Putting fulfillments on hold during the editing window
If you’re using a 3PL integration or shipping/fulfillment apps such as ShipStation or ShippingEasy, it may be desirable to place a fulfillment hold on an order while a customer might make changes using Customer Portal. This can be done using Shopify’s fulfillment “on hold” status and Shopify Flow.
This article will show you how to use Shopify Flow to set up an automated workflow that does the following:
- When an order is created, immediately change the order’s fulfillment status to “on hold”
- After the editing window has elapsed, release the fulfillment hold on the order
On hold status in Shopify
When an order’s fulfillment status is “on hold,” it signals to apps such as ShipStation and your fulfillment team that the order should not be fulfilled yet in case the customer makes any changes to it. When the hold is released, the order can be fulfilled.
Set up a fulfillment hold workflow with a delayed release in Flow
If you’re using Customer Portal to allow your customers to edit their orders during a specific time window, you may want to add a waiting period before releasing the order’s fulfillment.
Note: If you need any assistance setting up this workflow, please feel free to contact us. We can send you a .flow file ready to be imported into Flow.
Steps
- Go to Apps > Flow.
- Click Create Workflow.
Click Select a Trigger.
Select Shopify > Order Created.
Click the (+) icon and select Action
Select Flow > For each loop (iterate) > List
Click Select a list.
Select Order then FulfillmentOrders
Click on "Do this for each item" and select Action
Select Shopify Admin API > Hold fulfillment order. You can select "Other" as a reason.
Click the (+) icon next to Then and select Action.
Select Flow > Wait.
Enter the duration. Ensure that this waiting duration matches the duration that an order can be edited by a customer in Customer Portal. See the “Allow customers to make changes to their orders up to” setting in your Customer Portal Settings
Click the (+) icon next to Then for the Wait action and select Action.
Select Flow > For each loop (iterate) > List
Click Select a list.
Select Order then FulfillmentOrders
Click on "Do this for each item" and select Action
Select Shopify > Release fulfillment order holds.
- Name your workflow and click Turn on workflow.
On hold status and fulfillment release in Shipstation
Once the first action of your workflow has run, your order will be On Hold in Shopify and will be found in the On Hold section of your dashboard in Shipstation.
On Hold status in Shopify
On Hold status in Shipstation
Note: When an order is on hold in Shopify, your products' quantity appears as 0 in Shipstation.
Unfulfilled status after fulfillment release in Shopify
After the set duration selected in the Wait action of your workflow has elapsed, the fulfillment will be released. You will see on your Shopify order page an Unfulfilled status, which will allow the order to be fulfilled.
Awaiting Shipment status after fulfillment release in Shipstation
Once the fulfillment is released, your order will appear in the Awaiting Shipment section of your Shipstation dashboard. You should see this order with an "Awaiting Shipment" status, and your current product quantity should be reflected.
