A Shipping Plan, also known as a Purchase Order, tells us what products, the quantities, and which shipping method you will use when sending inventory to our LVK facilities. Creating a shipping plan is the first step before sending LVK your products. This article walks you through the necessary elements of a Shipping Plan and how to create one correctly in the LVK app.
Table of Contents
- Why a Shipping Plan is Needed
- How to Create a Shipping Plan
- How to Create a Shipping Plan for Small Shipments
- How to Create a Shipping Plan for Large Shipments
- Important Notes
Why a Shipping Plan is Needed
A shipping plan is needed to properly receive inventory and ensure your products are ready for your customers' orders. Creating a shipping plan allows our inbound teams to be properly staffed to receive your products efficiently, preserve the integrity of your products, and reduce the amount of lost or rejected inventory.
Any products sent to our warehouses without a shipping plan will incur additional fees and are not subject to our receiving timelines.
How to Create a Shipping Plan
There are two ways to start your Shipping Plan in our app:
a. Upload a box manifest to import your SKUs and quantities via CSV file.
b. Create a shipping plan to manually select your SKUs and quantities.
The method you choose determines how you continue through the process. In this article, we cover how to manually create shipping plans in SFAPP based on your shipment size (Small Parcel vs. Freight/LTL) and how you plan to send your goods to our facilities.
For more information on how to use a Box Manifest, please visit here.
Please remember that you cannot edit an existing shipping plan. If a change is to be made, you must cancel the shipping plan and create a new one. If you have issues canceling, please reach out to support here.
If you are uncertain about the units or SKUs you are sending, you can leave your Shipping Plan as a "Draft" until you confirm before shipping it to our facilities.
How to Create a Shipping Plan for Small Shipments (Small Parcel)
What does LVK consider a small (parcel) shipment?
A shipping plan is considered a small parcel shipment when there are fewer than 20 boxes. All shipping plans over 20 boxes will need to be palletized and scheduled for delivery through our freight team. It's typically easier to choose this option when sending in a smaller shipping plan (Small Parcel).
Steps to Create a Small Parcel Shipping Plan
- Select the LVK location where you are sending your products to.
- Add the products and total quantities included in this shipment.
- Tell us how the products will be packed. Select Small Parcel and decide on one of the options below.
- Specify which products will be in each box: SKU and quantity. In this step, you can also print product barcodes as needed.
- If applicable, add a note for the warehouse or vendor order number.
- Select the shipment option Small Parcel.
- Print the packing slips and shipping labels, and apply them to the shipment.
- Send us your goods!
How to Create a Shipping Plan for Large Shipments (LTL, FTL, Containers, and Palletized Goods)
What does LVK consider a larger shipment?
Larger shipments include LTL (Less Than Load), FTL (Full Truckload), containers, and palletized shipments. Please review our freight guidelines before shipping your goods.
Steps to Create a Large Shipment Shipping Plan
- Select the LVK location where you are sending your products to.
- Add the products and total quantities included in this shipment.
- Tell us how the products will be packed. Select Pallets and decide on one of the options below.
- Create pallet tags for your shipment. Tell us how many pallets you're sending and if they are floor-loaded.
- Print your pallet tags and apply them to the outside of your pallets so they are visible for our teams to process.
- Partner with our Freight Team to schedule a delivery at our facilities.
Important Notes
All shipping plans must include box labels, packing slips, and pallet tags to identify what's inside each shipment you're sending. You can print these during the final steps of creating your shipping plan. Here are some do's and don'ts for how to apply them to your shipments:
| Do: Place shipping labels and barcodes on the outside of the box in a visible place. | |
| Don't: Place shipping labels or barcodes on corners or seams (where the box opens or closes). | |
| Don't: Use faded or illegible labels. Make sure your printer cartridge has enough ink before you print. |
- All products must be barcoded. If needed, you can print barcodes while creating your shipping plan.
- When sending multiple SKUs within a box, separate them using dividers within the box, or divide them by SKU into separate poly bags to remain compliant.
- All shipping plans must include the tracking number, PRO#, or BOL# as soon as they become available.