Fulfillment is the process of turning a paid order into a shipped package. ILLUMA keeps track of what has shipped. The picking, packing and labeling happen in ShipStation, in ILLUMA, or at your vendor.
Fulfillment status
Separate from the order’s own status, every order has a Fulfillment status:
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Unfulfilled | Nothing has shipped yet |
| Backordered | Paid, but an item is out of stock and waiting for a restock or special-order PO |
| Awaiting Vendor | A drop-ship PO has gone to the vendor, who ships it |
| Partial | Some items have shipped |
| Fulfilled | Every item has shipped |
Each shipment recorded against the order updates this status. The full list, and what moves each status, is in Order lifecycle.
📸 Screenshot placeholder: The Fulfillment section of a test order that has one shipment: the Shipments, Items Shipped and Items Remaining counts, and the shipment card with carrier and tracking.
Ways an order ships
Through ShipStation (most sellers). A flow pushes each paid order to ShipStation. You pick, pack and buy the label there. ShipStation reports the shipment and ILLUMA records it.
Paid order ─▶ pushed by a flow ─▶ ShipStation ─▶ label ─▶ shipment recorded ─▶ tracking sent
Setup is in ShipStation setup.
With a label bought in ILLUMA. If you turn on Create labels in ILLUMA (order page), you quote and buy the label from the order itself. See Labels & tracking.
By hand. Click Create Shipment in the order’s Fulfillment section, choose the items and quantities, and enter the carrier and tracking number. Use this for partial shipments and for anything shipped outside ShipStation.
By a drop-ship vendor. Create Drop Ship PO sends the lines to the vendor, and the order shows Awaiting Vendor while they ship it.
Store pickup. Pickup orders are not shipped. Mark them ready and complete them at the counter. See Managing orders.
ℹ️ Note: Amazon FBA orders are shipped by Amazon, so there is nothing for you to ship and ILLUMA does not offer a label for them.
What a recorded shipment does
When a shipment is recorded, ILLUMA deducts the stock, updates the order’s Fulfillment status, sends the tracking number to the marketplace the order came from, and emails the customer on storefront orders.
⚠️ Warning: A shipment that arrives from ShipStation counts every line on the order as shipped. For a partial shipment, use Create Shipment and pick the items.
The Shipments page
Shipments in the sidebar lists every shipment with its carrier, tracking number and status. The views are All, In Transit, Delivered and Exceptions. Select shipments to Ship (enter carrier and tracking), Track (opens the carrier’s tracking page) or Mark delivered.
ℹ️ Note: ILLUMA does not pull delivery status from carriers. In Transit and Delivered only appear when someone sets them.
Next: Labels & tracking.