, etc.
Gross Weight / Net Weight	Weights for the carrier and customs
Dimensions	Package dimensions
Used Quantity / Used Net Weight	How much of this row is already linked into a later document

Item Bundle parents are excluded from packing lists — you pack the physical components, not the kit wrapper.

Where it fits

The Inventory overview shows DN and GRN badges on the Packing List and Shipment tiles, counting documents ready to be packed or shipped.

For export paperwork — commercial invoice, detailed packing list, bill of lading — see Export Documents.

Do I need packing at all?

You need Packing when…	You can skip it when…
Customers require carton-level contents on paperwork	You ship loose or in bulk
You export and need detailed packing lists	Quantity per warehouse is enough
You move stock as intact pallets between sites	Nothing is ever packed in advance
You must trace which carton held which batch	Batch-level traceability is enough

Packing is optional. Nothing else in Inventory requires it — but once you do use it, the packed-vs-stock invariant applies to every outward movement of those items, so adopt it deliberately rather than partially.

Tips

Build the structure templates first. Generating a hierarchy from a template is far faster and less error-prone than creating packs by hand.
Keep one batch per pack. Multi-batch packs restrict split and convert operations.
Approve packs as they are physically made, not in a weekly batch — a Draft pack is invisible to transfers.
Use the Tree View on Packing Detail when you are trying to understand what is on a pallet.
Use the Packing Ledger to answer “where did carton TSH-B12-004 go” — it has the full movement history.