Set Up Custom Fulfillment Statuses

Overview

With the AfterShip Commerce API, you can set up custom fulfillment statuses for different stages of order fulfillment, including pre-shipment and in-store pickup orders. This allows you to tailor the tracking experience to better match your business processes and customer needs.

Use case

Create custom statuses if you experience longer processing times or have a unique fulfillment process and want to keep buyers informed about the progress of their pickup orders. For example, you might set up a Delay status for orders that require additional time before they are ready for pickup or create a Pickup reminder status to remind customers about their pending pickups.

Set up custom in-store pickup statuses

1. Log in to your AfterShip Tracking account.
2. Navigate to Settings.
3. Click Custom fulfillment status.
4. Under In-store pickups, click Add custom status.
5. Add the status name and the code that is to be communicated to AfterShip using the fulfillment.status field.
6. Click Save.

After creating a custom status, you will find there are corresponding custom in-store pickup Notification triggers and Branded tracking page statuses created accordingly.

Set up custom pre-shipment statuses

1. Log in to your AfterShip Tracking account.
2. Navigate to Settings.
3. Click Custom fulfillment status.
4. Under Shipments, click Add custom status.
5. Add the status name and the code which is to be communicated to AfterShip using the fulfillment.status field.
6. Click Save.

After creating a custom status, you will find there are corresponding Notification triggers and Branded tracking page statuses created accordingly.

Key takeaways

• Custom fulfillment statuses let you reflect unique pre-shipment and in-store pickup workflows.
• These statuses are created in Settings and communicated through the fulfillment.status field in the Commerce API.
• Each custom status automatically generates respective notification triggers and tracking page statuses.
• Avail AfterShip Tracking Enterprise plan to create and use custom statuses.

Set up custom fulfillment status to enhance transparency, reduce confusion, and deliver a more personalized post-purchase experience.

FAQs

1. Are custom statuses visible to customers on the tracking page?

Yes. All custom statuses you configure are fully visible to customers on the tracking page, including in the status description, progress bar, and other status display areas.

2. Can I edit or delete a custom status once created?

Yes. You can edit or delete any custom status based on your operational needs.

3. Why don’t I see my custom status on the tracking page after updating it through the API?

If the updated status is not appearing on the tracking page, please share the tracking page URL along with the tracking number. Our team will review the case and investigate further.

4. Can I customize the message customers see for each custom status?

Yes. You can customize the customer-facing message for each custom status by updating the Status Description section in your tracking page settings.

5. Can custom statuses be used with partial fulfillments?

Yes, custom statuses support partial fulfillments. If you require guidance for a specific use case, contact us with details, so we can offer accurate assistance.

6. How do custom statuses interact with standard AfterShip pre-shipment or pickup triggers?

Custom statuses are sorted and displayed alongside standard AfterShip statuses. Once configured, they follow the status progression order, and notifications will be triggered sequentially based on the status updates received.

Updated on: 17/11/2025