When you order something online, it may say “awaiting fulfillment” as the status of your order. But what does it mean to be “awaiting fulfillment”?
If you don’t know much about the 3PL business, this might seem impossible to understand, like your order got lost in the middle of the process. Let’s look at what it means to be “awaiting fulfillment” and how to handle dropshipping shipments.
What does it mean to be “awaiting fulfillment”?
There are a lot of steps between placing an order with an online store and getting it sent to your house. We don’t usually pay attention to these states unless they say “shipped” or “delivered.” But if you keep track of orders often, you may sometimes see phrases that are hard to understand. “Waiting to be fulfilled” is one of them.
If your order is “awaiting fulfillment,” it means that the staff has received it and is working on it. Also, they are getting your cargo ready right now. So, you’ll soon get a message from them letting you know that your goods have been sent.
It also means that your order has been received, but that the logistics company hasn’t started to package it yet. If the order status or notification says “Awaiting Fulfillment,” there’s nothing to worry about. This means that your order is being prepared at the fulfillment warehouse or center, and the process of getting your item to you will start soon.
So, don’t freak out when you see that your order is “awaiting fulfillment.” It doesn’t always mean there’s something wrong with your order. In fact, it means that they are getting your cargo ready to be sent out.
After ordering and paying online, you can check the status of your order to stay up to date. Most of the time, your order will be marked as “Completed.” Then you’ll see “Awaiting Fulfillment” as the next status for your order. This means that the logistics team has not yet gotten your package. But the seller is already working on getting your item ready. After the item has been packed, the merchant will send it to the logistics department.
Awaiting Fulfillment Is Not the Only Order Status You Need to Know
There are a few more status updates that are closely related to “Awaiting Fulfillment.” You’ll want to understand these so you know what’s going on with your purchase and your shipment in particular. Here are the most common order statuses!
Pending
“Pending” means that you have started to check out the products. However, you haven’t finished the steps yet. In some apps, you’ll see “Incomplete” instead of “Pending.”
Getting this message means that you can’t get the things until you finish the checkout process.
Awaiting Payment
When you see “Awaiting Payment,” you’ve finished the checkout process. But the seller is still waiting for you to pay. When you’re done shopping, the app or website will usually take you to the Payment page. You can use your e-wallet or a bank transfer to pay your bill here.
Most of the time, you don’t even know what this means for your order. This is because we usually check on the status of our orders after we have paid for them.
Awaiting Shipment
After the merchant coordinates with the logistics team, your order’s status will change to “Awaiting Shipment.” This means that the merchant is currently waiting for the logistics crew to pick up your goods.
It could also mean that your item has already been sent to the logistics office. Most likely, your item is still in the logistics warehouse, ready to be sent out.
Awaiting Pickup
“Awaiting Pickup” means that you can now get your item at a location chosen by the seller. This isn’t a normal status for an order. This notice is used by stores that don’t deliver right to your door. Instead, they send the orders to a place where their local customers can pick them up.
Only Partly Shipped
“Partially Shipped” is another order status that you might get, but it doesn’t happen very often. This is the case because it doesn’t work with all online shopping apps or sites. In reality, this is only used by online shopping apps or websites that have a lot of stores.
For example, if you ordered seven items online but only got two of them, the status of your order will be “Partially Shipped.” This will keep showing the same thing until all 7 items have been gotten.
Shipped
When you see “Shipped,” it means that the seller has already sent your items. It means that the things you bought are on their way to you.
This does not mean that the buyer has already gotten the things. It just means that the products are on their way.
Completed or Delivered
If your order status says “Completed” or “Delivered,” the things you bought online have already been sent to you. Most of the time, the “Delivered” status means that the products have been sent to the buyer. To put it another way, most people think of “Delivered” in terms of door-to-door delivery.
Cancelled
“Canceling” an order can be done for many different reasons. Here’s what can happen if you use a debit card when it doesn’t have enough money on it. In some cases, the status of an order may start out as “Awaiting Payment.” If it hasn’t been paid for a certain number of hours or days, the status will change to “Cancelled.”
If the item you ordered is no longer in stock, the transaction will be canceled. Because of this, the status of the order will be “Canceled.”
There’s also a chance that the buyer will back out of the deal. If you change your mind and don’t want to finish your order, you can always click or press “Cancel” to stop the transaction. In that case, your order will be marked as “Cancelled.”
Declined
Your order says “Declined,” which probably means that your payment didn’t make it. It’s possible that you don’t have enough money in your e-wallet or on your debit card. But it’s possible that your issuing bank won’t be open.
If your status is “Declined,” it could mean that the app or website didn’t accept your credit card payment. It’s also possible that the system for taking credit cards is down. But it could also mean that the merchant is not an approved partner of the credit card company. If you have another credit card, you could try to use it in this case.
Refunded
The “Refunded” status means that the seller has given you back the money you paid. You could get a refund if, among other things, you didn’t get the things you bought or got something that was broken.
Refunded in Part
Some businesses use the “Partially Refunded” status to show that they have given some of the buyer’s money back. On the other hand, this order status is not used very often by merchants. Most of the time, merchants would rather do a one-time refund.
Awaiting Fulfillment vs Pending Fulfillment
There isn’t much difference between the “Awaiting Fulfillment” status and the “Pending Fulfillment” status. However, organizations can use small differences to tell them apart.
Awaiting Fulfillment usually means that the invoice has already been sent and is being kept somewhere in the warehouse or goods area. Staff still needs to deal with it.
On the other hand, “Pending Fulfillment” usually means that the invoice has not yet been sent or that the fulfillment process has started but has not yet been finished.
If you see “Awaiting Fulfillment” or “Pending Fulfillment,” it just means that your shipment isn’t ready to ship yet because it isn’t full of everything you bought and the company isn’t ready to give it to a shipping company or have one come and get it yet.
dropship-empire is a tool for keeping track of dropshipping orders.
If you want to know exactly when your shipment arrived without having to look at your tracking information or check your mailbox or PO Box every day, the dropship-empire tracking solution is the way to go.
dropship-empire has a lot of different functions, but one of the most important is order management, which lets you place multiple orders with just one click. With many great features, dropship-empire gives dropshippers the tools they need to keep track of all their orders:
Tracking Number Auto-Sync
The best solution for dropshippers is the Auto Sync Tracking Number function, which will make sure that any important information is sent to your customers as quickly as possible. As soon as AliExpress gives you a tracking number, dropship-empire synchronizes it and sends it to your shop so you can let the customer know.
Auto Update Order Status
The best way for your buyers to make sure they always know where their orders are is to use the Auto Update Order Status feature. With the dropshipping solution from dropship-empire, you can automatically keep track of all your orders and their status and details.
Conclusion
All the information you need to know about awaiting fulfillment and the terms that go with it is above. Hope this article has given you a basic idea of how shipping works and what dropshippers can do to keep track of their shipments. At dropship-empire Blog, you can read more interesting articles.