This guide shows you how to automatically create separate air and ocean freight purchase orders based on Freight Planner's intelligent distribution recommendations.
What you'll learn
How to split a purchase order based on freight optimization results
How to review and adjust the recommended distribution
What happens to your original purchase order after splitting
Before you start
Make sure:
✅ Your purchase order is in Draft or Approved status
✅ You have lead time information configured (manufacturing, air freight, and ocean freight lead times)
💡 New to Freight Planner? Learn how to use Freight Planner first to understand how optimization works.
Video Tutorial
Watch a complete walkthrough of splitting purchase orders with Freight Planner
Step-by-step instructions
Step 0: Review Optimization Results
After calculating the optimized freight distribution in Freight Planner, review the Optimized Freight Distribution table to ensure the recommendations align with your needs:
Check which products are assigned to air freight (urgent items)
Check which products are assigned to ocean freight (adequate inventory)
Review the projected savings
If the distribution looks good, proceed to create shipments.
Step 1: Initiate Split Shipment Creation
Click the Create Shipments button at the bottom of the Freight Planner screen.
This opens the split purchase order workflow.
Step 2: Review Allocated Quantities
The workflow displays your products distributed across two freight methods:
Left Column: Air Freight
Shows estimated arrival date (e.g., 05 Nov 2025)
Lists products and quantities recommended for air shipment
Right Column: Ocean Freight
Shows estimated arrival date (e.g., 30 Nov 2025)
Lists products and quantities recommended for ocean shipment
Total Column
Shows original purchase order quantities for reference
Verify the distribution: Air Qty + Ocean Qty should equal Total Qty for each product.
Adjust Quantities (Optional)
If you need to modify the recommended distribution:
Click directly in any quantity field
Enter your desired quantity
The system validates that totals still match
⚠️ Important: If quantities don't balance correctly, a validation error will appear. You must correct it before proceeding.
Click Continue to Step 3 when satisfied with the distribution.
Step 3: Choose What Happens to the Original PO
Select one of these options for your original purchase order:
Option | What it does | When to use it |
Convert To Draft | Original PO will no longer be counted in inventory forecasts | You want to keep the PO for reference without affecting your inventory planning |
Archive | Original PO will be archived and any linked backorders will be disabled | You want to preserve the record and stop any active backorders |
Delete | Original PO will be permanently removed (archived if deletion not possible) | You no longer need the original PO in your system |
Review your selections carefully, then click Confirm Split to finalize.
Step 4: View Your New Purchase Orders
After successful splitting, a confirmation message appears:
"Purchase Order Successfully Split" "PO#[number] has been split into 2 new purchase orders"
You'll see:
Two new purchase orders listed with their unique PO numbers
Destination freight method (Air or Ocean)
Total quantities for each shipment
Expected arrival dates
Status of your original PO (Draft, Archived, or Deleted)
Click view next to any new PO to see its details.
💡 Note: The newly created purchase orders are created with Draft status. You'll need to review and approve them when you're ready to proceed with ordering.
Understanding Split Shipment Tracking
Activity Log
The relationship between your original PO and the resulting split POs is automatically recorded in the activity log. You'll see entries showing:
Which PO was split
Which new POs were created from the split
The action taken on the original PO
This tracking makes it easy to trace the history of each order in your inventory system.
Inventory Planning
After splitting:
Each new PO is tracked independently in Fabrikatör
The new POs are created in Draft status and need to be approved before they affect inventory calculations
Once both POs are approved, suggested restock quantities automatically account for both incoming split purchase orders
Your forecasting considers the different arrival dates for air and ocean shipments
Related articles
What is Freight Planner? - Understanding how freight optimization works
Understanding Split Purchase Orders - Learn about other ways to split POs
How to Split a Purchase Order Using Equal Distribution Between Warehouses - Alternative splitting method