Fulfilment & shipments

This page follows an order from placed to delivered, as you see it on the order. It explains how far the warehouse has got, how the order's status moves on its own, and how you create the shipment and the production orders that the order needs.

Where to find it: open an order from Sales → Orders → Order list and use its Order, Shipments and Production tabs. The warehouse steps are under Warehouse → Order handling: Stock reservation, Order packing, Shipment handover and Loading.

When you'll use it

• You want to know where an order really is, and the status alone does not tell you.
• You create the shipment that delivers an order, all of it or only a part.
• You attach a shipment that was created somewhere else.
• Some items have to be made first, and you send them to production.
• The status changed without anyone touching it, or it did not change when you expected it to.

Key concepts

An order goes through these steps. Each step is done on its own screen, by the people who have access to it.

Step	Where	What it means for the order
Stock reservation	Warehouse → Order handling → Stock reservation	Stock is set aside for the order. The order list shows Reserved when everything is reserved
Packing	Warehouse → Order handling → Order packing	Items go into boxes. The order shows Packing and then Packed
Handover	Shipment handover for courier parcels, Loading for your own delivery routes, or the shipment itself for personal pickup	The boxes leave the warehouse, and stock goes down
Delivery	Logistics → Shipments	The shipment reaches the customer

Progress is shown next to the status

The warehouse's progress is separate from the order's status. You see it in two places:

• On the order list, in the Fulfilment column: Reserved, Packing with the packed and ordered pieces (for example 3/5), or Packed.
• On the order page, in the Goods card:
  • a Packed counter for the whole order;
  • for each line, the columns Reserved and Packed, and Delivered once something has reached the customer. Each shows done out of ordered;
  • for a line that is a set, the number of its products that are ready. A product counts as ready when it is packed, reserved or in stock.

The Reserved figures are shown only to people with the Stock reservation or Warehouse: Reservations permission. The same applies to the Open stock reservation link, which appears while the order is not fully reserved.

Stock reservation alone does not change the order's status. A fully reserved order that nobody has packed keeps its status, usually New. There is no "reserved" status. Read the Fulfilment column instead.

When stock goes down

Stock reservation sets stock aside, and packing puts it in boxes. Neither lowers what you have on hand. Stock goes down when the boxes leave the warehouse:

• at Shipment handover, when you hand the boxes to the courier;
• at Loading, when a shipment on a route is fully loaded or closed;
• on a personal-pickup shipment, when you hand the goods to the customer.

The warehouse side is described in Stock reservation, Shipment handover and Loading.

The status follows the warehouse

While the work is done, Complaia moves the order's status forward for you.

What moves the status

What has happened	The order moves to
The order was reserved, nothing more	No change
At least one piece was packed	In progress
Some of the ordered pieces left the warehouse	Partially shipped
All ordered pieces left the warehouse	Shipped
Some of the order's shipments are delivered, others are not	Partially delivered
Every shipment of the order is delivered, and no packed box is still waiting in the warehouse	Delivered

The rules:

• Only forward. The status never goes back on its own. Unpacking a box does not return a Shipped order to In progress.
• Closed orders are left alone. An order on a status of the Completed or Cancelled type is not moved, whatever the warehouse does later. Delivered, Cancelled and any status of your own with one of these types are such statuses.
• A status set by hand stops the automatic steps. See below.
• Cancelled shipments do not count. A shipment created by mistake and cancelled does not stop the order from becoming Delivered. If every shipment is cancelled, the order is not marked as delivered.
• Delivered means every existing shipment arrived. Complaia also checks that no packed box is still in the warehouse. It does not check whether the shipments cover items that were never packed. If you ship an order in parts, create the shipment for the rest before the first one is delivered.
• Only the built-in statuses are used. The automatic steps always end on the statuses in the table. Statuses you add yourself are never chosen automatically.
• Lines without a catalog product do not count. Match them first. See Match a line item to a product.
• Claims and returns are not moved. They have their own statuses, which you change yourself. See Claims & returns.

An automatic change:

• updates the Last change date on the order's Order status panel;
• starts the integration rules that react to a status change, for example passing the new status on to your shop;
• releases any stock still reserved for the order when the order becomes Delivered;
• is not listed on the order's History tab, which shows what people did.

Changing the status by hand

You can set any status on the order's edit form, or cancel the order with Cancel order. When you do:

• The automatic steps stop for this order, for good. Complaia no longer moves it when the warehouse packs, ships or delivers. Status changes from a connected shop no longer reach it either. This is true for every status, including one of your own and a built-in one. There is no switch to turn the automatic steps back on. From then on, you change this order's status yourself.
• The change is listed on the History tab.
• The integration rules that react to a status change run, the same as for an automatic change.
• A status of the Completed or Cancelled type releases the stock reserved for the order. A status of the Cancelled type also cancels the shipments that have not left yet. See Cancel an order.

A status that you choose on the New order form does not stop the automatic steps. Neither does a status that a connected shop sets.

So, if you want the warehouse to drive the status, do not change it by hand. Use your own statuses only for orders you want to steer yourself.

No-warehouse mode

Some companies do not pass orders through a warehouse of their own. If your workspace is set up that way:

• the Order packing screen shows No-warehouse mode and offers to create or open the shipment;
• stock reservation and packing are skipped;
• the status follows the shipment alone. When a shipment of the order is planned or on its way, the order becomes Shipped, and then Delivered as usual.

This mode is set for the whole workspace. There is no switch for it in Complaia. If you need it changed, contact Support.

The screens

The Shipments tab

The Shipment orders card lists the shipments linked to the order, newest first. At the top are Link existing and New shipment order.

Each shipment is one row with:

• the carrier's logo, the shipment number (click it to open the shipment) and the service;
• the shipment status with a progress bar;
• Client, Waybill number (with a copy button), Loading and Unloading, when they are known.

Under each row is a bar of actions. Which ones appear depends on the shipment:

Action	What it does
Label (PDF)	Downloads the carrier's label, for courier shipments
Track at …	Opens the carrier's own tracking page
Track	Opens Complaia's public tracking page of the shipment
Generate tracking	Gives the shipment a tracking number. See Give a shipment a tracking number
Refresh icon	Asks the carrier for the current status. The text next to it says when the status was last checked
⋯ menu	Open, Copy link, Unlink, and for courier shipments a way to cancel the shipment with the carrier

Right after a courier shipment is dispatched, you may see The carrier accepted the order. The waybill number appears within minutes.

Notices under the card warn you about problems, for example a dispatch that failed or a pickup point that differs from the one on the order. Below the card, you can order a courier pickup for each carrier account. These actions are explained on the Shipments page.

📷 Screenshot to add: the Shipments tab of an order with one courier shipment, showing the row with the status bar and its action buttons

The Production tab

The Production orders card lists the production orders made for this order. Each row shows the number, the status, the item's EAN (European Article Number, the barcode), the product, the quantity and the planned date. Open takes you to the production order. A production order can also carry the mark "Customer order cancelled" or "Customer order reduced".

Above the list, a notice says what is still left to produce, or that nothing is left because stock, reservations or production orders in progress cover the items.

The button reads Create order when the order has no production orders, and Add another order when it has some. It appears only when at least one item can be produced: it is linked to a catalog product that is made, not bought in.

When nothing can be produced, the card says why:

• Nothing to produce — none of the items is a product you make. Bought-in goods are reserved on the Stock reservation screen instead.
• Cannot create order — for example, no item is linked to a catalog product.

When the products are made in another warehouse than the one the order ships from, a notice offers Transfer stock. See Stock transfer.

Common tasks

Create a shipment from the order

You need the Orders: Edit permission.

1. Open the order, go to the Shipments tab and click New shipment order. The Create shipment order window opens. It works in steps.

2. Items — tick what goes in this shipment and set the Quantity of each line. Everything not yet shipped is ticked for you. The To ship column shows what is left. To ship the order in parts, untick lines or lower the quantities, and repeat these steps later for the rest.

3. Transport — choose how the goods travel:

   • Own transport — your own vehicles and drivers;
   • one of your connected couriers;
   • Other carrier — a carrier from your carriers list, whose statuses you update by hand;
   • Personal pickup — the customer collects the goods in person.

   If the order has a delivery method, the window shows it and preselects the matching transport. Check Ship from, which is the warehouse or address the goods leave from. You can also type the Transport cost. It is saved as the order's delivery cost.

4. Click Next and fill in what the chosen transport asks for. For a courier, this is, for example, the service, the parcel size, the pickup point or the parcels. For another carrier, it is the carrier.

5. On the last step, check the summary. For a connected courier, tick the box Creating this shipment will dispatch it with …. The button then reads Create and dispatch, because creating the shipment sends it to the carrier and creates a paid label. For other transport, the button reads Create order.

The recipient, the address, the pickup point, the delivery cost and cash on delivery are taken from the order. If the order lacks something the service needs, such as a phone number or an e-mail address, the window asks for it. Save to order stores it on the order too.

When the shipment is created, you see The shipment order has been created and linked to the order. The shipment appears on the tab.

What each kind of transport needs, and the rules for pickup points, cash on delivery and insurance, are described in Create a shipment from an order.

Link a shipment made elsewhere

1. On the Shipments tab, click Link existing.
2. Type the shipment's number, for example SHP-0001, and click Link. You see Shipment order linked.

To detach a shipment, open its ⋯ menu, choose Unlink and confirm. The shipment itself is not deleted.

Give a shipment a tracking number

Most shipments already have a tracking number:

• An own-transport shipment gets a number starting with CMPL- the moment it is created.
• A shipment sent with a connected courier gets its number from the carrier.

Generate tracking is offered only on a shipment that is not a courier shipment and has no number. Typically this is a shipment with another carrier or a personal pickup.

1. On the Shipments tab, find the shipment without a Waybill number.
2. Click Generate tracking. The number appears on the row.
3. Open the ⋯ menu, choose Copy link and send the link to the customer.

You need the Shipments: Edit or Planning and route operations: Edit permission. What the customer sees behind the link is described in Delivery & tracking.

Raise a production order

You need the Production: Create permission.

1. Open the order and go to the Production tab.
2. Click Create order. The new production order form opens, with this order already chosen.
3. Check the items and quantities there and save.

Items that are not linked to a product cannot go to production. Match them to a product first. The rest is described in Create orders from a sales order.

Check why an order is not moving

1. On the order list, look at the Fulfilment column. A dash means the warehouse has not started.
2. Open the order. In Goods, compare Reserved and Packed with the ordered quantities, line by line.
3. On the Shipments tab, check that a shipment exists and what its status is.
4. On the History tab, check whether someone changed the status by hand. If so, the status no longer moves on its own.

When it doesn't work

What you see	Why	What to do
The order is fully reserved, but the status has not changed	Stock reservation does not move the status. The first change comes with packing	Read the Fulfilment column. Nothing is wrong
The order is packed, but stock has not gone down	Stock goes down when the boxes leave the warehouse	Hand the boxes over on Shipment handover or load them on Loading
The status changed although nobody changed it, and the History tab has no entry for it	The warehouse packed or shipped, or a shipment was delivered, and the status followed	Compare the Last change date on the Order status panel with the Packed figures and the shipments
The status no longer changes when the warehouse packs or ships	Someone set the status by hand earlier, so the automatic steps stopped for this order	Set the status by hand from now on
An order on one of your own statuses moved to In progress	A piece was packed. Your status was chosen when the order was created, not set by hand later	This is expected. To stop it, set the status by hand on the edit form
The order stays on Shipped although the customer has the goods	Not every shipment of the order is marked delivered	Open the shipments from the Shipments tab and check their statuses
The order shows Partially delivered although every shipment is delivered	A packed box of this order has not left the warehouse yet	Find the box on Shipment handover and hand it over, or unpack it
The order shows Partially delivered	One shipment is delivered and another is still on its way, for example the rest after a partial delivery	Wait for the remaining shipment, or check what is holding it up
A shipment on the Shipments tab shows a failed delivery	The delivery attempt failed. An own-transport shipment then goes back to the planner to be put on a route again	See Deal with a delivery that failed. Boxes that came back are booked in on Returns from route. The order's status does not go back
The order shows Delivered although part of it was never shipped	The only shipment of the order was delivered before a shipment for the rest existed	Create the shipment for the rest, then set the status you want by hand
Shipment … already existed for this order. We did not create a second one and nothing was dispatched again.	The same shipment was created twice within half a minute, usually by a double click	Nothing to do. If you really need a second shipment, wait a moment and create it again
The carrier rejected the dispatch. Shipment … is saved: open it and save it again to retry the dispatch. Creating another shipment from the order will NOT retry it.	The courier refused the shipment	Open the shipment, correct the data the carrier rejected and save it
Items already shipped are selected in the shipment window	The quantity chosen is more than what is left to ship	Lower the quantity or untick the line, unless you really are sending the goods again
No active courier integrations. You can choose own transport or first connect a courier in integrations.	No courier is connected	Choose another transport, or connect a courier. See Connectors
An error after New shipment order, Link or Unlink	You do not have the Orders: Edit permission. The buttons are shown anyway	Ask an administrator to add the permission
The Production tab says Nothing to produce	None of the items is a product you make	Reserve the goods on Stock reservation
The Production tab says None of the order items has a linked product from the catalog…	No item is linked to a product	Match the items on the Order tab, then try again

Permissions

To do this	You need
See an order's progress, shipments and production orders	Orders: View
See the Reserved figures and the Open stock reservation link	Stock reservation or Warehouse: Reservations
Create a shipment from the order, link and unlink shipments	Orders: Edit
Change the status by hand	Orders: Edit (edit form), or Orders: Edit or Orders: Statuses (Cancel order)
Generate a tracking number	Shipments: Edit or Planning and route operations: Edit
Create production orders from the order	Production: Create
Use Transfer stock	Warehouse: Stock movements
Reserve, pack and hand over	The warehouse permissions listed on Stock reservation, Order packing, Shipment handover and Loading

Related

• Orders — the list, the order page and cancelling an order
• Order statuses — the built-in statuses that the automatic steps use
• Stock reservation · Order packing · Shipment handover · Loading
• Shipments · Carriers · Route planning
• Production orders — for items that have to be made first
• Customer tracking portal — what the customer can follow meanwhile
• Claims & returns — when something goes wrong after delivery