Troubleshooting Shopify Fulfillment Network

This section lists some common issues related to Shopify Fulfillment Network App and provides information about troubleshooting steps.

Inbound transfer issues and resolutions

Inbound transfer cannot be voided

There are times when an inbound transfer needs to be canceled or voided. At this time, voiding cannot be done directly in the SFN App.

To resolve this issue, you need to perform the following task:

1. Contact SFN Support and ask for the inbound transfer to be voided. Include the inbound transfer id and link when reaching out.

Fulfillment request issues and resolutions

SFN fulfillment centers might decline a fulfillment request for the reasons outlined below. SFN fulfillment centers might decline a fulfillment request for the reasons outlined below.

Reasons that a Shopify Fulfillment Network fulfillment request can be declined

Reason	Detailed reason	Resolution
Not enough inventory	There isn't enough inventory available to fulfill the order	Transfer new inventory to SFN
	Product is being transferred	When the product arrives at an SFN fulfillment center, the fulfillment will continue automatically
	Product is being transferred but has no tracking information	When the product arrives at an SFN fulfillment center, fulfillment will continue automatically
	Products have arrived at the SFN fulfillment center and are waiting to be processed	When processing is completed, fulfillment will continue automatically
	Product is unrecognized	Add the product to Shopify Fulfillment Network, then request fulfillment again
Order can't be processed	Items sent internationally require a value greater than 0	Add a price to the product, then request fulfillment again. The customer won't be billed for the difference
	Order processing has been disabled for your store	Activate order processing, then request fulfillment again
	Fulfillment has been paused for 1 or more products	[Contact SFN Support](/manual/shipping/shopify-fulfillment-network/help-and-support/contact-support-merchants) for more information
	Your store has no active fulfillment centers	[Contact SFN Support](/manual/shipping/shopify-fulfillment-network/help-and-support/contact-support-merchants) to set up an active fulfillment center
	No Shopify Fulfillment Network fulfillment center can fulfill this order	[Contact SFN Support](/manual/shipping/shopify-fulfillment-network/help-and-support/contact-support-merchants) for more information
Invalid address	The shipping address for the order is invalid	Correct the shipping address, then request fulfillment again
Delivery restrictions	No carriers are available to ship to the shipping address on this order	Change the shipping address or change the fulfillment location, then request fulfillment again
HS code required	Orders can't be processed	[Add an HS code](/manual/shipping/shopify-shipping/hs-codes) to the product, then Contact SFN Support who will update the product. Once updated, request fulfillment again.

Multiple tracking numbers not showing

When a single fulfillment center ships multiple shipments for a single order, all tracking numbers don't always sync back to the SFN Admin.

To resolve this issue, you need to perform the following tasks:

1. Contact SFN Support and ask for the additional tracking information.
2. Reach out to your customer with the additional information.

Address errors and resolutions

Note

If you have gone through all available steps to resolve errors but you are still receiving an address error, then contact SFN Support

Missing address information

If there's a required information missing from your order's shipping address, then your SFN orders display an error in one of the following formats:

• Address line 1 is required.
• City is required.
• Postal code is required.
• State or province is required.
• Country is required.
• Name is required.

A phone number is required for international orders

If you are shipping internationally and your order's shipping address doesn't have a phone number, then your SFN orders display the A phone number is required for international orders error.

International customs offices and carriers require a phone number to communicate any issues or questions regarding an order. If you're shipping internationally, then you need to add a phone number to your order's shipping address.

To avoid this error in the future, edit your Checkout settings to make phone numbers mandatory.

Wrong postal code format

To resolve zip and postal code issues, make sure your postal code is in accurate format. You can use external tools to check your postal code, for example SmartyStreets address validator.

The city field contains a postal code

If the City field contains a postal code, then the following error message is displayed on your SFN order:

This order's shipping address isn't valid: city field contains postal code.

You need to remove the postal code from the City field and make sure that the ZIP code field contains the postal code.

Name has too many characters

If the Name or Company field has too many characters, then your SFN orders display an error in one of the following formats:

• Company must have fewer than X characters.
• First name and last name must have fewer than X characters combined.
• First name, last name, and company name must have fewer than X characters combined.

You can reduce the characters in the Name field by removing the following text:

• ATTENTION or ATTN
• name titles such as MR, MRS, DR, or PHD

You can reduce the characters in the Company field by shortening the company name and keeping it recognizable. For example, The Seventy Sixth Street Bakery Company can be edited to 76th St Bakery Company.

Address has too many characters

If the Address or ZIP code field has too many characters, then your SFN order displays an error in one of the following formats:

• Address line 1 must have fewer than X characters.
• Address line 2 must have fewer than X characters.
• City must have fewer than X characters.
• Country must have fewer than X characters.
• Postal code must have fewer than X characters.
• City must have fewer than X characters.
• State/province must have fewer than X characters.

You can decrease the number of characters by entering apartment details in the Apartment field, and by using the following abbreviations for street type and cardinal direction:

Abbreviations of street information

Long form	Abbreviation
Numbered streets, such as First	Use the number format, such as 1st
North, South, East, or West	N, S, E, or W
Road	Rd
Street	St
Court	Ct
Lane	Ln
Apartment	Apt
Avenue	Ave
Boulevard	BLVD
Circle	CIR
Highway	HWY
Mountain	MTN
Square	SQ
Suite	STE

Military and diplomatic address must follow guidelines

If you are shipping to a military or diplomatic destination and your order's shipping address doesn't follow US Military mail guidelines, then your SFN orders display the For military and diplomatic mail, city must be one of APO, DPO, or FPO error. The acronyms in this error message have the following meaning:

• APO: Air or Army Post Office,
• DPO: Diplomatic Post Office
• FPO: Fleet Post Office.

To make sure that your military and diplomatic mail is sent without delays, confirm that your order's shipping address format satisfies the following guidelines:

• The Name field must contain the recipient’s full name, rank is optional.
• The Address field must include the recipient’s unit and box number in the following format:
  • Air Force (APO): PSC # Box #
  • Army (APO): Unit # Box #
  • Embassy (DPO): Unit # Box #
  • Navy (FPO): Ship # Hull #
• The City field must contain either APO, DPO, or FPO to route packages as the military mail instead of international mail. The city shouldn't be the actual destination city or to the Military Post Office (MPO).
• The State field must be either AA (Armed Forces Americas), AE (Armed Forces Europe), or AP (Armed Forces Pacific). The state shouldn't be the actual destination state.
• The ZIP code field must be a military postal code, not the destination postal code or billing zip code. Military postal codes are matched to the state code in the following format:
  • AA state zip code begins with 340
  • AE state zip code begins with 090-099
  • AP state zip code begins with 962-966
• The Country field must be US or United States.

For examples of correctly formatted military mail addresses, refer to the following table:

Examples of military mail addresses

Air Force (APO)	Army (APO)	Navy (FPO)	Embassy (DPO)
SGT John Connor PSC 1234 Box 12345 APO AE 09324-2928	LT Ed Traxler Unit 45013 Box 2666 APO AE 09388	CPT Miles Bennet USS Hornet DDG 96 FPO AA 96543-1234	Kyle Reese Unit 8100 Box 121 DPO AP 96377

Managing inventory issues and resolutions

SKU edits not affecting existing order

After a SKU or barcode has been edited, SFN is not processing the product for fulfillment. This is because orders placed before a change to a barcode or SKU are not read in SFN without a trigger. SFN receives information at the time an order is placed. Therefore, if a barcode or SKU is changed after the order is place it will not connect with SFN and begin fulfilling. Try to avoid SKU and barcodes changes as much as possible.

If it's necessary to alter the barcode, then to resolve this error, you need to perform the following tasks:

1. Change SKU or barcode.
2. Reship fulfillment of all existing orders that need to be fulfilled by SFN.

Bundle is not able to be shipped because of split shipments

If a bundle is created and inventory is too low in a single fulfillment center to fulfill, then the order with the bundle will not be able to be created. This is because a bundle is requesting fulfillment in a single shipment.

To resolve this error either keep inventory levels for bundled high enough to avoid creating multiple shipments or to resolve this error, you need to perform the following task:

1. Reach out to SFN Support and request that inventory bundling is turned off.

Order is not able to be shipped because one item has too low inventory in a single fullfillment center

If an item has enough product in the network to fulfill but would need to create multiple shipment, then the fulfillment request will be rejected. This is because the network tries to create an optimal experience for buyers and reduce multiple shipments.

To resolve this issue, you need to perform the following tasks:

1. Reship fulfillment and create two new orders with the inventory split between orders.
2. Cancel the original order. If you do not want to refund, then do not check Refund the full amount.
3. Submit the new orders.

Returns errors and resolutions

Your return failed because at least 1 item wasn't accepted

After you create a return, a return label to SFN isn't generated and displays the following error: Your return failed because at least 1 item wasn't accepted. Update the return with a new return shipping method or contact Shopify Fulfillment Network for details. This is because the return contains an item that SFN doesn’t stock and can't accept.

To resolve this error, you need to perform the following tasks:

1. Cancel the return that has the error.
2. Create a new return for the order, and then select a different shipping method.

Couldn’t generate shipping label

After you create a return, a return label to SFN isn't generated and displays the following error: Couldn’t generate shipping label. Contact Shopify Fulfillment Network for details. This is because SFN encountered an error when trying to create a return label.

To resolve this error, you need to perform the following tasks:

1. Confirm that the order wasn't already sent out using a pre-authorized return label.
2. Cancel the return that has the error.
3. Contact Shopify Fulfillment Network to determine the next steps.

Return to Shopify Fulfillment Network is only available for US addresses

After you create a return, a return label to SFN isn't generated and displays the following error: Return to Shopify Fulfillment Network is only available if your customer shipping address is set in the US. This error can occur for the following reasons:

• The customer shipping address isn’t located in the US.
• Customer shipping information is missing.

To resolve this error, you need to perform the following tasks:

1. Cancel the return that has the error.
2. Depending on the reason for the error, do one of the following:
   • To add missing customer shipping information, edit the customer's profile, and then create a new return for the order.
   • To create a return for a customer located outside of the US, create a new return for the order, and then select a different shipping method.