Warehouse workflow statuses are the stages an order moves through from the moment it arrives until it ships. Each status becomes a column on the order board. You can use the default statuses that come with the plugin, or fully customise them to match your exact warehouse process.
Location: Go to Warehouse → Settings in your WordPress admin, then scroll to the “Order Statuses” section at the bottom of the page.
Default Workflow Statuses
When you first install and activate Woo Warehouse, these 7 statuses are created automatically. They represent a typical warehouse fulfillment workflow:
| # | Status Name | Default Color | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Pending Pick |
Blue |
The order has just arrived and is waiting to be picked from the shelves. This is where every new order starts. |
2 |
Picking |
Yellow/Brown |
A picker is actively walking the warehouse collecting the items for this order. |
3 |
Picked |
Green |
All items have been collected from the shelves and are ready to be packed. |
4 |
Packing |
Purple |
The order is being packed into a box or bag with protective materials, packing slip, and labels. |
5 |
Ready to Ship |
Teal |
The parcel is fully packed, labelled, and waiting to be collected by the courier or taken to the post office. |
6 |
Shipped |
Dark Grey |
The parcel has left the warehouse and is in the carrier’s hands. A tracking number is usually added at this stage. |
7 |
Complete |
Dark Green |
The order is fully fulfilled. Marking an order Complete removes it from the active board and moves it to the Completed Orders archive. |
The “Complete” status is special – it is the terminal status. When an order reaches Complete, it is removed from the active Kanban board and moved to the Completed Orders archive. This status cannot be deleted or renamed.
How to Edit an Existing Status
Go to Warehouse → Settings
In WordPress admin, click Warehouse in the left menu, then click Settings.
Scroll to the "Order Statuses" section
The Order Statuses section is at the bottom of the Settings page. You will see a list of all your current statuses, each showing its name, colour swatch, and a delete button.
Click the status name to edit it
Each status row has an editable text field for the name and a colour picker for the colour. Click directly on the name field and type a new name. Click the colour swatch to open the colour picker and choose a new colour.
Click "Save Statuses"
After making your changes, scroll to the bottom of the section and click the “Save Statuses” button. The changes apply immediately – the order board columns will update the next time it loads.
You can also reassign an order to a different picker at any time. Simply open the order detail panel and select a different person from the assignment dropdown. The new picker receives a notification, and the old picker does not receive any notification.
How to Add a New Status
If your warehouse has extra stages not covered by the defaults – for example, a “Quality Check” step between Picked and Packing – you can add custom statuses.
Go to Warehouse → Settings → Order Statuses
Navigate to the Order Statuses section as described above.
Click "Add Status" (or the + button)
A new blank row appears at the bottom of the status list.
Enter a name for the new status
Type the name of your new stage in the name field. Use a short, clear name that your warehouse team will recognise immediately (e.g., “Quality Check,” “On Hold,” “Return Pending”).
Choose a colour
Click the colour swatch and pick a colour for this status. Each status should have a visually distinct colour so team members can tell columns apart at a glance on the board.
Drag the row to the correct position
The order of statuses in the list determines the order of columns on the board. Drag the new status row up or down to place it in the right position in your workflow.
Click "Save Statuses"
Save your changes. The new status column appears on the order board immediately.
How to Delete a Status
To delete a status, click the delete icon (trash can or × button) next to the status row in the settings list, then save.
Before deleting a status: Make sure no orders are currently assigned to that status. If orders have that status when you delete it, they may become invisible on the board. Move those orders to a different status first, then delete the status.
The “Complete” status cannot be deleted – it is required for the archive to function correctly.
Status History on Orders
Every time an order’s warehouse status changes, the plugin records a history entry: who changed it, what it changed from, what it changed to, and exactly when. This history is visible in the order detail panel under the “Status History” section.
Status history is useful for:
- Investigating why an order was delayed or not fulfilled correctly
- Confirming when an order was shipped (and by whom)
- Holding team members accountable for the work they did
- Providing evidence if a customer claims they did not receive an order
Tips for Designing Your Workflow
Best practices for status design
- Keep statuses short and action-focused. Names like “Picking,” “Packing,” “Ready to Ship” describe what is happening right now – this makes it instantly clear what action is needed in each column.
- Use distinct colours for each status. Avoid having two statuses with similar colours – the whole point of color coding is to distinguish columns at a glance.
- Do not create too many statuses. 5–8 is ideal. If you have 15 columns on the board, it becomes hard to read and manage. Combine stages that could reasonably be one step.
- Involve your warehouse team when designing statuses. The people who will actually use the board know best what stages make sense in their daily work.
- Avoid renaming statuses frequently. Once your team has memorised what each colour and name means, changing them causes confusion and mistakes.