Transaction Types

Tether supports three main transaction types, each serving a different purpose in your supply chain.

Purchase Orders

Purchase orders are orders placed with external suppliers.

When to Use

Buying products from suppliers
Replenishing inventory from external sources
Ordering raw materials for production

Key Information

Field	Description
Supplier	Who you’re ordering from
Destination Warehouse	Where items will be received
Line Items	SKUs and quantities to order
Unit Cost	Price per unit
Lead Time	Expected delivery time

Purchase Order Workflow

When a purchase order is submitted, Tether creates a Purchase step to track the supplier fulfillment, followed by a Shipment step when a Shipping Plan is created to move goods to your warehouse.

Draft → In Progress (Purchase Step: In Process → Completed Purchase)
                     → Shipment Step: In Transit → Completed Shipment
     → Completed

Steps in a Purchase Order

Step Type	Inventory States	What Happens
Purchase	In Process → Completed Purchase	Tracks supplier order progress. No warehouse inventory changes until shipment. When completed, inventory is added to sellable at the supplier’s linked warehouse.
Shipment	In Transit → Completed Shipment	Created when a Shipping Plan artifact is submitted. Subtracts inventory from source, adds to “Awaiting In-Transit” at destination. On completion, moves to sellable at destination.

Cost Tracking

Purchase orders track costs through artifacts:

Unit costs per SKU (on line items)
Shipping and freight costs (artifact-level cost items)
Duties, tariffs, and taxes (artifact-level cost items)
Total order value

The Analysis tab shows planned vs. reported cost variance once the transaction is in progress.

Transfer Orders

Transfer orders move inventory between your warehouses.

When to Use

Rebalancing inventory across locations
Sending stock to fulfill demand elsewhere
Consolidating inventory
Moving to a different storage location

Key Information

Field	Description
Source Warehouse	Where items are coming from
Destination Warehouse	Where items are going
Line Items	SKUs and quantities to transfer
Lead Time	Transit time between locations

Transfer Order Workflow

When a transfer order is submitted, Tether automatically creates a Shipping Plan artifact and a Shipment step. All inventory immediately enters the “In Transit” state—there are no intermediate picking steps.

Draft → Submitted (auto-creates Shipping Plan + Shipment Step)
     → In Progress (Shipment Step: In Transit → Completed Shipment)
     → Completed

Unlike purchase orders, transfer orders create a Shipping Plan automatically on submission. The full quantity immediately enters “In Transit” status.

Steps in a Transfer Order

Step Type	Inventory States	What Happens
Shipment	In Transit → Completed Shipment	The only step type for transfers. On creation, subtracts inventory from source warehouse sellable and adds to “Awaiting In-Transit” at destination. On completion, moves to sellable at destination.

Inventory Impact

Transfer orders affect inventory at both locations immediately on submission: Source Warehouse:

Sellable inventory subtracted when submitted (enters In Transit)

Destination Warehouse:

Added to “Awaiting In-Transit” when submitted
Moved to sellable when shipment is completed

If the source warehouse does not have sufficient sellable inventory at submission time, the submission is blocked with an error.

Production Orders

Production orders are for internal manufacturing.

When to Use

Manufacturing finished goods from components
Assembling kits or bundles
Converting raw materials
Any internal production process

Key Information

Field	Description
Produced SKU	What you’re making
Components	Raw materials/parts needed
Quantity	How many to produce
Warehouse	Where production occurs
BOM	Bill of Materials defining inputs

Production Order Workflow

When a production order is submitted, Tether creates a Production step that tracks both the finished goods being produced and the components being consumed.

Draft → In Progress (Production Step: In Production → Completed Production)
     → Completed

Steps in a Production Order

Step Type	Inventory States	What Happens
Production	In Production → Completed Production	Tracks manufacturing progress. Components are committed (subtracted from sellable) and consumed during production. Finished goods are added to sellable at the source warehouse on completion.

Component inventory states (tracked within the production step):

State	Description
Committed	Components reserved—subtracted from sellable at the supplier warehouse
Consumed	Components actually used in production
Backordered	Components that could not be committed due to insufficient inventory

Inventory Impact

Production orders affect multiple SKUs: Components (at supplier warehouse):

Subtracted from sellable and moved to Committed when production starts
Moved from Committed to Consumed during production
Marked as Backordered if insufficient inventory is available

Finished Goods (produced):

Added to sellable at the source warehouse when production completes

Bill of Materials (BOM)

Production uses BOM to determine components:

Finished Good: T-Shirt Bundle (3-pack)
├── Blue T-Shirt M × 1
├── Blue T-Shirt L × 1
├── Blue T-Shirt XL × 1
└── Poly Bag × 1 (Component)

Comparing Transaction Types

Aspect	Purchase Order	Transfer Order	Production Order
External/Internal	External (supplier)	Internal	Internal
Cost Tracking	Yes (supplier cost)	No (internal)	Yes (component cost)
Source	Supplier (resolved to warehouse)	Warehouse	Supplier
Destination	Warehouse	Warehouse	Warehouse
Step Types	Purchase + Shipment	Shipment only	Production
Lead Time	Supplier + shipping	Transit time	Production time
Auto Shipping Plan	No (created manually)	Yes (on submission)	No (created manually)

Choosing the Right Type

Use Purchase Order When:

Inventory comes from outside your organization
You’re paying an external supplier
Items don’t exist in your inventory yet

Use Transfer Order When:

Inventory already exists in your warehouses
You need to move stock between locations
No external purchase is needed

Use Production Order When:

You manufacture or assemble products
Finished goods are made from components
You need to track production costs

Transaction Type Details

Purchase Order Specifics

Supplier Selection

When creating a PO:

Choose from configured suppliers
System shows supplier’s lead time and costs
Can have multiple suppliers for same SKU

Cost Information

Purchase orders include:

Unit cost per SKU
Shipping estimates
Currency handling
Volume discounts

Receiving

When PO arrives:

Can receive partial quantities
Log discrepancies
Update actual costs if different

Transfer Order Specifics

Availability Check

When creating a transfer:

System verifies source has sufficient sellable inventory
Shows available quantities at source
Blocks submission if insufficient stock

Lead Time

Transit time depends on:

Configured warehouse lead times
Distance between locations
Shipping method

Automatic Shipping Plan

Unlike purchase orders:

A Shipping Plan is created automatically on submission
All inventory immediately enters “In Transit”
No additional shipments can be created since everything is already shipped

Production Order Specifics

BOM Verification

Before production:

Verify BOM is configured
Check component availability
Reserve components

Yield Tracking

During production:

Track actual vs. planned output
Log waste or scrap
Calculate yield rates

Costing

Production costing includes:

Component costs
Labor (if tracked)
Overhead allocation

Next Steps

Creating Transactions

Step-by-step transaction creation

Transaction Details

Navigate transaction pages

Workflow

Understand the transaction lifecycle

Suppliers

Configure supplier information

​Transaction Types

​Purchase Orders

​When to Use

​Key Information

​Purchase Order Workflow

​Steps in a Purchase Order

​Cost Tracking

​Transfer Orders

​When to Use

​Key Information

​Transfer Order Workflow

​Steps in a Transfer Order

​Inventory Impact

​Production Orders

​When to Use

​Key Information

​Production Order Workflow

​Steps in a Production Order

​Inventory Impact

​Bill of Materials (BOM)

​Comparing Transaction Types

​Choosing the Right Type

​Use Purchase Order When:

​Use Transfer Order When:

​Use Production Order When:

​Transaction Type Details

​Purchase Order Specifics

​Transfer Order Specifics

​Production Order Specifics

​Next Steps

Creating Transactions

Transaction Details

Workflow

Suppliers

Transaction Types

Purchase Orders

When to Use

Key Information

Purchase Order Workflow

Steps in a Purchase Order

Cost Tracking

Transfer Orders

When to Use

Key Information

Transfer Order Workflow

Steps in a Transfer Order

Inventory Impact

Production Orders

When to Use

Key Information

Production Order Workflow

Steps in a Production Order

Inventory Impact

Bill of Materials (BOM)

Comparing Transaction Types

Choosing the Right Type

Use Purchase Order When:

Use Transfer Order When:

Use Production Order When:

Transaction Type Details

Purchase Order Specifics

Transfer Order Specifics

Production Order Specifics

Next Steps