# Manage orders and allocation in WMS URL: https://support.starshipit.com/articles/14700000000010-manage-orders-and-allocation-in-wms Canonical: https://support.starshipit.com/articles/14700000000010-manage-orders-and-allocation-in-wms Markdown: https://support.starshipit.com/articles/14700000000010-manage-orders-and-allocation-in-wms.md Updated: 2026-08-24 > For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://support.starshipit.com/llms.txt). > Learn how orders flow from Starshipit into WMS, how stock allocation works, and how to release orders for picking and packing. Most orders flow automatically from your ecommerce store into Starshipit. From there, Starshipit WMS picks them up and makes them ready for your warehouse team to fulfil. You can also create an order manually or import orders from CSV when they do not come from a connected store. **The order journey:** 1. **Customer places an order** in your ecommerce platform (Shopify, WooCommerce, etc). 2. **Order appears in Starshipit** via your ecommerce integration. 3. **WMS picks up the order automatically.** It appears in your WMS orders dashboard with status **Pending**. 4. **You release the order** when ready. WMS allocates stock and creates pick jobs for your team. 5. **Your team picks, packs and ships.** Labels are printed in Starshipit. 6. **WMS confirms shipment** and finalises stock movements. WMS also stays in sync with Starshipit when orders change - if an order is edited, cancelled, or shipped in Starshipit, WMS updates automatically. :::note Orders typically appear in WMS within a few seconds of being created or updated in Starshipit. ::: ## Order statuses | Status | What it means | |---|---| | **Pending** | Order has arrived in WMS and is awaiting release to the warehouse. | | **Released** | Order has been released; stock is allocated and pick jobs are created. | | **Partially Shipped** | Some items have shipped; others are still outstanding. | | **Shipped** | Order has been fully shipped. | ## Orders dashboard The orders dashboard gives you a live view of everything in the fulfilment queue: * **Status filters** - filter by one or more statuses at once (e.g. show Pending and Released together). * **Insufficient inventory warning** - orders where stock is short are flagged with a warning icon so you can identify and act on shortfalls immediately. * **Allocatable-only filter** - shows only orders that can be fulfilled right now, hiding anything blocked by stock shortfalls. * **SLA and address signals** - show order service-level timing and Starshipit address validation details where available. * **Select all** - applies to your currently filtered results only, so bulk actions only affect the orders you can see. * **Put on hold** - quickly pause an order so no further outbound work happens on it. * **Order tagging** - bulk-apply Starshipit tags to selected orders directly from WMS. * **Archive or delete actions** - remove orders from active Starshipit order views when your workflow calls for cleanup. * **Order detail view** - open any order to see a full timeline of events, stock movements, and processing history. * **Merged-order history** - expand an order that Starshipit created by merging several orders to see the original order numbers. * **Pending-order editing** - correct the receiver address, products, or quantities before warehouse work starts. You can create a manual order in WMS when a warehouse team needs to process one order that did not arrive through the usual ecommerce flow. Use the CSV import when you need to submit several orders together. ![The WMS orders dashboard showing pending and released orders, allocation readiness and fulfilment actions](/uploads/articles/starshipit-wms/web/outbound-fulfilment/orders-dashboard.png) ## Import orders from CSV Use the order CSV import for offline, wholesale, or other orders that are not supplied by a connected store. 1. Open the **Orders** dashboard and select **Import CSV**. 2. Select **Download CSV Template**. 3. Add the destination and product details. Use one row for each order line, and repeat the same order reference for lines that belong to one order. 4. Return to **Import CSV** and select the Starshipit account that should own the orders. 5. Select the completed CSV file, then select **Import Orders**. 6. Review the submitted and failed totals. If an order fails, create a new CSV containing every row for only that failed order reference, correct the reported issue, and import the retry file. Do not re-import order references that were already submitted. Each import can contain up to 50 orders, 1,000 line items, and a 1 MB file. WMS submits each valid order to the selected Starshipit account, then processes it back into WMS through the normal order flow. ## Edit a pending order Edit an order in WMS before releasing it when you need to correct its receiver address, products, or quantities. Before you begin, you need permission to manage fulfilment. The order must still be **Pending** in WMS and unshipped in Starshipit, with no shipped quantity. Inter-warehouse transfer orders cannot be edited. 1. Open the **Pending** order from the Orders dashboard. 2. Select **Edit Order**. 3. Update the receiver address or order items. 4. Select **Save Changes**. 5. Wait for the order to sync back from Starshipit, then confirm the updated details before releasing it. Carrier and packaging details are selected during packing, not in this editor. If the order changes after you open the editor, WMS preserves the newer version. Reload the order and apply your changes again. ## Check addresses before release Review address validation while an order is **Pending**, before releasing it for allocation and picking. To resolve one order: 1. Find the address validation status beside the order number, or open the order's actions menu and select **Resolve Address**. 2. Review the original address and the suggestions returned by Starshipit. 3. Click **Apply suggestion** beside the correct address. 4. Confirm the order now shows a valid address before releasing it. To refresh validation information for several orders, select the pending orders and click **Refresh Live Data**. This updates the Starshipit data shown in WMS, including address validation status where available. :::important WMS does not bulk-apply address corrections. After refreshing several orders, resolve each invalid address individually so you can review the proposed change before it is saved. ::: ## Releasing orders Orders start as **Pending** and have no stock committed until you release them. This gives you control over when your warehouse starts working on each order. ### Release a single order 1. Open the **Orders** dashboard. 2. Select a **Pending** order. 3. Click **Release**. WMS checks available inventory, allocates stock, and creates a pick job. ### Release orders in bulk Use the checkboxes to select multiple orders, then choose **Release selected**. The **allocatable-only filter** is useful here - apply it first so you're only releasing orders that actually have stock. Bulk release is ideal for end-of-day waves, courier cut-off runs, or batches grouped by sales channel. ## How WMS allocates stock When you release an order, WMS automatically reserves the right stock for each line item. This is called **allocation**. WMS follows the rules configured on each product to decide what to reserve: * Stock is allocated from **pick face** locations first, keeping picking fast and efficient. * If a pick face is low, WMS can pull from **bulk storage** and may trigger a replenishment job to top up the pick face. * For batch or serial tracked products, allocation locks in the specific batch or serial number. * The allocation strategy (FIFO, FEFO, etc.) on each product determines which units are reserved when multiple options exist. See [Products and inventory configuration](/articles/14700000000006-starshipit-wms-products-and-inventory-configuration) for how to configure these rules, and [Replenishment](/articles/14700000000016-replenishment) for how pick face restocking works. Use the allocations view to inspect the exact product, location, batch, quantity, order and job behind each active reservation. ![The allocations view showing reserved stock by product, location, order and job](/uploads/articles/starshipit-wms/web/outbound-fulfilment/allocations.png) ### When an order can't be fully allocated If there isn't enough stock, WMS flags the order with a warning rather than processing it silently. Your options: * Wait for incoming stock (visible on your inventory dashboard when a purchase order is in progress). * Edit an eligible **Pending** order in WMS to adjust or substitute items. For other order states, make the change in Starshipit. * Partially ship what's available if your workflow supports it. ## Batch and wave workflows WMS supports releasing and picking orders in batches - grouping multiple orders into a single run to reduce walking time and speed up fulfilment. These workflows are covered in the [Picking](/articles/14700000000011-picking-orders) and [Expedited fulfilment](/articles/14700000000013-expedited-fulfilment-pack-now-batch-pack-now) guides. ## Routed orders If your business uses parent and child Starshipit accounts, WMS can help route orders to the right fulfilment location: * **Automatic routing** assigns eligible imported parent orders to configured child stores. * **Manual routed-order actions** let authorised users reject pending routed orders or release them back to the parent pool. * **Store priority and availability** control which stores participate in routing and which store should be preferred first. Use routing when multiple stores or warehouses share order demand and you want WMS to help decide where an order should be fulfilled. If a store is temporarily unavailable, mark it unavailable instead of removing it from your routing setup. ## Holding and removing orders from outbound Two actions are useful when an order should stop moving through the warehouse: * **Put on hold** - use this as a quick pause. It prevents further action on the order. * **Undo release** - use this when you want to remove the order from outbound work entirely and return it to a pre-release state. ### Put on hold Putting an order on hold is designed to pause it immediately. This is useful when something needs to be checked before fulfilment continues. If the order is part of a batch pick or batch pack, putting it on hold can freeze the whole batch. Use it when you genuinely want the whole workflow to pause. To place a hold on one order: 1. Open the order actions menu and select **Put on hold**. 2. Choose an active **Reason**. 3. Add an **Operator note** if the warehouse team needs more context. 4. Click **Put On Hold**. The order stays on hold until your team removes it. Release, pick, pack and ship actions are blocked while the hold is active. ### Manage hold reasons Go to **System > Settings > Orders > Order Hold Reasons** to add a reason code and label, choose its highlight colour, set its display order, or make it active or inactive. The colour appears on held-order badges and rows so teams can distinguish reasons at a glance. Only active reasons can be selected when placing a hold. Built-in reasons cannot be changed or removed. See the [WMS settings reference](/articles/14700000000031-wms-settings-reference) for the available controls. ### Undo release If you need to eject one order from outbound work without blocking the rest of the batch, use **Undo release** instead. This removes that order from the active outbound flow so the remaining orders can continue. ### Holds dashboard and bulk pre-order holds The holds dashboard gives supervisors a central place to review orders that are paused before or during fulfilment. Bulk pre-order holds are useful when you need to pause a group of not-yet-ready orders, such as pre-orders waiting on incoming stock or orders awaiting customer confirmation. To resume several held orders, select up to 20 held orders on the Orders dashboard and choose **Release Hold**. Add an optional release note, then confirm. Orders that are not currently on hold are excluded from this action. ## When orders change or cancel **Order updates** - You can edit an eligible **Pending** order in WMS, or edit it in Starshipit. WMS submits its editor changes to Starshipit, then receives the updated order through the normal sync. For upstream changes to released orders, existing allocations and pick jobs are cancelled and the order returns to **Pending** for re-release with the correct details. **Cancellations** - When an order is cancelled in Starshipit, WMS frees the reserved stock and cancels any related pick or pack jobs. **Shipments** - When a label is printed or an order is shipped in Starshipit, WMS marks the order as **Shipped** (or **Partially Shipped**) and finalises inventory movements. **Released order sync** - Released orders can refresh from Starshipit so the WMS record stays aligned when an order changes upstream. Review any warning or process-log entries before re-releasing an updated order. :::important Use the WMS editor only while an order is **Pending**. If the **Edit Order** action is unavailable, make the change in Starshipit and review the synced order in WMS before continuing fulfilment. ::: ## Manifest shipped orders Create a Starshipit manifest for orders that have reached **Shipped** or **Partially Shipped** status. 1. Open the **Shipped** tab on the Orders dashboard. 2. Select up to 200 orders from one Starshipit account. 3. Select **Manifest**. 4. Check the manifest status icon beside each order after WMS refreshes the shipped-order data. WMS downloads the manifest PDF when Starshipit returns one. If Starshipit creates the manifest without returning a PDF, the manifest still succeeds and WMS updates the status after refreshing the orders. ## FAQ Do I have to release orders from WMS, or can I just ship from Starshipit? You can continue shipping from Starshipit without releasing orders in WMS. When the WMS integration is active, it tracks allocations and stock movements in the background. This is sometimes called **headless mode** - WMS manages inventory while Starshipit drives your day-to-day operations. Releasing and using pick jobs is recommended when you want structured warehouse workflows for your team. What happens if I release an order but never ship it? The order stays in **Released** with stock reserved against it. If the order is later cancelled in Starshipit, WMS will free that stock and cancel related jobs automatically. Can I reallocate an order if stock moves or changes? Yes. Delete the existing allocations from the allocations view, then re-release the order. WMS will recompute allocations based on current inventory. Should I use Put on hold or Undo release? Use **Put on hold** when you want to pause the order quickly. Use **Undo release** when you want to remove that order from outbound work and let the rest of the batch continue. Does WMS allocate from staging locations? No - WMS allocates from pick face locations only. How does allocation handle bundles? For **exploding bundles**, WMS allocates stock from the component SKUs rather than the bundle SKU itself. For **require stock** bundles, WMS allocates stock against the bundle SKU's own inventory. Behaviour follows the bundle configuration you set in the product record.