🛒 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: Shipping > Shipping 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: Shipping > 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
Shopify Order → Becomes Luminous Sales Order
Luminous → Splits into Fulfillment Orders based on stock
Fulfillment Orders → Push to ShipStation
Luminous → Picklist generated, items picked + QC verified
Packing Slip Barcode → Scanned into ShipStation
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.