Why Dispatch Planning Needs to See Stock in Transit, Not Just Stock on Hand

A dispatch plan is only as good as the inventory picture behind it. Most plans start from one number: stock on hand at the plant or warehouse. That number is accurate, and it is also incomplete.

At any moment, a large share of a company's inventory is on the move. It sits on trucks heading to depots, rakes moving to stockyards, containers at transshipment ports and transfer orders between warehouses. That stock will arrive and become available soon. When dispatch planning can see it, every decision gets sharper: what to send, from where, in which vehicle and when.

This blog draws on recurring themes from Enmovil's conversations with manufacturers, distributors and logistics teams. It covers why in-transit visibility matters, what changes when planners have it, and how to build dispatch planning that works from the full inventory picture.

Stock in transit (also called in-transit inventory or pipeline inventory) is inventory that has left its origin but has not yet reached its destination. It includes goods on trucks, rail rakes, vessels and containers, plus stock moving between your own plants, warehouses, depots and stockyards under transfer orders.

Stock on hand is inventory physically present and available at a location right now. Projected available stock combines the two: on-hand stock, plus in-transit stock expected to arrive within the planning window, minus stock already committed to orders.

Stock on hand vs stock in transit vs projected available stock

Why the difference matters for dispatch

Dispatch decisions are forward-looking. A truck loaded today reaches the customer in one to several days. By then, the stock picture at both ends has changed. Planning from on-hand stock alone treats the network as frozen. Planning from projected available stock treats it as it really is: moving, and arriving on a schedule you can see.

Across Enmovil's discovery calls and demos with manufacturers, distributors and logistics teams, the same themes come up again and again. Each one points to the same opportunity: give dispatch planning sight of the stock that is already moving.

1. Monthly push plans that need to match arrival timing

Many teams build a monthly plan and push material to warehouses and depots in one go. A planner at a global precision manufacturer put the challenge simply: when the plan covers the whole month, they already know some of that material will not reach the destination in time to be useful. Dispatch plans built around arrival dates, not just order dates, close that gap.

2. Visibility across stock, orders and parts in transit

A recurring request from leadership teams is one view of stock levels, PO release status, required quantities and parts in transit. An electronics manufacturing services company told us that complete visibility on stock and ordering status was the first priority, with every other planning module building on it. When this view is manual, teams spend their time finding stock rather than deploying it.

3. Multi-route, multi-mode networks

A cement manufacturer described dispatching through two routes at once: direct to customers where truck and order sizes allow, and through stockyards for smaller deliveries, with rail and waterways also in the mix. In networks like this, a significant share of inventory is always mid-journey. Planning that sees rakes, stockyards and trucks together can pick the best route for every order.

4. Many screens, one question: how much is in transit?

Teams often run separate screens for each workflow. A common ask in demos is a quick answer to "how many shipments are in transit right now?" without navigating between tools. One version of the truth across shipped, in-transit and delivered quantities keeps sales, planning and logistics aligned.

5. Full truckloads and the right timing

Logistics teams regularly weigh dispatching today as a part truckload (PTL) against waiting a day to build a full truckload (FTL). Knowing what stock is arriving, and when, makes that call clear. It also helps allocate loads by each transporter's share of business.

Adding in-transit stock to the plan changes more than one number. It changes how every dispatch decision is made.

Plans built on projected availability by ETA

Dispatch planning starts from what each location will hold on the dispatch date, not just what it holds today. Inbound stock with a reliable ETA counts toward availability. Orders can be promised against supply that is minutes or days away, with confidence.

Smarter stock transfers across the network

With a network-wide view, replenishment can check the nearest location first and transfer surplus stock from there, rather than defaulting to the mother warehouse. The system can also compare whether a transfer should come from a parent or child warehouse and evaluate multiple logistics paths for each move.

Buffers that reflect real transit time

In-transit awareness makes safety stock more precise. One approach used in Enmovil's inventory planning sets service-centre safety stock as the transit time from the nearest warehouse multiplied by the SKU's average historic sale. The replenishment indent then adds buffer for those transit days, so each location stays covered while stock is on the move.

Fuller trucks and better load allocation

Knowing what will arrive, and when, helps planners consolidate orders, meet minimum vehicle fill rates and choose between FTL and PTL with clarity. Loads can be allocated by transporter share of business, truck and driver availability, and cost or time priorities.

One version of the truth for every team

A connected view shows how much stock was sent, how much is dispatched, how much is in transit and which customer deliveries are still open, with yard-level and route-level KPIs. Sales, planning, logistics and finance all work from the same picture.

Moving from on-hand-only planning to full-pipeline planning is a step-by-step journey. Most teams start with visibility and layer intelligence on top.

1. Connect your inventory sources. Bring ERP stock, WMS bin data, open sales orders and transfer orders into one platform. SAP and other ERPs can feed data continuously, with Excel uploads for anything not yet integrated.
2. Add live shipment tracking. Link GPS, rail and vessel tracking so every truck, rake and container carries a current location and ETA across road, rail, sea and air.
3. Calculate projected available stock. For each SKU and location, combine on-hand stock with in-transit quantities due inside the planning window, then subtract committed orders.
4. Set transit-aware planning rules. Define safety stock and reorder points using real transit lead times. Add constraints such as truck capacity, minimum fill rate, dock counts, city restrictions, clubbing rules and loading sequence.
5. Generate and simulate dispatch plans. Let the planning engine build plans automatically at cut-off time, optimised by cost, time or both. Use simulation mode to test configurations before committing.
6. Track execution and replan in real time. Monitor transit delays, route deviations and unloading times. When an ETA shifts, projected availability updates and the next dispatch plan adjusts automatically.

Visibility shows the full picture. AI turns it into decisions. With on-hand and in-transit stock in one model, AI-driven dispatch planning can weigh thousands of combinations of orders, locations, vehicles and arrival times in seconds.

What AI adds

• Constraint-based optimisation: feasible plans that respect service windows, vehicle capacity, axle limits, documents, geofences and driver requirements.
• Agentic AI orchestration: AI agents that inspect ERP dispatches, evaluate inventory and dealer credit, and recommend purchase order or transfer actions for planners to approve.
• Proactive replenishment: items approaching safety stock trigger replenishment suggestions automatically, with in-transit quantities already counted.
• Conversational planning: planners can ask for the count of in-transit shipments or the live location of a consignment, and get an answer inside Microsoft Teams or Outlook.

Enmovil is an AI-native supply chain and logistics intelligence platform. It connects Supply Chain Planning, Logistics Planning and Logistics Execution on one intelligence layer that sits on top of your existing TMS, WMS and ERP.

• Dispatch Planning builds plans from orders, truck and material masters, payment confirmation and stock availability, with FTL/PTL handling, freight structures and multi-stop routes.
• Inventory Management provides multi-echelon inventory planning, dynamic safety stock and stock transfer recommendations across plants, warehouses and depots.
• Tracking & Visibility delivers live vehicle and inventory movement across road, rail, sea and air, with transit-delay and exception alerts.
• CADDIE, part of Enmovil's AI Workforce, brings agentic AI into everyday planning so teams can act on the full picture faster.