Shopify have made some changes to their API (the means by which we connect to their system) which fundamentally change the way fulfillments on orders and fulfillment locations are handled. These changes affect the GoSweetSpot Order Sync App with Shopify.
For most users, this may not change the way orders are processed via GoSweetSpot but it will provide the added benefit of being able to filter by fulfilment location. For users that have orders containing products from multiple fulfilment locations, there will be some workflow changes (see 'change 3').
All users with the GoSweetSpot Order Sync App will still need to update their app by April 1st for it to continue to function.
What Is Changing On Shopify's API?
Shopify have summarised the change below:
The Fulfillment Orders API models the end-to-end fulfilment process into its sub-pieces, so fulfillment data can sync more accurately between Shopify and an order management app or a 3PL. The Fulfillment Order API tracks the lifecycle of fulfillment work, including open, in-progress, closed, cancelled or incomplete, so merchants have a more granular and complete view of their order data in Shopify. It also represents the exact items that need to be fulfilled in a location for a given order, improving the accuracy of order fulfillment.
In simpler terms, where there were once just orders and fulfillments, Shopify have added a third layer called a fulfillment order in the middle. This allows for a more accurate and consistent way to manage products and their fulfilment locations, as well as better way to group products at different fulfilment locations within an order.
Why Is It Changing?
Shopify initially introduced this change in 2021 but the existing API (that we were using) was still operational. They have decided to deprecate the previous API version and now require all third parties using their API to switch to the new version.
Shopify released an article explaining the reasons for this change which you can read here.
The Fulfillment Orders API provides merchants with a better fulfillment experience today in the future. Now you know this API:
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- Provides a better architecture to build on, so that we can provide merchants with more visibility and control of their fulfillment work, no matter how they fulfill orders.
- Offers new flexibility and can handle a merchant’s complex and diverse fulfillment needs more easily.
- Improves fulfillment accuracy by making it more clear to merchants and fulfillment services who is fulfilling an order and where.
- Represents the future of fulfillment with Shopify and will provide merchants with a better fulfillment experience in the long run.
What Is Changing On GoSweetSpot
There are three main changes that you will notice:
Change 1. Updating Your Shopify Order Sync App
You are required to update your Shopify Order Sync App (per store if applicable) so that you can review and approve GoSweetSpot requesting access to your order data on the new API.
To update your Shopify Order Sync App, navigate to Administration --> Integration & Apps, where you will see something similar to below. Please click the red 'Fix by April 1st' button on each Shopify integration.
You will be taken to Shopify's app permissions workflow and simply need follow the prompts. Once complete, we will take you back to GoSweetSpot where you may need to select some new settings (see Change 2), click Save and you'll then notice the 'Fix' button has disappeared (indicating you have updated the app).
Change 2. Shopify Integration Settings Page Changes (Multiple Fulfillment Locations)
In the Shopify Integration Settings on GoSweetSpot (via Administration --> Integration & Apps --> Edit), you will now notice multiple Fufillment Locations (if you have multiple) displayed as tick boxes instead of a drop down menu with a single selection.
If you are an existing user, we have defaulted your previous settings and fulfillment location (with the previous cost centre). This means you will only see orders from fulfillment locations you have selected.
The majority of users will have different fulfillment locations at separate physical locations (e.g. Wellington Store and Auckland Store). The intention behind the change, is that you will only select fulfillment locations that are relevant to those physical locations; in most cases this will be handled on GoSweetSpot as separate sites.
We reccomend only selecting the fulfillment locations that are relevant for each GoSweetSpot site, to avoid accidentally fulfilling an order from the wrong location. If you are happy with this selection, simply scroll down and click save.
Historically (when you could only select one fulfillment location), if you had an order with two products with differing fulfillment locations, GoSweetSpot would automatically update those fulfillment locations to the one you had selected. Shopify are wanting to avoid this scenario and intend for the original fulfillment location remain as it was (see how this is handled in change 3).
Change 3. Shopify Orders With Multiple Products From Multiple Fulfillment Locations
A less common scenario could be a user having a single physical location (one GoSweetSpot Site), but multiple fulfillment locations. In this scenario, we would first reccomend reviewing your Shopify fulfillment locations to confirm this isn't either a mistake or a historical record that is no longer needed.
If intentional, the system still allows for this scenario by letting you select multiple fulfillment locations but they will now appear as separate orders on your GoSweetSpot orders screen. If you wish to process them all together, you can select each order and click combine ship selected which will combine all products into one order and one address for shipping.
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