Parcel administration

Parcel Administration

The parcel administration model distinguishes between three separate business concepts: Product, Parcel, and Stock Keeping Unit (SKU). Although a Parcel may in some situations correspond to a single SKU, these concepts are fundamentally different and can not be treated as interchangeable within the system.

The three layers are defined as follows:

• Product – The physical commodity handled at the terminal, such as gas oil, gasoline, or naphtha.
• Parcel – The administrative representation of a physical product. A Parcel records characteristics such as commodity code, customs status, origin, cargo documents and, where applicable, consignor or consignee information.
• Stock Keeping Unit (SKU) – An administrative unit used for inventory management and record-keeping purposes. SKUs support stock administration but do not define the legal or logistical identity of a Parcel.

Parcel creation for incoming products

For incoming products, the User registers the received physical product by creating one or more Parcels. Each Parcel serves as an administrative reflection of the product and captures attributes such as the commodity code, customs status, and origin.

These attributes alone do not determine the number of Parcels that must be created. Even where multiple quantities of product share identical administrative characteristics, the User may decide to register them as separate Parcels. Consequently, the creation and granularity of Parcels for incoming receipts are driven by the User's administrative requirements rather than solely by the product characteristics.

Parcel creation for outgoing products

The same principle applies to the dispatch of goods. When product is loaded for shipment, the User creates one or more Parcels to represent the administrative distribution of the physical product.

For example, 1,15,000 kgMT of gasoline with a T1 (non-Union) customs status may be loaded, with 5005,000 kgMT destined for one terminal and 50010,000 kgMT destined for another. Although both quantities have the same commodity code, customs status, and origin, separate Parcels are created because they are intended for different consignees or destinations and are accompanied by different transport or customs documentation. The User determines the required Parcel structure based on the operational and documentary requirements of the shipment.

Parcel determination during internal terminal operations

For internal product handling, the creation and movement of Parcels is driven by the physical product being processed and its customs status. In these scenarios, the IT system determines the Parcels based on the administrative composition of the stock being moved.

For example, a tank containing 1,10,000 litresMT of gasoline may consist of 5005,000 litresMT with T1 (non-Union) customs status and 5005,000 litresMT with T2 (Union) customs status. When the full 1,10,000 litresMT is moved, the operation results in the movement of two separate Parcels, reflecting the two different customs statuses.

Where a Parcel contains multiple underlying SKUs, such as SKUs with different origins, the associated SKUs follow the Parcel movement according to the First In, First Out (FIFO) allocation methodology. As a result, the Parcel defines the administrative movement of the product, while the SKUs are allocated within that Parcel in FIFO order to maintain accurate inventory records and traceability.