How do I ship part of a Shopify order in two boxes?
Fulfill the order twice. On the first pass, enter the item quantities you are shipping now, add that box's tracking number, and confirm: the order becomes Partially fulfilled and the rest stays in the Unfulfilled section. When the second box goes out, fulfill the remaining quantities with their own tracking number, and the order moves to Fulfilled.
Fulfilling the first box
Open the order from Orders.
Click Mark as fulfilled in the Unfulfilled or In progress section.
Enter the item quantities that you want to fulfill now, and leave the rest at zero.
Add the tracking number for this box and confirm the carrier Shopify selected.
Decide whether to check Send a notification to the customer.
Click Mark as fulfilled.
The order's fulfillment status becomes Partially fulfilled, which Shopify defines as when you fulfill part of the items in an order.
Fulfilling the remainder
The order keeps an Unfulfilled section holding the quantities you left behind. Repeat the same steps against that section when the second box ships, with the second tracking number. When every item has been fulfilled and shipped, the order moves to Fulfilled. Nothing has to be edited on the first fulfillment, and its tracking number is untouched.
What the customer sees
Shipping confirmation is sent when an order is fulfilled, and it is sent per fulfillment, so a two box order produces two emails with two links. Both shipments appear on the order status page, which is the primary place where customers track their shipments. If you later correct a number, that is an update to tracking information and sends the shipping update email instead.
| Action | Email Shopify sends |
|---|---|
| First partial fulfillment | Shipping confirmation for box one |
| Second fulfillment | Shipping confirmation for box two |
| Editing tracking later | Shipping update |
Two boxes is not the same as two locations
Splitting a shipment is your choice at the bench. Splitting an order across locations is Shopify's, made at checkout: orders are automatically split when no single location has enough inventory to fulfill the entire order. In that case the order already holds two fulfillment orders, each with its own Unfulfilled section, and you fulfill each one where its items are.
If both parts really ship from one place, move the fulfillment order to that location before you start, provided no line items have been fulfilled yet.
When to split and when not to
Split when an item is genuinely not ready, when the weight or dimensions force a second box, or when the two halves go by different services. Do not split just to get a second label, because every split doubles the emails your customer gets and the shipments they have to follow. One box with one number is always the simpler thing to support.
Key takeaways
- Tracking attaches to a fulfillment, so two boxes means two fulfillments and two numbers.
- Partially fulfilled is a real order status, not a workaround.
- Each fulfillment you create sends its own shipping confirmation email.
- An order split across two locations is already two fulfillment orders before you touch it.
Two labels, two fulfillments, one order
The Shopify connection is in early access. Partial fulfillment is supported end to end: buy a label for the items in box one and we create the fulfillment against that fulfillment order with its tracking number, then do the same for box two.
Shopify sends its own notification for each, and the order lands on Fulfilled when the last item ships. Packing slips print per shipment, so the right paperwork goes in the right box.
Related questions
Treat one fulfillment as one shipment. Tracking is entered against the fulfillment you are creating, so if two boxes leave with two labels, create two fulfillments and give each its own number. That keeps the order status page honest and gives the customer a link that follows the box the items are actually in.
No. The quantities you left at zero stay in the Unfulfilled section of the order, attached to the same fulfillment order and the same assigned location. Nothing about them changes until you fulfill them, cancel them or refund them. If that remainder has to go out from somewhere else, move the fulfillment order to that location before you fulfill it.
Uncheck Send a notification to the customer on the second fulfillment. The fulfillment is still recorded and the tracking number still shows on the order status page, but no email is sent at that moment. Some sellers do this when the two boxes ship the same day and a single confirmation is enough.
Do not leave it Partially fulfilled forever. Refund or remove the remaining items so the order reflects what happened, at which point Shopify treats the order as having no items left to fulfill. Leaving an open Unfulfilled section keeps the order in your daily queue and in any report counting work still to do.