What Does Awaiting Fulfillment Mean? Explore 12 Different Order Status
Dropshipping is one of the most profitable parts of the eCommerce world. It is really an easy process to start a dropshipping business with little or no money at all:)
When doing dropshipping, one of the vital issues to consider is the order fulfillment process of the items. In order to run this process smoothly, a dropshipper should take each and every step into account.
In this regard, the FAQs generally pop up when customers really want to find out their order status and come across with this ambiguous term: awaiting fulfillment. So, keep reading to get the full perspective.
Table of contents for this article.
What is The Order Fulfillment Process?
To begin with, it would be great for a potential dropshipper to make sense of how dropshipping procedure works so that they will understand the underlying reasons beyond the order fulfillment process completely. Let's take a look at the visual below to understand how it is functioning properly.
Bear in mind that there are some slight differences between e-commerce fulfillment and dropshipping fulfillment. Now, without further ado, it is high time to pinpoint how the fulfillment system works in a nutshell:
- Placing orders from manufacturers
- Keeping your items from the producer in the warehouse
- Receiving the items and checking them for stock
- Shelving the products
- Putting items from a manufacturer in your online store
- Not need to buy inventory for dropshipping. You just need to find the best suppliers.
- Upon receiving an order, relaying it to the producer of the item.
- Getting the money into your bank account
- Picking and packing orders at the warehouse
- Getting the cargo company to ship your order
What Does Awaiting Fulfillment Mean?
One of the most significant parts of item order fulfillment, awaiting fulfillment means that the order has been and will be put into practice in a limited period of time, yet it is not ready for the entire fulfillment process yet.
It will be important for a customer to know that it is this process in which their order will go through some procedures to get ready such as being put in a box right before getting shipped to the customer’s house.
The factors affecting the completion of this fulfillment are generally the size of the order and how effective and efficient the cargo company is. Upon the completion of the awaiting fulfillment process, a confirmation email will be sent to the recipient to check the latest status of the item.
Discover All Stages of Order Status
When it comes to different levels of the order status of an item, we see the most frequently used ones such as Pending or Awaiting Shipment. But, that is not all that will be covered in this section. It is much more than that.
Different logistics companies and businesses use a broad range of terms to define a certain stage of the order status, making it sometimes complicated to sort out what is going on with the order. These stages will enable you to see the big picture in this field.
1.Pending
The first stage of the order status in any order is the checkout part or Pending. It is the indication that the customer has begun to check the items out for the purchase. They have to make sure that the checkout stage has to be successfully completed so as to move ahead to the next.
2. Awaiting Payment
Upon the completion of the Pending phase, there comes the Awaiting Payment stage, which is all about having completed the process of checking out the products fully. At this stage, the seller has not received the payment for the item and is still waiting for the payment you are going to make.
The buyer will see the Payment page right after they have checked the products out and made the purchase. E-wallet or bank transfers are used to finish the transaction. Interestingly enough, we don't see this stage on our order status only because we take a look at the status after we pay for the items most of the time.
3. Awaiting Fulfillment
As mentioned above, it may sometimes be normal to give the awaiting fulfillment meaning of something negative because of the name itself. This is the stage where we usually check the order status of a product for we have just paid for it:)
This term basically includes completion of the checkout and payment of the item. It is now the seller’s turn to prepare and pack the purchased products. They should make sure that the products are to be delivered to the logistics company successfully either by themselves or having the logistics team pick them up.
4. Awaiting Shipment
After having coordinated with cargo companies, the merchant has to make sure that it is totally OK for the logistics team to pick up the item which will be delivered to the intended recipient.
At this level, the chances are either the logistics company will come and pick it up upon coordination or it may already be in the logistics company and get prepared for shipment to another city or country.
5. Awaiting Pickup
As a customer, if you want to pick up the product at a location that is generally close to where you live, this is the case most of the time. You can see your order status like that and claim your item in this particular place.
Note that this type of order status is not common as the rest just because the majority of the buyers would like their orders delivered to their house at the touch of a button. Why bother going to a location to pick up a parcel?
Those with this status on their devices should be careful about how much time has been allocated for them to pick up their product and should keep in touch with the seller all the time.
6. Partially Shipped
This stage is not so common, either. Because it comes down to delivering all the items sooner or later. However, the point is if you use an app or website that allows you to shop in different stores at the same time, then it is always possible that your items will not be shipped all in one.
As the items ordered will come from different locations, the Partially Shipped status will keep appearing until all of them have been shipped successfully. This situation may sometimes be nerve-wracking and annoying.
7. Shipped
At this level, the shipment process has been handled completely. The items you ordered are on their way to your address, indicating that you have not received them yet.
This is the stage where the recipients get a confirmation email about their order, especially when the order comes from another city or country. It is important that it has been shipped to the correct address.
💡You may be interested: Definitive Guide to How Long Does AliExpress Take to Ship
8. Completed or Delivered
If you see one of these stages on your order status, then it means that you have received your item in the way you wanted. The status Completed, though, is used to show that you, the customer have claimed your order and picked it up from a seller-specified point.
You could file a complaint form or raise an issue, of course, if you did not receive the package, yet got a message saying that your order had been delivered successfully. Chances are you will not have these issues when you shop on trusted websites.
9. Canceled
If a debit card with insufficient funds has been used to pay for an order, that's where the buyer most probably will see the status Canceled. Another reason for cancellation of the order might be the lack of the item ordered due to out-of-stock issues.
It is also likely that the customer will cancel the transaction for a variety of reasons. In the cases of cancellation, no refund is provided to the buyer just because the payment has not been made. If so, coordination with the seller seems to be the best solution.
10. Declined
This stage occurs especially when the payment hasn't gone through on account of an insufficient amount of money or the issuing bank being offline.
It also means that the website or app has not accepted your card payment or simply because the seller or the payment method they use has not been accredited by the website or partnering banks.
11. Refunded
As the term suggests, you get a full refund specifically when you did not get the product you ordered or the item you ordered was not sealed or was damaged.It will protect the buyer from extra charges.
12. Partially Refunded
This is the stage where the buyer gets a partial refund for some particular reasons. Yet, it is not recommended for sellers to partially refund the buyer. It is all because the buyer is most likely to post a negative comment on the seller or the item ordered.
💡Bonus: Submitted for Fulfillment
This is the stage before Awaiting Fulfillment, meaning the order has been accepted and the products will come to the fulfillment company. In a short period of time, it will get to the fulfillment center and let the process begin.
Conclusion
With the advent of dropshipping and e-commerce platforms throughout the world, it has been much easier than ever for people to start a business and shop online for over a decade. So, it will be a top priority for those engaged in dropshipping to know the processes involved in detail.
One of the most frequently used ones in the marketplaces, the order fulfillment process is key to successful management in dropshipping. Vague as it may seem, awaiting fulfillment is an integral part of this process along with others. Now that you have seen them in detail, it is high time you dived deep into this amazing world to get the best out of it.
FAQs
What is the difference between awaiting fulfillment and pending fulfillment?
Pending fulfillment and awaiting fulfillment are used interchangeably and it is a matter of choice for online giants to use either of them. However, there are some differences as well.
First, the procedure for fulfillment has not started for the former one, meaning the item has come to the center for fulfillment. In a short period of time, the items will be packed and labeled for delivery.
As for the latter, pending fulfillment is the stage after awaiting fulfillment. In short, it is the next level to the shipping and delivering process. So the fulfillment process has begun but has not ended yet.
What stage comes after awaiting fulfillment?
The pending fulfillment is the stage that follows it. This fulfillment generally has two meanings. First things first, the item is presently going through the fulfillment procedures, meaning it is packed and appropriately labeled. Second, it might also mean that the fulfillment process is finished and waiting to be picked up by the logistics company.
How long does awaiting fulfillment take?
Generally, it takes 48-72 hours to wait for fulfillment. You will receive an email notice after the order fulfillment process is complete and the order has shipped. You'll also receive tracking information for your order. This tracking information will help you to check the status of your order.
Why is my order still awaiting fulfillment?
This is a question that applies to almost all e-commerce platforms. It means that the shipping process has not started yet. If the order status shows as awaiting fulfillment for more than 72 hours, you should try contacting the seller.
However, we recommend that you should review the product descriptions and shipping policy first, as some sellers may indicate that this process will take longer than usual.
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