# Departing

*/Activities/Departing*

GS1 EPCIS business step: depart goods or objects in the supply chain.

## Overview

Departing is the physical and digital execution of goods leaving a facility. Systems record the specific Electronic Product Code Information Services event, generating Advance Shipping Notices and updating enterprise inventory balances. Software binds the physical load to its destination, verifying that the correct serial numbers, batches, and quantities are on the outbound vehicle.

The friction occurs between the loading dock door and the system of record. Workers deal with missed barcode scans, damaged tags, and staging errors that result in mismatched manifests and costly chargebacks. Supply chain teams spend hours manually reconciling Bills of Lading against warehouse management outbound logs to fix these discrepancies after the truck has already left.

This step is a high-value target for vision-based agents and headless tracking services. Camera feeds and sensor networks passively capture outbound movement, while agents autonomously reconcile the observed load against the expected shipping order. When discrepancies arise, these systems halt the dock departure sequence and identify the specific missing or incorrect item for immediate correction, bypassing manual scan-outs.

## Breakdown

### Core Departure Tasks
- [Loading Cargo](/Activities/Departing/Tasks/Loading_Cargo) — onto transport vehicle
- [Scanning Tracking Codes](/Activities/Departing/Tasks/Scanning_Tracking_Codes) — capturing EPC or RFID
- [Generating Shipping Manifests](/Activities/Departing/Tasks/Generating_Shipping_Manifests) — documenting outbound contents
- [Sealing Transport Containers](/Activities/Departing/Tasks/Sealing_Transport_Containers) — securing physical goods
- [Dispatching Transport Vehicles](/Activities/Departing/Tasks/Dispatching_Transport_Vehicles) — initiating physical transit

### Managing Software Systems
- [Warehouse Management Systems](/Activities/Departing/Software/Warehouse_Management_Systems) — tracks outbound inventory
- [Transportation Management Systems](/Activities/Departing/Software/Transportation_Management_Systems) — manages routing and dispatch
- [Yard Management Systems](/Activities/Departing/Software/Yard_Management_Systems) — controls dock doors
- [EPCIS Repositories](/Activities/Departing/Software/EPCIS_Repositories) — stores event tracking data
- [Enterprise Resource Planning](/Activities/Departing/Software/Enterprise_Resource_Planning) — updates financial ledgers

### Operational Personnel
- [Shipping Clerk](/Activities/Departing/Occupations/Shipping_Clerk) — handles outbound paperwork
- [Dock Worker](/Activities/Departing/Occupations/Dock_Worker) — loads physical goods
- [Logistics Coordinator](/Activities/Departing/Occupations/Logistics_Coordinator) — orchestrates departure schedule
- [Commercial Truck Driver](/Activities/Departing/Occupations/Commercial_Truck_Driver) — operates outbound vehicle

### Departure Artifacts
- [Advance Shipping Notice](/Activities/Departing/Knowledge/Advance_Shipping_Notice) — ASN transmission data
- [Bill Of Lading](/Activities/Departing/Knowledge/Bill_Of_Lading) — legal transport document
- [Packing Slip](/Activities/Departing/Knowledge/Packing_Slip) — itemized shipment list
- [Departure Event Record](/Activities/Departing/Knowledge/Departure_Event_Record) — digital EPCIS step

## Diagrams

```mermaid
flowchart TD; A[Read EPC/RFID Tags] --> B[Aggregate Transport Units]; B --> C[Generate EPCIS Departing Event]; C --> D[Transmit Event to Trading Partners]; D --> E[Physical Departure of Transport]; style C fill:#bfb,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px;
```

```mermaid
flowchart LR; Packing([Packing]) --> Staging([Staging]); Staging --> Departing([Departing]); Departing --> InTransit([In Transit]); InTransit --> Arriving([Arriving]); style Departing fill:#f96,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px;
```

## Neighborhood

### Specific tasks implementing this

- [Publish and sell departures](/Tasks/Publish_and_sell_departures) — implements activity · Tasks
- [Process departure and turnover](/Tasks/Process_departure_and_turnover) — implements activity · Tasks
- [Disembark at destination port](/Tasks/Disembark_at_destination_port) — implements activity · Tasks
- [Dispatch departing services](/Tasks/Dispatch_departing_services) — implements activity · Tasks
- [Clear departure documentation](/Tasks/Clear_departure_documentation) — implements activity · Tasks

### Similar Activities

- [Shipping](/Activities/Shipping) — similar · Activities
- [Loading](/Activities/Loading) — similar · Activities
- [Unloading](/Activities/Unloading) — similar · Activities
- [Consigning](/Activities/Consigning) — similar · Activities
- [Removing](/Activities/Removing) — similar · Activities
- [Arriving](/Activities/Arriving) — similar · Activities
- [Packing](/Activities/Packing) — similar · Activities
- [Accepting](/Activities/Accepting) — similar · Activities
- [Collecting](/Activities/Collecting) — similar · Activities
- [Unpacking](/Activities/Unpacking) — similar · Activities
- [Dispensing](/Activities/Dispensing) — similar · Activities
- [Picking](/Activities/Picking) — similar · Activities
- [Transporting](/Activities/Transporting) — similar · Activities
- [Storing](/Activities/Storing) — similar · Activities
- [Receiving](/Activities/Receiving) — similar · Activities
- [Repackaging](/Activities/Repackaging) — similar · Activities
- [Inspecting](/Activities/Inspecting) — similar · Activities

### Similar Resources

- [COM COL receiving warehouse](/Resources/COM_COL_receiving_warehouse) — similar · Resources

### Similar Employers

- [Manufacturing and distribution centers](/Occupations/Transportation_and_Material_Moving_Occupations/Employers/Manufacturing_and_distribution_centers) — similar · Employers

### Similar Metrics

- [Dock-to-Stock Cycle Time](/Metrics/Dock-to-Stock_Cycle_Time) — similar · Metrics