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Managing order fulfillment with Shipstation, Katana, and Shopify/WooCommerce

Streamline order fulfillment across Katana, Shopify, and ShipStation for efficient shipping.

Dayvid Lorbiecke avatar
Written by Dayvid Lorbiecke
Updated over 2 weeks ago

If you use ShipStation for shipping and Shopify or WooCommerce for online sales, you can manage order fulfillment efficiently by connecting all three systems.

Katana does not currently have a direct integration with ShipStation, but you can streamline the process by syncing sales order fulfillment statuses between these platforms.

Tip: Interested in building a direct connection to another shipping platform? Learn more about Katana’s API and integration options.


System responsibilities

  • Shopify/WooCommerce: Manage sales channels and product descriptions.

  • Katana: Manage inventory for finished goods and raw materials, product recipes, production schedules, and purchasing.

  • ShipStation: Manage the shipping process.


Workflow

Diagram showing a Katana/Shopify/Shipstation workflow

Here’s how a typical order fulfillment flow works:

  1. Order placed

    • A customer places an order in Shopify (or WooCommerce).

    • The sales order (SO) is created in Shopify with an Unfulfilled status.

  2. Order synced

    • The SO is automatically synced from Shopify to both Katana and ShipStation.

  3. Check availability in Katana

    • In Katana, the SO appears in the Sell screen → Open table.

    • Review the Sales items availability status:

      • If items are not in stock → schedule production, manage raw material requirements, and complete production.

      • If items are in stock → proceed to shipping.

  4. Optional: mark as Packed in Katana

    • To track which orders are moving to shipping, you can mark the SO delivery status as Packed.

    • This removes items from stock but does not update fulfillment status in Shopify or ShipStation.

  5. Ship the order in ShipStation

    • Locate the order in ShipStation.

    • Complete the shipping process and mark the order as Completed in ShipStation.

  6. Status sync

    • If fulfillment status sync is enabled:

      • The SO is marked Fulfilled in Shopify.

      • The SO is marked Delivered in Katana.

  7. Order closed in Katana

    • The SO automatically moves to the Done table in Katana’s Sell screen.

    • Stock levels for shipped products are reduced.


Additional options


Workflow summary

  1. Order placed in Shopify/WooCommerce.

  2. Order syncs to Katana and ShipStation.

  3. Katana checks stock and manages production if needed.

  4. Optional: mark SO as Packed in Katana.

  5. Ship order via ShipStation.

  6. Fulfillment statuses sync across systems.

  7. Order moves to Done in Katana, stock is reduced.


With this setup, you can manage sales, inventory, and shipping seamlessly across Shopify/WooCommerce, Katana, and ShipStation.


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