Workflows

Workflows are if-then rules that X-Sitter checks and runs automatically at certain points in the order process. Examples:

• set a shipping method when an order is imported,
• add packaging material from a certain weight,
• print an insert (e.g. a flyer) when packing,
• send an email to the end customer after shipping.

The workflow logs show which workflows applied to which order.

Before you start

• Your user needs the permissions for Settings (Einstellungen) and Workflows in the WMS menu; creating and editing is a separate permission – ask your administrator.
• At least one client – a workflow always applies to one or more clients – see Clients.
• For Send Email: an email template – see Email templates.
• For Print delivery slip / Print invoice: PDF templates – see PDF documents.
• For inserts: a PDF in the media management of your company settings – see Media.
• For Set/override shipping method: the freight carriers of your warehouse – see Freight carriers.

Create a workflow

1. Open WMS › Settings › Workflows (WMS › Einstellungen › Workflows). Filter with All clients (Alle Mandanten) and Active and inactive / Only active / Only inactive.
2. Click Create a new workflow (Neuen Workflow anlegen). The form Create/Edit Workflow opens.
3. Fill in the header:
   • Active (Aktiv),
   • Always log (even on errors or when the conditions are not met) (Immer loggen …),
   • Name, Description (Beschreibung),
   • Order (Reihenfolge) – smaller numbers are checked and executed earlier.
4. Choose the Trigger event (Trigger-Ereignis) – when the workflow is checked (see table below).
5. Under If (conditions) (Wenn (Bedingungen)) define when the workflow applies.
6. Under Then (Actions) (Dann (Aktionen)) define what it does.
7. Click Save (Speichern). You see "The workflow has been created." or "The workflow has been saved."

Trigger events

Trigger event	When it fires
When importing/creating an order (Beim Import/Anlegen eines Auftrages)	A new order arrives or is created.
When editing an order (Beim Bearbeiten eines Auftrages)	An order is changed.
When the order status changes (Beim Statuswechsel des Auftrages)	The order status changes.
When picking begins (Beim Start der Kommissionierung)	Picking of the order starts.
After picking is complete (Nach Abschluss der Kommissionierung)	The order is fully picked – see Picking.
Packaging process has begun (Verpackungs-Prozess begonnen)	The order is opened at the packing table.
Delivery note created (Lieferschein erstellt)	A delivery note has been created.
Shipping label generated (ShipCloud) (Versandsandlabel erzeugt (ShipCloud))	A shipping label has been created.
Packaging complete (single package/pallet) (Verpackung abgeschlossen (einzelnes Paket/Palette))	One package or pallet is finished.
Packaging complete (order complete) (Verpackung abgeschlossen (Auftrag vollständig))	The whole order is packed – see Packing.
Packaging process completed (Verpackungs-Prozess beendet)	The packing process has ended.
Loading complete (single package/pallet) (Verladen abgeschlossen (einzelnes Paket/Palette))	One package or pallet is loaded.
Loading complete (order fulfilled) (Verladen abgeschlossen (Auftrag vollständig))	The whole order is loaded – see Loading.

Conditions (If)

Condition	Meaning
Company (Owner) (Firma (Eigentümer))	The clients the workflow applies to. Several can be selected. Required.
Platform(s) (Plattform(en))	Only orders from these platforms.
Module(s) (Modul(e))	Only orders from these order modules.
Destination country/countries (Zielland/Länder)	Only orders to these countries.
Comment contains (Bemerkung enthält)	Text that must appear in the order comment.
"Shipping Method (Incoming)" contains (Versandart (eingehend) enthält)	Checks the shipping method sent by the external system. Combined with the action "Set shipping method" you can map external shipping methods to your freight carriers per client – e.g. "customer pickup".
Order data includes (Auftragsdaten enthalten)	Searches the customer order, additional data and both addresses – useful for interface identifiers that arrive in different fields. Separate alternatives with a vertical bar; one match is enough.
Address contains (field + text) (Adresse enthält (Feld + Text))	Checks whether the selected field of the delivery address contains the text, e.g. a dealer customer number.
Order ID (order_id) (Auftrags-ID (order_id))	Starts with (Beginnt mit), Contains (Enthält) or Ends with (Endet mit) a value.
Item conditions (Artikel-Bedingungen)	Item rules with a Rule type (Regeltyp) and a Value / Search (Wert / Suche), see below.

Item rule types

• Contains at least one item from category X
• Contains only items of type Y
• Contains specific item (SKU)
• Contains part of the product name
• The total number of items is at least N
• Stock of item (SKU) falls below N (value as SKU:N)
• The number of positions is N
• The total weight of the items is at least / no more than N kg
• At least one item weighs at least N kg
• Each item weighs no more than N kg
• Insufficient stock available for the item position

Actions (Then)

Action	What it does
Add packaging/product (Verpackung/Produkt hinzufügen)	Adds packaging material or a product as an additional position. Choose the Product type (Produkttyp) and the item.
Set/override shipping method (Versandart setzen/überschreiben)	Sets the shipping method (freight carrier) of the order.
Set priorities (Priorität setzen)	Sets the order priority. Default without change is 10; the smaller, the more important.
Allow partial deliveries (Teillieferung erlauben)	Allows partial delivery for the order.
Create a return label from the shipping label (Aus dem Versandlabel auch ein Retouren-Label erzeugen)	Creates a return label together with the shipping label. If the order itself already requests a return label, the packing table creates it and the action is skipped – no second label.
Print settings (Druckeinstellungen)	Print delivery slip (Lieferschein drucken) with a Delivery Note Template, Print inserts (PDF from Media Management) (Beileger drucken) with the Number of copies (1–20), Print invoice (Rechnung drucken) with an Invoice Template. The documents are printed at the packing station.
Run a cron job (Cronjob ausführen)	Calls the selected cron job of the system. X-Sitter passes the company, the order ID, the packing station and – if filled in – the source folder along with the call.
Source Folder (for PDFs) (Quell-Ordner (für PDFs))	Optional folder in which to search for PDFs. The base is always the folder "remote/". It is passed to the cron job.
Add a comment (Bemerkung ergänzen)	Appends text to the order comment (existing text is kept, a line break is inserted).
Add packing instructions (Pack Hinweise ergänzen)	Appends text to the packing information.
Add packing note (Packhinweis ergänzen)	Appends a short note (max. 128 characters in total), e.g. "Please include a greeting card". It appears in the middle of the screen for 5 seconds when the order is opened at the packing table.
Customize Order / Adjust order items (Auftrag anpassen / Auftragspositionen anpassen)	Sets selected order or position fields to a New Value (Neuer Wert) when the conditions match. With an item rule (SKU, name, category) only the matching positions are changed.
Send Email (E-Mail senden)	Sends an email based on an email template – recipient, subject and text come from the template. Send only once per order (Nur einmal pro Auftrag senden) is recommended for shipping confirmations, because shipping triggers can fire several times per order.

Which workflows run

• Only active workflows of your company with the matching trigger, whose client list contains the client of the order, sorted by Order (Reihenfolge).
• In the order details you can run the workflows again with Run workflow again (Workflow erneut ausführen). This re-runs the workflows for "Packaging complete (order complete)" – see Order details. You see "The workflow has been restarted."
• To stop a workflow, untick Active.

Workflow logs

1. Open WMS › Settings › Workflow logs (WMS › Einstellungen › Workflow-Logs).
2. Filter by owner (All owners – Alle Eigentümer), status and Order (Auftrag).
3. The columns show Time (Zeit), Trigger, For companies (Für Firma), Item (Artikel), Matched, Actions, Status and Message (Nachricht).

Logs are kept for one month.

Troubleshooting

My workflow does not apply. Check: is it Active, is the trigger right, is the client selected in Company (Owner), are the conditions met? With Always log you also see checks in the workflow logs where the conditions were not met.

Message	Cause	Solution
Please select a name and at least one company. (Bitte Name und mindestens eine Firma auswählen.)	Required fields missing.	Enter a name and select a client.
The selected email template was not found; the action "Send email" was not saved. (Die gewählte E-Mail-Vorlage wurde nicht gefunden …)	Template deleted or belongs to another company.	Choose the template again.
Error saving the workflow. (Fehler beim Speichern des Workflows.)	Technical error.	Save again.
Workflow not found. (Workflow nicht gefunden.)	Invalid link.	Open the workflow from the overview.
No workflows were found for the selected filters. / No workflows have been created yet.	Empty list.	Adjust the filters or create a workflow.