Open Orders: How to Merge or Split

When orders are downloaded into Linnworks, it may be useful to merge multiple orders into a single order to ship items to the buyer more efficiently. In the same way, you can split one big order into multiple orders. This guide provides detailed instructions for both merging and splitting orders using Open Orders.

Table of contents

• Merging orders
  • Prerequisites
  • Merging orders manually
  • Merging orders automatically
• Splitting orders
  • Splitting orders manually
    • Auto split
    • One in each order
    • Clear all

Merging orders

In the Open Orders screen, you can merge orders manually or you can enable the setting to automatically merge orders that are from the same customer and selling channel.

Prerequisites

To merge orders automatically or manually, the following prerequisites must be fulfilled:

If orders fail to meet the criteria, the following warning message will be displayed before the Merge screen opens:

Orders that cannot be merged will be highlighted in red and the Can Merge column will display the reason.

If the merge is not possible for multiple reasons, hover over the error to display full information in a tooltip.

Example:

1. Order 10001: 21st June 12:12
2. Order 10005: 22nd June 14:46

The despatch by date of the new order will be 21st June 12:12

Merging orders manually

To merge orders manually, follow the steps below.

Step 1

Select the required orders in the Open Orders screen. Click Actions (or right-click orders) and go to Other Actions > Merge Order. 

• Note! Make sure the setting that allows merging orders manually is enabled in the User Permissions screen. Otherwise, this action will be grayed out.

Step 2

Double-check the details in the Merge Orders screen. If necessary, change the shipping service for the merged order.

Step 3

Click the Merge button.

• Orders that are merged will be given a new order id.
  
• The reference number and external reference number on the new order will display MERGED.
  
• Entries about the merge will be added to the History tab.
  
• When orders are merged, they will trigger the Rules Engine module to run.
• Similarly, scripts may also be triggered.

Merging orders automatically

Enabling the Order Merge setting instructs Linnworks to automatically merge orders that meet the order merge criteria.

The setting can be enabled from Settings > General Settings > Order Settings > Order Merge. Once enabled the system will automatically look for and merge orders every 15 minutes.

Splitting orders

The Split Order action allows you to split one big order into multiple orders. An order with only one item cannot be split into multiple orders.

Composite Items 

Splitting an order with composite items to have child items contained in different orders is not supported. If you need multiple shipping labels printed for composite child items, use the split packaging functionality.

Splitting orders manually

To split an order manually, follow the steps below.

Step 1

Select the required order in the Open Orders screen. Click Actions (or right-click orders) and go to Other Actions > Split Order.

Step 2

The items from the selected order will appear at the top of the Split Order screen. 

1. Click and drag the item to the bottom pane. Use the Move field to specify the quantity of the item to be moved to a separate order.
   
2. It is possible to add other items to the newly created order by dragging and dropping them onto the order.
3. It is possible to create multiple new orders by dragging items to the bottom pane of the screen, avoiding the orders already there.
4. On each new order, use the drop-down menu to select the shipping service.

Step 3

Click Split Order. Any items left in the upper pane will remain in the original order.

Auto split

In the Split Order screen, use the Auto Split button instead of dragging items to the bottom pane one by one. The automatic split can be done by: 

• Weight
• Default supplier
• Out of stock 
• Cost

• By weight: click Auto Split > By Weight and specify a maximum weight for each individual order.
  • Note! If the entered maximum weight is less than the weight of any ordered item, the order will not split.
• By default supplier: clicking Auto Split > By Default Supplier groups items with the same default supplier into a new order.
• By out of stock: clicking Auto Split > By Out of Stock groups out-of-stock items into a new order.
• By cost: click Auto Split > By Cost and specify a maximum order cost:
  • The order is split based on the item's unit cost before tax.
  • Note! If the entered maximum cost is less than the cost of any ordered item, the order will not split.

One in each order

In the Split Order screen, click the One in Each Order button to split the order and have each item placed in a new separate order.

Clear all

Clicking Clear All at any point will remove the new order design and return all items to the original order.