Inbound shipments
An inbound shipment is how you track parts and products destined to arrive at your facilities. A shipment can include quantities of any item from your parts catalog or products from your product catalog.
IMPORTANT: Difference between inbound and outbound shipments
Hardfin supports two types of shipments for different logistics needs:
Inbound shipments are for parts arriving at your facilities:
Track parts from suppliers or vendors
Receive parts into inventory
Support the parts workflow for building assets
Outbound shipments (see relevant documentation) are for finished goods leaving your facilities:
Ship assets and parts to customers or other locations
Track in-transit inventory
Support the fulfillment workflow for delivering to customers
Both shipment types provide tracking, status management, and inventory visibility, but serve different stages of your operations.
Inbound shipments are the first step in the inventory workflow for both parts and products:
Note: shipments track inbound inventory arriving at your facilities. To manage ongoing business operations and logistics for assets already in the field, see moving assets.
List all shipments
To see a list of all shipments, navigate to the inbound shipments page. Here you will see a table with each shipment, along with the following information:
Reference numbers. Shipment reference number (assigned by Hardfin), PO number (entered when creating a shipment), and tracking number (optionally provided when recording a shipment)
From/to location. The from location and to location of this shipment.
Items. The part and product SKUs and unit quantities expected for each shipment.
Dates. The dates associated with this shipment: ship date (the date that the sender sent the shipment), promise date (the date the sender committed to deliver the shipment), expected date (the date you or the carrier actually expect the shipment to arrive), delivered date (the date the shipment was actually delivered), received date (the date the contents of the shipment were received in inventory.
Status. Whether the shipment is pending, delivered, or received.
Actions. For each shipment status, different actions are available. Pending shipments can be Marked delivered; Delivered shipments can be Marked received; Received shipments are complete and can only be viewed.
Use the tabs to filter shipments by Pending, Delivered, or Received. Use the search to search all shipments.
Add a shipment
To create a new inbound shipment, click the "Add inbound shipment" button and a window will appear. Enter the appropriate detail for the shipment that you have available, being sure to enter the appropriate unit quantities of parts and products in the shipment.
Only the "To" location and a list of items are required to create a shipment. The "From" location, expected dates, actual dates, and notes are all optional. You can add tracking information and other details later as they become available.
Once all required information is entered, click "Create shipment" to confirm. The shipment will be created in pending status.
Shipping against a purchase order (PO)
Once a purchase order (PO) has been selected from the dropdown, relevant details will populate automatically, such as "From" and "To" and the full items list.
Additionally, the current context of shipments against the PO will be provided inline based on how many units were Ordered, how many units have been Recorded (pending, shipped, or delivered), and how many units are Needed.
Bulk creation
To import shipments in bulk, configure an integration with an ERP, upload a CSV or XLSX file, or to set up API access, please contact support.
Marking a shipment as delivered
Once a shipment is pending, it can be marked delivered after the shipment has been delivered to its delivery location. When a delivery is recorded, the actual delivery date and actual delivery location can be specified. Notes can also be provided about the delivery.
Marking a shipment as delivered changes the shipment status, but does not bring the items into inventory. To bring items into inventory, a shipment must be received.
Receiving a shipment
Once a shipment is delivered, items can be received into inventory. The date of receipt is automatically recorded at the time the shipment is received in Hardfin. You can specify the receiving location, the received unit quantity for each item, and an optional reference ID, such as a supplier batch number. Notes can also be provided about the delivery.
When receiving a shipment:
Parts are received into parts inventory and tracked by quantity at the receiving location
Products can be received with serial numbers. Serialized products are automatically registered as assets when received.
Receiving parts
When receiving parts shipments, the parts are added directly to your parts inventory and become available for building assemblies or other inventory operations.
Collecting part serials
For serialized parts, you can optionally capture serial numbers during the receiving process. The serial number collection is optional and is for reference and historical tracking only — it is not validated against other parts in inventory.
Receiving products
When receiving product shipments, the finished products are automatically processed through a streamlined workflow that converts them to assets. This is designed for finished goods that don't require assembly, simplifying inventory management for new assets.
Collecting asset serials
For serialized assets, you must record individual serials during the receiving process. Serials are unique across the application and cannot be duplicated.
To make this easy, the serial number collection provides real-time feedback to ensure accuracy:
Count status - Shows how many serial numbers have been entered and how many are needed based on the received quantity
Validation feedback - Identifies if any serial numbers are duplicated, invalid, or exceed the required quantity
Clear summary - Displays counts in an organized format for easy verification
This feedback helps prevent errors and ensures all required serial numbers are captured before completing the shipment receipt.
Receipt confirmation
Before finalizing shipment receipt, a confirmation step allows you to review and verify all receipt details. This confirmation modal displays:
Received quantities - Review the quantities being received for each item
Location details - Confirm the receiving location is correct
Reference information - Verify any batch numbers or reference IDs
Notes and comments - Add any final notes about the receipt
This confirmation step helps prevent errors by providing a clear review opportunity before committing receipt data to inventory.
Once a shipment has been received, the items are available in inventory and the shipment can no longer be updated. If any additional modifications are needed, they should be made as inventory adjustments.
Handling overages
Shipment receipts can accommodate receiving more items than originally expected in the shipment. When actual received quantities exceed planned quantities:
Overage recording - The system allows you to record quantities above the original shipment amounts
Automatic tracking - Overages are automatically tracked and linked to the original shipment
Inventory updates - All received quantities, including overages, are properly added to inventory
Audit trail - Overage information is maintained in the shipment record for future reference
Once a shipment has been received, the parts are available in inventory. Shipment information can be edited as needed to correct errors or update details.
Editing shipments
Shipments can be modified throughout their lifecycle to accommodate changing business needs:
Editable shipment information
Core details - Shipment items, quantities, and shipping information can be updated
Delivery details - Carrier information, tracking numbers, and delivery dates can be modified
Receipt information - Previously finalized receipts can be edited to correct errors or update quantities
Reference data - PO numbers, batch references, and notes can be updated as needed
When to edit shipments
Delivery changes - Update carrier or tracking information when shipping details change
Quantity corrections - Adjust expected or received quantities when discrepancies are discovered
Receipt corrections - Modify receipt details when errors are found after receiving
Reference updates - Add or correct PO numbers, batch IDs, or other reference information
This reduces the need for shipment cancellation and recreation, making it easier to maintain accurate records.
Batch tracking
Upon receipt, the inventory for each part is automatically assigned a unique batch identifier. This batch identifier is linked back to the shipment and to the shipment receipt date. Products are tracked individually as serialized assets.
For parts batches, Hardfin automatically follows the first-in first-out (FIFO) model of batch tracking. As parts are used — whether they are transferred, adjusted, built into assemblies, or used for replacements — the oldest units are considered to be used first.
For more information, read about batching and traceability tracking in inventory.
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