The following information applies to the B2B Picking Allocation module on Mintsoft.
Overview
Note: The Mintsoft B2B Picking Allocation is a chargeable module, for more information on getting access to this module, please reach out to your Account Manager (AM).
Mintsoft’s B2B allocation feature is designed for customers managing both wholesale distribution (B2B) and online retail fulfilment (B2C). It provides the ability to automate the allocation of wholesale orders by creating rules based on a set of parameters—giving customers full control over which warehouse locations are used to fulfil B2B orders.
With this feature, stock is allocated to B2B orders before Mintsoft’s standard allocation logic is applied. This enables businesses to separate stock allocation strategies for wholesale and retail orders, ensuring more efficient and tailored fulfilment processes.
Orders can be identified as B2B in the following ways:
Manually, during order input by setting the Recipient Type
Automatically via API, using the recipient type flag
Through custom rules based on factors such as:
Client
Channel
Number of items per order
Order value
Why Use B2B Stock Allocation?
Mintsoft’s standard stock allocation works well for B2C orders but can cause issues for larger B2B orders, due to two key behaviours:
Prioritising stock from higher-ranked location types (e.g. Pick Face).
Preferring stock from locations with the least quantity first.
These rules can lead to:
Unnecessary replenishments, as large B2B orders deplete pick-face stock needed for B2C fulfilment.
Inefficient multi-location picking when the full quantity exists in a single bulk location.
How the Feature Solves These Issues
The B2B allocation feature gives you the ability to:
Define up to three preferred location types (e.g. bulk storage) for B2B orders.
Ensure stock is pulled from the fewest number of locations possible within those types.
For example, if an order requires 1,000 units and available bulk locations hold 900, 100, and 1,000 units, the system will choose the location with 1,000 units—streamlining the picking process.
Key Capabilities Included in This Feature
Set the Recipient Type for manually input orders.
Easily filter orders by recipient type.
Create, edit, and delete Picking Allocation Rules.
Allocate and pick B2B orders from specific location types based on defined rules.
Prerequisite - Setting roles and permissions
The Mintsoft B2B Picking Allocation is a chargeable module, for more information on getting access to this module, please reach out to your Account Manager (AM). Once the module has been added to your Mintsoft database the relevant roles and permissions must be ticked to view and access the module. To add the roles and permissions please follow the steps below:
Click Settings then Warehouse User Accounts.
Find the user to add the roles for.
Click Actions then Manage Roles.
Tick the B2BPickingAllocationRules role group.
To have visibility of the B2B Picking Allocation Overview screen, the AdminViewB2BRules must be enabled.
Click Update.
Recipient Type
To identify the Recipient Type of an order, and set rules against them, customers can set the recipient type (B2B or B2C) of an order via Manual Input, CSV Upload (Multi line and Single Order) and Custom 3rd Party API connections. Once an order has been uploaded to the system, you can filter orders by Recipient Type on the Orders Overview screen.
Managing B2B Picking Allocation Rules
The B2B Picking Allocation Rules screen allows you to create, view and manage existing allocation rules. To access the B2B Picking Allocation Rules screen please follow the steps below:
Click Warehouse then Extras.
Next, click B2B Picking Allocation Rules.
Then you have the following options -
To add a rule click Add New Rule.
To edit a rule click the Pencil icon.
To delete a rule click Delete against the entry.
Adding a B2B Picking Allocation Rule
To add a B2B Picking Allocation Rule, please follow the steps below:
Click Warehouse then Extras.
Next, click B2B Picking Allocation Rules then Add New Rule.
Select the relevant option for Which orders does this rule apply to?
Amazon FBA - Shipment Plan.
Manual Orders with B2B Flag (Orders where the Recipient Type is set to B2B).
Or select Orders from a specific client and/or channel.
These are defaulted to ALL but can be selected for a specific Client/ Channel.
If a specific Client is selected you can also set the Minimum order value and Minimum items in order.
Next, select the Priority 1, 2 and 3 Location Type for Where should these B2B orders be picked from?
(Optional) Enable Allow singular lower priority location.
(Optional) Enable Use priority location types only.
Enable Use latest expiring stock first.
Set the Holding Order Policy.
Set the Minimum shelf life.
This is in weeks.
Set the Rule Priority.
Lower values have higher priority.
Set to Active once ready.
Finally, click Save.
Allow singular lower priority location
When the Allow singular lower priority location setting is enabled, Mintsoft will allocate stock from a lower priority location type if the system cannot fulfil the entire order line from a specific location within the higher priority type.
Example
An order line requires one hundred units.
Priority 1 location type is Bulk, with stock distributed as:
B1: 50 units.
B2: 75 units.
B3: 90 units.
None of these locations can fulfil the full 100 units on their own.
Priority 2 location type is Bulk Level 2, with:
BL1: 100 units.
Since BL1 can fulfil the full requirement in one pick, the system will allocate all 100 units from BL1 instead.
B2B Allocation FAQ
What happens if we don't select a Recipient Type?
By default, the Recipient Type will be set to B2C if the field is left blank when uploading or manually inputting an order.
Does B2B allocation support order integrations?
Order integrations like Shopify, Amazon, and eBay are not supported by the B2B allocation logic, only custom 3rd party API connections as well as Manually Input Orders and Order Uploads via CSV.
What happens if there is not enough stock in the priority location types?
If there isn't enough stock in the priority locations, we will revert to standard allocation logic.