What are order signals, what do they mean, and do they stop an order from being fulfilled?

Order signals are short messages Endless adds to a sales order to show what needs attention or what to do next. They appear in the Signals column of the Sales Orders list, on the order, and on the Signals page under Orders in the sidebar. Order Signals may not be available on every account.

Each signal has one of three categories:

• Issues: something is wrong and needs correcting. Open fulfillments or shipments are not linked to the source integration, a fulfillment order failed, a fulfillment order cannot move on until its shipping address, carrier service, or processing requirements are met, or fulfillment orders hold more units than the sales order.
• To do: a normal next step. Some units are not on any fulfillment order, or a Draft fulfillment order can be fully allocated at its building.
• Information: context without an expected action. A Draft fulfillment order can be partly allocated, some units not on a fulfillment order have no stock at any building.

The Signals page shows category summary cards that filter the table, plus All signals. Endless does not use other groupings, such as “Needs action” or “Blocked.”

Signals do not stop an order from being fulfilled. Endless works them out from the order’s current state, and nothing checks them before allocating, sending, or shipping. What can stop a fulfillment order is the condition a signal reports. For example, a missing shipping address blocks the fulfillment order on its own, and the signal tells you about it. Fix the condition and the signal resolves by itself.

Held orders are excluded while their hold is active. Signals can also be disabled from the order’s Signals tab without stopping fulfillment or syncing. Most signals apply only to Ordered and In Progress orders. Excess fulfillment quantities and unlinked shipments are also reported on Shipped orders.