When inventory is sent to a 3PL warehouse, creating an inbound shipment provides advance notice of what is arriving, when it is expected, and what items are included. This ensures accurate receiving, better warehouse planning, and improved inventory reconciliation.

This article explains:

Why inbound shipments are important
How Luminous syncs inbound shipments to 3PLs
How to configure the feature
How to manually or automatically push shipments
How sync status tracking works

Why Use Inbound Shipments?

When inventory is shipped to a 3PL warehouse, the warehouse must know in advance:

Which POs are being fulfilled
How many cartons or pallets are expected
What SKUs and quantities should be received
Which brand the shipment belongs to

Without inbound shipment creation, warehouses:

Cannot plan receiving labor
May not allocate space correctly
Cannot validate quantities efficiently
May experience receiving delays or discrepancies

Inbound shipments act as shipment notifications. They allow 3PL warehouses to:

Prepare labor for unloading and putaway
Allocate shelf or bin space
Validate received quantities
Trigger automated workflows inside their Warehouse Management System (WMS)

This significantly reduces confusion and receiving errors.

How Luminous Supports Inbound Shipments with 3PLs

When a warehouse is configured as Externally Managed, Luminous can sync PO and shipment data directly to 3PL through your Trackstar integration.

Key Capabilities

Auto Create Inbound Shipments
PO Shipments can automatically push to the 3PL when they reach selected statuses.
Manual Push Option
POs and PO Shipments can be manually pushed as inbound shipments from the Luminous UI.
Sync Status Tracking
Each PO and PO Shipment includes a Sync Status indicator showing whether it has synced successfully.
External System Link
After a successful sync, a clickable link allows direct access to the inbound shipment inside Trackstar.
Auto Reconciliation (Upcoming Enhancement)
When inbound shipment updates are pulled from Trackstar, Luminous will auto-reconcile received quantities against expected quantities.

Feature Configuration

To use inbound shipment syncing, the destination warehouse must be configured correctly.

Step 1: Configure Warehouse Group (Admin Only)

Navigate to Settings > Warehouse Groups.
Edit an existing warehouse group or create a new one.
Check Externally Managed.
Select the appropriate App Integration Account (e.g., ShipStation).
Choose the status that you want to trigger the Auto push of your shipment.

Optional Auto Push Settings

Enable Auto Push Purchase Orders
- Select which PO statuses trigger sync (e.g., Active, Completed).
Enable Auto Push PO Shipments
- Select which shipment statuses trigger sync (e.g., Ready for Shipment, Shipped).
Enable Auto Push Transfer Orders
- Transfer orders can be pushed regardless of status if enabled.

Save changes.

Note: Auto push can be disabled if manual control is preferred.

How to Use the Feature

View Sync Status

A Sync Status column appears on:

Purchase Orders table
PO Shipments table

Status Indicators

🟢 Synced – Successfully pushed
🔴 Unsynced – Not yet synced or failed

Hover over the status chip to see:

Last synced timestamp
Sync result
Error details (if applicable)

If an external URL is returned, clicking the status chip opens the inbound shipment directly in Trackstar.

Manually Push as Inbound Shipment

If auto push is disabled or a manual push is needed:

Push a Purchase Order

Navigate to Purchase Orders.
Locate the desired PO.
Click the three-dot action menu.
Select Push as Inbound Shipment.
Confirm the dialog.

The PO will sync to the 3PL as an inbound shipment.

Push a PO Shipment

Navigate to Purchase Order Shipments.
Locate the shipment.
Click the three-dot action menu.
Select Push as Inbound Shipment.
Confirm to trigger the sync.

Sync status will update once completed.

Behavior and Edge Cases

Only External Warehouses Supported
Shipments to non-externally managed warehouses cannot be pushed.
Sync Status Updates Automatically
Fields include:
- sync_status
- last_synced_at
- last_synced_status
Status-Based Auto Push
- POs auto push when reaching configured statuses.
- PO Shipments auto push when shipment statuses match configured triggers.
- Transfer orders can auto push regardless of status (if enabled).
Multiple Suppliers
If multiple suppliers exist in a shipment, the supplier field defaults to "Various" to meet 3PL requirements.
Error Handling
If sync fails (validation issues, network errors), the error message is stored and visible via hover in the Sync Status column.

Important Fields Synced to your 3PL

The following fields are pushed when creating an inbound shipment:

Supplier (or "Various" if multiple)
Expected Arrival Date
PO Number
Tracking Number
Tags
Line Items (SKUs and expected quantities)

These fields allow the 3PL to validate and accurately receive inventory.

Use Case Examples

Use Case 1: Auto Push on Shipment Status Change

A PO Shipment is created for a Trackstar-connected warehouse.
When the shipment status changes to Ready for Shipment, it automatically pushes to your 3PL.

The warehouse receives advance notice, and the Sync Status shows Synced in Luminous.

Use Case 2: Manual Push for a Special Shipment

Auto push is disabled.
A specific shipment needs to be pushed manually.

The shipment is selected and Push as Inbound Shipment is chosen from the action menu. Sync Status updates once complete.

Use Case 3: Transfer Orders Auto Push

Auto Push Transfer Orders is enabled.
When a transfer order is created, it automatically generates an inbound shipment(in your 3PL, this shipment will often appear as PO) in the 3PL system to notify them of incoming stock.