A partial shipment happens when you can't fulfill all items on an order at once — for example, when one item is out of stock or arriving later from a supplier. SKULabs lets you ship the available items immediately, keep the order open for the remaining items, and ship those separately when they're ready.
Note: Partial shipments are different from splitting one order into multiple packages shipped together at the same time. If you need to ship one order in several boxes at once, see How to create multiple shipments for an order.
Step 1: Open the ship window
Go to Orders > Processing and open the order you want to partially ship. There are two ways to open the ship window:
Click the Ship button directly on the order, or
Click Menu > Add manual shipment
Step 2: Set the quantities for this shipment
The ship window shows each item on the order with the number of unshipped units. Adjust the quantities to reflect only what you are shipping now.
For each item, update the quantity field to the number of units you are shipping in this shipment.
For any item you are not shipping yet, set its quantity to 0.
Tip: Double-check the package dimensions and weight reflect only the items in this shipment.
Step 3: Select a shipping rate and ship
SKULabs will automatically select a rate based on your shipping settings. If you want to choose a different rate, click Rates to view and select from available options.
When you're ready, click Ship! to create the shipment and generate the label.
Step 4: Keep the order open for remaining items
After the first shipment, SKULabs keeps the order in Processing because not all items have been fulfilled yet. The order stays open so you can return to it when the remaining items are ready.
Tip: Add an internal note to the order to flag which items are still outstanding and why — for example, "Awaiting restock on Item X, expected [date]." See How to bring attention to notes or warn shippers prior to shipping.
Step 5: Ship the remaining items
When the remaining items are available:
Go back to Orders > Processing and find the order.
Open the ship window again using the Ship button or Menu > Add manual shipment.
The ship window will show the remaining unshipped items. Confirm the quantities.
Click Rates if needed, then click Ship! to complete the fulfillment.
Once all items on the order have been shipped, SKULabs will move the order to Shipped.
Step 6: Notify the customer
SKULabs can send tracking information to the customer for each shipment as it is created. To send a notification manually:
Open the order and click Menu > Send e-mail.
Confirm the tracking details and send.
Frequently asked questions
Will the customer be charged twice for shipping?
Shipping charges are handled by your sales channel at the time the order is placed, not when individual shipments are created in SKULabs. Partial shipments do not trigger additional charges automatically — any refunds or adjustments for shipping would need to be handled directly on your sales channel.
Will inventory be deducted correctly for each partial shipment?
Yes. SKULabs deducts inventory as each shipment is created, so stock levels stay accurate across partial fulfillments.
Can I partially ship orders in batch mode?
Batch mode is designed for shipping orders in bulk and works best when each order ships completely. For partial shipments, it's best to handle the order individually from the Orders > Processing page.
What if I need to cancel the remaining items instead of shipping them?
If the remaining items won't be fulfilled, you can cancel or update the order status directly on your sales channel, then sync or manually update the order status in SKULabs. See How do I cancel a customer's order?
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