Orders — Merge Orders

Use Merge matching delivery orders when a customer has placed more than one New order and those orders can safely be packed and shipped together as one delivery.

The orders still stay as separate orders in ParcelPilot. The merge links them for one warehouse delivery workflow. ParcelPilot chooses one order as the primary order for the shipment, and the other linked orders are completed through that same delivery.

This is a pre-shipment workflow. It does not combine order numbers or turn several customer orders into one new commercial order.

Recommended workflow

1. Select the New orders that should genuinely be packed and shipped together.
2. Choose Merge matching delivery orders.
3. ParcelPilot checks that the selected orders can safely be merged.
4. ParcelPilot chooses one order as the primary order.
5. Pick, pack, and create the shipment from the primary order.
6. Do not create separate shipments from the secondary orders.
7. ParcelPilot handles the linked orders when the shipment is completed.

If the orders do not match closely enough, ParcelPilot warns you or skips the orders that should not be merged.

When should I use this?

Use a merge when several orders really are one delivery job for the warehouse.

Typical example:

• the same customer placed more than one order close together
• the orders are going to the same delivery address
• the warehouse should pick, pack, and ship them together
• one shipment is better than creating duplicate warehouse work

ParcelPilot only allows a merge when the orders are genuinely safe to ship together as one delivery.

Which orders can be merged

ParcelPilot only allows orders to be merged when they are genuinely safe to ship together.

In normal day-to-day use, that means the orders should:

• belong to the same client
• still be New
• be going to the same delivery address
• use the same customer email address
• have been placed close enough together
• not already have a shipment
• not already be part of another merge
• not be cancelled or otherwise blocked from warehouse fulfilment
• not be on Hold
• come from the same compatible ecommerce store or connection
• be able to be fulfilled together from the same warehouse

Sharing the same email address on its own is not enough. The delivery details and fulfilment circumstances must also match.

Why does the delivery address need to match?

ParcelPilot checks the delivery details because two orders from the same customer are not always going to the same place.

If the delivery address does not match, the orders must be shipped separately even if they use the same customer email address.

What if an order is on Hold?

An order on Hold is deliberately stopped from moving through warehouse fulfilment.

ParcelPilot will not merge it while the Hold is active. If the order is ready to proceed and genuinely belongs in the combined delivery, release the Hold first and then run the merge again.

Why do the ecommerce orders need to match?

ParcelPilot needs to know which ecommerce store each order came from so that, after shipping, it can send the correct tracking and fulfilment updates back to the correct order.

If the orders came through different or incompatible store connections, ParcelPilot keeps them separate.

Why does the warehouse matter?

Orders can only be merged when ParcelPilot can fulfil them together from the same warehouse.

If the orders need to be handled from different warehouses, they should stay separate.

Primary and secondary orders

• Primary order: the order you ship from.
• Secondary orders: the other linked orders that go in the same delivery.
• Merge group: the primary order plus its linked secondary orders.

ParcelPilot chooses the earliest eligible order as the primary order.

After preparation:

• the primary order shows Merge = Merged (primary)
• each secondary shows Merge = Merged (→ #primary-order-id)

If you are unsure which order to ship, use the one marked Merged (primary).

Create the shipment from the primary order only.

What happens after the merge is prepared

When ParcelPilot prepares a valid merge group, it:

• keeps every order as a separate record
• marks the secondary orders as merged into the primary
• moves the secondary orders to Picking so they are not treated as separate New orders waiting for their own shipment
• prepares the primary order for the shipment workflow

When you later create the shipment on the primary order, ParcelPilot handles the linked secondary orders through that same delivery flow instead of creating separate shipments for them.

Which order do I ship?

Ship from the primary order.

Do not create independent shipments for secondary orders. If you open a secondary order, ParcelPilot points you back to the primary order for shipment creation.

What happens to picking?

Secondary orders move to Picking when the merge is prepared so they do not stay behind as separate New orders waiting for their own shipment.

This helps the warehouse treat the linked orders as one delivery job.

Tracking

There is still only one physical shipment.

• ParcelPilot knows which linked orders belong to that shipment.
• Where supported, ParcelPilot sends the right tracking and fulfilment update back to each ecommerce order.

You do not need to manage separate tracking flows for the secondary orders.

Documents and charges

Merging orders for shipping does not turn them into one commercial order.

• each original order remains separate for order records and documents
• packing, delivery, and invoice documents remain tied to the original orders
• billing outcomes still depend on your own billing setup

What if ParcelPilot will not merge the orders?

ParcelPilot may refuse the merge, or skip one of the selected orders, when something important does not match.

Common reasons include:

• different delivery address
• different warehouse
• one order is on Hold
• one order already has a shipment
• one order is cancelled
• the orders came from incompatible ecommerce stores or connections
• one order is already part of another merge

Review the orders and fulfil them separately unless the underlying issue genuinely needs correcting.

What if one order has already shipped?

Merge matching delivery orders is designed to be used before shipping.

If one of the orders has already been shipped, do not try to force it into a normal merge. Stock, tracking, or shipment history may already have been recorded.

Ask an administrator or operations user to review the orders before making changes.

Historical merged records

You may still see older orders with merge badges from an earlier ParcelPilot workflow.

ParcelPilot still recognises those records so older merged orders remain understandable in day-to-day work.