Overview
Order management in ShipSidekick is a core component of your unified logistics platform that consolidates order processing, fulfillment, and completion workflows. The system integrates with Shopify, shipping carriers, and your internal warehouse operations to create a seamless order-to-shipment process.
Understanding the Order Lifecycle
Order Creation and Synchronization
Orders enter ShipSidekick through integration with your sales channels, primarily Shopify. The system maintains continuous synchronization to ensure your orders are always current:
Daily Sync: ShipSidekick runs a comprehensive missing orders check every day at 5:05 AM UTC to catch any orders that may have been missed during regular syncing
Real-Time Monitoring: Quick-check synchronization runs every 15 minutes to detect rapid order changes
Fulfillment State Tracking: A dedicated fulfillment order monitor runs every 15 minutes to catch fulfillment state changes across your sales channels
This multi-layered synchronization approach ensures that orders synced from Shopify are captured reliably, even in rare circumstances where delays might occur.
Order Status and Fulfillment States
As orders move through your fulfillment process, they progress through distinct states:
Confirmed: Orders ready for warehouse processing
In Progress: Orders currently being picked and packed
Completed/Received: Orders that have been fulfilled and shipped
Each state transition is automatically recorded in the activity log, providing a complete audit trail of every order's journey through your warehouse.
Managing Orders in Your Warehouse
Pack Stations: The Heart of Fulfillment
A pack station is a dedicated workspace where your warehouse team members pack customer orders and generate shipping labels. It represents the final stop in the fulfillment process before orders leave your facility.
A well-organized pack station includes everything a packer needs within arm's reach:
Boxes and packing materials
Tape and sealing supplies
Scales for accurate weight measurement
Label printers for shipping labels
A computer or tablet running ShipSidekick's warehouse management system
With ShipSidekick WMS, your pack station becomes a streamlined operation where packers can:
Quickly process orders from a single interface
Automatically calculate shipping rates
Print shipping labels on demand
Update order status across all your sales channels simultaneously
Processing Orders at the Pack Station
When orders reach your pack station, ShipSidekick provides packers with all necessary information and tools:
Order Details: Complete customer information, items to ship, and special instructions
Automatic Rate Calculation: Shipping rates are automatically calculated based on your carrier accounts and package weight
Label Generation: Shipping labels print directly from the pack station interface
Status Updates: Order fulfillment status updates automatically across Shopify and other connected sales channels
Inventory and Order Allocation
Warehouse Locations and Inventory Coupling
Every physical space where you store a product needs a unique identifier in ShipSidekick. Locations function as addresses for your inventory, telling you and your team exactly where each item lives.
Order fulfillment depends on real-time inventory level calculations. ShipSidekick maintains:
Accurate Inventory Tracking: Current stock levels at each warehouse location
Automatic Allocation: Orders are allocated to available inventory as they move through the confirmed queue
Cross-Warehouse Visibility: View inventory levels across all your facilities from a single system
Without a proper location system, you're essentially storing products randomly and hoping you can find them when orders arrive. ShipSidekick's location management ensures every product has a designated home, making inventory tracking accurate and order picking efficient.
Multi-Warehouse Operations
If you operate multiple fulfillment facilities, ShipSidekick allows you to manage them all from a single system:
Distinct Warehouse Entities: Each warehouse operates independently with its own locations, inventory, and operations
Inventory Transfers: Move inventory between warehouses as needed
Unified Visibility: Monitor inventory levels and order fulfillment across all facilities simultaneously
Independent Configuration: Manage location configurations separately for each warehouse site
This flexibility supports businesses as they scale from a single location to a distributed fulfillment network.
Shipping Configuration and Best Practices
Connecting Your Shipping Carriers
The foundation of efficient shipping is having your carrier accounts properly connected to ShipSidekick. Before you start shipping orders:
Navigate to Integrations & Connections from the main menu
Select the carriers you use (USPS, UPS, FedEx, DHL, or regional carriers)
Complete the connection process by entering your carrier account credentials
Once connected, ShipSidekick automatically:
Calculates real-time shipping rates for each order
Locks rates at order creation through cached rate charts (immutable snapshots of service × weight × zone rates per carrier account)
Prevents rate fluctuations during fulfillment
Applies the correct shipping method based on your configuration
Shipping Method Mapping
Orders must be mapped correctly to your configured shipping methods. If orders show a different shipping method than what the customer selected at checkout:
Check Your Mappings: Verify that shipping method mapping is properly configured between your sales channel and ShipSidekick
Refresh Orders: If carrier settings were changed after orders were placed, refresh the orders to apply the new mappings
Timing Matters: Orders imported before carrier accounts were activated may need to be refreshed once carriers are connected
Handling Common Order Issues
Orders Showing as Shipped in ShipSidekick but Unfulfilled in Shopify
Occasionally, sync issues between ShipSidekick and Shopify can cause orders to appear shipped in ShipSidekick while remaining unfulfilled in Shopify. While the system has monitors to catch these cases, rare circumstances can cause delays.
If you encounter this issue:
Contact support immediately if you see orders with tracking numbers that aren't fulfilled in Shopify
This affects your shipment metrics and customer experience
Support can investigate the sync state and manually correct the fulfillment status if needed
Shopify Exchange Orders Not Syncing After Reopening
If you reopen an exchange order in Shopify and it won't sync properly into ShipSidekick:
Force Reopen the order in ShipSidekick
Resync the Order (not just refresh) to pull in the latest data from Shopify
The exchange order will then become available in the confirmed queue for packing and shipping
The distinction between refresh and resync is important—resync pulls fresh data from Shopify, while refresh updates the local view.
Purchase Orders Stuck in Completed/Received Status
If a purchase order is stuck in completed or received status and you need to receive items:
Cancel the PO in ShipSidekick
Reopen it to return it to confirmed status
You can then process the receipt of items normally
Order Modifications and Special Requests
Updating Order Numbers
Order numbers cannot be modified through the ShipSidekick UI. If you need to change an order number:
Contact support with the order details
Support can manually update the order number on their end
Provide the current order number and the correct order number you need
Adding the Same SKU Multiple Times with Different Lot Numbers or Expiration Dates
Some accounts support special handling for adding the same SKU multiple times on a single purchase order with different lot numbers or expiration dates. This is not a standard feature for all accounts.
Contact support to confirm whether your account supports this special handling
Support can advise on the best approach for your specific setup
Activity Logging and Audit Trails
Every order state change and operation is automatically recorded through ShipSidekick's activity log system. This provides:
Complete Audit Trails: Track every action taken on an order
Compliance Documentation: Maintain records for regulatory requirements
Debugging Support: Review historical changes to troubleshoot issues
Accountability: See who made changes and when
Access activity logs directly from any order to review its complete history.
Notifications and Task Management
Order State Notifications
Order state transitions trigger notifications automatically. ShipSidekick supports notification cadences configured per your preferences:
Hourly notifications
Daily notifications
Weekly notifications
Monthly notifications
Configure notification preferences to stay informed about order progress without information overload.
Task Allocation and Picking/Packing
Orders automatically generate picking and packing tasks that flow through task allocation. These tasks are distributed to your warehouse team every 10 minutes, ensuring:
Efficient Workflow: Tasks are allocated based on current warehouse capacity and location
Real-Time Updates: New orders generate tasks immediately upon confirmation
Team Coordination: All team members see their assigned tasks in real-time
Getting Help with Order Issues
If you encounter order management issues that aren't covered in this guide:
Contact support through the chat system in ShipSidekick
Provide specific order numbers and details about the issue
Include any error messages or unexpected behavior you're observing
Support can investigate sync issues, manually correct fulfillment states, and help with special requests
For issues requiring manual intervention—such as order number changes, stuck purchase orders, or sync problems between ShipSidekick and Shopify—support has the tools and access to resolve them quickly.