Hybrid fulfillment (manual location + 3PL) auto-fulfillment stopped after enabling multi-location. Any ideas?

Payments + Shipping & Fulfilment

Topic summary

A merchant is experiencing issues with their hybrid fulfillment setup after enabling multi-location inventory. They operate both a manual fulfillment location and a 3PL integration.

The Problem:

  • Orders assigned to the 3PL location are no longer auto-fulfilling
  • Orders remain in “Unfulfilled” status until manually clicking “Request fulfillment”
  • The 3PL doesn’t process orders until this manual trigger occurs

Expected Behavior:

  • The 3PL app should automatically receive the fulfillment request and create/mark the fulfillment as in-progress once the order is paid
  • SKUs assigned to the 3PL location should trigger automatic fulfillment without manual intervention

Current Status:
The merchant is seeking guidance on what configuration might be missing or best practices to restore automatic fulfillment functionality for their 3PL orders.

Summarized with AI on November 3. AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
1

Hi everyone :waving_hand:

TL;DR: We run a hybrid fulfillment setup (our own manual location + a 3PL via integration). Since switching to this setup, orders that should go to the 3PL are no longer auto-fulfilled—they sit as “Unfulfilled” until we manually trigger Request fulfillment. Looking for guidance on what we might be missing.

The issue

  • Expected: For SKUs assigned to the 3PL location, the 3PL app should receive the fulfillment request and auto-create the fulfillment (or mark as in progress) as soon as the order is paid.

  • Actual: The order creates a Fulfillment order for the 3PL location but remains Unfulfilled until we manually click Request fulfillment (or the 3PL does nothing until we push it).

Appreciate any pointers or best practices.

Thanks in advance!