Should we ship a partial container or wait?

There is no universal answer, which is exactly why it should be a calculated decision rather than a habit.

Shipping partial means a higher freight cost per unit and, if you are using less-than-container-load (LCL) shipping, often a longer and less predictable transit. Waiting means either a later arrival for everything in that shipment or filling the gap with references you do not yet need, which converts freight savings into six months of financed inventory.

The right comparison is the incremental freight cost of the partial shipment against the total cost of the alternative: the holding cost of the fill items plus the expected cost of any stockout caused by delaying. That calculation needs a probabilistic view of demand per reference, because the whole question turns on how likely each candidate item is to be needed before the next vessel. Made once with real numbers, it usually produces a policy rather than a case-by-case argument.