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Orders — Import from eCommerce & Sync Back

This guide explains how ecommerce-imported orders get into ParcelPilot and what gets synced back to the ecommerce platform.

Importing orders from an ecommerce platform

  1. Go to Client Integrations.
  2. Create or edit the integration for the client.
  3. Configure credentials and enable the integration.

Once connected, orders from that ecommerce platform will appear in Orders.

The integration's Order workflow policy controls more than just whether orders appear:

  • which upstream buckets are imported
  • which imported orders reserve stock
  • which orders the warehouse is allowed to process
  • what should happen when upstream marks an order completed or cancelled
  • whether completed/cancelled orders are retained for accounting, audit, or GDPR reasons

This is especially important for avoiding old cases where deleted ecommerce orders simply reappeared from the source platform.

Pre-go-live history imports

If a client is onboarding and you need old ecommerce orders visible in ParcelPilot before warehouse fulfilment actually starts:

  1. Open the client's ecommerce integration.
  2. Set ParcelPilot fulfilment start date to the agreed go-live date.
  3. Turn on Import pre-go-live orders as read-only history.

Behaviour of those older imported orders:

  • they stay visible in Orders for search, reporting, finance, support, and returns
  • they are marked as Pre-go-live history
  • operational row actions still render for workflow inspection when the current integration policy would allow them live, but they stay disabled with an explanatory tooltip
  • they do not reserve stock or deduct stock
  • they do not enter warehouse work queues such as awaiting pick or awaiting shipment booking
  • they do not create or push ParcelPilot fulfilment confirmations back to the ecommerce platform

This is intended for transition history and externally fulfilled backlog, not for live ParcelPilot fulfilment.

Upstream cancelled orders

When an imported or reimported upstream payload lands in the integration's Cancelled workflow bucket, ParcelPilot can retain the order for audit or support while still removing live warehouse demand.

Current implemented behaviour:

  • if policy says cancelled orders should release reservation on upstream cancel, ParcelPilot runs the shared cancellation cleanup workflow
  • plain reserved orders release reservation demand
  • picked or on-pick serial orders also clear unshipped allocations and picked metadata
  • stock propagation for this path is reservation-release only
  • the emitted stock event is order_reservation_released
  • ParcelPilot does not emit picking_reset or picking_unit_unallocated for cancellation
  • shipped or already deducted orders are not restocked or reset automatically during reimport

Refreshing an order from the source (Re-import)

If an order has changed upstream (address change, shipping method change, line item change), you can refresh it from the ecommerce platform:

  • Single order: open the order and use Re-import from source (where available).
  • Multiple orders: use the Orders list bulk action Reimport from source.

Notes:

  • Re-import behaviour depends on the ecommerce platform and the data available upstream.
  • If an order is merged for fulfilment, re-import should be done with care (ideally before creating shipments).
  • Suppressed ecommerce orders stay suppressed unless the integration policy explicitly allows them to reactivate when they become operational upstream again.
  • If re-import refreshes an already shipped or deducted order with a cancelled upstream payload, ParcelPilot preserves the shipped or fulfilled warehouse state instead of rolling it back.

Syncing fulfilment information back to the ecommerce platform

The main “sync back” workflow is pushing shipment tracking/fulfilment confirmations after you create shipments.

Typical flow:

  1. Create a shipment for the order (and generate/book the label).
  2. Confirm the shipment has a tracking number.
  3. Push tracking back to the ecommerce platform (or use Re-sync Tracking if needed).

Requirements:

  • The client integration must allow pushing shipment confirmations. In practice, that means the integration's "push shipment confirmations" setting must be turned on.
  • Pre-go-live history orders are never pushed back upstream, even if shipment push is enabled for the live integration.

Troubleshooting:

  • If pushing tracking does nothing, first confirm the client integration is enabled and the “push shipment confirmations” toggle is on.
  • If the upstream order can’t be found, use Re-import from source first, then try pushing again.

Related workflow guidance