How to Fulfill Orders on Shopify: Detailed instructions

Navigating order fulfillment is crucial for customer satisfaction and smooth operations. Fulfilling orders on Shopify is key to store success and profit. This guide, How to fulfill orders on Shopify: Detailed instructions covers every step, from receiving your first order to delivery. Whether you fulfill orders in-house, use third-party services or dropship, this article provides insights and tools to simplify the process.

What Is Shopify Order Fulfillment?

Shopify order fulfillment involves managing customer orders, including receiving, confirming, packing, and shipping them. Shopify's tools streamline this process with an order management system for viewing orders, printing labels, tracking shipments, and handling returns. It integrates with carriers like USPS, FedEx, and ShipBob, offering in-house or outsourced fulfillment options for efficiency.

When to mark orders as fulfilled on Shopify?

Marking orders as fulfilled on Shopify is a crucial step in the order management process. Here's a concise guide on when to do it:

• After Shipping: Once packed and shipped.
• Handoff to Carrier: When handed to the carrier with tracking.
• Dropshipping Confirmation: When the supplier confirms shipping.
• Automatic Fulfillment: For digital products or integrated third-party services.
• Partial Fulfillment: For partially shipped orders.

How to Fulfill Orders on Shopify

Before fulfilling your orders

To make sure your fulfilling process goes smoothly you need to go through a few steps to check this information:

Product Weight

You need to make sure your product weight is correct to make sure your Shipping Rates are correct so there will be no extra cost.

Shipping Rates

Go to Settings -> Shipping and Delivery -> Shipping Rates.

Here, you can set the shipping rates and the shipping time for the Domestic market and the Global market.

You can check out more details in our article: Understanding Shopify Shipping: Costs, Rates, and Delivery Methods (2024)

Packages

In Shipping and Delivery, you can also input your packaging information. If you use your own branded packaging, you need to fill in size and weight information to calculate shipping rates at checkout.

Otherwise, if you use Carrier packaging, they will apply a flat rate for each box.

#1. How to manually fulfill orders Shopify

Fulfilling orders on Shopify using Shopify Shipping is effective and simple. You don’t need to get extra apps or take complicated steps.

You can fulfill orders easily and ensure customer satisfaction by following these guidelines:

Step 1: Access “Orders”:

• Navigate to the left side of your Shopify dashboard and click on “Orders”.
• Here, you can see all fulfilled and unfulfilled items.

Step 2: View Unfulfilled Items:

• To view all of your unfulfilled products, go to the "Unfulfilled" section.
• Identify the unfulfilled order you want to process and select the order number.

Step 3: Create Shipping Label:

• Click on the “Create shipping label” option.

Step 4: Review Order Details:

• Verify the product and shipment information.
• Add the Shopify tracking code in the "Optional tracking number" field.
• Select a tracking carrier from the drop-down menu.

Step 5: Send Notifications:

• Ensure that email notifications are enabled to update your customers on the progress of their orders.

Step 6: Fulfill Items:

• Navigate to the "Fulfill items" section.
• Change your customer's order to "Fulfilled" by selecting the appropriate option.

By following these steps, you can manually fulfill orders on Shopify and ensure that your customers receive timely updates and accurate shipments. 

#2. How to automatically fulfill orders Shopify

Automatically fulfilling orders on Shopify can streamline your workflow and ensure that orders are processed efficiently without manual intervention. Once the customer completes the purchase and payment, the order is immediately verified as complete.

Automated implementation can help your business in many ways:

• Digital products: Automated fulfillment is especially useful for digital products that don't require shipping (software downloads, gift cards, etc.).
• Inventory management: Ensure your inventory counts are maintained accurately to avoid overselling when using automated fulfillment.
• Customer notifications: Shopify automatically sends notifications to your customers once an order is made. Make sure your notification settings are configured to keep customers informed.

Here's a step-by-step guide on how to set up automatic order fulfillment on Shopify:

Step 1: Go to your Shopify admin panel.

Step 2:  In the lower-left corner of the admin panel, click on "Settings."

Step 3: Within the settings menu, click on "Checkout."

Step 4: Scroll down to the "Order processing" section. This is where you can configure how orders are processed and fulfilled.

Step 5: Look for the option labeled "After an order has been paid." Under this option, check the option "Automatically fulfill the order's line items."

Step 6: After selecting the automatic fulfillment option, scroll down and click the "Save" button to apply your changes.

#3. How to partially fulfill an order on Shopify

When customers purchase multiple items and some products are out-of-stock or pre-order items, you can pack and ship the items separately. This is where partial order fulfillment on Shopify comes in handy. To do this, you need to disable automatic fulfillment for all orders if you want to fulfill only part of an order. 

Partial Order Fulfillment with Shopify Shipping

Here's how to set up and manage partial order fulfillment on Shopify:

Step 1: From your Shopify admin dashboard, click on Orders.

Step 2: Find and select the specific order that you want to fulfill partially.

Step 3: Click on Mark as fulfilled to proceed with fulfilling part of the order.

Step 4: Create a Shipping Label (if using Shopify Shipping)

If you are using Shopify fulfillment to buy shipping labels, print the label after marking the order as fulfilled. To buy the shipping label, click Create shipping label.

Step 5: On the fulfillment page, change the item quantity for each product in the order. Set the quantity to 0 for products you are not ready to fulfill yet.

Step 6: Select the shipping method in the Shipping Service section.

Step 7: If you want to notify the customer about the shipment, check the box Send shipment details to your customer now. This only applies if you have the customer’s email address.

Step 8: Click the Fulfill item on the right side to complete the partial fulfillment.

Step 9: The order status will now update to Partially fulfilled, showing details of both fulfilled and unfulfilled items.

Partial Fulfillment with Other Shipping Services

If you are using a shipping service other than Shopify, add this step:

Step 10: Enter Tracking Information

Enter the tracking number and choose the shipping carrier from the drop-down menu. If your shipping carrier is not listed, select Others and add a tracking URL.

The rest of the steps remain the same as detailed above. This method ensures that part of the order is fulfilled while the remaining items can be shipped later when they become available. By following these guidelines, you can efficiently manage partial order fulfillment on Shopify, enhancing customer satisfaction by keeping them informed and ensuring timely delivery of available items.

#4. How to Fulfill Orders on Shopify Dropshipping

For drop shipping orders, you will need third-party integrations to handle fulfillment and shipping. Here’s a simplified process:

• Receive Orders: When you receive an order, the dropshipping app will notify you.
• Process Payment: Transfer the payment to your supplier for the order.
• Send Fulfillment Request: Once the payment is successful, the dropshipping app will automatically send a fulfillment request to the supplier.
• Supplier Ships Order: The supplier processes the order and ships the package to the customer.
• Notify Customer: Customers will receive a notification email with a tracking number once the package has been shipped.

By using Shopify’s built-in tools and third-party dropshipping apps, you can streamline the order fulfillment process, ensuring timely and efficient delivery to your customers.

How to Fulfill Orders on Shopify via the Shopify app?

Fulfilling orders on Shopify through the Shopify app is a simple process that allows you to efficiently manage and update your order fulfillment directly from your mobile device. 

Steps to make orders on Shopify through the Shopify application:

Step 1: Open the Shopify app

• Launch the Shopify app on your mobile device and sign in to your account.

Step 2: Navigate to Orders

• Tap the Orders tab located at the bottom of the screen to see all of your orders.

Step 3: Select an order

• Browse the list of orders and select the one you want to fulfill. This will open the order details page.

Step 4: Start fulfilling

• On the order details page, tap the Fulfill items button. If an order has multiple items, you can choose which items to fulfill.

Step 5: Add tracking information

• If you have tracking information, you can enter it in the optional Tracking number field. Select your service provider from the drop-down menu if available.

Step 6: Notify customers

• Optionally, you can choose to notify customers about the shipment by toggling the Send shipment details to the customer now option.

Step 7: Fulfillment confirmation

• Once you've added all the necessary details, tap Fulfill items to mark the order as fulfilled. If you're using Shopify Shipping, you can also create and print shipping labels directly from the app.

Tips and tricks for efficient order fulfillment

In e-commerce, order fulfillment is key to success. Here are some useful típ to optimize your Shopify order fulfillment process:

• Automate Tasks: Use Shopify tools to automate tasks like printing shipping labels and sending tracking info.
• Carrier Integration: Connect with carriers (USPS, FedEx, DHL) for real-time rates and streamlined shipping.
• Inventory Management: Sync inventory across channels to prevent overselling.
• Use 3PL: Outsource storage, packaging, and shipping to third-party logistics providers.
• Efficient Packaging: Use proper materials and sizes to save packaging cost.
• Clear Policies: Communicate shipping times, costs, and policies.
• Multiple Shipping Options: Offer standard, express, and international shipping.
• Track Performance: Review metrics to improve.
• Enhance Communication: Keep customers updated with automated emails.
• Prepare for Peak Season: Increase inventory and resources.
• Simplify Returns: Provide pre-printed labels and clear instructions.
• Staff Training: Train your team on best practices and tools.

Implementing these tips ensures timely deliveries and happy customers.