I’m looking for advice on how to better track customer-supplied materials for custom orders.
For context, we offer custom products where customers sometimes provide their own materials (commonly referred to as COM – Customer’s Own Material). These materials are shipped separately by the customer to our warehouse before production can begin.
The challenge we’re facing is:
There’s no built-in way in Shopify to track incoming shipments from customers
Customers may provide a tracking number, but it’s usually in order notes or email and not connected to any system
We currently have to manually check tracking and update whether materials have been received
This makes it easy to miss updates or delay production if something isn’t marked properly
Ideally, we’re trying to create a system where:
We can store and track customer-provided tracking numbers
We can clearly see which orders are waiting on materials
We get some form of update or visibility when materials are delivered
We reduce reliance on manual checks and notes
We’re open to using apps, integrations, or external tools if needed.
Has anyone implemented a workflow like this or found a good way to track incoming customer shipments tied to orders?
Any recommendations or ideas would be greatly appreciated!
No native Shopify feature or off-the-shelf app really covers this workflow well enough, so building a small custom embedded app is the most practical route.
It would sit inside your Shopify admin, pull order data via the API, let customers submit their COM tracking number through a simple form, and automatically monitor that shipment through something like AfterShip’s API. Your team gets a clean dashboard showing which orders are waiting on materials, in transit, or ready for production, all tied directly to the order.
Shopify doesn’t inherently consider customer supplied materials as a tracked inbound shipment entity, so most merchants end up developing a light intake flow around the order rather than shoehorning it into notes.
Typically, you would create a custom order metafield for customer material tracking numbers, then set an intake status such as Materials Pending / Received (managed via tags or order risks). Then a simple automation tool or Shopify Flow can move orders along to the next step when the metafield changes so production queues only include ready orders.
For some insight, a few stores also throw in a shipping tracking app with support for inbound tracking lookups, though even without apps, a well-structured metafield plus tagged workflow usually eliminates a good part of the manual checking and avoids missed intake updates.
Waiting for customer materials
Materials on the way
Materials received
In production
This way you always know where each order stands.
Collect tracking in the right place
Instead of putting tracking numbers in notes or emails make a proper field for it on the order.
So every customer shipment tracking number is saved directly with the order.
Use a tracking tool
Install a tracking app like:
AfterShip
Parcel Panel
These apps help you:
see shipment status (in transit / delivered)
automatically track customer shipments
reduce manual checking
4. Update order status when materials arrive
When the shipment is delivered:
mark the order as Materials received
Then production can start.
Keep one place to check everything
Use Shopify filters or the app dashboard to quickly see:
which orders are still waiting for materials
You should store tracking information properly inside each order instead of keeping it in notes or emails,
use a tracking app to avoid manual checking, and apply order labels to clearly show the status of customer materials,
updating them as soon as the materials arrive. This keeps everything organized and easy to manage,
resulting in less confusion, no missed materials, a faster production flow, and clear order tracking.
Thank You…
Here is a real problem, and neither the built-in nor the tracking tools created by third-party Shopify tracking app developers are designed to track inbound shipments, only outbound (from you to the customer).
There are a few ways how to do it:
Use order tags and a tracking number field – if there is no special app for this, then it is possible to create a metafield or use the existing order tags “Awaiting COM” / “COM Received” in order to be able to see all the orders which are waiting for materials.
Shopify Flow to make reminders and not to track – Flow cannot track a carrier that is not connected to Shopify but can notify about a delay of an order which remains in the status “Awaiting COM” after a certain period of time.
A general-purpose multi-carrier tracking app – some tracking apps can be used to enter a tracking number for an order manually and monitor its status even if it is a delivery from a customer and not from a carrier.
Just manual control – many companies simply track all the orders which require materials via a shared spreadsheet or through a project management tool (Trello, Notion) because it is a limited part of all orders, so there is no need in automation here.
It is possible to say that the most likely way would be a combination of order tags and a light manual control, since this situation cannot be tracked automatically.