Pack Station

Interactive packing workstation for scanning, boxing, and preparing consignments for dispatch.

The Pack Station is your interactive packing workstation — where picked items are scanned into cartons, packaging is applied, shipping labels are generated, and consignments are dispatched.

Consignments

Overview

The Pack Station opens for a single consignment and provides everything needed to pack and ship it:

Barcode scanning for item verification
Carton management for creating and filling shipping boxes
Packing instructions at customer, group, and SKU levels
Shipping label generation via carrier integrations
Dispatch controls for completing the shipment

Packing workflow

Open a consignment

From the Consignments page, open a consignment that's in In Pack status. The Pack Station loads with all items that need to be packed.

Create a carton

Add a carton (shipping box) and optionally apply dispatch packaging with pre-set dimensions. You can create multiple cartons for large consignments.

Scan items into cartons

Use the barcode scanner to add items to the active carton. Each scan validates the item against the consignment requirements and increments the packed quantity.

Seal cartons

Once a carton contains the right items, seal it. Sealed cartons are locked from further edits and ready for label generation.

Generate shipping labels

Select a shipping service and generate carrier labels. Each sealed carton receives a tracking number and downloadable PDF label.

Dispatch

Click Dispatch to complete the consignment. Inventory levels are adjusted and the consignment moves to Dispatched status.

Items to pack

The items table shows every product in the consignment with:

Product image and SKU code
Product title
Required quantity — How many to pack
Packed quantity — How many have been scanned
Remaining — What's left to scan
Completion percentage per item

A green checkmark appears when an item is fully packed. The header shows overall progress (e.g., "24/30 packed") and turns green when all items are packed.

Barcode scanning

The barcode scanner is the primary workflow:

Scan an item → It's added to the active (unsealed) carton
Validation → Each scan checks:
- Is this item in the consignment?
- Have we already packed the required quantity?
- Per-order line tracking prevents overpacking
Auto-assignment → Items are automatically assigned to the correct order line

Active carton

The scanner adds items to the first unsealed carton. If all cartons are sealed, a new carton is automatically created.

Carton management

Each carton tracks:

Field	Description
Carton number	Sequential identifier
Packaging type	Applied dispatch packaging (box, envelope, etc.)
Dimensions	Length × Width × Height in cm
Weight	Total weight in kg
Items	What's been packed inside
Sealed status	Whether the carton is locked
Tracking number	Assigned after label generation

Carton actions

Add carton — Create a new empty carton
Seal — Lock the carton (required before label generation)
Unseal — Revert a sealed carton to editable
Remove item — Take items out and decrement quantities
Delete — Remove an empty carton

Shipping labels

Once all cartons are sealed, the Shipping Labels section appears:

Select a shipping service from the dropdown (configured in Shipping Services)
Click Generate Labels to create carrier labels
Each carton receives:
- A tracking number
- A downloadable PDF label
A master tracking number is shown for the entire consignment

Label requirement

For non-Point of Sale channels, all sealed cartons must have shipping labels before dispatch can be completed. This ensures every package has a valid tracking number.

Packing instructions

The Pack Station displays context-specific instructions:

Customer-level — Special requirements for this customer
Customer group-level — Instructions for the customer's segment
SKU-level — Product-specific handling notes

Special handling alerts (e.g., fragile, hazardous) appear prominently at the top of the interface.

Packaging recommendations

The system can recommend optimal packaging based on the items in the consignment. Click to apply a recommendation, which auto-fills the carton dimensions and weight.

Packing inserts

A list of additional items to include in the shipment — promotional materials, invoices, or other inserts configured for this customer or channel.

Dispatch options

Dispatch — Complete the consignment (all items packed, all cartons sealed and labelled)
Partial Dispatch — Ship what's packed now, automatically creating a new consignment for remaining items
Back — Return to the consignments list without dispatching

Dispatch requirements

Before dispatching, ensure:

All required items are packed
All cartons have a specified weight
Shipping labels are generated (for non-POS channels)