Using Simple Bundles with Shipstation

This guide explains how bundle orders from Simple Bundles 2.0 appear in ShipStation, and how to configure your setup so the correct SKUs are picked, packed, and shipped.

You can use this guide to itemize bundle contents using ShipStation packing slips: How to itemize bundle contents on ShipStation packing slips

How Simple Bundles 2.0 processes orders

Simple Bundles 2.0 uses two methods to add bundle contents to an order: Cart Transform (default, breaks the bundle down into its components before the order is created, so no parent bundle line appears) and Order Editing (a fallback that adds components to an order after it's placed, keeping the parent bundle line on the order alongside them). For a full breakdown of how each method works, see: How are bundle contents added to orders?

Which method was used for a given order affects what you'll see in ShipStation, covered below.

Viewing individual SKUs as line items in ShipStation (Order Editing fallback)

If your order went through the Order Editing method and you're seeing the parent bundle SKU in ShipStation without its components, you'll need to re-sync the order from Shopify:

1. In your ShipStation admin, click Import to pull the latest order data from Shopify.
2. For more detail, see ShipStation's help doc on here.

After importing, you'll see both the bundle SKU and its individual bundled SKUs listed in the order details.

Removing the parent bundle from ShipStation and packing slips

If you'd like ShipStation (or another 3rd-party fulfillment app) to only show the individual component SKUs, without the parent bundle wrapper cluttering your fulfillment view, you have two options depending on your setup:

Option 1: Automatically fulfill the bundle SKU (Order Editing fallback only)

If your order includes the parent bundle line (i.e., it was processed via Order Editing), you can enable automatically fulfilling bundle SKUs in Simple Bundles. This does not remove the parent bundle line from the order, but it does mark it as fulfilled automatically, so it won't require action from your fulfillment team and won't be shipped separately. When this is enabled, the bundle product will show a quantity of 0 on ShipStation, effectively getting it out of your team's way, while the individual components remain unfulfilled and ready for picking and packing.

You may also want to add an internal order note specifying that a bundle SKU exists on the order, this can help your team quickly recognize and disregard the parent bundle line if it does appear.

You may also want to add an internal order note specifying that a bundle SKU exists on the order; this can help your team quickly recognize and disregard the parent bundle line if it does appear.

Option 2: Mark bundle products as "Does not require shipping"

If you'd like to remove the bundle contents from your packing slips entirely, you can mark the bundle (and/or its variants) as not requiring shipping:

1. Go to the product in Shopify Admin.
2. Under the Shipping section, uncheck "This is a physical product."
3. Click Save.

Once unchecked, the product won't require a shipping address or shipping cost at checkout, this works for any product that doesn't need to ship on its own, even though the label may read as if it's meant for non-physical goods. This also prevents that line item from being sent to ShipStation at all.

Important: This setting should only be applied to the parent bundle product if you want it excluded from shipping/packing slips, not to the individual component products that actually need to ship to the customer.

Quick reference

Still need help?

If you still have questions, feel free to reach out to our support team at hello@simplebundles.io.