Shopify orders to Luminous, split into Fulfillment Orders, sync to ShipStation, move through pick, pack, QC, & ship with tracking updates.

🛒 1. Sales Order Ingestion

  • Every Shopify order automatically appears in Luminous as a Sales Order.
  • Luminous checks inventory availability to see what can ship now vs. later. Fulfillment Orders are created to ship based off availability depending on your settings.

👉 Where to adjust settings: Operations > Operations Admin > Smart Fulfillment Settings

Key Options:

  • Auto-Generation Trigger:
    • Immediate → Fulfillment Orders created right away
    • Scheduled → Created at a set time (e.g. nightly batch)
    • Manual → User clicks “Auto-Generate Fulfillment Orders” within the sales order under fulfillment orders when ready
  • Default Fulfillment Order Status:
    • Planned → Holds inventory but does not allocate it
    • Pending → Immediately allocates inventory to that order

💡 Why this matters: These settings control when and how shipments are created. A “Planned” order gives flexibility, while a “Pending” order locks inventory immediately.

📦 2. Creating Fulfillment Orders

Once inventory is checked, Luminous creates Fulfillment Orders (FOs).

  • A Fulfillment Order = one outbound shipment
  • This shipment can be to the customer, Amazon FBA, or another warehouse, depending on setup.
  • FOs are what get pushed to ShipStation—not the original Sales Order.

🔀 Split Logic (Why orders split)

Sometimes one customer order needs to be broken into multiple shipments:

  • By availability (default): Items in stock ship now, backordered items wait.
  • Backorders: Remaining items automatically generate a new Fulfillment Order once stock is received.

📍 Example:

  • Customer orders 3 blue T-shirts + 2 red hoodies
  • Inventory: 3 shirts in stock, only 1 hoodie available
  • Result:
    • Fulfillment Order #1: 3 shirts + 1 hoodie → Ships now
    • Fulfillment Order #2: 1 hoodie → Ships later when restocked

👉 Where to find them: Operations > Fulfillment Orders

💡 Why this matters: This ensures customers don’t wait for the entire order if part of it is ready. It also creates clean shipments that can be managed separately in ShipStation.

📤 3. Push to ShipStation

Every Fulfillment Order becomes its own order in ShipStation.

Push Methods:

  • Automatic → Sent to ShipStation as soon as FO is created
  • Manual → User clicks “Push to ShipStation” when ready

👉 Configure under: Manage > Channels

💡 Why this matters: ShipStation needs separate shipments to generate separate labels and tracking numbers. If one order is split into two shipments, the customer will receive two tracking numbers.

🗂 4. Pick & Pack in Luminous

After FOs are created, warehouse staff pick and pack the items.

A. Generate Picklist:

  • From Sales Orders, Sales Order Grid, or Fulfillment Orders → Generate Picklist → Assign to picker

B. Picking Process:

  • Picker uses picklist or scans bin/SKU barcodes
  • Ensures they grab correct items in correct quantities

C. QC Verification (Packing Stage):

  • On packing screen → three dots → Verify
  • Scanner checks each item against the FO
  • System won’t let shipment proceed if items don’t match

D. Packing Slip with Barcode:

  • After verification → Generate Packing Slip
  • Slip includes barcode tied to the order number
  • This barcode is what ShipStation uses to instantly pull up the order later

💡 Why this matters: This prevents shipping errors. If something was picked incorrectly, it’s caught before the label is printed.

🚚 5. QC & Shipping in ShipStation

A. Locate the Order:

  • Scan the packing slip barcode into ShipStation’s search bar
  • Instantly pulls up the correct order (no manual searching)

B. Apply Shipping Details:

  • Box size, weight, carrier, and service level
  • Can auto-fill if carton types are pre-set in ShipStation

C. Generate Label:

  • Print label → Apply to package → Stage for pickup

D. Sync Back Automatically:

  • ShipStation sends tracking number + status → Luminous
  • Luminous marks order as “Shipped” → Syncs tracking to Shopify
  • Shopify updates customer with shipment + tracking

💡 Why this matters: Customers always see up-to-date shipping status without your team needing to manually enter tracking.

📦 6. Partial Shipments (Split Orders)

If only part of an order is ready:

  • Luminous creates multiple FOs (each = separate shipment).
  • Each FO syncs to ShipStation as its own order.
  • Each shipment generates its own label + tracking.

📍 Example Flow:

  • Day 1: Order placed for 5 items, only 3 in stock → 1st shipment sent
  • Day 5: Remaining 2 items restocked → 2nd shipment auto-generated, pushed to ShipStation, shipped

💡 Why this matters: Customers don’t have to wait for everything to be in stock, and they get separate tracking for each package.

🔄 Quick Workflow Recap

  1. Shopify Order → Becomes Luminous Sales Order
  2. Luminous → Splits into Fulfillment Orders based on stock
  3. Fulfillment Orders → Push to ShipStation
  4. Luminous → Picklist generated, items picked + QC verified
  5. Packing Slip Barcode → Scanned into ShipStation
  6. ShipStation → Label created → Shipment + tracking sync back automatically

⚠️ Troubleshooting

  • 🚫 Order not showing in ShipStation?
    → Ensure you pushed the Fulfillment Order, not just the Sales Order.
  • 🔎 “Order Not Found” when scanning in ShipStation?
    → Confirm you’re scanning the Packing Slip barcode into ShipStation’s search bar.
  • ❌ Items don’t match during QC verification?
    → Re-scan items or check if picker pulled the wrong SKU/quantity.
  • ⚡ Fulfillment Order not generating?
    → Check Smart Fulfillment Settings (may be set to Manual).
  • 📦 Multiple orders showing for same customer?
    → This is normal. Partial shipments = multiple FOs = multiple ShipStation orders.