Consignments

An asset consignment tracks individually controlled assets issued for a job to a consignee. Its line items show whether each asset remains consigned or has been returned, damaged, reported missing, or removed from that consignment.

#How a consignment is created

A consignment can start in one of two ways.

OCTO Ops creates an Active consignment automatically when a job-linked reservation is approved. The reservation must include a consignee. The generated consignment contains:

• the linked job;
• the selected consignee;
• the reservation destination where supplied;
• start and end information;
• Active status; and
• one Consigned line per reserved asset.

An operator can also start a consignment directly, without a reservation, from the scan-driven Issue counter:

1. Open Asset Management > Consignments.
2. Select Issue assets.
3. Choose a consignee, job, and location, or pick an existing Active consignment to add to instead of starting a new one.
4. Optionally enter a Memo for a new consignment.
5. Scan or manually pick each asset — an ineligible asset (already out, retired, scrapped, or otherwise unavailable) is rejected at the counter rather than added.
6. To issue a quantity of a bulk-tracked group (count-only stock such as cables or zip ties), click Bulk Item below Browse assets and add:
   • Bulk item — pick the group; bulk items are issued only from the consignment's issuing location, so the list shows the stock there ("Zip ties — 12 at Main Store") and leaves out groups with none there,
   • Quantity — capped at what is in stock, less anything already staged for the same group in this batch,
   • Memo (optional). Asking for more than is there is refused ("Only 12 of Zip ties are at Main Store."). Issuing takes the quantity out of the group's stock at the issuing location; the group's total is unchanged, so the difference is what is out on consignment. Bulk lines are received back by quantity on the receive counter (see below) — they cannot be scanned, because their units have no identity.
7. If you need to record an item not in the Asset Registry, click Adhoc Item and add:
   • Item name (required),
   • Quantity (required),
   • Condition (optional). Ad-hoc lines are saved for record keeping only, are never added to the registry, and cannot be scanned back on the receive counter.
8. Confirm to issue the batch.

Everything added so far is listed under Staged for issue, newest first. The # column numbers the lines in the order they were added, so the newest line has the highest number; removing a line renumbers the rest. The card's header shows Items (the number of lines) and Count (the units they stand for — 1 for each asset, the quantity for bulk and ad-hoc lines), for example "Items: 4 / Count: 25". Below Last scanned, the Summary card repeats those two totals and lists the batch grouped: the units of one per-unit group on one line with their count, the quantities of one bulk group added together, and every other asset and ad-hoc item on its own line.

Issuing an asset this way sets its Asset Registry status to Assigned as part of the same action — see "Receive assets" below for what happens on the way back out.

When your organization has business units, a new consignment started at the issue counter has a Business unit. It starts with the unit chosen in the header, then follows the owning business unit every staged asset and bulk item shares (ad-hoc items don't count), until you choose one yourself. Adding assets to an existing consignment keeps its unit. A consignment created by approving a job-linked reservation takes the reservation's unit. A consignment of a unit that is, or sits under, a separate legal entity is numbered in that entity's own sequence (#PH-7).

#Find and review consignments

1. Open Asset Management > Consignments.
2. Search or sort the list.
3. Open a consignment.
4. Review its job, consignee, location, dates, status, and asset lines.
5. Review the memo text saved with the consignment.
6. Identify all lines still marked Consigned before trying to close it.

When your organization has business units, the list shows each document's Business unit and starts with the unit chosen in the header; the funnel icon opens a filter with Business unit. The number shows the legal entity's prefix when there is one (PH-7). The profile shows the Business unit, with its legal entity in brackets when that is another unit. A document's business unit is set when it is created and does not change.

Consignment Receipts lists each receipt's Business unit and filters by it the same way.

#Add another asset

While the consignment is Active:

1. Open the consignment.
2. Optionally add a note first — it is attached whichever way you add the asset next.
3. Type the asset's code, or scan it — with a handheld scanner or your device's camera — to add it straight away, or choose it from the dropdown list and select Add.

Adding a line this way increases that asset's usage count and records its most-recent usage time, and sets the asset's Asset Registry status to Assigned. For a consignment profile, this table now also shows a quantity and condition for each line. For ad-hoc lines, quantity comes from your entry; condition is the value you entered.

Ad-hoc lines are still part of the same receive lifecycle: while you cannot scan them from the receive counter, you can use the consignment profile actions (Returned, Damaged, Missing, or Remove) to clear them when they are received.

An asset that is already out on another open line, retired, scrapped, sold, or otherwise unavailable is rejected rather than added — the same eligibility check the Issue counter uses, whether it was typed, scanned, or picked from the dropdown. Either way, a rejection shows the reason.

#Receive assets

The normal way to take assets back is the scan-driven Receive counter. One batch there can settle lines from several open consignments at once — the operator scans or picks whatever has come in and never has to open each consignment separately.

1. Open Asset Management > Consignments.
2. Select Receive assets.
3. Scan each asset's barcode, or pick it manually from the list of everything still consigned.
4. A scanned item defaults to Returned in good condition — nothing more to do for a straightforward return.
5. For an exception, use Flag issue on that line to record it as Damaged or Missing instead, with a note describing what happened.
6. To take back a quantity of a bulk item, click Bulk Item, pick the bulk line that is out (shown with its consignment, consignee and how many units are still out), enter the Quantity — capped at what is still out — and an optional Memo. A partial quantity leaves the line open with the rest still out; the receive that brings back the last unit resolves the line as Returned.
7. Record who handed the items back: an existing user, or a free-text name for a courier or contractor with no account. One or the other, never both.
8. Review the batch — it is grouped by consignment, and a consignment whose every line has come back in this batch is marked to close as soon as it is committed. A bulk line counts as back only when the whole outstanding quantity is being received.
9. Confirm to receive the batch.

Receiving a line updates the underlying asset's Asset Registry status the same way resolving one does (see below): Returned sets it back to Available, Damaged sets it to Damaged, and Missing sets it to Lost. Receiving a bulk quantity puts it back into the group's stock at the consignment's issuing location. Any consignment marked to close in step 8 closes as part of the same action.

Every receive writes one receipt — an immutable record of who received the items and who handed them over. A correction is a new receive, not an edit to the old one.

A receipt takes the business unit of the consignments it books and is numbered in that unit's legal entity's sequence. Items from consignments of different business units can't go on one receipt: receive each unit's items separately. A receipt of hand-typed items only belongs to your main business. To find a consignment at either counter, type its reference with or without the # and the prefix: PH-7 finds only that legal entity's consignment 7; 7 lists every consignment numbered 7, each with its prefix.

The counter offers Returned, Damaged, and Missing. Removed — and resolving a single line without going through the counter — is still done from the consignment's profile page, described next.

#Resolve an asset line

An asset can also be resolved one line at a time from the consignment's profile page:

1. Open the Active consignment.
2. Find the asset line.
3. Choose the correct outcome:
   • Returned — received back;
   • Damaged — returned or reported with damage;
   • Missing — not accounted for; or
   • Removed — intentionally removed from this consignment.
4. Confirm the action.

The line retains its outcome and resolution time. Repeat until no line remains Consigned.

Resolving a line also updates the underlying asset's Asset Registry status to match the outcome: Returned or Removed sets the asset back to Available, Damaged sets it to Damaged, and Missing sets it to Lost. This only happens while the asset is still where this consignment left it (Assigned) — if some other workflow already moved it on, resolving the line does not drag its status back.

#Close a consignment

1. Confirm every asset line has a terminal outcome.
2. Select Close.
3. Confirm the action.

OCTO Ops blocks closure while any line is still Consigned. Closing an approved reservation can also close its linked consignment once no open line remains.

#Cancel a consignment

An Active consignment can be cancelled from its profile. Cancelling it removes every still-Consigned line — each is resolved the same way a Removed line is, including setting its asset back to Available — before the consignment itself is marked Cancelled.

#Errors you may see

#Current limitations

• Line action buttons on a consignment's profile page do not collect condition details or notes during resolution.
• On the receive counter, a Damaged line falls back to the condition "damaged" only when the operator leaves the Condition field blank — typing a condition records it as entered. A Missing line never records a condition.
• Bulk lines cannot be scanned on either counter; they are picked from the Bulk Item list. Resolving a bulk line as Damaged or Missing from the consignment's profile writes the outstanding quantity off the group's total; only Returned (and Removed) put it back into stock.
• Existing bulk stock has no location until it is given one. Before issuing it on a consignment, move it to the issuing location: transfer it from Assets without a location (see Bulk items on a transfer), or add it there with an adjustment on the group's quantity page.
• The Assets out and Returns register reports list tracked assets only; bulk and ad-hoc lines are visible on the consignment and receipt pages but not in those reports.