Working together on the Work Desk¶

The Brand Work Desk is the shared space where a brand and its 3PL team work together. Everything about one brand's fulfillment lives here: requests and tasks, conversations about orders and shipments, orders that need attention, stock on its way to the warehouse, shipping errors, reference material, and a running activity log.

If you're a brand, this is your main place to get help from your 3PL: ask a question, raise a request, and follow along as it gets handled. If you're on the 3PL team, it's where you pick up a brand's requests and keep the brand in the loop. Both sides look at the same desk, each seeing what their role allows. This page walks through each section so you know what it shows and where to go for the detail.

For 3PL teams: the Directory screen calls a brand a Group — the two terms refer to the same thing.

Overview¶

Open a brand from your home screen to land on its Work Desk (route /brand-workdesk/:brandId). Each brand also has a General channel, where the brand and the 3PL team talk day to day.

The desk is organized into collapsible sections — Work, Orders, Shipping, and Info — each holding one or more accordions. Tap a section header to expand or collapse it, and tap an accordion to open its list. Most accordions show a count chip telling you how many items need attention.

The Work and Info sections always appear. The Orders and Shipping sections appear only when the brand is connected to the warehouse system (WMS), and which accordions show is controlled by Configure Views.

Screenshot: The Brand Work Desk with its expandable sections. (pending capture)

Dashboard and Requests¶

A brand can turn on two optional pages (see Managing brands). When either is on, the Work Desk shows tabs under the brand's name: Channels (the desk described on this page), plus Dashboard and Requests for whichever are turned on. With both off, there are no tabs and the desk works as before.

Dashboard is the brand's landing page. When the brand is connected to the warehouse it shows open orders, orders ready to ship, due today, and shipped today, then urgent orders and holds, the brand's tasks created or updated in the last seven days, and smaller tiles for backorders, inbound shipments, and shipping errors. Select a tile to open the matching list in the warehouse. It also shows the brand's Drive and account manager, and a line to start a request with the team. Every member of the brand can see these numbers.

Requests is for asks that need their own conversation. Each request has one conversation and one task, so it is done when its task is done.

1. Open the Requests tab and select New request.
2. Describe what you need, or pick one of the quick starts. Type @ to tag members of the brand — people you tag become the request's assignees and are notified. Without tags, the request goes to the usual people.
3. Select Send. The request opens as its own conversation.

Beside the conversation, Pax reads the request: what it makes of the ask, the orders and articles it found, and a short plan of steps it can take. Nothing runs until you confirm it, and each result is posted in the conversation. When the request is done, Pax writes a summary. See Meet Pax.

Review Open Tasks¶

The Open Tasks accordion (in the Work section) lists the brand's open tasks you can see — requests either side has raised and work in progress — with a count chip. A task is the best way to ask for something that needs tracking until it's done. Use the Search tasks... bar to find a specific task, or tap the + to add one inline without leaving the desk.

1. Expand the Work section, then open Open Tasks.
2. Tap a task card to view or update its details and see where it stands.
3. To raise a request, tap the + and fill in the inline create form.

Creating a task is available to members with permission to do so. For the full task workflow, see Tasks and Creating tasks.

Work Threads¶

The Threads accordion (in the Work section) collects the conversations between the brand and the 3PL team that are attached to specific orders, tasks, and inbound shipments, so a question about an order stays with that order. An unread dot marks threads with new messages, and a count chip shows the total. Tap the + to start a thread on an order, task, or shipment.

1. Expand the Work section, then open Threads.
2. Tap a thread to read it and reply.
3. If the list is empty, open an order, task, or inbound shipment to start the first thread about it.

Threads use Packr's built-in messaging. For more, see Channels and threads.

Orders on Hold¶

The Orders on Hold accordion (in the Orders section) shows orders the warehouse has placed on hold, so they are not shipped until the issue is sorted out — often something the brand and the 3PL resolve together, such as confirming an address. The count chip shows a + when there are more than the displayed page. Use Search orders... to find a specific order.

1. Expand the Orders section, then open Orders on Hold.
2. Tap an order card to see why it is held and what happens next.

This section appears only when the brand is connected to the WMS. For details, see Orders.

Orders on Backorder¶

The Orders on Backorder accordion (in the Orders section) lists orders that cannot fully ship because one or more items are out of stock, so both sides can see what is waiting on inventory. As with holds, the count chip shows a + when more orders exist beyond the page, and Search orders... finds a specific one.

1. Expand the Orders section, then open Orders on Backorder.
2. Tap an order card to review the short item and its status.

This section appears only when the brand is connected to the WMS. For details, see Orders.

Pinned Orders¶

The Pinned Orders accordion (in the Orders section) holds a shortlist of orders someone chose by hand, rather than every order matching a status. Use it for the orders the brand and the 3PL are actively chasing together — an escalation, a VIP order, anything you want back in one tap tomorrow.

1. Expand the Orders section, then open Pinned Orders.
2. Select + on the accordion to open the picker.
3. Type an order number, or paste a list of them, and choose from the matches. Use the arrow keys to move through the list and Enter to select; Backspace removes the last one you picked.
4. Confirm to pin them. To remove one, use the unpin action on its card.

Pins belong to the brand, not to the person who made them — everyone with access to the brand, on both sides, sees the same list, and anyone with access can add to it or remove from it. A brand can hold up to 100 pinned orders; the accordion shows them all at once, in the order they were pinned.

Pinned Orders is optional and off by default. Turn it on for a brand from Configure Views (see Customize what you see). Like the other order accordions, it appears only when the brand is connected to the WMS. For details on orders, see Orders.

Custom order views¶

The built-in order accordions cover the whole brand, whichever channel you have open. A custom order view is a named order filter pinned to one channel (or to General) and shown as its own accordion in the Orders section, after Pinned Orders — so a "Babylist" channel can show just Babylist orders on hold, for example. Everyone who can open that channel sees its views.

Each view shows the orders that match every filter you set:

• Status — leave it empty for every open order, or pick statuses to show only orders in them (including closed ones, such as fulfilled or cancelled, if you pick those).
• On hold, Backordered, and In the Urgent Queue switches.
• Tags — match Any of these tags or All of these tags.
• Store — the sales channel the order came from.

To add one:

1. Open the channel on the brand's Work Desk, then select Configure Views at the bottom of the desk.
2. Under the custom order views list, select + Custom order view.
3. Give the view a Name and set its filters. A live preview shows how many orders currently match.
4. Save. The view appears as a new accordion on that channel.

From the same list you can move views up or down to set their order, or edit and delete them. A pencil on the view's own accordion header opens its editor in place. A channel can hold up to 8 custom order views.

The editor now tells you when something is wrong instead of looking empty. If the filter options fail to load, it says so and offers Try again rather than showing blank pickers that read as "this brand has nothing to pick". And if you switch In the Urgent Queue on and also pick statuses that are not urgent, it warns you before you save that the two together can only ever match nothing — a view's filters narrow each other rather than adding up. The summary chip spells the combination out in full for the same reason.

Urgent Queue¶

The Urgent Queue accordion (in the Orders section) lists this brand's orders that are in one of the fulfillment statuses the workspace has marked as urgent, so the orders that need prioritizing surface in one place for both sides. The count chip shows how many are waiting, and Search orders... finds a specific one.

1. Expand the Orders section, then open Urgent Queue.
2. Tap an order card to open it and act on it.

The Urgent Queue is optional and off by default. A workspace admin on the 3PL side turns it on for a brand from Configure Views (see Customize what you see), and chooses which order statuses count as urgent under Settings -> Order Statuses. Once an admin enables the section, everyone with access to the brand sees it. Like the other order accordions, it appears only when the brand is connected to the WMS. For details on orders, see Orders.

Open Inbound Shipments¶

The Open Inbound Shipments accordion (in the Shipping section) shows inbound shipments — stock on its way to the warehouse — that are still open, so the brand and the 3PL can both see what's arriving. Use Search shipments... to find one, or tap View All Shipments to see the complete list.

1. Expand the Shipping section, then open Open Inbound Shipments.
2. Tap a shipment card to view its contents and status.

A shipment with a conversation shows a chat bubble on its card, with a dot when there are unread messages, and the accordion's header counts how many threads there are, as Open Tasks does.

This section appears only when the brand is connected to the WMS. For details, see Inbound shipments.

Unreviewed Shipping Errors¶

The Unreviewed Shipping Errors accordion (in the Shipping section) surfaces shipping errors on this brand's orders that no one has reviewed yet, so problems are visible to both sides instead of going unnoticed. The count chip shows how many are waiting, and a threads label next to the title tells you how many of them are on orders that already have a conversation attached.

1. Expand the Shipping section, then open Unreviewed Shipping Errors.
2. Open an error card to read the detail, and mark it resolved once it has been handled.
3. To see the order behind an error, or to ask about it, select its order number on the card.

This section appears only when the brand is connected to the WMS. For how to work through them, see Shipping errors.

Reviewed Shipping Errors¶

The Reviewed Shipping Errors accordion (in the Shipping section) is the history of everything already marked reviewed for this brand, most recently reviewed first, so an error that has been handled is still findable instead of just disappearing. Reviewed cards are greyed out with the error type struck through. The list is capped, so it shows the most recent reviewed errors rather than every one ever recorded.

1. Expand the Shipping section, then open Reviewed Shipping Errors.
2. Select an error card to read what was recorded, or select its order number to open the order.

This accordion shares the shipping-errors setting in Configure Views with Unreviewed Shipping Errors — turning shipping errors on or off shows or hides both. Like the other WMS accordions, it appears only when the brand is connected to the WMS. See Shipping errors.

Add and scan Drive content¶

The Drive accordion (in the Info section) holds the articles and files attached to this brand — reference material both sides rely on, such as packaging rules or product notes, and that Pax draws on when answering questions. The count chip shows how many items are attached. Tap the + to open a menu with three choices:

• New Article — write a Context article for this brand.
• Upload File — add a Drive file.

• Scan for context — Packr scans the last 48 hours of this brand's activity and suggests context to capture. While it runs, the menu shows Scanning the last 48 hours…

• Expand the Info section, then open Drive.

• Tap an article or file to open it, or tap + to add or scan.

Each row also carries a three-dots menu, so you can Move, Rename, Change Brand, Manage Roles, or delete an item without going over to the full Drive page. What the menu offers depends on your permissions for that item.

Anything you create here is filed into the brand's own Drive folder rather than dropped at the top level of Drive, so it is where you would expect to find it when you go looking in Drive itself. If the brand doesn't have a folder yet, Packr creates one named after the brand the first time something is added.

For more, see Context articles, Drive, and the Drive overview.

Read the Timeline¶

The Timeline accordion (in the Info section) is a running activity log for the brand — a chronological feed of what has happened, such as tasks, orders, shipments, and other changes — so either side can catch up on what's been done without asking. Tap an entry to jump to the item it refers to.

1. Expand the Info section, then open Timeline.
2. Scroll the feed and tap any entry to open the related task, order, or shipment.

Customize what you see¶

The Configure Views button at the bottom of the desk controls which optional accordions appear. It is also where you add custom order views for the channel you have open. The Open Tasks, Threads, Drive, and Timeline accordions always show; the Orders and Shipping accordions are opt-in. The Urgent Queue accordion is admin-only in Configure Views — only a workspace admin can turn it on for a brand — but once enabled, everyone with access to the brand sees it.

The six warehouse-backed accordions — orders on hold, backordered orders, pinned orders, urgent queue, inbound shipments, and shipping errors — need the brand to be mapped to a warehouse account. When it isn't, Configure Views still lists them but shows them locked with a Needs WMS badge, so it is clear why they cannot be turned on rather than the rows simply being missing. Admins get a shortcut from there to Integrations to set the mapping up. See Brand ↔ WMS mapping.

Common questions¶

How do I ask my 3PL, or my brand, for help? Post in the brand's General channel for anything general. To ask about a specific order, task, or inbound shipment, start a thread on it from Threads so the conversation stays with that item. For a request that needs tracking until it's done, add a task in Open Tasks. You can also ask Pax, and for help with Packr itself, email help@packr.io.

What do the cards on my Work Desk mean? Each accordion groups one kind of shared work for the brand — open tasks, threads, orders on hold or backorder, inbound shipments, shipping errors, and knowledge. The number chip on an accordion is the count of items in it; a + on an order count means there are more beyond the current page.

Where do I see orders that need attention? In the Orders section: Orders on Hold shows orders the warehouse is holding, and Orders on Backorder shows orders waiting on out-of-stock items. Both appear only when the brand is connected to the WMS. See Orders.

Why are the Orders and Shipping sections missing? Those sections appear only when the brand is connected to the warehouse system (WMS) and the matching views are turned on in Configure Views. If you're a brand and expect to see your orders here, ask your 3PL team. See Connecting your WMS.

What is the Timeline? The Timeline (in the Info section) is the brand's activity log — a chronological feed of recent changes across tasks, orders, shipments, and more, so either side can see what has happened. Tap any entry to open the item it refers to.

Where do shipping errors go after they're reviewed? They move from Unreviewed Shipping Errors to the Reviewed Shipping Errors accordion in the same Shipping section, most recently reviewed first. Nothing is deleted, and the error also stays on its order. See Shipping errors.

What is the Urgent Queue? The Urgent Queue (in the Orders section) collects the brand's orders in the fulfillment statuses the workspace has marked as urgent. It is optional: a workspace admin turns it on for a brand in Configure Views and picks which statuses count under Settings -> Order Statuses. Once enabled, everyone with access to the brand can see it.

What does "Scan for context" do? In the Drive accordion, Scan for context reviews the brand's last 48 hours of activity and suggests reference material to capture as an article. See Context articles.

Related¶

• Tasks
• Orders
• Shipping errors
• Inbound shipments
• Context articles
• Channels and threads