Overview
Luminous gives you two layers of control over how Fulfillment Orders (FOs) are split from a Sales Order:
- Tenant-wide Smart Fulfillment Settings — global defaults that apply across all channels (see SOP: Smart Fulfillment Settings).
- Channel-level overrides — per-channel settings that can override or extend those global defaults.
This article focuses on the channel-level settings and explains how multiple tracking numbers arise from split or multi-package shipments.
Channel-Level Settings for Split Fulfillments
Each channel can override your tenant-wide Smart Fulfillment Settings.
To open them: go to Manage → Channels, click the channel name, click Edit, and scroll to Auto Fulfillment.
Most settings here offer three choices:
| Option | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Default | Follows your global Smart Fulfillment setting |
| Enabled | Turns the behavior on for this channel only |
| Disabled | Turns the behavior off for this channel only |
Always Create Fulfillment Orders Even When No Stock is Available
When Enabled, Luminous still creates a Fulfillment Order for a Sales Order even if none of the warehouse groups in your Fulfillment Priority List have enough stock.
When to use each option:
- Use Default for most channels.
- Use Enabled for channels where you want to track backorders or commit to future stock (for example, wholesale).
- Use Disabled for channels where you never want an FO created until stock is available.
Setting 2 — Split auto created fulfillment orders by...
Choose None or Estimated Ship Date.
When set to Estimated Ship Date, each unique estimated ship date on the order's line items gets its own Fulfillment Order.
Important: This setting only applies when Always Create Fulfillment Orders... is enabled for the channel (directly, or through Default when your global setting is on).
How the split works:
- Items with the same estimated ship date (and the same fulfillment warehouse) go on one FO.
- Items with a different estimated ship date get their own FO.
- Items with no estimated ship date are grouped together. Their FO's ship-by date is set to the day the FO is created.
- Each FO's Ship By Date is set from the estimated ship date of its items.
| Option | Behavior |
|---|---|
| None | No field-based splitting; all eligible items go into the fewest FOs possible |
| Estimated Ship Date | Items with different estimated ship dates are grouped into separate FOs |
Other Auto Fulfillment settings on the channel
- Always Create Fulfillment Orders for Future Ship Dates. When enabled, items with an estimated ship date after today still get an FO even when there is no on-hand stock.
- Require Pick-Bin Stock for FO Generation. When enabled, FOs are only auto-generated when pick-bin stock is available. Use Disabled for wholesale, EDI, or bulk channels that pick from non-pick locations.
- Combine Identical SKU Line Items. When enabled, FO lines with the same SKU, Lot, and Ordered UOM are combined into one line with a summed quantity.
- Expand Kits for Fulfillment. When on, kit products are expanded into their component items on the FO.
- Enable Channel Override for Auto-Generation Trigger. When on, this channel uses its own auto-generation trigger instead of the global one.
Note: Estimated Ship Date splitting requires the Channel Types feature on your account. If you don't see the split setting, contact Luminous support.
Other Ways Fulfillment Orders Split
Channel-level settings work alongside the following split triggers, which apply regardless of channel configuration:
- Warehouse splits — when items are stocked at different warehouse groups, each warehouse produces its own FO.
- "Fulfill separately" products — individual SKUs marked to always ship on their own always receive a dedicated FO, no matter what the channel setting is.
- Line item splitting: if Allow a single order line to be split is turned on in Operations → Operations Admin → Smart Fulfillment Settings, one line's quantity can be spread across multiple warehouses when no single warehouse holds the full amount.
How Multiple Tracking Numbers Are Handled
Splitting FOs naturally produces multiple tracking numbers. Here is a quick summary of how Luminous manages them:
- Each FO gets its own tracking number when its label is printed. A Sales Order with three date-based FO splits will have three separate tracking numbers — one per FO. Your customer may receive a separate shipment notification for each.
- Multi-package FOs (one FO, multiple boxes) also generate one tracking number per parcel. For FedEx and UPS, the carrier additionally issues a single master tracking number that represents the entire group; Luminous stores and displays both the master and individual numbers.
- Where to view tracking numbers: open the Sales Order (Operations → Sales Orders). The Shipment Tracking #s field lists every tracking number on the order, and the Shipments tab lists each shipment. On a Fulfillment Order, open the Shipments tab to see that FO's shipments individually.
- Pushing to Shopify: When a shipment has multiple distinct tracking numbers (multi-package scenario), Luminous can push a separate fulfillment record to Shopify for each tracking number. This requires the Package-Aware Fulfillment Push setting to be enabled — contact Luminous support if needed.
For the complete breakdown of every tracking-number scenario — including voiding rules and carrier differences — see How are multiple tracking numbers handled for split shipments or multi-package orders in Luminous?
Quick Troubleshooting
Items are not splitting by estimated ship date
- Confirm the channel's Split auto created fulfillment orders by... setting is set to Estimated Ship Date (not None).
- Verify that the Channel Types feature is enabled on your account.
- Check that order line items actually have estimated ship dates populated — items without a date are grouped together.
FOs are not generating even though Always Create is Enabled on the channel
- Confirm no items are flagged as "fulfill separately" with no available fulfillment path.
- Check that the Sales Order is fully posted.
- Review whether a Fulfillment Priority List is configured; without one, Luminous has no warehouse to assign.
Channel-level settings appear unavailable
- Channel-level overrides require the Channel Types feature. Reach out to Luminous support to confirm this is enabled for your account.