Inventory Allocation: Scores, Priority & Holds

Inventory Allocation: Scores, Priority & Holds

Packiyo allocates inventory using an Allocation Score rather than strictly by order creation date.

If a specific order needs to be prioritized for allocation, Packiyo provides a built-in Priority toggle. This toggle is found by opening the order and navigating to the Order Settings panel on the right-hand side of the page.

Enabling this toggle increases the order's Allocation Score by 1,000 points, allowing it to move ahead of other eligible orders that have a lower score.

However, Priority does not always guarantee that an order will receive inventory first. If another order has already accumulated a higher Allocation Score through age, that older order will continue to receive inventory before the priority order.

NotesNote: Packiyo does not currently support manually transferring allocated inventory from one order to another.

Where to Find the Priority Toggle

  1. Open the desired order.
  2. Locate the Order Settings panel on the right-hand side of the page.
  3. Enable the Priority toggle.
  4. Save the order.

This increases the order's Allocation Score by 1,000 points.

How Allocation Score Works

Allocation Score consists of two components:

  • Order Age — increases the Allocation Score by 20 points per day.
  • Priority — adds 1,000 points to the Allocation Score.

Example 1 — Priority Successfully Wins

OrderCreatedDays OldAge ScorePriorityTotal Score
Order #1001August 110 days200No200
Order #1002August 65 days100Yes1,100

Result: Although Order #1001 is older, Order #1002 has the higher Allocation Score after enabling Priority, so it receives inventory first.

Example 2 — Older Order Still Wins

OrderCreatedDays OldAge ScorePriorityTotal Score
Order #1001May 890 days1,800No1,800
Order #1002August 6Today0Yes1,000

Result: Order #1001 still receives inventory because its Allocation Score is higher than the priority order's score.

This demonstrates that the Priority toggle increases an order's score by 1,000 points — it does not automatically override all older orders.

How to Determine Why Inventory Allocated to Another Order

  1. Identify the order currently holding the allocation.
  2. Confirm both orders contain the same SKU.
  3. Enable the Score column on the Orders page.
  4. Compare the Allocation Scores.
  5. Verify whether the desired order has Priority enabled.
  6. Determine whether another eligible order still has a higher score.

The order with the highest Allocation Score will receive the inventory.

Example

There are two pending orders waiting for the same SKU. Nine units become available, and the client expects Order #2500 to receive the inventory because Priority is enabled.

Current Allocation Scores:

OrderPriorityScore
Order #2105No1,460
Order #2500Yes1,120

Although Priority is enabled, Order #2105 still has the higher Allocation Score. Packiyo correctly allocates inventory to Order #2105.

If the need is to have inventory allocated to a specific order:

  1. Open the preferred order.
  2. Enable the Priority toggle under Order Settings.
  3. Enable the Score column on the Orders page.
  4. Compare the Allocation Scores of pending orders.
  5. If older orders still have a higher score, place those orders on Allocation Hold.
  6. Once the preferred order has the highest eligible Allocation Score, inventory will allocate automatically.

This is the recommended workflow when managing multiple pending orders for the same SKU.

Cross-Reference Checklist

Before reaching out to Packiyo Support for an allocation question, first verify:

  • ✅ Inventory is available.
  • ✅ The order is Pending and eligible for allocation.
  • ✅ The desired order has Priority enabled.
  • ✅ The Score column has been reviewed.
  • ✅ No other eligible order has a higher Allocation Score.
  • ✅ Allocation Holds have been applied where necessary.

FAQ

  • Inventory allocation is driven by Allocation Score, not simply by order age.
  • The Priority toggle adds 1,000 points to an order's Allocation Score.
  • Order age contributes 20 points per day.
  • Picking follows inventory allocation — if inventory is not allocated, the order cannot be picked.
  • Manual inventory transfers between orders are not currently supported.