Creating labels and splitting items into shipments will trigger certain actions in ShipStation. While these actions often occur simultaneously, they are actually distinct processes.
Label creation triggers the following actions in ShipStation:
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ShipStation contacts the selected carrier to request the label and the carrier sends the label in PDF format back to ShipStation.
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ShipStation creates a shipment record.
You can access the shipment record in the Shipments tab as well as under the Shipment Activity section in the Order Details screen.
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ShipStation updates the Configure Shipment Widget to show the shipment details and sets the shipment record status to Shipped.
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ShipStation updates the order status in ShipStation to Shipped, unless there are other shipments on the order that do not yet have labels created. See the Split Shipments section below for more details.
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ShipStation updates the Smart Document Tracking to indicate the label has been created.
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ShipStation sends a notification back to the marketplace so the store will update the order accordingly.
This is the default behavior for ShipStation. You can prevent the marketplace notification on a per shipment basis and change the default notification behavior in the Store's Notification Settings. Review the Marketplace Notifications article for details.
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ShipStation sends a shipment notification email to the customer, if you have set the store to do so. This option is disabled by default. Review the Customer Notifications article for details.
Requesting a Label Receipt
Every label created in ShipStation is stored in our system for 180 days.
If you ever need documentation of a label you created through ShipStation (to file an insurance claim, for example), contact our support team and include an order number and/or tracking number. We will respond with a copy of your transaction details.
When you split items in an order into different shipments, a few unique things happen.
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ShipStation creates an additional shipment within the order that contains the items you've added to it.
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The new shipment(s) appears as its own row in the Orders grid. This row will display the same order number but reflect only the items this additional shipment contains.
This allows you to select the shipment directly in the grid and configure its shipping options without opening the Order Details screen.
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The Configure Shipment Widget in the Order Details and the Shipping Sidebar will show the shipment configuration for the selected order.
When you create a label for each individual shipment, it's just like creating a label for an order. The only difference is, the status for the entire order will not update to Shipped until all shipments within the order also update to Shipped.