Order Consolidation Setting in Smart Fulfillment Automation
Overview
Order Consolidation is a new automation setting available in Luminous that allows merchants to control how Fulfillment Orders (FOs) are created from sales orders. With this feature, you can choose whether Luminous should consolidate an entire order into a single FO if possible, or follow your existing warehouse priority lists and split orders across multiple warehouses.
This article explains how to use the Order Consolidation setting, describes its behavior, possible edge cases, and offers example scenarios to help you decide when and how to use it.
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What Is Order Consolidation?
The Order Consolidation setting, found within Smart Fulfillment Automation Settings, determines how fulfillment orders are generated from each sales order:
- When Enabled: If any warehouse group can fulfill every item in the order, Luminous creates a single, consolidated FO assigned to that warehouse group, no matter your priority list. If no warehouse can fulfill the entire order, no FOs are created and you’ll see an error message.
- When Disabled (Default): Luminous follows your configured Fulfillment Priority List, splitting the order as needed. Multiple FOs may be created, each assigned to warehouses based on your rules and available stock.
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How to Enable or Disable Order Consolidation
1. Navigate to Settings:
- Go to Shipping → Shipping Admin → Smart Fulfillment Automation Settings.
2. Locate the Order Consolidation Toggle:
- You’ll find the Order Consolidation toggle near the top of the settings, just below or beside "Default Priority List".
- The toggle displays as a standard ON/OFF switch and includes a tooltip:
- _“When enabled, the system will create one FO from any warehouse that can fulfill the full order. Disables priority list-based splitting.”_
- Additional description text is shown for clarity:
- _"Consolidate all line items into a single FO if one warehouse group can fulfill the entire order."_
3. Adjust the Setting:
- Set the toggle to:
- Yes (ON) to enable order consolidation.
- No (OFF) to use your priority lists and allow splitting (default).
4. Save Your Settings:
- Changes are saved either immediately or with a Save button, depending on your organization’s configuration.
- You will see a success message when settings are saved, or an error if the update fails.
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Feature Behavior and Edge Cases
Scenario | Consolidation ENABLED (Yes) | Consolidation DISABLED (No) |
Any warehouse group can fill entire order | Luminous creates one FO from that warehouse group (ignores priority list order). | FOs are created per item/warehouse based on priority list. |
No warehouse group can fill entire order | No FOs are created. You receive an error ("No single warehouse group can fulfill the entire order with consolidation enabled."). | FOs are split between multiple warehouses as per priority list. |
Multiple warehouse groups can each fill the entire order | Luminous selects the first eligible warehouse group (by system’s internal evaluation, not Priority List order). | FOs split per priority list. |
Some items out of stock everywhere | No FOs created; you receive the same error as above. | FOs are created for items with available stock, as allowed by your normal settings. |
Additional Notes
- The default state is OFF, to maintain existing behavior for all current users.
- This setting only affects auto-generated fulfillment orders via Smart Fulfillment Automation.
- This does not affect manual FO creation, nor does it override other fulfillment rules such as forced item splitting.
- Every consolidation attempt and its result is logged for traceability.
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Use Case Examples
Example 1: Full Stock Available
Scenario:
A customer orders Product A and Product B.
- Product A's priority: [WG1, WG2]
- Product B's priority: [WG2, WG1]
- WG1 and WG2 both have enough inventory to fulfill both products.
Results:
- Consolidation ON: 1 FO is created, assigned to the first warehouse group found (either WG1 or WG2) that can fulfill the entire order.
- Consolidation OFF: Two FOs are created, each product fulfilled by its highest-priority warehouse group.
Example 2: Split Stock Required
Scenario:
A customer orders Product C and Product D.
- Product C's priority: [WG1, WG2] — only WG1 has stock.
- Product D's priority: [WG1, WG2] — only WG2 has stock.
Results:
- Consolidation ON: No single warehouse group can fulfill both products. No FOs are created, and an error is presented.
- Consolidation OFF: Two FOs are created: one from WG1 for Product C, one from WG2 for Product D.
Example 3: Mixed Availability
Scenario:
You enable Order Consolidation and place a complex order.
- Some items are available in one warehouse group, but not others.
- No warehouse group can fulfill every line item in the order.
Result:
Order will not be fulfilled. Luminous holds the order and returns a clear error so you can manually adjust inventory or change the setting.
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Best Practices & Recommendations
- Enable Order Consolidation if you want faster, single-shipment fulfillment and you regularly keep all products in one warehouse.
- Keep Order Consolidation Disabled if you want flexibility in splitting orders based on warehouse stock or structured shipping routes.
- If you enable Order Consolidation but have frequent stock shortages, orders may fail to auto-generate FOs—review your inventory regularly to avoid fulfillment delays.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What happens if multiple warehouses can fulfill the whole order?
A: Luminous selects the first warehouse group found that can fill the entire order. The selection is not strictly based on your Priority List; instead, it follows internal evaluation order.
Q: Does enabling Order Consolidation affect my existing shipping automation rules?
A: It overrides the fulfillment priority list only for orders where full consolidation is possible. All other automation rules are unaffected.
Q: Can I see why consolidation failed?
A: Yes, the error message displayed will state if no single warehouse group can fulfill the entire order.
Q: Can manual edits override this logic?
A: Manual FO creation is always possible, regardless of this automation setting.
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Troubleshooting
- Settings failed to save:
Ensure you have proper permissions. You’ll see an error like “Failed to update automation settings.”
- Unexpected FOs not generated:
If Order Consolidation is enabled and FOs are not created, it means no warehouse group had enough stock for the entire order. Either replenish stock or turn off consolidation.
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Summary Table
Option | Behavior |
Yes (Enabled) | Try to create 1 FO to fulfill the entire order from a single warehouse group, if possible. |
No (Disabled) | Split the order and create multiple FOs as per priority lists and available inventory (default). |
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Additional Information
- The Order Consolidation setting is account-wide for all automated FO creation.
- Audit logs track all consolidation decisions and errors for review.
- Future updates may introduce configurable warehouse-selection logic if multiple warehouses are eligible.
For further assistance, contact Luminous Support or your Customer Success Manager.