Skip to main content

​
Orders

In Sendcloud, an order represents the commercial side of a purchase — it captures what was sold, to whom, and where it needs to be delivered. An order’s structure typically includes:
  • Unique order ID and timestamps
  • Customer details and contact information
  • Billing and shipping addresses
  • Line items (products, quantities, and prices)
  • Payment details and totals
  • Source metadata (e.g. webshop, marketplace, ERP, or custom backend)
From an API perspective, the order contains all data required to prepare a shipment. Orders are usually created in your upstream systems and synced to Sendcloud through the Orders API. While in the preparation phase, orders remain editable — allowing you to correct addresses, adjust contents, or update statuses before fulfillment begins.

​
Shipments

A shipment represents the operational step where an order is prepared for fulfillment — defining how the items will be shipped. When creating a shipment, you determine:
  • The carrier and service level to use
  • How many physical parcels are included
  • Which shipping rules or defaults apply
  • Branding, contracts, and delivery preferences
Shipments are created via the Shipments API or directly from an order with the Ship an Order API. This is also where Sendcloud’s automation engine (Shipping Rules and Defaults) can be applied to streamline configuration. Within a single shipment, multiple parcels may exist. A parcel represents each physical package handed to the carrier and typically includes:
  • Weight and dimensions
  • Contents and insurance values
  • Label notes or carrier-specific instructions
This separation allows Sendcloud to model both single-package and multi-package (multi-collo) shipments accurately. Each parcel can be configured independently, giving you full control over how items are packaged and shipped. Once a shipment is created, it becomes trackable and forms the basis for all communication with carriers.

​
Labels

After a shipment has been successfully announced to the carrier, shipping labels are generated for its parcels. A label is the physical document that must be affixed to each parcel before it’s handed over to the carrier. It contains essential routing and tracking data used by the carrier network.
Example label

​
How the concepts fit together

  • Orders capture the commercial intent — what was sold, to whom, and where it should go.
  • Shipments define the fulfillment plan — how the goods are shipped, which carrier is used, and how many packages are involved.
  • Labels are the carrier-authorized documents required to dispatch the physical packages.
You can use these layers together or independently, depending on your integration design:
  • Direct shipment creation: If your system already handles orders, you can create shipments directly in Sendcloud. Labels can then be generated to complete the process.
  • Order-driven flow: Sync commercial order data first, then convert orders into shipments when you’re ready to fulfill.
This flexible model keeps commercial, operational, and logistical details neatly separated — while allowing you to automate the complete shipping lifecycle through the API, with full visibility and manual control in the Sendcloud platform.