Preparing Devices for Later Delivery
In some customer scenarios, devices have already been purchased but are not required immediately. The devices remain in the provider’s warehouse and should only be shipped when the customer actively requests them through the Marketplace.
Until the customer requests delivery, the devices should remain available as new stock. The service term and billing should not begin simply because the devices have been prepared or entered into the system.
This article explains how to handle this scenario in equipme using pre orders and stock call offs.
The scenario
A customer has already purchased a defined number of devices. These devices are physically stored by the provider and are shipped gradually whenever the customer needs them.
The customer should be able to see and request the prepared devices through the Marketplace. Before the actual call off:
The devices should not be activated.
No service start date should be required.
The service term should not begin.
Billing should not start.
The devices should remain available as new stock.
A typical example would be a customer purchasing a larger quantity of notebooks in advance and requesting smaller quantities over time.
Why a regular service import is not suitable
A regular service or device import should not be used for this process.
The import requires a start date. Once the import is completed, the service term begins based on that start date. In the case described in the support ticket, the field for new goods was also set to false during the import.
This means an import cannot be used to represent devices that are physically available but should remain inactive until the customer requests delivery.
The correct process is to create the devices as pre orders and allow the customer to call them off later from the available stock.
How the process works
The complete process consists of two connected parts.
First, the devices are ordered and prepared as pre orders. They remain reserved and available without starting the active service term.
Later, when the customer needs a device, the customer selects the existing device from stock. This creates a call off request for the prepared position instead of creating another regular order.
The process is:
Enable pre orders for the customer.
Allow pre orders in the relevant service offer.
Create the initial pre order in the Marketplace.
Process and prepare the pre order in equipme pro.
Make the prepared stock available to the customer.
Let the customer select the device using From stock.
Process the call off through the configured approval workflow.
Ship the device after the delivery request has been received.
Complete the instance so that billing can begin.
Step 1: Enable pre orders for the customer
Pre orders must first be enabled in the customer’s portal settings.
Open the relevant portal settings and activate:
Allow pre orders
This setting controls whether the customer can use the pre order process in the Marketplace.
Enabling this setting alone is not sufficient. The relevant service offer must also support pre orders.
Step 2: Allow pre orders in the service offer
Open the offer used for the relevant device or service and activate:
Allow pre orders
The setting is located in the offer configuration.
Both configurations are required:
Pre orders must be enabled in the customer’s portal settings.
Pre orders must be allowed in the selected service offer.
If one of these settings is missing, the intended option may not be available to the customer in the Marketplace.
Step 3: Create the initial pre order
Once both settings are active, the customer can open the relevant service in the Marketplace and select:
Pre order
The pre order represents a device that is purchased or prepared in advance but is not yet required for immediate delivery.
At this stage, the customer does not need to make the final assignment to a specific employee or location. According to the process described in the support ticket, the pre order can instead be reserved for a group.
This is useful when the required quantity is already known but the final recipients or locations will only be determined later.
Step 4: Process the pre order in equipme pro
The provider processes the pre order through the regular workflow in equipme pro.
The position should be prepared until it is available for the customer’s later call off, but the final delivery should not yet be completed.
The initial process description in the support ticket referred to stopping at the status Ready for delivery. In the later customer example, the prepared devices were described as being in the status Ready for packing and were already available to the customer for call off.
The important point is that the device has been prepared and reserved, but has not yet been requested for delivery.
At this stage:
The device is available for the customer.
The device has not yet been delivered.
The final assignment can still be completed during the call off.
The active service term has not been started through an import.
Step 5: The customer selects the device from stock
When the customer needs one of the prepared devices, the customer opens the relevant service again in the Marketplace.
The customer must now select:
From stock
This step is essential.
If the customer follows the normal ordering path instead, equipme creates a regular new order. That order is not connected to the already prepared pre order position.
The support ticket included a concrete example where a customer order appeared in the provider’s incoming orders. This order was confirmed to be a regular order rather than a stock call off.
To request one of the prepared devices, the customer must explicitly use From stock.
Step 6: Select the available pre order stock
After selecting From stock, equipme displays the available stock entries for the selected service configuration.
The prepared stock can be identified by information such as:
The provider or warehouse.
The selected variant and service configuration.
The label Pre order.
The available quantity.
The indication that free stock is available.
[IMAGE 2: Selecting the prepared pre order stock]
The customer selects the appropriate stock entry and continues with the assignment.
This uses the existing prepared position. It does not create another demand for a new device.
Step 7: Approval behavior for a call off
A stock call off follows the same approval logic as other service requests.
This means the call off may require approval before the provider can continue with delivery.
The exception is a service that has explicitly been configured for automatic ordering under the Self Service settings. In that case, the request can be triggered without an additional approval.
If automatic ordering is not enabled, the call off should go through the configured approval process.
In the support case, the customer initially appeared to be able to request the pre ordered device without approval. The issue was clarified during a meeting. The requests were located under the outstanding approvals.
This means that successfully submitting the call off in the Marketplace does not necessarily mean that the approval was skipped. The request may already exist but still be waiting in the approval area.
If a call off appears to be missing, check the outstanding approvals before assuming that no request was created.
Step 8: Identify the request as a call off
A correct request from prepared stock can be identified by its type.
The position should appear with the type:
Call off
This distinguishes the request from a regular new order.
A regular order represents new demand and follows the standard ordering process. A call off uses a device that was already ordered, prepared and reserved for the customer.
When reviewing a request, check the type before continuing:
Call off means the customer has requested an existing pre order position.
Order means the customer has created a new regular order.
Step 9: No new order is created during the call off
A call off does not create a completely new order.
Instead, the existing pre order position receives a new order date. Depending on the sorting of the order overview, this can move the existing position back to the top of the list.
This is important when searching for the request.
Do not only look for a new order number. Check the existing pre order positions and their updated dates.
The position should then change to the status:
Delivery requested, outbound
This status shows that the customer has requested delivery of the previously prepared device.
Step 10: Process the delivery request
Once the call off has passed the required approvals, the provider can continue with the outbound delivery process.
The provider processes and ships the device using the existing pre order position.
The relevant position can be identified using:
The request type Call off.
The updated order date.
The status Delivery requested, outbound.
The corresponding customer and process information.
Depending on the active filters in the order overview, reserved warehouse positions may not always be visible immediately.
If necessary, use the filter function to include reserved warehouse orders and call off requests.
When the service term and billing begin
The purpose of this process is to keep the prepared device inactive until the customer requests it.
The initial pre order and the preparation of the device do not replace the actual customer call off.
According to the support explanation, the provider processes the delivery request and subsequently sets the instance to Completed. Billing begins when the instance reaches this completed state.
This separates the advance preparation of the device from the beginning of the active service and billing period.
Regular order and call off compared
It is important to distinguish between a regular order and a call off.
Regular order
A regular order creates new demand for a service or device.
The customer follows the standard ordering path in the Marketplace. The order then enters the normal procurement and fulfillment process.
A regular order does not automatically use one of the devices that has already been prepared as a pre order.
Call off
A call off uses an existing pre order position.
The customer selects From stock, chooses the prepared stock entry and requests delivery.
The existing position is updated rather than replaced by a completely new order.
The request is shown with the type Call off and later receives the status Delivery requested, outbound.
Common issues and how to resolve them
The service term starts immediately after importing the devices
The import requires a start date and therefore does not support this scenario.
Do not import devices that should remain inactive until the customer requests them. Use the pre order process instead.
The new goods field is set to false after the import
This is another indication that the regular import is not the appropriate process for stock that should remain new and inactive.
Create and prepare the devices as pre orders.
The pre order option is not visible
Check both required settings.
Pre orders must be enabled in the customer’s portal settings, and the relevant offer must allow pre orders.
The customer created a normal order instead of using the prepared stock
The customer must select From stock in the Marketplace.
Using the standard ordering path creates a regular order rather than a call off.
The provider cannot find the call off
Check:
Whether the existing pre order position has received a new order date.
Whether the position is displayed as type Call off.
Whether the status is Delivery requested, outbound.
Whether the request is waiting under outstanding approvals.
Whether the active filters include reserved warehouse orders.
No new shipping order appears
This is expected.
The call off updates the existing pre order position. It does not create a completely new order.
Search for the existing position using the updated order date, request type and status.
The customer appears to have requested the device without approval
Check the outstanding approvals.
If automatic ordering is not enabled for the service, the request should follow the standard approval workflow. In the documented support case, the requests were found under outstanding approvals.
Complete process overview
The complete process is:
Enable pre orders in the customer’s portal settings.
Allow pre orders in the relevant service offer.
Create the required quantity as pre orders in the Marketplace.
Reserve the positions without making the final employee or location assignment.
Process and prepare the devices in equipme pro.
Keep the prepared positions available for a later call off.
The customer opens the relevant service in the Marketplace.
The customer selects From stock.
The customer chooses the prepared pre order stock entry.
The request follows the configured approval workflow.
The existing pre order position receives a new order date.
The request appears as type Call off.
The position changes to Delivery requested, outbound.
The provider processes and ships the device.
The instance is completed.
Billing begins.
Summary
Devices that have already been purchased and prepared but should only be activated when the customer requests them should not be imported as active services.
The correct process is to use pre orders and make the prepared devices available through From stock in the Marketplace.
The customer later requests the existing stock through a call off. The call off uses the existing pre order position, follows the configured approval process and changes the position to Delivery requested, outbound.
This allows providers to prepare and store devices in advance while preventing the active service term and billing from starting before the customer actually requests delivery.
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