> ## 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.

# Fulfillment Status, BigCommerce

> Fulfillment Status for BigCommerce stores. Tracked live in Vortex IQ Nerve Centre. How to read it, why it matters, and how to act on it.

**Metrics type:** [Supporting Metrics](/nerve-centre/overview#metrics-types-explained)  •  **Category:** [Ecommerce Platform](/nerve-centre/connectors#connectors-by-type)

## At a glance

> Order count grouped by BC's `status` field, the fulfilment-state distribution. Healthy stores see 90%+ in terminal states (Shipped / Completed / Refunded). Stores with rising shares in `Awaiting Shipment` or `Partially Shipped` have warehouse / 3PL backlogs that snowball into refund spikes if not addressed.

|                                         |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |
| --------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **What it counts**                      | `GROUP BY status` over orders in the last 30 days. The `status` field is BC's overloaded enum that signals fulfilment state. Each order falls into exactly one bucket.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                |
| **VAT / tax treatment**                 | n/a, this is a count metric.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          |
| **Shipping**                            | n/a.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  |
| **Discounts**                           | n/a.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  |
| **Refunds**                             | Refunded orders show in the `Refunded` and `Partially Refunded` buckets explicitly.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   |
| **Cancelled / voided orders**           | Show in the `Cancelled` and `Declined` buckets.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |
| **Currency**                            | n/a.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  |
| **Channels / sources**                  | All BC channels share the same status vocabulary. Channel-specific patterns: marketplace orders cycle through `Awaiting Fulfillment` → `Awaiting Shipment` → `Shipped` more deterministically than web orders (marketplaces enforce SLA). POS orders typically jump straight to `Completed` (in-store handover).                                                                                                                      |
| **The full BC status vocabulary**       | `Incomplete`, `Awaiting Payment`, `Awaiting Fulfillment`, `Awaiting Shipment`, `Awaiting Pickup`, `Partially Shipped`, `Completed`, `Shipped`, `Cancelled`, `Declined`, `Refunded`, `Disputed`, `Manual Verification Required`, `Partially Refunded`. **15 states, more granular than Shopify's 7.** That's a feature, more granular fulfilment signals; and a quirk, the `Completed` and `Shipped` distinction is fuzzy in practice. |
| **`Completed` vs `Shipped`**            | `Shipped` typically means the consignment has a tracking number; `Completed` typically means tracking has confirmed delivery (or the merchant manually marked complete). Some BC themes/apps mark orders `Completed` immediately on shipment label print; behaviour varies. Treat both as terminal-positive states.                                                                                                                   |
| **`Partially Shipped` is the watchout** | Multi-line orders where some items have shipped but not others. Healthy at \<2% of orders for stores that ship from a single warehouse. Above 5% suggests inventory-availability gaps causing line-by-line splits, expensive in shipping cost and customer-experience friction.                                                                                                                                                       |
| **`Manual Verification Required`**      | BC's secondary fraud / order-review queue, distinct from `Held for Review` (which is paymentStatus). Items here need a human review action; aging items in this state mean the review team is understaffed.                                                                                                                                                                                                                           |
| **Time window**                         | `30D` (rolling 30 days)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               |
| **Alert trigger**                       | None at this card; alerts on the actionable subsets ([Unfulfilled Orders](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/unfulfilled-orders), [Cancellation Rate](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/cancellation-rate), [Refund Rate](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/refund-rate)).                                                                                                                                                       |
| **Roles**                               | owner, operations                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     |

## Calculation

```
GROUP BY status
  WHERE date BETWEEN [period_start, period_end]
```

## Worked example

A US homewares brand on BigCommerce Pro shipping from a single 3PL, last 30 days from 14 Mar 26 to 12 Apr 26.

| Status                         | Count     | Share    | Operational meaning                    |
| ------------------------------ | --------- | -------- | -------------------------------------- |
| `Shipped`                      | 4,820     | 73.8%    | Healthy, terminal positive             |
| `Completed`                    | 980       | 15.0%    | Healthy, terminal positive (delivered) |
| `Awaiting Shipment`            | 240       | 3.7%     | **Backlog forming**                    |
| `Awaiting Fulfillment`         | 95        | 1.5%     | Order placed, not yet picked           |
| `Partially Shipped`            | 78        | 1.2%     | Multi-line splits                      |
| `Refunded`                     | 145       | 2.2%     | Terminal, refunded                     |
| `Cancelled`                    | 62        | 0.9%     | Terminal, cancelled                    |
| `Declined`                     | 50        | 0.8%     | Terminal, declined                     |
| `Manual Verification Required` | 32        | 0.5%     | Review queue                           |
| `Awaiting Payment`             | 18        | 0.3%     | Net-30 / invoice orders                |
| `Disputed`                     | 10        | 0.2%     | Chargeback                             |
| **Total**                      | **6,530** | **100%** |                                        |

What's interesting:

1. **Terminal-positive (Shipped + Completed) is 88.8%.** Healthy. Most BC stores aim for 90%+; the 1-2 pp gap here is the `Awaiting Shipment` backlog.
2. **`Awaiting Shipment` at 3.7% is concerning.** That's 240 orders waiting for shipment. Healthy is \<2% (which means orders flow through to `Shipped` within 24-48 hours). At 3.7%, the 3PL or warehouse has a 3-5 day backlog. Pair with [BC Alert Fulfilment Delay](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/fulfilment-delay-alert) for the alert version.
3. **`Partially Shipped` at 1.2% is on the edge of healthy.** Multi-warehouse stores typically run 2-4%; single-warehouse should be under 1%. At 1.2% there's likely a small inventory-allocation gap, some line items going short and getting back-ordered.
4. **`Manual Verification Required` at 32 orders is 0.5%.** Healthy if the review team clears them within 4-8 hours. Aging items in this state cost customer goodwill: each customer is checking back to see whether their order shipped. Pair with the ops SLA dashboard.
5. **18 orders in `Awaiting Payment` are likely B2B Net-30 invoices.** B2B Edition stores often have 1-3% in this state structurally because the buyer pays after the goods ship. Healthy if the count is stable; rising count means invoices aging.

The intervention playbook by status:

1. **For rising `Awaiting Shipment`**: pair with [BC Alert Fulfilment Delay](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/fulfilment-delay-alert). The 3PL is the bottleneck 80% of the time. Direct contact with the 3PL operations lead is the fastest path.
2. **For rising `Partially Shipped`**: drill into [BC Inventory Distribution](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/inventory-distribution). Likely an inventory-availability cause; one or two SKUs going short and the system splitting orders.
3. **For rising `Manual Verification Required`**: review the fraud review queue staffing. Each aging item costs \~\$0.50-2 in customer goodwill; understaffing review costs more than the staff salary.
4. **For rising `Refunded`**: drill via [Refund Rate](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/refund-rate) and [BC Refunded Products](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/most-refunded-products). Single-SKU refund spikes are the most common cause.
5. **For rising `Disputed`**: gateway dashboard review (see [Financial Status Breakdown](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/financial-status-breakdown) FAQ).

## Sibling cards merchants should reference together

| Card                                                                                             | Why pair it with Fulfillment Status                                                               |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| [Fulfillment Rate](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/fulfillment-rate)                         | The headline ratio (Shipped + Completed) / total. This card decomposes; that one summarises.      |
| [Fulfillment Rate Over Time](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/fulfillment-rate-over-time)     | The trend. Rising `Awaiting Shipment` shows here; the trend version shows whether it's growing.   |
| [Unfulfilled Orders](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/unfulfilled-orders)                     | The actionable subset. Sum of `Awaiting Fulfillment` + `Awaiting Shipment` + `Partially Shipped`. |
| [Cancellation Rate](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/cancellation-rate)                       | Share of `Cancelled`.                                                                             |
| [Refund Rate](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/refund-rate)                                   | Share of `Refunded` + `Partially Refunded`.                                                       |
| [Financial Status Breakdown](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/financial-status-breakdown)     | The payment-side complement. Two states (fulfilment + payment) tell the full order story.         |
| [Line Item Fulfillment Status](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/line-item-fulfillment-status) | Per-line decomposition. `Partially Shipped` orders disaggregated into shipped vs pending lines.   |
| [BC Alert Fulfilment Delay](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/fulfilment-delay-alert)          | The alert version when `Awaiting Shipment` exceeds operational SLA.                               |

## Reconciling against the vendor's own dashboard

**Where to look in BigCommerce Control Panel:**

[Orders → All orders](https://login.bigcommerce.com/deep-links/manage/orders) supports a "Order status" filter that lists orders by status. Filter to last 30 days and group by status to get the distribution. [Analytics → Orders](https://login.bigcommerce.com/deep-links/manage/analytics/in-store-conversion) (Plus / Pro / Enterprise) has a "Order status mix" tile.

For per-channel decomposition, [Channel Manager](https://login.bigcommerce.com/deep-links/manage/channel-manager) shows status counts per channel. For 3PL integration health, the integration's own dashboard (ShipStation, ShipBob, Deliverr, etc.) shows the warehouse-side queue.

**Why our number may legitimately differ from BC Orders view:**

| Reason                                                                                                                                                                                                                | Direction                       |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------- |
| **State transitions during the window.** An order that started `Awaiting Shipment` and ended `Shipped` shows in BC as the latest state; we follow the same pattern but boundary effects can shift counts by 0.1-0.5%. | Boundary                        |
| **Time zone.** UTC vs store TZ.                                                                                                                                                                                       | Boundary                        |
| **3PL sync lag.** Orders the 3PL has shipped but hasn't synced back to BC still read `Awaiting Shipment` here. The lag is typically 30-90 minutes.                                                                    | Vortex IQ slightly LAGS reality |
| **Custom statuses.** Some BC stores have app-installed custom statuses (e.g. "Held for QA"); we count them under "other".                                                                                             | Mixed                           |
| **Cancelled orders.** BC Analytics may exclude cancelled by default; we include.                                                                                                                                      | Vortex IQ HIGHER total          |

**Cross-connector reconciliation:**

| Card                                                                                               | Expected relationship                                             | What causes legitimate divergence                                                                  |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| [`shipstation.ss_pending_count`](/nerve-centre/shipstation/ss_pending_count)                       | ShipStation pending queue should match `Awaiting Shipment` here   | ShipStation may aggregate multiple BC channels into one queue; counts align modulo channel filter. |
| [`google_analytics.ga_purchases_completed`](/nerve-centre/google_analytics/ga_purchases_completed) | GA4 purchase completion should match `Shipped + Completed` shares | GA4 doesn't track fulfilment; it sees the purchase event regardless.                               |

**Same-metric documentation cross-reference:**

* [`shopify.fulfillment_breakdown`](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/shopify/fulfillment-status) (planned)
* [`adobe_commerce.fulfillment_breakdown`](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/adobe-commerce/fulfillment-status) (planned)

## Known limitations / merchant FAQs

**What's the difference between `Shipped` and `Completed`?**
Subtle and varies by setup. `Shipped` = consignment has a tracking number and has left the warehouse. `Completed` = tracking shows delivered, OR the merchant manually marked the order complete. Some BC themes/apps mark orders Completed at label-print time (incorrect but common); some move from Shipped → Completed automatically when the carrier reports delivery. **Treat both as terminal-positive states for headline reporting.**

**My `Awaiting Shipment` is rising, what's the threshold for action?**
3% is the watch level; 5% is the action level. At 5%+ you have a 5+ day backlog. Pair with the alert card and contact the warehouse / 3PL before customer complaints spike. Most spikes resolve with a 2-3 day overtime push at the warehouse.

**Why does my B2B store have a permanent `Awaiting Payment` share?**
Because B2B Edition supports Net-30 / invoice payment terms. Orders ship before payment is collected, so they sit in `Awaiting Payment` until the invoice clears. Healthy if stable; rising count means invoices are aging beyond terms (chase up via your AR team).

**My `Manual Verification Required` queue is growing, who clears it?**
Whoever's responsible for fraud review on your team. Each item needs a human looking at the order, customer history, payment method, billing-vs-shipping mismatch, etc. Most stores allocate 0.5-1 FTE for fraud review; under-staffed teams get a growing queue and angry customers.

**Should `Disputed` ever be zero?**
No, every store has occasional chargebacks. 0% means either no orders or you're missing the dispute signal (gateway not reporting back to BC). Healthy is 0.1-0.4% of orders; over 0.5% triggers risk-program intake from card networks.

**My status distribution looks healthy but customers are complaining about delays, why?**
Several possibilities. (1) `Shipped` doesn't mean delivered; the carrier is the delay. (2) Multi-line orders may have one item shipped (status `Shipped`) and another back-ordered, customer sees the partial delivery as a problem. (3) Tracking numbers are stale (carrier hasn't scanned). Use [`google_analytics.ga_help_searches`](/nerve-centre/google_analytics/ga_help_searches) or your CSAT vendor to identify the specific complaint pattern.

**Can I customise the BC status vocabulary?**
Limited. BC has the 15 canonical states plus an "Other" bucket for custom states from apps. Most stores stick with canonical states; agencies sometimes add custom states for B2B-specific workflows. Custom states are app-managed and may not propagate to all reports.

**What does `Incomplete` mean and why is it not in my distribution?**
`Incomplete` is BC's "customer started but never finished checkout" state. It's typically excluded from the headline distribution because it represents abandoned carts, not orders. Pair with BC Incomplete Rate for the abandoned-cart view.

**My multi-warehouse store sees high `Partially Shipped`, is that normal?**
2-4% is typical for multi-warehouse setups; line items ship from different locations on different days. Above 6% suggests the inventory-allocation engine is splitting orders unnecessarily. Audit your warehouse routing rules; some stores benefit from "ship from one warehouse if possible" rules even if it's not the closest one.

**Do refunded orders eventually drop out of `Refunded` status?**
No. `Refunded` is a terminal state; the order stays in this status indefinitely. Same for `Cancelled`, `Declined`, `Disputed`. The distribution shows the cumulative state of the period regardless of when the transition happened.

***

### Tracked live in Vortex IQ Nerve Centre

*Fulfillment Status* is one of hundreds of KPI pulses Vortex IQ tracks across BigCommerce 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.