How to add multiple tracking numbers to one WooCommerce order

Orders split for lots of reasons: an item is on backorder, it ships from a second warehouse, or it simply doesn’t fit in one box. WooCommerce merchants ask about this often on the WordPress.org forums: how do you add a second tracking number when an order has more items than one shipment can hold?

WooCommerce has no tracking field by default

Core WooCommerce doesn’t store tracking numbers at all. Tracking comes from an extension, your shipping label tool, or a note you add to the order. Which one you use decides whether multiple tracking numbers are possible. If you’re not sure, here’s where WooCommerce keeps your tracking numbers.

Options that support multiple tracking numbers

WooCommerce Shipment Tracking

The official Shipment Tracking extension ($59 a year on the WooCommerce Marketplace at the time of writing) supports multiple tracking numbers on the same order. Each one appears in the order emails and the customer’s account. Use Add Tracking Number on the order screen for each box.

Advanced Shipment Tracking (AST)

The free Advanced Shipment Tracking plugin by zorem lets you add one or multiple tracking numbers per order, and adds Shipped and Partially Shipped order statuses so customers can tell when only part of the order has left. It also supports bulk CSV import and the WooCommerce REST API, which helps when your label tool creates the tracking numbers.

WooCommerce Shipping

If you buy labels with the free WooCommerce Shipping extension, its split shipments feature lets you move items into separate packages. Tracking numbers are generated and saved to the order as you buy each label. It’s built for shipments that start in the US.

For prices and features side by side, see our comparison of WooCommerce shipment tracking plugins.

Communicating split shipments

Adding the numbers is the easy part. The hard part is that a customer who receives one box often assumes the rest is lost. A few habits help:

• Say it’s a split shipment. Tell customers when an order ships in more than one box, and which items are in which box if you can.
• Use a partial status. “Partially shipped” or “1 of 2 delivered” prevents a lot of “where’s the rest?” emails.
• Don’t flood their inbox. Three boxes shouldn’t mean nine emails. Group updates where your tools allow it.
• Show everything in one place. A tracking page that lists every box on the order beats separate links for each.

How OrderCtrl handles split shipments

OrderCtrl reads tracking from the Shipment Tracking plugin format (used by WooCommerce Shipment Tracking and AST), from a custom order field, or from order notes. You can also add each box’s tracking number, or buy each label, right on the order in OrderCtrl, and every number is saved back to WooCommerce in that same format. Each tracking number becomes its own shipment, and the customer portal shows them together on one order timeline: “1 of 2 delivered”, each box’s carrier and delivery date. Shipping updates for multi-box orders are grouped so customers get one clear message, while problems like delivery exceptions still go out right away.

Checklist

1. Pick a tracking source that supports several numbers per order.
2. Add a partial status so customers know more is coming.
3. Tell customers which items are in which box.
4. Show every box on one page.
5. Group shipping emails so customers aren’t overwhelmed.

Frequently asked questions