hardDesignScenarioMidSeniorStaff
A three-line order ships from two warehouses on different days. What does the customer see, and what does that do to your order model?
7 min readUpdated 2026-08-15Target archetype: Enterprise Captive, Product Startup
Answer
Short answer
The split forces order, shipment and parcel apart as separate entities with their own promises, money and tracking, so a single order status stops being expressible. Model the promise per line, capture funds per despatch, and give the customer a page that reads as one order made of several deliveries.
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Likely follow-ups
- The second shipment is cancelled after the first has been delivered. What does the customer owe and what do you refund?
- How would you decide whether to hold the first shipment so the order arrives together?
- A return arrives with items from both shipments in one box. How does that reconcile?
- Where do you draw the line between the order management system and the warehouse systems here?
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