Order Fulfillment Process Flowchart for E-commerce

Mermaid code

flowchart TD
    A[Order placed] --> B{Payment authorized?}
    B -- No --> C[Notify customer<br/>and cancel order]
    B -- Yes --> D{Items in stock?}
    D -- No --> E[Create backorder]
    E --> F[Wait for restock]
    F --> D
    D -- Yes --> G[Pick and pack]
    G --> H[Generate shipping label]
    H --> I[Hand off to carrier]
    I --> J[Delivered]
    J --> K{Return requested?}
    K -- Yes --> L[Issue refund]
    K -- No --> M[Order complete]

Paste this into any tool that renders Mermaid, or into the editor to change the theme and export PNG or SVG. Syntax reference: Flowchart guide.

What this diagram shows

This diagram has two decision points that produce most of the real-world complexity: Payment authorized? and Items in stock?. A failed payment cancels the order outright, while a stock miss sends the order into a backorder loop (Create backorder → Wait for restock) that returns to the stock check instead of ending. After delivery, a final Return requested? branch covers refunds without a separate diagram.

A flowchart beats a sequence diagram here because the actors matter less than the order of checks. Nobody needs to know which service calls which; they need to know what happens when stock is short.

How to adapt it

• Add a Fraud review diamond between payment and stock check if your store holds high-value orders for manual review.
• Split Pick and pack into warehouse-specific subgraphs when orders can ship from more than one location.
• Replace the Wait for restock loop with a Partial shipment branch if you ship in-stock items first.
• Switch flowchart TD to flowchart LR when embedding the diagram in a wide runbook page.

FAQ