Split Fulfillment Automatically for Mixed Cart Orders

When customers order both preorder and in-stock products in the same cart, you may want to ship the in-stock items immediately while waiting for preorder items to become available. STOQ's split fulfillment feature automatically separates these mixed orders into separate fulfillments after checkout, allowing you to ship in-stock products right away without waiting for preorder items.

What Are Mixed Cart Orders?

A mixed cart order occurs when a customer purchases both preorder products and regular in-stock products in the same transaction.

Example Scenario

A customer adds to their cart:

• 1x Blue T-Shirt (in stock, ready to ship)
• 1x Limited Edition Sneakers (preorder, ships in 4 weeks)

Without split fulfillment, you would need to wait until the sneakers are available before shipping anything. With split fulfillment enabled, STOQ automatically creates two separate fulfillments:

• Fulfillment 1: Blue T-Shirt (ships immediately)
• Fulfillment 2: Limited Edition Sneakers (ships when available)

When to Use Split Fulfillment

Split fulfillment is ideal for stores that want to provide the best customer experience for mixed orders.

Benefits

• Faster delivery for in-stock items: Customers receive available products sooner
• Better customer satisfaction: No unnecessary waiting for items that are ready to ship
• Simplified warehouse operations: Clear separation between what ships now and what ships later
• Single shipping fee: Customers pay one shipping fee at checkout, even though items ship separately

Considerations

Before enabling split fulfillment, consider:

• You'll have multiple shipments to manage for single orders
• Shipping costs may be higher if you're paying per shipment
• Customers receive multiple tracking numbers for one order
• This feature requires a paid STOQ plan

Enabling Split Fulfillment

To enable automatic split fulfillment for mixed orders, follow these steps.

Accessing Shipping Settings

1. From your Shopify admin, open the STOQ app.
2. Click Preorders in the left navigation menu and click Offers to view your preorder offers.
3. Click on an existing offer to edit it, or create a new offer.
4. In the offer editor, click the Shipping tab.

Setting Delivery Type to As soon as inventory arrives

Split fulfillment is only available when the delivery type is set to "As soon as inventory arrives" (ASAP).

1. In the Shipping section of your preorder offer, find the Shipping timeline settings.
2. Select "As soon as inventory arrives" as the delivery type under Preorder will ship option.
3. This tells customers that preorder items will ship as soon as they're available.

Enabling Split Fulfillments

1. After selecting "As soon as inventory arrives" delivery, look for the Fulfillment options section.
2. Check the box for Split fulfillments for preorders.
3. The help text confirms: "After checkout, STOQ will split in-stock and preorder products into separate fulfillments."
4. Click Save to apply your changes.

How Split Fulfillment Works

Once enabled, here's what happens when a customer places a mixed order.

At Checkout

1. Customer adds both preorder and in-stock items to their cart.
2. Customer completes checkout and pays a single shipping fee.
3. Order is created in Shopify with all items.

After Checkout

1. STOQ automatically detects the mixed order.
2. STOQ splits the order into separate fulfillments:

• One fulfillment for in-stock items (ready to ship)
• One fulfillment for preorder items (ships later)

3. You can view the split in Shopify admin under the order details.

Fulfilling the Order

1. Go to Orders in your Shopify admin and open the mixed order.
2. You'll see separate fulfillment sections for in-stock and preorder items.
3. Fulfill the in-stock items immediately.
4. Fulfill the preorder items when they become available.

Viewing Split Fulfillment Status

You can track split fulfillment activity in STOQ's order timeline.

Checking the Order Timeline

1. Go to Preorders > Reports in STOQ.
2. Find and click on the order.
3. In the order details, view the Timeline section.
4. Look for the "Fulfillments containing preorders were split" event.
5. The event shows: total count, successfully split, and any failures.

What Customers See

Customers have a clear understanding of their order status with split fulfillments.

Order Confirmation

• Customers receive one order confirmation for the entire order
• The confirmation shows all items purchased
• Shipping information indicates items may ship separately

Shipping Notifications

• Customers receive separate shipping notifications for each fulfillment
• Each notification includes tracking information for that shipment
• In-stock items ship first, followed by preorder items when available

Order Status Page

• The order status page shows multiple shipments
• Each shipment has its own tracking number and status
• Customers can track each fulfillment independently

Split Fulfillment vs. Hold Fulfillments

STOQ offers two different approaches for handling mixed orders. Understanding the difference helps you choose the right option.

Split Fulfillments

• Delivery type: As soon as inventory arrives
• Behavior: In-stock items ship immediately; preorder items ship later
• Best for: Stores that want to ship available items as fast as possible
• Customer experience: Multiple shipments, faster delivery for in-stock items

Hold All Fulfillments

• Delivery type: Not sure
• Behavior: All items (including in-stock) are held until you release them
• Best for: Stores that want to ship everything together
• Customer experience: Single shipment, longer wait for in-stock items

Note: These options are mutually exclusive. You cannot enable both split fulfillments and hold fulfillments on the same offer.

Best Practices

Follow these recommendations for successful split fulfillment management.

Communicate with Customers

• Update your product pages to mention that orders may ship separately
• Include information in your shipping policy about mixed orders
• Consider sending a custom email explaining the split shipment

Manage Shipping Costs

• Factor in potential multiple shipments when setting shipping rates
• Consider offering free shipping to offset the customer experience of multiple packages
• Monitor your shipping costs to ensure profitability

Organize Your Warehouse

• Create a clear process for identifying split fulfillments
• Train staff on handling orders with multiple fulfillments
• Use Shopify's fulfillment status to track what needs to ship

Monitor Performance

• Check STOQ Reports regularly for split fulfillment activity
• Review the order timeline for any failed splits
• Address any issues promptly to maintain customer satisfaction

Known Limitations

The split fulfillment feature has some constraints to be aware of.

• Only available when delivery type is set to "As soon as inventory arrives"—not compatible with specific dates or unknown delivery
• Requires a paid STOQ plan
• Cannot be used together with "Hold all fulfillments" option
• Split happens after checkout, so the order initially appears as a single fulfillment before STOQ processes it
• If the split fails for any reason, you may need to manually separate fulfillments in Shopify
• Customers pay one shipping fee regardless of how many shipments are created

Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues with split fulfillment, use this guide to identify and resolve common problems.

FAQs

Q : Does the customer pay multiple shipping fees for split fulfillments?

A : No, the customer pays a single shipping fee at checkout. Split fulfillments are created after checkout, so shipping is calculated on the original order only once.

Q : Can I manually split fulfillments instead of using automatic splitting?

A : Yes, you can manually split fulfillments in Shopify admin. However, the automatic split feature saves time and ensures consistent handling of mixed orders.

Q : What happens if I have multiple preorder items with different ship dates?

A : Split fulfillment separates in stock items from preorder items. If multiple preorder items have different availability dates, they may still be grouped together. You can manually split them further in Shopify if needed.

Q : Can I use split fulfillment with partial payments?

A : Yes, split fulfillment works independently of payment settings. You can use it with full payment, partial payment, or 0 percent upfront payment options.

Q : What if I want to ship everything together instead?

A : If you prefer to ship all items together, do not enable split fulfillments. Instead, use the "Unknown" delivery type with "Hold all fulfillments" enabled to keep the entire order on hold.

Q : Does split fulfillment work with all shipping carriers?

A : Yes, split fulfillment creates separate fulfillments in Shopify, and each fulfillment can use any shipping carrier with its own tracking number.

Updated on: 18/02/2026