How Inbound Shipments are Handled
When you create an inbound shipment within Amazon Seller Central (FBA), Luminous automatically detects and mirrors this as an "Inbound Shipment" in your Luminous dashboard. This does not immediately affect your inventory levels, providing an essential layer of control.
Reconciling Your Inbound Shipments
Once the inbound shipment appears in Luminous, you have the flexibility to reconcile it through one of the following options:
Existing Purchase Order (PO): Directly link the shipment to an existing PO already issued to your supplier.
New Purchase Order: Generate a new PO specifically for this shipment.
New Transfer Order (TO): Initiate a transfer from your own warehouse to FBA.
Existing Shipment from a PO: Connect it to an existing shipment associated with a previous PO.
After reconciliation, Luminous begins automatic tracking.
Automatic Tracking and Receiving
Post-reconciliation, Luminous automatically monitors Amazon FBA for shipment updates. When Amazon confirms the arrival of products, Luminous creates a receiving report linked directly to the reconciled transaction (PO or TO). This automated process provides:
Real-time inventory tracking
Precise cost of goods sold (COGS)
Immediate insight into goods in transit and inventory statuses
Special Case: Supplier Direct-to-FBA Shipments
In scenarios where your supplier ships directly to Amazon FBA:
You first issue a PO to your supplier through Luminous.
Create an inbound shipment within Amazon Seller Central, which Luminous detects.
Reconcile this detected inbound shipment against the existing PO.
Luminous then ensures the original PO is automatically updated upon receipt confirmation from Amazon, without generating additional SO/PO redundancies.
When to Use a Transfer Order
When transferring from your warehouse inventory to Amazon FBA:
Select a Transfer Order when reconciling the inbound shipment.
Luminous automatically creates a Sales Order (SO) from your warehouse and a corresponding Purchase Order (PO) for FBA.
Fulfill and mark the SO as shipped; the PO will be auto-received upon Amazon’s confirmation.
Simplified Workflow Diagram
By leveraging Luminous’s intelligent reconciliation and automation, your inventory management becomes significantly simpler, accurate, and more efficient.