A pre-shipper is a document used to select containers and product inventory for shipment. When you select products and containers on pre-shippers, the inventory for those items can be picked, if it has not been already. Pre-shippers are similar to distribution order picklists and can be printed in DO Pre-Shipper/Shipper Print (12.19.11).

A shipper is a document accompanying the shipment as a record of what is included. You can send a shipper electronically as an advance ship notice (ASN) when the shipment leaves your dock or send it with the shipment as a packing list.

The system makes a distinction between pre-shippers and shippers and numbers them separately. This distinction accommodates businesses that must number their shipments consecutively. When you print pre-shippers, you can automatically turn them into shippers. If you do not assign a shipper number to a pre-shipper when you print it, the shipper number is assigned (based on an internal or external sequence) when the pre-shipper is confirmed in DO Pre-Shipper/Shipper Confirm (12.19.13).

Intersite requests drive pre-shipper creation and, therefore, detail allocation of product inventory. Requirements from distribution orders and intersite requests become the pre-shipper, and the pre-shipper becomes the shipper. The data from each document carries forward with each step in the shipping cycle. Once created, pre-shippers can be merged into other pre-shippers or shippers using DO Pre-Shipper/Shipper Maint (12.19.3).

The workflow in DO Container/Shipper Workflow provides an overview of the activities involved in shipping with shippers. DO Pre-Shipper/Shipper Maint (12.19.3) combines most shipment functions in one program; optionally you can use separate processing programs for each step.

Programs on the Distribution Orders Shipping Menu are listed in Shipment Processing Menu (12.19).