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Shipping and fulfilment resources
OPERATIONS · FULFILMENT GUIDE

UK fulfilment bundles: map component SKUs before warehouse picking

Connect bundle order lines to component or prepacked-kit picking, define stock-record responsibilities and approve a small warehouse handover sample.

Choose the physical picking mode for this offer

A catalogue bundle groups goods into one customer offer. The warehouse still needs a definite instruction: pick the selected components for this order, or pick an existing prepacked kit. Record the store, bundle tool, selected variants, intended UK location and agreed handling scope. Use catalogue bundle for the commercial grouping; the WooCommerce Product Bundles extension's Virtual setting has a separate no-shipping meaning.

WooCommerce's fulfilment guide includes bundle SKU complexity, packing requirements and system requirements among the questions to prepare for a provider. Bring those requirements into the enquiry before approving live orders. Our component-reservation and launch-batch guide covers the assembly plan. This guide concerns what the receiving order tells the warehouse to pick and how that work connects to stock records.

Compare the source order with the lines actually received

Shopify's first-party Bundles app documentation says order SKUs identify the individual components rather than the bundle SKU. The WooCommerce Product Bundles extension creates parent and child lines. Its documentation warns that an assembled shipping configuration may not arrive as one item in an external fulfilment service. Attribute these behaviours to the documented app or extension, then inspect the exporter and receiver used in your project.

Retain source order and line references, parent grouping, selected component variant, SKU, quantity and warehouse reference. Mark whether a row identifies a physical item or provides grouping information. State whether component quantities are per bundle or already expanded for the ordered bundle quantity. Multiplying an expanded child quantity again would change the instruction. Compare the received record with the source basket before authorising picking.

Map a prepacked kit to the finished stock it represents

For component picking, the approved instruction identifies each actual variant and its total units. For prepacked-kit picking, identify the finished kit SKU, approved composition and packing version, actual location and releasable quantity. Confirm that the kit matches the customer's selections. A generic bundle title does not identify which colour or size combination is inside an existing box.

Keep component details connected to the customer order even when the physical task is to pick one finished kit. Confirm how the receiver identifies that task and returns its result against the original lines. If matching finished stock is unavailable, obtain a reviewed alternative instruction. Do not silently switch to loose-component picking, substitute a variant or count an assembly request as completed stock.

Name the stock record and the event that changes it

The Product Bundles extension can manage bundle and component stock, with a parent balance serving a purpose such as limiting available assembly capacity. Ask what each balance represents. Within each physical-stock ledger, identify the units consumed, event recorded and responsible system or person. A parent row beside component rows does not by itself demonstrate duplicate depletion; inspect the actual movements.

If components were previously converted into finished-kit stock, retain that conversion reference and record the finished kit's dispatch in the agreed ledger. Avoid recording the same physical component withdrawal again for that dispatch. The store may have separate component records that need reconciliation. Shopify's eligibility guidance also explains that untracked or continue-selling components can be excluded from its availability calculation. Platform bundle availability therefore needs a separate check against the UK goods approved for release.

Test quantities, selected variants and a mixed basket

Use an illustrative test recipe with two units of approved variant A and one of variant B per bundle; these quantities describe no actual stock or customer. One bundle should map to two A and one B. Two bundles should map to four A and two B. A single A sold alongside one bundle should map to three A and one B, while retaining the separate source line references.

Run equivalent samples for each picking mode you intend to use. Include a changed variant selection and a missing or unavailable component. Record the expected result, received lines, actual picking units, stock movements and feedback. Keep the mapping version and warehouse acknowledgement beside each result. Check whether quantities were expanded once and whether the single-item line stayed distinct. A visually tidy order screen is only one observation in this trial.

Hold an unresolved component mapping for a named decision

If a selected component is absent, ambiguous or unavailable, identify the affected order and quantity and request confirmation through the agreed warehouse contact. Keep the last confirmed instruction visible. The merchant should decide any permitted substitution, changed offer or customer update; the warehouse needs an authorised physical instruction before proceeding. A request to investigate does not establish a confirmed stop.

Use the existing order-change guide when edits arrive after work begins. Preserve the old and revised mapping and confirm which physical phase is affected. For returned or cancelled goods, retain their actual quantities and condition before approving stock recovery. A component return should not automatically become a complete finished kit in the stock record.

Approve the mapping version before expanding the handover

Close the trial with the approved picking mode, source-to-warehouse SKU map, quantity interpretation, stock-record owner, update event and exception contact. Attach observed sample results and resolve outstanding differences. Record the warehouse's acknowledgement of the version it will use. Check how a later component or tool change will be reviewed without replacing the instruction for an order already in progress.

For Jeton Express, bring the actual bundle sample, received order lines and physical stock arrangement to the kitting, UK fulfilment or Shopify discussion. A custom API enquiry should describe the fields and responsibilities that need agreement. Confirm handling work, materials and applicable charges for the proposal. Expand the accepted sample through the agreed process; automatic bundle support or synchronisation needs its own implementation and verification.

Sources and further reading

The checklists are our planning recommendations. Official references apply within their stated scope; confirm current requirements for your shop, goods and route. Any community references provide background questions rather than confirmed rules.

operations · 5 min

UK product barcode exceptions: check identity before releasing stock

Record missing, unreadable or conflicting product barcodes, approve any correction and test the finished item before releasing affected UK stock.

operations · 5 min

UK fulfilment order changes: confirm the hold before approving dispatch

Keep store edits, warehouse acknowledgement, physical goods, revised labels and stock adjustments connected when an order changes before dispatch.

operations · 6 min

Before connecting Shopify shipping: test a small order and stock sample

Test normal orders, cancellations, stock changes and retries with a controlled sample before expanding a Shopify shipping connection.

operations · 6 min

One SKU across several channels: decide what stock each order can use

Map physical stock to channel listings, agree who controls availability and test concurrent orders before sharing a UK fulfilment pool.

operations · 5 min

Bundles and launch batches: reserve the components before packing

Define kit components, reserve shared stock and preserve customer order references through assembly and launch-batch fulfilment.