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Fulfillment Flow

Every physical product order follows a standard lifecycle. Understanding it helps you process orders accurately and keep customers informed.

The order lifecycle

Placed → Payment confirmed → Processing → Fulfilled → Delivered
1
Order placed
A customer completes checkout. The order appears in your Orders list with status "Pending". You receive an email notification (if configured).
2
Payment confirmed
Your payment provider confirms the payment. The order moves to "Processing". Stock is decremented from inventory. This happens automatically — no action needed from you.
3
Pack the order
Prepare the physical items for shipping. Check the order detail for the customer's shipping address, selected shipping method, and any order notes.
4
Mark as fulfilled
Open the order in the admin panel. Click "Create fulfillment". Select which items to include (all items by default) and click Confirm.
5
Add a tracking number
After creating the fulfillment, a tracking number field appears. Enter the tracking number from your courier. This is emailed to the customer automatically.
6
Mark as shipped
Once the package is with the courier, click "Mark as shipped". The order status updates and the customer receives a shipping notification.
7
Mark as delivered
Once the courier confirms delivery (or you've confirmed with the customer), click "Mark as delivered". The order is complete.

Partial fulfillments

If an order has multiple items and some are out of stock, you can fulfill what's available now and the rest later:

  1. Open the order
  2. Click Create fulfillment
  3. Deselect the items you can't ship yet
  4. Confirm the partial fulfillment
  5. Repeat for the remaining items when ready
💡Tip

Always notify the customer when you're doing a partial fulfillment. Add a note in the order using Add note on the order detail page — it appears in the customer's order history.

Order notes

Customers can add order notes at checkout. Always check these before packing — they may contain requests like gift wrapping, specific color preferences, or delivery instructions.

On-demand local delivery

If your store is integrated with a local delivery provider (e.g. Uber Connect for on-demand Nairobi delivery), a delivery button may appear on the order detail page. Clicking it opens the delivery app with the customer's address pre-filled.

Check with your platform administrator to confirm which delivery integrations are available on your store.

Finding specific orders

Use the search bar in Orders (or ⌘K / Ctrl+K) to find an order by:

  • Order number (e.g. #1042)
  • Customer name or email
  • Product title
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Fulfillment Flow — Sokobuni Learn