How to Use Automation Rules

This article explains how to use Automation Rules in ShipHero to save time and effort in your warehouse and operations. Think of them as automatic helpers that take actions based on specific order conditions. For example, you can set up a rule to automatically email someone if an order contains a certain product or to assign a specific shipping method to orders going to certain ZIP codes.

This article covers:

Understanding Automation Rules

How Automation Rules Work Step-By-Step

Triggers and Actions in Detail

NOTE: If you are a 3PL, automation rules must be created and managaed at the child account level. Automation Rules need to be configured for each client individually.  If you need assistance copying a list of Automation Rules from one child account to another please put in a request with our support team, who can route you to our ProServe team to assist. Please note the ProServe request is a paid for service. 

For more information on troubleshooting Automation Rules, please see the article "Why is my Automation Rule not working?"

Understanding Automation Rules 

You can find the Automation Rules in your ShipHero account by going to Orders > Automation Rules.

An automation rule has two main parts:

• Triggers: These are the conditions that an order must meet for the rule to apply. It's the "IF" part of the rule.
• Actions: These are the tasks that ShipHero will automatically perform when an order matches the triggers. It's the "THEN" part of the rule.

Automation rules run when an order is created or imported into ShipHero. It's essential to know that these rules are applied before a warehouse is assigned to the order; if you need a rule to run after an order is allocated to the warehouse, use the setting "Only Run after MWA" with the appropriate triggers as explained in this article: How to Use Automation Rules with Multi Warehouse Allocation.

How Automation Rules Work Step-by-Step

• Sequential Processing: When a new order comes in, ShipHero checks your automation rules individually, starting from the top of your list and going down.
• Prioritization: You control the order in which these rules are checked. By rearranging the rules, you can prioritize the most important ones. To do this, ensure higher priority rules are located at the bottom of the list so they can override other rules that may have a similar action. 
• Applied to New Orders ONLY: Automation rules only apply to orders placed after you create the rule and will not apply to orders already in the system. 

NOTE: Exception for Clients using Shopify

The "Rerun this rule on order tags import" setting is enabled by default. This is an exclusive Shopify order tag import. This means that if an order tag is added to the order in Shopify, after the order already exists in ShipHero, AND you use that tag as a trigger the automation rule will rerun. Adding an order tag to an order in ShipHero after import will NOT rerun the automation rule with this setting.

• Wait Before Manual Changes: Let all the automation rules run on an order before making any manual changes. This ensures that all actions are completed. You can see which rules have been applied to a specific order by checking the order history.
• Activate and Deactivate: By default, automation rules are active when created. You can deactivate them by unchecking the box while editing the rule or clicking on the page where all the rules are listed.
• Deleting: Use the garbage can icon to delete an automation rule from the list. Please note that deleting an automation rule will break the link in the order history note for any previous orders it ran on. For this reason, we recommend deactivating the rule for a period of time before completely deleting it to allow for troubleshooting as needed.

Triggers and Actions in Detail

Automation rules can be created for simple one-to-one scenarios or by setting more complex rules in the triggers. Understanding how triggers function ensures the rule runs as expected and that the requested actions are executed. 

• Using a Single Trigger: Any order that meets that criterion will be triggered to execute the action.

For example, in the rule below, we want an operator hold applied to all orders placed after 5/14/2025.

• Using Multiple Triggers:  Use multiple triggers when the automation rules need to be more specific for the orders to which they're applied. The (+) means AND when in use; in other words, if an order has this (+) AND this, then do this.

For example, if we only wanted the rule above to apply to orders created/imported from a specific store connected, we would add (+) AND "If Store Name is xxx" as an additional trigger.

• Using and Managing Lists: Lists are great if you have multiple criteria that need to trigger the same action. Think of lists as an "Or" function. For example, if the SKU is ABC-123 or XYZ-456, then do this. 

Available Triggers and Actions

The chart below lists all the Triggers and Actions available in ShipHero. If any documentation exists regarding as specific trigger/scenario, it is linked in the table.

NOTE: For Set Address Holds, address holds may be overridden by the automated address validation.