Our automatic Order Routing feature helps you avoid losing sales due to out-of-stock issues and saves time. If the original Print Provider can’t fulfill an order, it will be automatically routed to the most suitable alternative Print Provider for fulfillment.

We’ll even route the order to a different Print Provider in the same country or region as your customer, which can help save on shipping costs, customs duties, and fulfillment times.

In this article:

• How it works
• How to enable Order Routing
• Additional information
• Notifications

How it works

Order Routing offers a smooth redirection of the order to another Print Provider. If enabled, it would take place in the following cases:

• The ordered product is out-of-stock with the chosen Print Provider

• The ordered product has been discontinued by the chosen Print Provider

• The chosen Print Provider has been temporarily closed

• The chosen Print Provider is located in a different geographic region than your customer

• The chosen Print Provider’s production time is estimated to be significantly longer than with Order Routing

The process is automatic once you’ve enabled the feature in your settings, and will correlate to your previously selected order approval settings.

How to enable Order Routing

1. To enable the feature, click Manage My Stores in the store dropdown menu. Find the store you wish to enable the feature for and click on the Settings icon. Then, on the left-hand side, click on Preferences:
   
   
2. Here you will immediately see Order routing. To enable the feature, check the box next to Enable order routing. Adjust your routing preferences if needed, then click Save.
   
   

Additional information

• In case of intercontinental deliveries, only those orders containing a single product will be routed.

• The maximum possible design scaling difference is set at 7%. It means that if the design would be scaled down by more than 7%, then the order won’t be routed to another Print Provider.

• Our algorithms will look for the cheapest alternative Print Provider with the same fulfillment options and a preference for domestic facilities. What is more, the product price difference should be no greater than $2 per line item (production and shipping costs included). If the price is greater than that, the order will be placed “On hold” awaiting further action from you.

You can increase the maximum additional cost per item in your routing settings:

• If the same exact product is unavailable, the product will be replaced with the closest matching quality, color, and material product. If using the same exact product is essential to you, then please indicate that by checking the box next to Use only exact product matches:

• Assuming a substitute is found, the order is on track to be fulfilled again. Please note that your design file might be downscaled if the print area for the chosen substitute is smaller than that of the original product.

• If our system failed to find a substitute, the order will need to be edited manually in order to proceed to production (by switching the product that is being used). It is also possible to cancel the order and receive a refund.

Notifications

• For orders that have failed to find a substitute, a notification describing the reason for failure will appear. It will also be mentioned what are the next steps you should take.

• You’ll be able to see the production cost difference for the routed orders in your orders list. Open the order details view for a detailed cost breakdown.