VU Order Flows
This document outlines the primary methods by which customer orders are ingested into the VU Order Management System (OMS) and subsequently passed to factories and fulfillment partners.
VU OS / OMS: The central VU Order Management System where orders are processed and managed.
ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning): A secondary client system that may handle inventory, financials, or other business logic before an order is sent to VU.
RecipeID: A unique identifier generated by the VU Customizer that contains all personalization and configuration data for a custom product. This is a mandatory piece of information for all custom orders.
Fulfillment Partners: Factories, 3rd Party Logistics (3PL) vendors, or other services responsible for producing and shipping the final product.
Section 1: Order Ingestion into VU's OMS
This section describes the three primary workflows for getting an order from a point of sale into the VU system.
1. Recommended Flow: Established E-commerce Connection
This is the most common and preferred method for platforms with which VU has pre-established connections.
Process: The order is automatically pulled from the E-commerce Platform into the VU OMS via a Webhook.
Customer Effort: No additional integration work is required from the customer.
Key Requirement: The RecipeID must be generated and attached to the order before the customer completes the checkout process. This, along with product and customer information, is a mandatory part of the order data.
Custom Data: This flow fully supports the creation and attachment of custom Order-Line-Attributes (OLAs).
2. Non-Established E-commerce Platform Connection
This workflow is used when an E-commerce platform does not have a pre-existing established connection with VU.
Process: The E-commerce platform sends the order directly to VU by making a call to VU's OrderAPI to create the order.
Customer Effort: The client's development team is responsible for integrating with our OrderAPI.
Key Requirement: The data requirements are identical to the established flow. The API call must include the RecipeID, product details, and customer information.
3. Secondary Platform (ERP) Mediated Flow
In some cases, an order is first routed through a secondary system (like an ERP) before being sent to VU.
Process: The E-commerce Platform sends the order to the ERP. The ERP then sends the order to the VU OMS by creating it via VU's OrderAPI.
Use Case: This is typically desired when a customer needs to add or modify order information (e.g., internal SKUs, factory-specific data) that is generated after the initial sale but before production.
Key Requirement: The ERP is responsible for preserving and passing all required data, including the original RecipeID, product details, and customer information
CRITICAL NOTE: Artwork Generation Timing It is essential to understand that in all scenarios, artwork generation occurs AFTER the order has been successfully imported into VU's OMS. If an E-commerce platform sends order data to VU and another system (like an ERP) in parallel, the ERP will not immediately have access to the artwork. However, the ERP can use the RecipeID to retrieve information about the custom order from VU at a later stage, once the artwork is available.
Section 2: Order Fulfillment & Factory Communication
Once an order is in the VU OMS, the information needs to be communicated to the factories or fulfillment partners. VU's OMS provides multiple ways to do this:
Manual Access (OMS App): Factory users can be given credentials to log into VU's web-based OMS application to view, manage, and export their assigned orders directly.
Automated Retrieval (API): Factories can integrate with VU's platform APIs to programmatically retrieve new orders and their details.
File-Based Transfer (SFTP): The OMS can automatically generate and drop order files (such as TRAVELERs and Artwork files) onto a designated SFTP server location for the factory to pick up.
Direct Push (3PL Connections): The OMS can directly push orders to various 3PLs and fulfillment vendors via pre-established connections (e.g., Fulfill Engine, Fulfill.IO, ShipHero).
Section 3: Closing the Loop - Order Status Updates
As an order progresses through the fulfillment lifecycle, it is crucial for status updates to be communicated back to VU.
Process: Factories and 3rd Party connections have the ability to push order status updates (e.g., "In Production," "Shipped," "Delivered") back to VU.
Purpose: This keeps the order status current within the VU OMS, providing visibility for the brand and the end consumer.
Last updated