Order Management workflow states

The lifecycle of a sales order progresses through multiple workflow states including Waiting Approval, Waiting Authorization, Waiting Allocation, Waiting Fulfillment, Waiting Filing, and Closed. The actions that can be performed on an order vary based on the workflow state. For example, a Customer Service Representative can't cancel an order if the order is in 'Waiting Fulfillment' status. The actions that can be performed also vary for shipping orders, returns, and return orders based on the workflow state. You can configure the behavior of Customer Service Center in Order Management Administration: Settings > Providers.

The tables below highlight the actions and workflow states for sales orders, shipping orders, return orders, and returns.

Order Workflow States

The following actions can be performed in the order workflow states noted by the check mark ().

Action for order line item	Waiting approval	Waiting authorization	Waiting allocation	Waiting completion	Waiting fulfillment	Waiting filing	Closed
Cancel
Price Change
Appeasement
Edit
Even Swap
Reship
Void
Suspend/ Resume
Alert
Misc. Credits (Product, Shipping, Handling, Tax, Fee, Overage)

Shipping Order Workflow States

The following actions can be performed in the shipping order workflow states noted by the check mark ().

Actions for shipping orders	Waiting approval	Waiting authorization	Waiting assignment	Waiting pick/pack	Waiting fulfillment	Waiting filing
Cancel
Void
Alert

Return Order Workflow States

The following actions can be performed in the Return Order workflow states noted by the check mark ().

Action for return orders	Waiting receiving	Waiting approval	Waiting credit	Waiting fulfillment
Exchange
Void
Suspend/Resume
Alert
Credit Destination
Return Receive

Return Workflow States

The following actions can be performed in the return workflow states noted by the check mark ().

Action for return	Waiting approval	Waiting credit	Closed
Return
Void
Suspend/Resume

Scenario: Order Workflow States

The following is a typical scenario of how workflow states change as an order is processed in Customer Service Center.

Scenario: Customer Service Center
A customer called to purchase a pair of shoes. The order moved through the order workflow from order creation, shipping order creation, allocation from inventory, payment captured, and now is in 'Waiting Fulfillment' state. The associate from the California warehouse contacted the Customer Service Representative (CSR) because the only available pair of shoes in inventory were damaged and could not be shipped to the customer. The CSR must cancel this shipping order so that the shoes can be shipped from a different warehouse where there is available inventory.
Action
The CSR performs these steps to cancel the shipping order to enable fulfilling the order from a different warehouse: In Order Management Customer Service Center, search and locate the order. The Order details page opens. The order has been suspended and a system alert appears along the top of the page indicating that the item isn't available for shipment. Click Cancel in the Shipping Orders section to cancel the shipping order. The order now returns to 'Waiting Allocation' state. Click Clear Alerts to remove the alert. (Note that the cleared alerts are listed in the System Events tab of the Details section.) Click Resume to reallocate the shoes from a different warehouse. The order runs through the automated allocation process to create a new shipping order. The order proceeds to 'Waiting Fulfillment' status again. The shoes on the shipping order are picked, packed, and shipped to the customer's shipping address from the new warehouse. The sales order can now be closed.