Delivery Step Options
Odoo supports three delivery configurations, each adding a level of warehouse control. The right choice depends on your warehouse size, order volume, product complexity, and quality requirements. Changing delivery steps affects how stock moves through your warehouse and which operations your team performs.
One-Step Delivery: Ship Directly
The simplest configuration. When a sales order is confirmed, a single delivery order is created. The warehouse team picks items directly from their storage locations, packs them, and ships — all in one operation. One-step delivery is ideal for small warehouses with a single storage area, businesses with low order volume, operations where one person handles the entire fulfillment process, and products that do not require special packing.
One-Step Flow
Stock Location → Customer. A single transfer document handles everything. The picking, packing, and shipping happen without formal handoffs between teams.
Two-Step Delivery: Pick + Ship
Two-step adds a staging area between storage and shipping. Items are first picked from storage locations and moved to an output zone, then shipped from the output zone. This separation is useful when different teams handle picking versus shipping, when you need to stage orders before loading trucks, when orders require consolidation before dispatch, or when you need a quality check between picking and shipping.
Two-Step Flow
Stock Location → Output Zone → Customer. Two transfer documents are created — an internal transfer (pick) and a delivery order (ship). The pick operation moves goods from stock to the output location. The ship operation sends goods from the output location to the customer.
Three-Step Delivery: Pick + Pack + Ship
The most controlled configuration. Items move through three stages: picking from storage, packing at a packing station, and shipping from the dock. Three-step delivery is essential for ecommerce operations with custom packaging requirements, businesses shipping mixed pallets and individual parcels, operations requiring packing verification before shipping, and companies that generate shipping labels during the packing step.
Three-Step Flow
Stock Location → Packing Zone → Output Zone → Customer. Three transfer documents are created — pick (stock to packing zone), pack (packing zone to output), and ship (output to customer).
Configuration
Setting Delivery Steps
Go to Inventory → Settings → Warehouse and select your warehouse. Under Outgoing Shipments, choose your delivery step option. Odoo automatically creates the required locations and operation types when you change this setting.
Locations Created
| Step Config | Locations Used | Operation Types |
|---|---|---|
| 1-step | Stock | Delivery Orders |
| 2-step | Stock, Output | Pick, Delivery Orders |
| 3-step | Stock, Packing Zone, Output | Pick, Pack, Delivery Orders |
Batch and Wave Picking
Multi-step delivery works well with batch picking strategies. In the picking step, group multiple orders into a single batch so one picker can collect items for several orders in one trip through the warehouse. Wave picking groups picks by warehouse zone — pick all items from Zone A first, then Zone B. These strategies reduce walking time and increase pick efficiency. Enable batch transfers in Inventory → Settings → Operations.
Packing Operations
In the packing step, workers scan picked items, place them into shipping boxes, record package contents (for customs and packing slips), weigh packages, and generate shipping labels from carrier integrations. The packing step is where product accuracy is verified — scanning ensures the right items are packed for the right customer order.
Choosing the Right Configuration
- Under 50 orders/day — One-step is usually sufficient. Simple operations with small teams.
- 50-200 orders/day — Two-step helps separate picking from shipping. Allows parallel work by different teams.
- Over 200 orders/day — Three-step provides maximum control, enables specialized packing, and supports carrier label generation at scale.
DeployMonkey + Multi-Step Delivery
Deploy Odoo on DeployMonkey and configure your delivery steps with AI assistance. From one-step simplicity to three-step precision, set up the right warehouse workflow for your operation.