How pick lists, packing slips and sales orders fit together

This page explains the dispatch chain: what each document is for, how they link to the sales order, and what the system will and will not let you do between the steps. For the screens and buttons, see Picking, packing and dispatch.

The chain

Sales order  →  Pick list  →  Packing slip  →  Delivery challan  →  Invoice
SO/2026-27/…    PK/0001       PS/0001          DC/2026/0001
(approved)      (stores)      (packing)        (goods leave)

Each document answers one question.

Document	The question it answers	Who works on it
Sales order	What did the customer order, and at what price?	Sales
Pick list	Which goods, how many, and from which warehouse do we take off the shelf for this order?	Stores
Packing slip	Which box did each picked unit go into, and what does each box weigh and measure?	Packing
Delivery challan	What left the gate, when, and on which vehicle?	Dispatch

The packing slip is optional. The pick list is the normal route, and the challan is the only step that takes stock out of the books.

How the documents are linked

Link	Rule
Sales order → pick lists	One order can have several pick lists, one for each lot you send
Pick list → warehouse	A pick list picks from one warehouse
Pick list → packing slip	A pick list has at most one packing slip, and a slip packs exactly one pick list
Pick list → challan	A pick list is shipped on one challan, and then it is spent
Packing slip → challan	A closed slip is shipped on the challan of its pick list

Because every document carries the sales order number, you can open any of them and trace back to the order, or open the order and see what has gone.

What happens to stock at each step

Step	What changes in stock
The sales order is approved	The order asks stores for the stock
Stores clicks Approve & Allocate on the material request	The quantity is reserved for the order. It is still in the warehouse, but no other order can take it
A pick list is confirmed	Nothing changes in the quantities. The system records which units were taken, and by whom. Batch and serial units are tied to this pick list so no other pick list can claim them
Boxes are added to a packing slip	Nothing changes in the quantities. Each picked unit is tied to its box
The delivery challan is issued	The goods leave stock, and their cost is booked to Cost of Goods Sold

So if you look at a warehouse after picking and packing but before the challan, the stock is still shown there. That is correct: until the challan is issued the goods have not left.

What happens to the sales order

The sales order changes status only when a challan is issued.

When	Sales order status
Pick lists and packing slips are being worked on	Stays APPROVED
A challan ships part of the order	PARTIALLY DISPATCHED
Challans have shipped the whole order	FULLY DISPATCHED

The quantities on the challan come from the pick list and cannot be changed on the challan. What was picked is what ships.

The pick list

A pick list is an instruction to stores, and afterwards a record of what stores actually took.

Status	Meaning
Draft	Being prepared. Not yet given to stores
Released	On the floor, waiting to be picked
Picked	The pick is confirmed: the quantities and the units taken are recorded
Dispatched	A challan has shipped it. Nothing more can be done with it
Cancelled	Abandoned. Any units it had claimed are free again

What the system checks:

• The order must be approved. A pick list cannot be made for a draft or cancelled order.
• It asks only for what is left. A new pick list for an order leaves out quantities that are already on another pick list. If everything is covered, you are told there is nothing left to pick.
• You cannot pick more than the line asks for. You can pick less; that is a short pick (see below).
• Units must be in the warehouse of the pick list. A batch or serial unit in another warehouse is refused. Move it first with a stock transfer. A unit that is in transit on a transfer cannot be picked until it has been received.
• Units must have passed quality. A unit that failed inspection, or is still waiting for one, cannot be picked. See Quality.
• A unit can be on one pick list only.

The packing slip

A packing slip records how a pick list was boxed. It claims no stock of its own: it can only box what the pick list took.

Status	Meaning
Draft	Boxes are being added
Packed	Every picked unit is in a box. Waiting for any box inspection
Closed	Finished and ready to ship
Cancelled	Abandoned. The pick list behind it is untouched and can be packed again or shipped unpacked

A slip can be cancelled at any point until a challan has shipped it, including after it is closed.

What the system checks:

• The pick list must be Picked. A draft or released pick list has nothing to box yet, and a dispatched one has already gone.
• A box cannot hold more than was picked. Each line is limited to what is still unpacked from that pick-list line.
• For batch and serial products you choose the units that go into each box, and a unit can be in one box only.
• Mark Packed needs everything boxed. If anything picked is not in a box, the slip names what is missing. Goods that are not going belong on a short pick, not left out of a box.
• Close Slip needs every box inspection settled. If you raised an inspection on a box, the slip cannot close until that inspection is passed or waived. A box with no inspection raised does not hold the slip up, unless it holds a product marked Package Inspection Required: that box must have an inspection for the product before the slip can close.

The packing list PDF is printed from the slip: one section for each box with its dimensions, weights, shipping marks and contents.

Sending an order in lots, and short picks

An order does not have to go in one shipment.

Planned lots. An order is for 600 pieces and 400 are going today. Confirm the pick list with 400. The next pick list for the same order asks for the remaining 200. Each lot has its own pick list, packing slip and challan, and the order stays PARTIALLY DISPATCHED until the last one.

Short picks. Stores was asked for 400 and found 380. Enter 380 as picked. The order quantity is not reduced, the line is listed under short picks on the Picking Desk, and the next pick list for the order asks for the 20 that are still owed.

Skipping a step

You want to	What to do	What the system does
Ship without box details	On a picked pick list, click Create Delivery Note	Ships the pick list as it is
Ship a pick list you started packing, unpacked	Cancel the packing slip, then create the challan from the pick list	Once a slip exists for a pick list, the challan is refused until the slip is closed or cancelled
Ship straight from the sales order	Create Dispatch on the order	Refused while a picked pick list for that order is waiting to ship. Ship that pick list instead, so the same goods are not claimed twice

Undoing a step

To undo	Rule
A pick list	Cancel it at any time before it is shipped. Its units become free. A pick list that has shipped cannot be cancelled
A packing slip	Cancel it at any time before it is shipped, even after it is closed. Its boxes are released and the pick list can be packed again. A slip that has shipped cannot be cancelled
A sales order	Void the order. This is refused while the order has a pick list that is neither cancelled nor shipped, so cancel the pick list first. Voiding releases the stock reserved for the order and cancels the work orders and purchase requisitions it raised that nobody has started

A worked example

Vajra Auto Components has an approved order for 600 brake discs, a serial-tracked product.

1. Stores approves and allocates the material request. 600 discs are reserved for the order in the finished-goods warehouse.
2. Stores creates PK/0001 from the order, releases it, and confirms it with 400 picked. The system chooses the 400 oldest units reserved for the order. Warehouse stock is unchanged.
3. Packing opens PS/0001 from the pick list and adds three boxes. One box is sent for inspection and passes. The slip is marked packed and closed.
4. Dispatch creates DC/2026/0001 from the closed slip and issues it. 400 discs leave stock, their cost goes to Cost of Goods Sold, and the order becomes PARTIALLY DISPATCHED.
5. A week later stores creates PK/0002. It asks for 200. Once its challan is issued the order is FULLY DISPATCHED and can be invoiced.

Common questions

The goods are picked and packed. Why does the warehouse still show them? Stock leaves when the challan is issued, not before.

Why can I not create a challan from this pick list? Either the pick list is not yet confirmed, it has already shipped, or it has a packing slip that is not closed.

Why can the packing slip not be closed? A box on it has an inspection that is still waiting for a result or has failed. Record a pass or waive it on the Quality Desk.

Why does a new pick list show fewer lines than the order? The missing lines are already fully covered by other pick lists for the same order.

Why can I not void the sales order? It has a pick list in hand. Cancel that pick list first.