Split, move, and merge fulfillments

Once an order is approved, SKU.io lays out a fulfillment plan — one fulfillment order (FO) per warehouse, holding the lines that ship from there. Before those FOs go to a carrier you can reshape the plan: change how something ships, break one FO into two, route lines to different warehouses, or combine several shipments into one. This guide covers all of those edits.

Every action here happens on the order's Fulfillment tab, where each warehouse is shown as its own card. For the anatomy of that tab, see the Order detail reference.

One "fulfillment" word, two objects

A fulfillment order is the plan — what will ship, from which warehouse, by which method. A shipment (SalesOrderFulfillment) is the record of what actually left. Splitting, moving, and merging all act on the plan, so they're only available before an FO is dispatched or shipped. Two-tier fulfillment: intent vs execution explains the split in full.

Before you begin

Requirement	If it isn't met
You can fulfill or edit orders (the same access that lets you record a shipment).	The reshape actions don't appear on the warehouse cards.
The order is approved — Open or Reserved — so it has fulfillment orders.	A draft order has no plan to reshape. Approve, reserve, and allocate first.
The fulfillment order is still unsubmitted (not yet dispatched to a carrier, 3PL, or channel).	The Move, Split, and Merge actions are hidden or disabled with a reason. See When an FO is locked.

The examples below use the demo order SO-DOCS-0001 — customer Blue Bottle Retail, shipping from Main Warehouse — with lines for Stainless Water Bottle 750ml, Insulated Tumbler 500ml, and Reusable Straw 4-Pack.

Edit a fulfillment order's shipping details

Change how a single fulfillment order ships — its carrier and service, package and rates, the shipping method, or the quantities on it — without touching the rest of the order.

1. Open the order and go to the Fulfillment tab.
2. On the warehouse card for the FO, click the pencil (Edit fulfillment order), or choose Edit shipping details from the card's actions. The Edit fulfillment order #N dialog opens.
3. Change any of the shipping details:
   • The shipping method (leave it to inherit the sales order's method, or pin a specific one to this FO).
   • The shipping provider and, where the provider supports it, the package and rate (rate shopping).
   • The quantity on each line, or uncheck a line to drop it.
4. Click Save changes.

Reducing a quantity splits the extra onto a new FO

If you lower a line's quantity or uncheck an item in this dialog, the removed units don't vanish — they split into a separate fulfillment order so they can still be planned and shipped later.

Editing a fulfillment order that's already been submitted

If the FO has already gone to a provider but is still editable there, SKU.io shows "This change affects a submitted fulfillment" and asks you to choose:

• Update the fulfillment order (recommended) — pushes the new quantity to the provider and keeps a single shipment. The local quantity only changes after the provider confirms.
• Create a new fulfillment order — leaves the submitted order as-is and puts the extra units on a separate FO.

If the provider rejects the update (for example, it's already being picked), SKU.io tells you nothing was changed there and offers to put the extra units on a new FO instead.

Split a fulfillment order

Break one fulfillment order into two — for example, to dispatch what's in stock now and hold the rest — without dispatching anything.

1. On the warehouse card, click Split. The Split fulfillment order dialog opens.
2. For each product, enter how many units to Move to new FO. The Keeps column shows what stays on the original.
3. Click Split into new FO.

Both fulfillment orders stay unsubmitted — splitting never dispatches anything. You now have two FOs at the same warehouse, and can edit, dispatch, or merge each independently.

Leave at least one unit behind

You can't move every unit — that isn't a split. If you carve the whole order across, SKU.io warns you to leave at least one unit on the original, or to submit/fulfill the whole order instead.

Split a line across warehouses

When one line can't ship in full from a single warehouse, fulfill it from several. Each warehouse gets its own allocation and fulfillment order, while the channel line stays a single line — so the marketplace still sees one order line.

1. On the Fulfillment tab, open the line's Move menu and choose Split across warehouses. The Split across warehouses dialog opens, seeded with the line's current warehouse holding the full quantity.
2. Enter the Quantity to take from that warehouse. The On hand column shows available stock at each choice.
3. Click Add warehouse and pick another warehouse, then set its quantity. Repeat for as many warehouses as you need.
4. Click Split line.

SKU.io seeds the first row with the line's current warehouse carrying the full quantity — so you usually only add the overflow rows and carve units off the first one.

Unassigned units become backordered demand

If you assign fewer units than the line needs, the remainder stays as backordered demand with no fulfillment order, and re-enters the backorder queue. SKU.io shows how many units are unassigned as you go.

Each warehouse once, and don't over-assign

You can't list the same warehouse twice, and you can't assign more than the line's unfulfilled quantity — SKU.io blocks the Split line button and explains which rule you've hit.

Move a fulfillment order to another warehouse

Re-route an entire fulfillment order to a different warehouse. Every line on the FO is re-routed, its stock is re-allocated at the destination, and the shipping provider follows the new warehouse.

1. On the warehouse card, click Move (Move warehouse). The Move Fulfillment Order dialog opens, showing the current warehouse.
2. Choose the New warehouse. SKU.io checks stock at the destination and shows a coverage preview.
3. Review the preview:
   • Fully covered — every line ships from the new warehouse.
   • Short — SKU.io lists which lines the destination can only partly cover or can't cover at all (for example, "2 ship, 3 backorder"). Short lines are backordered and drop off this fulfillment order.
   • Empties the FO — if nothing can ship from there, the preview warns that the fulfillment order will be removed.
4. Optionally add a Reason (for example, "Out of stock at original location").
5. Click Confirm Move. When the destination is short, the button reads Confirm move & backorder — clicking it acknowledges that the short lines will backorder.

Moving one line instead of the whole FO

To re-route a single line rather than the entire fulfillment order, use the line's own Move menu — see Move a single line to another warehouse.

Because a move changes each line's warehouse, it's only allowed while the FO is unsubmitted — a warehouse becomes locked once fulfillment begins there. Warehouse routing and the warehouse lock explains why.

Move a single line to another warehouse

Re-route one line — in full or in part — without disturbing the rest of the fulfillment order.

1. On the Fulfillment tab, open the line's Move menu (Move this line to).
2. Choose how much to move:
   • Move all N — the whole line quantity.
   • Move part — set a smaller quantity with the stepper (leaving at least one unit behind).
3. Pick the destination warehouse from the list. External (third-party) warehouses are tagged so you can tell them apart.

For splitting a line across three or more warehouses at once, choose Split across warehouses from the same menu — see Split a line across warehouses.

Merge fulfillment orders

Combine several fulfillment orders so they're picked, packed, and dispatched as one shipment. There are three merge paths, depending on where the FOs live and whether they've already been submitted.

Each order keeps its own identity

Merging combines shipments — the picking, packing, and dispatch. Every sales order keeps its own number, lines, financials, and status, and writes tracking back to its own channel. Combining separate orders into one shipment is the across-orders merge below.

Merge two fulfillment orders in the same order

Fold one FO's lines into a sibling FO at the same warehouse — useful when an order was split and you want it back as one shipment.

1. On the warehouse card, choose Merge fulfillment orders. The Merge Fulfillment Orders dialog opens.
2. Confirm which FO to Keep and which to Merge in. The Combined lines table previews the merged quantities.
3. If the two FOs have different shipping details (shipping method, requested ship date, notes, signature-required, and similar), pick which value the merged order should keep. Details only one FO has are carried over automatically.
4. Click Merge Fulfillment Orders.

The source FO is emptied and removed, leaving one fulfillment order — one submission, one shipment. This is only possible before either FO is submitted.

Merge fulfillment orders across different orders

Ship several sales orders going to the same address together as one carrier order — for example, three separate Blue Bottle Retail orders bound for the same store.

1. On the warehouse card, choose Merge with other orders…. The Merge with Other Orders dialog opens and finds orders that can ship together with this one.
2. To be eligible, another order must be unsubmitted and ship from the same warehouse, via the same provider, to exactly the same address. Select the orders to combine.
3. Click Merge N Orders into One Fulfillment Order.

Each sales order keeps its own line items and identity; only the dispatch is combined. Once a merged fulfillment order exists, the same action reads Add orders to merged fulfillment order so you can pull in more eligible orders. To take an order back out before dispatch, choose Remove from merged fulfillment order.

Cross-channel merges notify each channel separately

You can merge orders from different sales channels, but each channel is only told about its own order's tracking. SKU.io flags any cross-channel selection with a warning before you confirm. The fulfillment view marks combined orders with a merged-shipment indicator.

Merge orders already submitted to the provider

When orders have already gone to the carrier or 3PL, you can still merge them there — but it cancels the absorbed orders at the provider, so it's handled carefully. SKU.io surfaces the option as a Mergeable submitted orders nudge above the fulfillment view.

1. Click Review… on the nudge. The Merge submitted orders dialog opens and lists the submitted orders that can still be merged.
2. Select the orders to merge, then click Review plan.
3. Choose which order stays as the master — it receives the items; the others will be cancelled at the provider. An order that needs its shipping label voided first is flagged.
4. Click Cancel orders & merge. A live timeline shows each step — cancelling each absorbed order at the provider, adding its items to the master, then updating SKU.io.

This can't be undone from SKU.io

Merging submitted orders cancels the absorbed orders at the provider and moves their items onto the master. If a step fails after some orders were already cancelled at the provider, SKU.io tells you to reconcile manually before retrying. Every sales order keeps its own tracking.

When a fulfillment order is locked

Reshape actions act on the plan, so they close once execution begins:

• Submitted or closed FOs can't be split, moved, or merged in the same-order/cross-order flows — SKU.io hides the action or disables it with a reason such as "This FO has been submitted to the warehouse — moving it requires cancelling first." To move a submitted FO, cancel it first, then re-route.
• A warehouse locks on a line once that line has a shipment there, so its warehouse can no longer change. See Warehouse routing and the warehouse lock.
• Already shipped shipments are reversed through Void, restore, or reset a shipment, not through these plan edits.

Next steps

• Fulfill a sales order — dispatch and ship the fulfillment orders you've reshaped.
• Two-tier fulfillment: intent vs execution — how fulfillment orders and shipments relate.
• Warehouse routing and the warehouse lock — why a warehouse freezes once fulfillment starts.
• Void, restore, or reset a shipment — undo a shipment that's already gone out.
• Convert between orders and quotes — turn a draft order into a pricing quote and back.
• Sales order status reference — every fulfillment-order and shipment status.