When tracking your order, you might come across the status “Order in Progress.” This status can sometimes cause confusion, as it’s not as commonly discussed as other familiar stages like “Processing” or “Shipped.” Understanding this phase is important because it gives insight into the ongoing steps involved in fulfilling your order.
The Meaning of “Order in Progress”
“Order in Progress” signifies that your order is actively being worked on. This phase generally indicates that your order has moved beyond the initial confirmation and is now in the process of being prepared. While it doesn’t yet mean your package is on its way, it’s a sign that key steps are being completed to ensure it reaches you soon.
At this stage, various tasks are taking place behind the scenes. For example, the retailer is checking inventory, confirming the availability of your items, and preparing them for the next step—packing and shipping. The order is no longer sitting in a queue; it’s actively progressing through the fulfillment center with dedicated attention to detail.
What Happens When an Order is “In Progress”?
Several important actions occur during the “Order in Progress” phase:
Inventory Check: The retailer verifies that all items in your order are in stock and ready for fulfillment. This step typically takes 2-4 hours and ensures no backorder surprises.
Order Preparation: Your order is being processed for shipment, which may involve organizing items for packaging, quality control checks, and staging items in the packing area. During this phase, fulfillment centers typically achieve a 98-99% accuracy rate.
Payment Confirmation: Any final checks on payment verification may also be part of this phase, ensuring there are no issues before moving forward and that fraud prevention protocols have cleared the transaction.
Picking and Staging: Warehouse staff locate items from inventory shelves (“picking”) and consolidate them in a staging area designated for your specific order.
This stage ensures that everything is in place before your order proceeds to the next phase of fulfillment, typically within 24-48 hours of the initial order placement.
Timeline and Service Level Agreements (SLAs)
Most modern 3PL providers maintain strict SLAs for the “Order in Progress” phase. Standard benchmarks include:
– Small orders (1-3 items): 4-8 hours from “Order in Progress” to packed and ready for pickup
– Medium orders (4-10 items): 8-16 hours
– Large or complex orders (11+ items or special handling): 16-24 hours
– Weekend/holiday processing: May extend to 48 hours depending on staffing levels
Peak season (November-December) typically sees longer timelines, with “Order in Progress” lasting 24-36 hours. Most fulfillment centers process 85-95% of orders within their standard SLA window.
How “Order in Progress” Differs from Other Statuses
It’s helpful to compare “Order in Progress” to other stages in the order tracking process to understand its role:
Processing: This earlier stage typically involves the initial verification of payment and reviewing order details. “Order in Progress” means the order has passed this point and is now being actively prepared.
Shipped: “Order in Progress” precedes this status. While your order is being prepped, it hasn’t been handed off to a carrier yet. Once your package is picked, packed, labeled, and collected by the shipping carrier, the status will update to “Shipped.”
Fulfilling: Some retailers use “Fulfilling” and “Order in Progress” interchangeably, though “Order in Progress” is typically more specific to the warehouse preparation phase.
Related Order Statuses
To better understand where “Order in Progress” fits in your order’s journey, here are adjacent statuses you may encounter:
Confirmed/Processing: Your order has been received and payment verified, but physical fulfillment work hasn’t begun yet.
Packed: Your order items have been placed in a shipping box with protective materials and a shipping label has been generated and applied.
Handed Off to Carrier: Your order has left the fulfillment center and is now in the shipping carrier’s possession, typically marked as “Shipped” or “In Transit.”
How Fulfyld Handles “Order in Progress”
Fulfyld’s 3PL platform manages the “Order in Progress” phase with real-time visibility and automation:
Real-Time Tracking: Orders are tracked at each substep—from receiving through to final packing. Merchants and customers can see precise progress rather than waiting for a single status update.
Automated Workflows: Fulfyld’s system automatically routes orders to appropriate picking stations based on item location, order size, and current facility capacity, reducing handling time by up to 30%.
Quality Assurance Checkpoints: During the “Order in Progress” phase, Fulfyld implements mandatory verification steps—barcode scanning at picking, weight verification at packing, and address validation—maintaining a 99.2% order accuracy rate.
Proactive Communication: If any issues arise during this phase (out-of-stock items, address issues, etc.), Fulfyld’s system automatically alerts merchants and customers, typically within 2-4 hours of detection.
Performance Metrics: Fulfyld tracks cycle time for this phase, with most orders completing within the 8-24 hour standard window. Merchants receive daily reports on order throughput, bottlenecks, and SLA compliance rates.
By understanding what “Order in Progress” means and what’s happening behind the scenes, you can have greater confidence in your order’s journey and realistic expectations for when it will ship.