> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.vortexiq.ai/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Pending Dispatch, Alibris > Orders downloaded from /download/orders that haven't been dispatched yet. How to read it, why it matters, and how to act on it. **Metrics type:** [Key Metrics](/nerve-centre/overview#metrics-types-explained) • **Category:** [Marketplace](/nerve-centre/connectors#connectors-by-type) > Orders downloaded from /download/orders that haven't been dispatched yet. ## At a glance > Live count of Alibris orders downloaded from `/download/orders` that haven't yet been dispatched (no confirm-shipment event recorded). The workload view: how many books are queued for picking, packing, and shipping right now. Alerts when the count exceeds 2x the 30-day average, signalling either a volume spike or a fulfilment-team capacity problem. | | | | --------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **What it counts** | `COUNT(orders WHERE status='CONFIRMED' AND dispatch_confirmed_at IS NULL AND status NOT IN ('CANCELLED', 'REFUNDED'))`. Includes orders within their `dispatch_due_by` budget (typical state) and orders past their deadline (which also appear on [Late Order Processing Queue](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/alibris/late-order-processing-queue)). | | **API endpoint + report** | Computed locally from the Alibris Inbound Orders feed. Recomputes every 4 hours; updates in real time as confirm-shipment events land. | | **Severity** | **P2 baseline, P1 above 2x avg.** Normal operating queue is healthy; a 2x spike means workload exceeds team capacity. | | **Why it differs from Late Order Processing Queue** | Pending Dispatch shows ALL undispatched orders (most still within their budget). [Late Order Processing Queue](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/alibris/late-order-processing-queue) shows ONLY orders past their deadline. The two together: this is the workload view; Late Order is the alert view. | | **Fees / commission** | Not applicable directly. Indirect: undispatched orders represent gross-of-commission revenue not yet earned. | | **Refunds / cancellations** | Cancelled and refunded orders excluded. Cancellation moves the order to [Cancellation Rate](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/alibris/cancellation-rate). | | **Currency** | Not applicable. | | **Healthy ranges** | A bookseller doing 22 orders/day with 2-business-day handling typically carries 35 to 55 orders pending at any time (roughly 2.5x daily volume). Above 110 (2x average) is the trigger. | | **Common causes of spikes** | (1) **Volume surge** (back-to-school, holiday, promotion), \~30%. (2) **Staff absence / illness**, \~28%. (3) **Confirm-shipment cron broken**, dispatched-but-not-confirmed orders inflate the count, \~22%. (4) **Inventory mismatch** caused order-acceptance backlog, \~12%. (5) **Other**, \~8%. | | **Multi-marketplace overlap** | Per-marketplace queue. The same fulfilment team handles all marketplaces; spikes here often correlate with [AbeBooks Pending Dispatch](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/abebooks/pending-dispatch). | | **Time window** | `RT` (live count, refreshed every 4 hours). | | **Alert trigger** | `>2x 30D avg`, the threshold where capacity is exceeded. | | **Roles** | owner, operations. | ## Calculation Calculated automatically from your Alibris data. See the At a glance summary above for what the metric tracks and the worked example below for a typical reading. ## Worked example A US bookseller, 22 orders/day average on Alibris, 2-business-day handling. Snapshot 01 May 26 09:00 UTC. | Bucket | Orders | Notes | | -------------------------------------- | ------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Within 0 to 50% of dispatch budget | 28 | Healthy, just-arrived orders | | Within 50 to 75% of dispatch budget | 22 | On-track, workload normal | | Within 75 to 100% of dispatch budget | 38 | At-risk, prioritise today | | Past dispatch\_due\_by | 8 | **Already late** (also on [Late Order Processing Queue](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/alibris/late-order-processing-queue)) | | **Total Pending Dispatch (this card)** | **96** | (30D avg = 48; ratio 2.0x) | The card reads **96**; alert is firing (threshold `>2x 30D avg = 96`). Six things to notice that are specific to Alibris and the book trade: 1. **The 38 at-risk orders are the urgent action set.** Each one is within 6 to 12 hours of becoming an SLA breach. Triage today's work to clear this bucket first; the on-track and just-arrived buckets can wait until tomorrow. 2. **The 8 already-late orders are the highest-cost work.** Each one is dragging [Dispatch SLA Compliance](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/alibris/dispatch-sla-compliance). Expedite-ship them with courier upgrade today; the SLA hit per order outweighs the courier cost. 3. **The 2.0x ratio is right at the alert threshold.** Investigate cause: was Friday a volume-spike day with 35+ new orders? Did a staff member call in sick on Monday? The 30-day average represents normal workload; sustained 2x means underlying capacity issue. 4. **Confirm-shipment cron is the most under-suspected cause of inflated counts.** If the cron fails or runs too infrequently, dispatched orders linger in the "pending" bucket for 6 to 24h longer than reality. Check [Last Successful Upload](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/alibris/last-successful-upload) for the outbound-confirm side. 5. **Cross-marketplace correlation matters.** The same bookseller's [AbeBooks Pending Dispatch](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/abebooks/pending-dispatch) on the same date shows 78 (2.0x avg). Co-spiking on both AbeBooks and Alibris confirms a fulfilment-team capacity issue, not a marketplace-specific problem. 6. **Library Services orders extend the window.** Alibris Library Services (institutional buyers) often have longer-than-standard dispatch windows (3 to 5 business days). Listings tagged `buyer_type=INSTITUTION` fall into the longer bucket; their presence inflates the count without inflating risk. Filter to non-institutional for a sharper view. ## Sibling cards merchants should reference together Pending Dispatch is the workload view. Pair with these: | Card | Why pair it with Pending Dispatch | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | [Late Order Processing Queue](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/alibris/late-order-processing-queue) | The breach view. Pending Dispatch + Late together: workload AND breach. | | [Dispatch SLA Compliance](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/alibris/dispatch-sla-compliance) | The aggregate metric. A spike here precedes SLA decline by 24 to 72h. | | [Avg Time to Process (hrs)](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/alibris/avg-time-to-process) | Distribution view of fulfilment latency. | | [Inbound Orders File Lag](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/alibris/inbound-orders-file-lag) | If feed is slow, your dispatch budget is already eroded when orders appear. | | [Last Successful Upload](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/alibris/last-successful-upload) | Confirm-shipment failures inflate this card; check both. | | [Cancellation Rate](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/alibris/cancellation-rate) | Companion budget. Cancellations clear orders from this queue but cost on the cancellation metric. | | [AbeBooks Pending Dispatch](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/abebooks/pending-dispatch) | Sibling marketplace; co-spike confirms capacity issue. | ## Reconciling against the vendor's own dashboard **Where to look in the Alibris seller dashboard:** 1. [**Sellers → Manage Orders → filter by Pending**](https://www.alibris.com/sellers/orders). Per-order detail with dispatch\_due\_by deadline. 2. [**Sellers → Performance Dashboard**](https://www.alibris.com/sellers/performance). The aggregate fulfilment view. **Why our number may legitimately differ from Alibris's UI:** | Reason | Direction | Why | | --------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Refresh cadence** | Ours updates every 4h | Alibris UI is real-time; this card recomputes on the inbound feed cadence. | | **Time zone** | Boundary effects | Alibris uses US Pacific Time on .com; the connector uses UTC. | | **Outbound-confirm latency** | Ours can show pending even when Alibris shows shipped | Confirm-shipment events delayed by cron schedule inflate this count. | | **Institutional handling window** | Different bucketing | Library Services orders have longer dispatch windows; not all UIs surface this clearly. | **Cross-connector reconciliation:** | Card | Expected relationship | What causes legitimate divergence | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------- | | [`abebooks.ab_pending_dispatch`](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/abebooks/pending-dispatch) | Co-correlated when fulfilment team is shared. | Marketplace-specific dispatch windows differ slightly. | | [`amazon.amzn_pending_orders`](/nerve-centre/amazon/amzn_pending_orders) | Different tracking, similar concept. | Amazon's clock starts at payment, Alibris at confirmation. | ***
Marketplace-peer documentation cross-reference Pending dispatch / unfulfilled queue exists on every fulfilment-required marketplace. * [`abebooks.ab_pending_dispatch`](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/abebooks/pending-dispatch) * [`amazon.amzn_pending_orders`](/nerve-centre/amazon/amzn_pending_orders) * [`ebay.ebay_unshipped_orders`](/nerve-centre/ebay/ebay_unshipped_orders) (when connected)
## Known limitations / merchant FAQs **The card just hit 96, double the average. What do I do today?** Three actions: (1) Drain the at-risk bucket (orders within 75 to 100% of dispatch budget) first. (2) Verify confirm-shipment cron is running; if dispatched-but-unconfirmed orders are inflating the count, that's a feed issue not a workload issue. (3) If genuine workload spike, add capacity (overtime, extend handling time temporarily, or pause new listings until queue drains). **Why does this card differ from Alibris's pending-orders count?** Alibris UI is real-time; this card refreshes every 4h. Confirm-shipment latency (your cron schedule) can show "pending" here for up to 4 hours after Alibris UI shows shipped. Run cron every 15 minutes to minimise. **ISBN match quality, can it cause inflation here?** Indirectly. Books that staff can't find on the shelf (because the inventory ISBN doesn't match the physical book) sit in the pending queue longer while staff search or escalate. Better intake-ISBN-capture reduces this latency. **Multi-marketplace, should I drain Alibris first or AbeBooks first when both queues spike?** Drain by financial impact: rare-book orders first regardless of marketplace, then by hours-to-deadline ascending across both. Don't bias by marketplace; bias by per-order penalty. **Library Services / institutional buyers, do they need different treatment?** Yes. Their longer dispatch windows mean less urgency, but their high AOV and feedback weight mean higher per-order reputational stakes. Treat institutional orders as P2-but-handle-carefully; they don't drag your average dispatch but they DO drive the high-value cohort. **Listing-quality / Buy Box impact, when does the queue spike hurt my ranking?** When pending dispatch correlates with rising late-dispatch ratio. The queue itself isn't visible to Alibris's ranking system; the SLA breach downstream is. Watch [Dispatch SLA Compliance](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/alibris/dispatch-sla-compliance) as the actual ranking input. **Inventory-sync lag, can it inflate this card?** Yes. Stockout orders (book sold elsewhere first) sit in the pending queue until the seller cancels them. Real-time inventory sync prevents the order from being accepted in the first place. **Rare books vs commodity, queue treatment difference?** Rare books require longer pick-and-pack time (find in rare-book room, condition-check, careful packaging). Most booksellers run a single 2-day handling time which is tight on rare. Setting `handling_time=3` on rare-tagged listings absorbs 90% of the rare-book queue pressure. **Why doesn't Alibris show me this view?** Alibris's pending-orders page exists but lacks the 30-day-baseline comparison. The "2x average" alert is a Vortex IQ-derived threshold; Alibris's own UI shows count without trend context. **When does the alert auto-clear?** When the count drops below 2x 30D average. The 30D average updates daily, so the alert may persist through a sustained higher-volume period until the average rises to match. *** ### Tracked live in Vortex IQ Nerve Centre *Pending Dispatch* is one of hundreds of KPI pulses Vortex IQ tracks across Alibris and 70+ other ecommerce connectors. Nerve Centre runs the detection layer; Vortex Mind investigates the cause when something moves; Ask Viq lets you interrogate any number in plain English. [Start for free](https://app.vortexiq.ai/login) or [book a demo](https://www.vortexiq.ai/contact-us) to see this metric running on your own data.