Fulfilment Partners and Switching Partners
A fulfilment partner is a warehouse company that stores your products and packs and ships your orders for you, using QrX. You give the partner access to one or more of your channels, the partner works in its own QrX warehouse, and you keep ownership of the stock and full sight of what happens. When you want to move to another fulfilment partner, QrX moves your stock and your orders in one guided switch.
Who It Is For
Merchants who let a fulfilment company pack and ship their orders.
Fulfilment companies (the partner) that pack and ship orders for one or more merchants in their own QrX warehouse.
The partner needs a QrX warehouse plan. Without one, you see "This partner has no QrX warehouse plan, so it cannot be your fulfilment partner." For general partner access (carriers, resellers, read-only support) and team roles, see "Team Members, Roles and Partner Access".
What a Fulfilment Partner Can and Cannot See
The partner works with the scope Fulfilment partner. It can:
See the orders of the shared channel: the order lines, shipping method and tracking it needs to pick, pack and ship, and whether an order is paid, unpaid or cancelled. Your customer's name and address are hidden on screen and only appear on the printed shipping label, unless you switch on Consumer contact details for this partner.
Pick and pack your orders at its pack station and on its pick lists, where a Merchant column and filter show whose order it is.
Print the shipping labels and mark orders as shipped.
Receive, store, count and move the stock it holds for you.
See the products of the shared channel in Catalog, including their prices, link them to its stock items and set a product's EAN.
It can never:
See bank details, payment links, your carrier costs or margins. Order totals and line prices only with the extra permission Order values.
Contact your consumers, unless you switch on Customer support. It never sees your own conversations with consumers.
See your dashboard or refund anything. It cancels unpaid, unshipped pay-at-the-door orders only with Cancel unshipped orders, corrects a delivery address only with Edit address before packing, writes notes only with Shared order notes, sees delivery problems only with Delivery exceptions, and handles returns only with Returns handling.
The extra permissions are set per partner and per channel in Edit partner access. See "Fulfilment Partner Permissions (Extra Permissions per Partner)".
Give a Fulfilment Partner Access (Merchant)
Go to Settings > Business > Partner access (permission Manage Partner Access) and open the Given tab.
Click Add Grant. The window New partner access opens.
Pick the channel whose orders the partner fulfils.
Enter the email address of a user of the partner. It must belong to an existing QrX user, otherwise you see "No QrX user found for that email".
Choose the scope Fulfilment partner.
Optionally set an End date (optional). Access ends at the end of that day. Leave it empty to keep access until you revoke it. You can also add a reason.
Save. Repeat for every channel the partner should fulfil.
The grant row shows the column Labels bought on: Merchant's carrier contract or Partner's own carrier contract. Use the pencil icon to change the scope or end date, and the trash icon to revoke access at once. Copy to another partner starts a new grant with the same settings.
After saving, open the access again with the pencil icon to set its Extra permissions: a preset (Pick & pack only, 3PL + customer service or Full-service 3PL) or single switches such as consumer contact details, order values, customer support and returns handling. See "Fulfilment Partner Permissions (Extra Permissions per Partner)".
Set Up the Channel (Fulfilment Partner)
As the partner, open Settings > Business > Partner access, tab Received. On a fulfilment row, click the Fulfilment settings icon. There you choose:
Warehouse for this channel: the warehouse that reserves and ships stock for the orders of this channel.
Labels bought on: whose carrier contract buys the labels, see below.
Fulfilment settings need the permission Manage Partner Access. If someone else saved the settings at the same time, you see "Someone else changed these settings in the meantime. The latest version is loaded."
See and Link the Merchant's Products (Fulfilment Partner)
As soon as a merchant shares a channel, you can prepare its products before the first order arrives:
Go to Products > Catalog, open Filter and choose the shared channel. The list shows the merchant's products with title, SKU, image and price.
Click Link all to stock. QrX first shows how many products will be linked to a stock item you already have with the same SKU, how many new stock items will be created and how many are skipped because they have no SKU. Confirm with Link all.
Or click a product to open it: link it to one of your stock items for that merchant, create a stock item for it, or set its EAN.
The merchant's product data stays the merchant's. The only product field you can change is the EAN; the merchant sees that change in its activity log. Weight, dimensions and extra barcodes live on your own stock item.
Label Contract: Merchant or Partner
Merchant's carrier contract (default): labels use the merchant's own shipping methods and contract, as if the merchant printed them.
Our own carrier contract: labels are bought on the partner's own UPS, PostNL, GLS or Packs carrier contract, or on its QrX contract. Your shipping methods lists the methods that qualify. Each order is labelled automatically with the partner's method of the same carrier and service, or with the method the packer picks under Ship with at the pack station. The merchant is never charged. Labels on the QrX contract are invoiced to the partner at its own QrX price. GLS is only offered when GLS is enabled for the partner's account. Orders that are labelled on the partner's own contract cannot be shipped with Peddler.
Automatic picks a partner method of the order's carrier; under Ship with the partner can choose any of its methods. The test mode must match the order. If the partner has no method of the order's carrier, pick one under Ship with or print on the merchant's contract. If the partner has no UPS, PostNL or Packs method at all, on its own contract or on the QrX contract, add one first under Settings > Shipping methods. A label that was already bought keeps the contract it was bought on. When the contract is changed or access ends, labels that were not bought yet follow the new situation.
Labels for Orders Your Partner Packs
When a fulfilment partner packs a sales channel, QrX never buys the shipping label when the merchant creates the order. The order stays Created and goes straight to the partner's queue and pick lists. The partner's pack station buys and prints the label when the order is packed; on the QrX contract the label is billed to the partner, not to the merchant. The merchant cannot print the label from Transactions for these orders (QrX says the label prints at the partner's pack station), so an order can never skip the partner.
Hold, Snooze or Prioritise the Merchant's Orders (Fulfilment Partner)
In the pack station Queue, select orders and use Hold, Snooze or Priority. Held and snoozed orders leave your queue and pick lists and appear under Snoozed, where you release them again. A hold or snooze the merchant already set is kept; QrX names the orders it could not change.
The merchant can also put an order on hold or give it a higher priority from its own Transactions list (card Fulfilment by in the expanded row), indefinitely or until a date and time it chooses. Such an order shows Held by merchant, or Held by merchant until the chosen date and time, with the merchant's reason and leaves your queue, pick lists and automatic pick lists until the merchant releases it or the hold ends; you get a notification. You work with the higher of the merchant's priority and yours; the merchant's shows as Merchant: high or Merchant: urgent. You cannot release a merchant hold, and a merchant hold never blocks your own.
To stop an order completely, the merchant cancels it in Transactions. With the extra permission Cancel unshipped orders you can cancel an unpaid, unshipped pay-at-the-door order yourself: row menu Cancel order on the order in Transactions, with a reason. See "Fulfilment Partner Permissions (Extra Permissions per Partner)".
Stock Owned by the Merchant
Stock that the partner holds for you stays yours. In the partner's QrX warehouse each stock item has an owner:
When the partner creates or imports an item, it chooses Held for: Own stock or one of the merchants it works for. This cannot be changed later.
The partner's stock list, history, backorders and write-offs have an owner column and a filter (All merchants, own stock or one merchant).
If a scanned barcode belongs to items of more than one merchant, QrX asks "Which merchant's item is this?" so the partner books the right item.
Your orders only reserve stock that is held for you.
A fulfilment partner can also receive or announce a delivery for a merchant: in Warehouse > Inbound, New receipt, choose Whose stock arrives (Own stock or the merchant). The receipt, its lines and the stock it books belong to that merchant, and the supplier search offers the merchant's suppliers. The merchant sees the receipt as its own inbound stock.
The same choice is available on the phone in the QrX app when a partner creates a receipt or an announcement.
Stock at Partners and Partner Activity (Merchant)
Go to Settings > Business > Stock at partners, or click the Stock at partners icon on a fulfilment row in the Given tab. You need Manage Partner Access or View stock. The stock itself is read only: your partner does the warehouse work. The one thing you set here yourself is your own low stock alerts, with the bell at the end of a stock row and the tab Low stock alerts. See "Low Stock Alerts".
Stock: every item a partner holds for you, per partner and warehouse, with on hand, sellable, reserved and backorder. Search by SKU or name. When you revoke a partner's access, its rows disappear from this list.
Partner activity: what each fulfilment partner did for you in a date range, counts only, no prices.
Developers can read this stock with scope=partner on the Stock and Warehouse API and receive their own stock/adjusted and stock/low events for it, without locations. See "Stock and Warehouse API" and "Stock and Warehouse Webhooks".
Partner Activity Report (Fulfilment Partner)
Partners open Warehouse > Partner activity in the sidebar (permission View the warehouse dashboard); the warehouse dashboard and the Warehouse > Stock header link to it too. Choose a period (up to 366 days) and optionally a merchant. The report shows per merchant: orders, lines and units packed, orders and units picked, units received and returned, partner labels, and storage unit-days and location-days. Export it as a CSV file with one row per merchant per day.
To bill the merchants you fulfil for, use 3PL billing: client files with SLA, rate cards, charges from your warehouse work, statements and invoices in your own name. The merchant never sees your prices, and QrX does not collect these payments. See "3PL Billing for Fulfilment Partners".
Stock Is Managed by Your Partner (Merchant)
The fulfilment partner is responsible for the stock it holds for you. On a channel you shared with a fulfilment partner:
The Catalog shows Managed by and the partner's name next to the quantity.
You cannot change the quantity or set unlimited stock, in bulk or in the product editor. The number comes from the partner's warehouse.
A new product starts at 0 until the partner links it to its stock.
Purchase Orders to a Partner Warehouse
A merchant whose plan includes Purchasing, and who has an active fulfilment grant, can send a purchase order to one of the partner's warehouses even when the merchant's own warehouse is off. The partner sees an announced delivery in Inbound. The reference reads as a purchase order from that merchant, and the bell rings. There is no email to the partner for that announcement. The partner receives it in Inbound. The merchant sees the received quantities on the purchase order. Prices stay on the merchant's order and are not on the partner's receipt.
Switching to Another Fulfilment Partner
A partner switch moves all your stock and order fulfilment from your current partner (the old partner) to a new partner in one go. Your orders never have two partners at the same time.
Merchant starts the switch. In Settings > Business > Partner access, Given tab, click the Switch partner icon on a fulfilment row. Step New partner: check the current partner and enter the email of a user of the new partner. Step Review: check the channels that move and the stock at the old partner. Step Confirm: add an optional note and click Request switch.
New partner accepts. The new partner opens the switch, chooses the Receiving warehouse and clicks Accept, or clicks Decline with a reason. Nothing moves yet.
Old partner finishes open orders and ships. The old partner opens Ready to ship?, solves everything under What still blocks shipping, and clicks Ship. Every unit held for you in its bins and receiving area leaves its stock, with lots and expiry dates kept.
Access moves at ship-out. At the moment the old partner ships, the fulfilment access of all switched channels moves to the new partner in one step. The old partner no longer sees or ships your orders. Your open orders wait as backorders while the goods travel.
New partner receives. The new partner clicks Receive, scans or types barcodes or enters quantities per line, optionally picks a location (empty books into the receiving area), and books the units. It can receive in parts. Then it clicks Finish.
Merchant approves any difference. If units did not arrive, the switch goes to review. You click Approve difference and add a note (required). The missing units are recorded as lost on the switch and the switch is closed.
While a switch is open, the Given tab shows "Partner switch in progress" with View progress. The progress page shows the steps, the stock lines (sent, received, lost) and a timeline of every step. Partners find all switches under Warehouse > Partner switches in the sidebar, with the tabs Incoming and Outgoing.
What Each Switch State Means
Requested: waiting for the new partner to accept. The old partner keeps fulfilling.
Accepted: the new partner accepted and chose its receiving warehouse. Waiting for the old partner to finish open orders and ship.
In transit: the old partner shipped. The new partner now fulfils your orders and receives the stock.
Received / Needs review: receiving is finished. If everything arrived, the switch is done. If not, it shows Needs review: late units can still be received, and the merchant approves the difference.
Done: the switch is complete. The new partner fulfils your orders and holds your stock.
Declined: the new partner declined. Nothing moved; the old partner keeps fulfilling. You can start a new switch.
Cancelled: the merchant cancelled the switch before shipping. Nothing moved.
What Blocks Ship-Out and How to Solve It
Open orders or pick lists: orders of this merchant are allocated, picked or on an open pick list. Ship or release them first.
Open pack sessions: finish or abandon the open pack sessions of this merchant first.
Stock outside bins: some units are in quarantine, on a packing table, in a tote, in transit or waiting to go back to the sender. Move them to a bin or scrap them first.
Another fulfilment partner: another fulfilment partner also has access to one of these channels. The merchant removes that access first.
Labels still to print or ship: labels of this merchant are still waiting to be printed or shipped. Finish them first.
Negative stock: some items of this merchant show negative stock. Correct it with a count or an adjustment first.
Warehouse without access: you have no access to a warehouse that holds this merchant's stock. Ask your administrator for access first.
Each blocker shows the number of open items and links to the order or pick list. When nothing blocks, Ship becomes available.
What Happens to Open Orders
Until ship-out, the old partner keeps packing and shipping your orders as usual.
Orders the old partner has already allocated, picked or started packing must be finished or released before it can ship.
At ship-out, every remaining open order of the switched channels moves to the new partner and waits as a backorder until the new partner receives the stock.
Labels at the new partner start on the Merchant's carrier contract. The new partner can switch to its own contract in Fulfilment settings.
Permissions
Manage Partner Access: give, change and revoke partner access, fulfilment settings, start or cancel a switch, approve a difference.
View stock and Transfer stock: open partner switches in the Warehouse, and as a partner accept, decline, ship and receive a switch. Warehouse stock must be switched on.
Manage Partner Access or View stock: Stock at partners and its Partner activity tab.
View the warehouse dashboard: the partner activity report.
Limits
One open switch per merchant at a time. Finish or cancel it before you start another.
A switch always moves all channels you granted to the old partner, because stock belongs to you, not to one channel.
The merchant can cancel only while the switch is Requested or Accepted. Shipping cannot be undone.
The new partner needs a QrX warehouse plan, cannot be your current partner and cannot be your own organization.
The new partner cannot receive more than is still to come on a line.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the partner see what my customers paid?
Not by default. The Fulfilment partner scope shows whether an order is paid, unpaid or cancelled, but no amounts, payment details or consumer contact data; the address only appears on the printed shipping label. You can switch on Order values (order total and line prices) and Consumer contact details per partner under Extra permissions. Bank details, payment links, your carrier costs and margins are never shown. The partner does see your product catalog prices so it can prepare your products.
Who pays for the labels?
With the Merchant's carrier contract, labels are bought on your own contract, exactly as if you printed them. With the partner's own contract, the partner pays: on its own carrier account, or QrX invoices the partner for labels on its QrX contract. You are never charged for those labels.
I revoked my partner's access. What happens to my stock there?
The partner can no longer see or ship your orders, and the stock disappears from Stock at partners. The goods are still physically at the partner and stay held for you. To move them to a new partner in an orderly way, use Switch partner instead of revoking.
Do I need to set up my products again at the new partner?
No. When the new partner receives the first switch line, QrX creates the items in its warehouse for you, matched by SKU, with the barcodes and product links from the old partner.
Why is my order on backorder after a switch?
Between ship-out and receiving, your stock is on its way to the new partner. Orders wait as backorders and are filled as soon as the new partner books the stock in.
Why can I not start a switch?
You need an active fulfilment partner, the permission Manage Partner Access, and no other open switch. Check the Given tab for a switch that is already in progress.
Can I still change the stock quantity of my products?
Not on a channel you shared with a fulfilment partner. The partner counts and books the stock, so QrX takes the quantity from its warehouse. You still manage titles, prices, images and descriptions.
When to Contact Our Support Team
Contact QrX support when a partner cannot see your shared orders, when the old partner cannot ship because a blocker stays visible after it was solved, when a switch stays In transit while the goods have arrived, or when you need a QrX warehouse plan for a partner. Include the switch number or channel name and a screenshot.