The order landed.Now what?
Orders from your Shopify store are followed from supplier to delivery in five steps. Which order missed its target, which supplier failed, which shipment lacks a tracking number: all on one screen.
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Ecommerce management servicesWhat ecommerce order management should answer
A typical order tracking tool lists orders and their status. This screen asks a different question: is the operation healthy, and which order needs you today? That is why four summary tiles sit above the table.
- Operational health: a score out of 100 built from five measured dimensions.
- Orders: the number of recorded orders and how many new ones came in today.
- Order revenue: the total value of recorded orders.
- Needs attention: how many issues crossed a threshold and how many are critical.
Orders come from your Shopify store. When an order is created or paid, Shopify sends it to the panel through a webhook. An order is not recorded unless the webhook signature checks out.
The five stages of an order and its status labels
- 1Order received
The Shopify order is stored with its items and total.
- 2Sent to supplier
A timestamp is written when the order goes to the supplier.
- 3Supplier accepted
The acceptance time measures how fast the supplier responds.
- 4Handed to carrier
The handover time and any tracking number are recorded.
- 5Delivered
The order closes once the delivery time is written.
| Label | Meaning |
|---|---|
| New | The order arrived and has not been sent to a supplier yet |
| Forward manually | Automatic forwarding is not connected; choose the supplier and send the order yourself |
| Processing | The order went to every supplier and is in progress |
| Partially shipped | Part of a multi-supplier order went through, part of it failed |
| Completed | The order was fulfilled |
| Failed | The order could not be sent to the supplier; the reason is in the order detail |
What counts as late: target times
To call an order late you need a target. The SLA column shows the time left, or the time over, for the step that is waiting. For an order split across suppliers, the slowest supplier sets the status; showing the fast one would hide the delay.
| Step | Clock starts at | Target |
|---|---|---|
| Send to supplier | When the order arrives | 15 minutes |
| Supplier acceptance | When the order is sent to the supplier | 2 hours |
| Hand to carrier | When the supplier accepts | 24 hours |
Values are read from the constant the screen uses and are shown in the panel as well.
These targets are for your own operation; legal shipping deadlines are a separate matter. In the US, the FTC's Mail, Internet, or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule expects you to ship within the time you state, or within 30 days if you state none.
Orders that need attention today, and supplier errors explained
- An order with a supplier error is marked critical.
- An order past the supplier acceptance target gets a “supplier has not responded” warning.
- An order past target on the send or carrier step is listed with how many minutes it is over.
- An order handed to the carrier without a tracking number shows at warning level.
| Error type | What the screen says | Suggested step |
|---|---|---|
| Variant or SKU | The selected variant was not found at the supplier | Pick another variant or route the product to another supplier |
| Stock | The supplier is out of stock | Find another supplier or tell the customer about the wait |
| Authorisation | The supplier connection was refused | Renew the supplier keys on the integrations page |
| Timeout | The supplier service did not respond | Resend; if it continues, ask the supplier about service status |
| Address | The supplier did not accept the delivery address | Check the postcode and country code, then resend |
Supplier scorecard, operational health and order profit
Each supplier is scored from recorded times: average acceptance time, average time to hand over to the carrier, error rate and tracking number rate. A dimension that cannot be measured does not pull the score down; it is left out.
- On-time sending: the share of orders sent to the supplier within target.
- Supplier response: the share of sent orders accepted within target.
- Carrier time: the share of accepted orders handed to the carrier within target.
- Error rate: the share of supplier submissions that failed.
- Tracking numbers: the share of shipped orders with a tracking number.
When more than half of the critical issues come from one supplier, the screen says so with the percentage. It needs at least two critical issues and two different suppliers to make that comparison; with one supplier there is nobody to compare.
What the order management screen covers today, and what it does not
| Topic | Status on this screen |
|---|---|
| Order source | Shopify store, via webhook |
| Marketplace orders | Not shown on this screen |
| Live carrier location | No; the handover time and whether a tracking number exists are shown |
| Shipping emails to customers | No |
| Stock and returns | Not on this screen |
| Email or push alerts | No; alerts appear in the panel, on the attention list |
- A good fit for Shopify stores that fulfil orders through suppliers.
- A good fit for teams working with several suppliers who want to see which one causes delays.
- If most of your orders come from marketplaces, this screen does not show them today.
If you do not have a store yet, start with automatic store setup; the order flow starts on its own once a store is connected.
Frequently asked questions
How do orders reach the panel?
Once your Shopify store is connected, created and paid orders arrive through Shopify webhooks. The signature is verified; a request that fails verification is not stored.
Can I see marketplace orders from Amazon or Etsy?
Not today. Orders on this screen come from your connected Shopify store.
Which stages does order tracking cover?
Order received, sent to supplier, supplier accepted, handed to carrier and delivered. A stage without a timestamp shows as “waiting”; no time is estimated.
How do I notice a late order?
The SLA column shows the time left or over. Orders past target turn red and move to the “Needs attention today” list.
Are orders forwarded to the supplier automatically?
No. Automatic supplier forwarding is not connected and products are not assigned to a supplier. The order is marked “Forward manually” and appears on the attention list; you choose the supplier and send the order.
Do order alerts come by email or phone?
No. Alerts appear on the attention list in the panel; no separate email or push notification is sent.
Is there shipment tracking?
The screen does not pull live locations from carriers. It shows when an order was handed to the carrier and flags shipped orders that have no tracking number.
How is order profit calculated?
The supplier cost is subtracted from the order total and the margin is shown as a percentage. Without a recorded cost there is no profit figure; shipping and transaction fees are not included.
Sources
The official documentation behind the technical points on this page:
- [1]Shopify Dev Docs: Webhooks
How an app receives order creation events through the orders/create webhook topic.
- [2]FTC: Business Guide to the Mail, Internet, or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule
The US requirement to ship within the stated time, or within 30 days if no time is stated.
- [3]Shopify Help: Fulfillment and shipping
Shopify's official guide to fulfilling and shipping orders.
Related pages
Order chaos eats your margin.
Open the orders screen on a paid plan. The full panel is free with no time limit: brand, accounts, reports. Allowance: 10 captions a month, 2 images a month, 1 videos a month, 1 brand, 1 user.