Order Management
Part of Shipping software and carrier integrations
Selecting delivery services using order rules
Design service-selection rules around parcel eligibility, delivery promises, rule priority and clear holds for missing data.
An order rule should select a service only once the destination, packed parcel and customer promise are known. Exclude any service that cannot carry the parcel or meet the promise. Then apply the merchant’s preference among the eligible options. Hold the order for review if a required input is missing or no service qualifies.
Use reliable inputs
Record the destination postcode and country, dispatch location, packed weight and dimensions, requested delivery class and handling needs. Keep the checkout promise separate from the carrier service name: a broad checkout option still needs a specific booking service. Check when each value becomes reliable. A stored product weight may differ from the weight of a packed order.
For each rule, write down the condition, permitted services, priority and action when no permitted service is available. Do not let a general standard-delivery rule silently replace an express choice.
Order the decisions
- Exclude services that cannot serve the destination, parcel or handling requirement.
- Keep services that meet the customer promise and approved dispatch timing.
- Apply the chosen cost, account or operational preference among those services.
- Hold orders whose eligibility cannot be established, with a reason staff can resolve.
This is a proposed decision sequence; the platform’s actual rule behaviour must be checked. Shippit documents rules using weight, dimensions, destination and product information. Company rules run before store rules.
Shippit’s parcel-condition guide includes an “allocate if serviceable” action.
Check overlapping rules
Consider a regional order with an express promise that matches both a destination rule and a speed rule. Write the expected service beside the sample order, then inspect which rule takes precedence in the configured platform. Also check an order with missing packed weight and one that no connected service can carry.
Record who owns each rule and why it changed. Review held orders and manual overrides for recurring missing data, unavailable services or rules that are too broad. Repeat the affected checks when adding a carrier or changing a contract.
Best Practice Rule Configuration Metrics
- Rules reviewed monthly
- Recommended
- Manual overrides logged
- Track recurring issues
- Held orders monitored
- For missing data or unavailable services
- Carrier changes trigger rule review
- Always verify logic after updates
