# Pack and ship orders in WMS
URL: https://support.starshipit.com/articles/14700000000012-pack-and-ship-orders-in-wms
Canonical: https://support.starshipit.com/articles/14700000000012-pack-and-ship-orders-in-wms
Markdown: https://support.starshipit.com/articles/14700000000012-pack-and-ship-orders-in-wms.md
Updated: 2026-09-17

> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://support.starshipit.com/llms.txt).

> Verify picked items, pack parcels, and generate shipping labels from WMS packing benches.

**Packing** turns picked stock into a ready-to-ship parcel. The packing workflow in WMS:

* Confirms the correct items are present (scan verification)
* Captures serial or batch information that must be verified at pack time
* Creates a shipment and prints a label via your Starshipit account
* Finalises stock movements and marks the order as shipped

Packing happens at a **Packing Bench** location - either after items have been picked and staged, or immediately after an expedited flow (Pack Now / Batch Pack Now).

Before using **Pack & Print Label**, confirm how the packing bench will handle labels. WMS can hand the label to the browser or Desktop App workflow available on that computer. If you use routed desktop printing, first [set up the Desktop App and its Print Client route](/articles/90200000000155-understand-how-starshipit-printing-works), then test the label type used by your courier at this bench.

## The packing dashboard

The **Packing dashboard** shows orders and pack jobs that are ready to be packed. You will typically see:

* Orders with completed pick jobs, with items staged at a packing bench
* Expedited orders sent directly to a bench via Pack Now or Batch Pack Now

From the packing dashboard, select an order or batch to open the **packing screen**.

Supervisors with permission to assign jobs can select Ready pack jobs, choose **Assign jobs**, and select one active WMS user. Only Ready pack jobs are selectable for this bulk assignment.

Use the **Packing Bench Report** when supervisors need to see what is waiting at each bench and where work is building up.

## Packing a single order

1. Select an order from the **Packing dashboard**.
2. Review the items and quantities that should be present.
3. Scan the **product barcode** for each item as you place it in the carton. On the desktop packing screen, you can also scan a label containing the item’s exact SKU:
   * For **serial-tracked** items: scan or enter each serial number.
   * For **batch-tracked** items: confirm the batch/lot and expiry date if required.
4. Repeat until all items are confirmed.
5. Select a packaging type (box, satchel, etc.) if required.
6. Complete the final item. By default, WMS creates the Starshipit shipment and prints the label automatically. If **Disable Auto Label Print** is enabled, select **Print Label** after packing is complete.

The packing job brings together product verification, carrier service, packaging, dimensions, weight and shipment cost before the label is created.

![A packing job showing product verification, carrier service and package dimensions](/uploads/articles/starshipit-wms/web/outbound-fulfilment/packing-job.png)

WMS validates that:

* The correct SKUs are packed (wrong items will be flagged).
* The correct quantities are packed.
* All required tracking (serial/batch) has been captured.

### If a discrepancy is found during packing

If an item is missing or wrong:

* Adjust the pick if it was a mis-pick.
* Update the order in Starshipit for substitutions or changes.
* Investigate stock levels via the inventory dashboard or movement logs.

## Pack consecutive totes

Use **Scan a tote** on the WMS search page when packing orders from totes. You need permission to pack, and the scanned tote must have a ready packing job.

1. Open the search page and select **Scan a tote**.
2. Scan the tote barcode, or enter its name and press Enter, to open its ready packing job.
3. Complete packing and label printing.
4. When WMS returns you to the tote scanner, scan the next tote.

Selecting **Back to Scan a tote** also returns you to tote scanning mode. Jobs opened from the packing dashboard continue to return to that dashboard.

## Choose a carrier service

The desktop packing screen marks available Starshipit favourite carrier services with **Favourite** and lists them before other services. Within each group, services are ordered from lowest to highest price.

WMS keeps the order's saved service, or your explicit selection, when it is still available. If neither applies, the first service is displayed by default. Review the carrier and service before printing; the displayed default alone does not save a new selection to Starshipit.

## Partial packing

If you need to ship part of an order now and the rest later:

1. Pack and confirm the items you have.
2. Select **Partially Pack & Print Label**.
3. WMS prints a label for the packed quantity and keeps the remaining items open.
4. The order moves to **PARTIALLY_SHIPPED** status.

The remaining items can be packed and shipped once the stock is available.

If your account uses the dedicated ship workflow, packing and shipping are separate steps. Packers confirm the packed contents first, then shipping is completed from the shipping dashboard. Use this when your team separates pack verification from label generation or final carrier handoff.

![A dedicated shipping job ready for final carrier and package confirmation](/uploads/articles/starshipit-wms/web/outbound-fulfilment/shipping-job.png)

## Pack screen customisation

The packing screen can be tailored to your workflow:

* **Column layout** - choose which columns appear in the items table, so packers see the fields most relevant to their process.
* **Bundle line visibility** - choose whether bundle parent lines are shown when packing orders that contain bundle products.
* **Delivery instructions** - open **Layout** and turn on delivery instructions when packers need the order's delivery notes above the shipping destination. This preference is stored in the current browser and is off by default.
* **Custom packaging** - create packaging records directly from the pack screen when standard templates are not suitable.

When selecting packaging, WMS uses package dimensions from Starshipit. If dimensions look wrong, check the package configuration in your Starshipit account.

## Duplicate a parcel

When an order needs another parcel with the same packaging details:

1. Expand **Packaging** on the desktop packing screen.
2. Select **Duplicate parcel** on the parcel you want to copy.
3. Review the added parcel's dimensions and weight, and adjust them if needed.
4. Select **Save to Starshipit** to sync the package changes.

Each duplicate adds one parcel, even if the original row has a quantity greater than one. You can edit the copy independently. When your package settings calculate weight from items, WMS redistributes the total item weight across the parcels; otherwise, it copies the original parcel's weight.

## Print and scan package barcodes

You need permission to manage fulfilment to print package barcodes. The package must already exist under **Setup > Packages**.

1. Open **Setup > Packages**.
2. Open the package's row actions and select **Print barcode**. To print several package labels together, select up to 100 packages and choose **Print barcodes** from the bulk actions.
3. Review the preview, choose a fixed label layout or an account template, and select **Print**. WMS remembers the printed layout in this browser.
4. Scan the printed barcode on the desktop packing screen, then check **Packaging** to confirm the selected package.

To create a reusable layout, see [Create a barcode label template](/articles/14700000000006-configure-wms-products-and-inventory#create-a-barcode-label-template).

The barcode selects the package by name and replaces the most recent parcel selection. If no parcel is selected, it adds one. It does not add another parcel on every scan. If the package name changes, print a replacement barcode.

## Packing summaries

A **packing summary** is a document listing items to be packed. You can generate:

* **Order-level summaries** - for a single order.
* **Batch-level summaries** - a consolidated list for multiple orders in a batch (commonly used with Batch Pack Now).

For Batch Pack Now workflows, WMS requires you to generate a packing summary before finalising. This acts as a consolidated pick/pack list - staff retrieve all items in one warehouse pass and sort them per order at the bench.

Batch order packing slips can download automatically, which is useful when packers need paperwork for every order in a batch before final label creation.

## How labels are generated

Once packing is complete, WMS creates a shipment via Starshipit:

1. WMS calls Starshipit's API using your existing carrier rules and services.
2. Starshipit generates the shipping label and tracking number.
3. WMS hands the label to the configured browser or Desktop App printing route for the packing bench.
4. Starshipit fires an **order_shipped** webhook back to WMS.

WMS then:

* Marks the order as **SHIPPED** (or **PARTIALLY_SHIPPED** for partial packs).
* Finalises pick and pack jobs.
* Writes **SHIPMENT** stock movements to reduce on-hand inventory.

If Starshipit rejects label creation because of a validation issue, such as a missing address or invalid service, WMS shows the error so you can correct the order before retrying. If a shipment and tracking number were created but nothing came out of the printer, reprint the existing label instead of creating another shipment. Check the receiving Desktop App machine, its local printer mapping, and the operating-system print queue.

If a shipment needs to be redone, WMS can hand off the redo flow while preserving the stock context needed to reopen the order at the correct location. Review the process log entry if a redo cannot be completed automatically.

Barcode alias matching is supported for shipper and product scans, helping packers scan expected barcode variants without manual lookup.

## Mobile packing

Mobile devices are automatically detected and redirected to a mobile-optimised packing experience. The mobile packing view supports:

* **At-bench mode** - load packing jobs assigned to a specific packing bench.
* **By order number** - look up and start a pack job by scanning or entering an order number.
* **Existing pack jobs** - open or claim a pack job that was created after picking.

In the standard workflow, completing a pick on mobile creates the pack job and returns the user to the jobs list. Packing then begins when the user opens or claims that pack job.

When packing on mobile, WMS prints the label automatically through Starshipit by default. If the account has **Disable Auto Label Print** enabled under **System > Settings > Packing**, the packer must select **Print Label** after completing the items.

## Best practices

* **Scan at packing to catch mis-picks.** Barcode verification at the pack step is your last chance to catch the wrong item before it ships to a customer.
* **Use partial packing rather than holding orders.** If one item is out of stock, ship what you have rather than blocking the whole order.
* **Use batch packing summaries for high-volume runs.** For Batch Pack Now or large batch picks, consolidated summaries reduce sorting errors at the bench.
* **Use the dedicated ship workflow when roles are split.** It keeps pack verification separate from final shipment handoff.
* **Keep packing benches tidy.** Staging clears the equipment location and moves stock to the bench - a tidy bench reduces mix-ups between orders.

## Related guides

* [Picking orders](/articles/14700000000011-picking-orders)
* [Expedited fulfilment (Pack Now & Batch Pack Now)](/articles/14700000000013-expedited-fulfilment-pack-now-batch-pack-now)
* [Orders and allocation](/articles/14700000000010-starshipit-wms-orders-and-allocation)