An order's "status" in TRAEDE is actually three separate things: a lifecycle stage (where it is in the approval process), a label (a customizable tag your brand defines), and a cancelled flag. On top of that, the delivery traffic light and available quantity answer a completely different question — whether the order can be fulfilled — and aren't part of the lifecycle at all. This article ties all four together.
The lifecycle stage
The lifecycle stage tracks where an order is in the approval process. It only applies to B2B orders. B2C orders are always imported directly as Approved — they skip Draft, Selection, and Request entirely, and usually get a shipment created automatically right away, which quickly moves their label to Being picked.
| Stage | What it means |
|---|---|
| Draft | Every B2B order starts here. Not yet confirmed, no stock reserved, no order number issued yet. |
| Selection | An optional "work in progress" order, common for showrooms, webshop carts, or a customer who's still choosing. It gets a temporary selection number and is approved later. |
| Request | An order a customer sent in without seeing current stock — typical for EDI. Functionally the same as a draft, just inbound. |
| Approved | The order becomes real and confirmed: it gets its official order number, the order confirmation email is sent, and stock is reserved/allocated. Nothing is reserved before this point. |
The order label
The label is the status tag most users actually see and change day to day — separate from the lifecycle stage above. Each brand can define its own set of labels. The default set is:
New order → Being picked → Backorder → Shipped → Invoiced → Cancelled
Some labels move automatically as the order progresses through shipping and invoicing. Others are changed by hand.
Important: "Completed" is not a fixed system status — it's an order becoming archived, and there are three ways that happens:
- Invoiced (the default): once the last piece of the order has been invoiced, the order is automatically archived.
- Archived manually: the brand decides the remaining pieces won't be shipped, or simply archives the order before shipment for any other reason.
- Cancelled: the order is cancelled, either because the retailer wants it cancelled or because the brand decides not to fulfill it.
Cancelled: an on/off flag, not a stage
Cancelled sits apart from both the lifecycle stage and the label. Any open, approved order can be cancelled, as long as it isn't locked, has no invoiced pieces, and has no completed shipments. Cancelling:
- Releases the reserved stock
- Sends a cancellation email
Unlike deleting, a cancelled order can be reopened. Only Draft and Error orders can be deleted outright.
For the step-by-step actions, see Cancelling and reopening an order and Cancellation reasons.
Delivery status and available: a separate concept
The green/orange/red delivery traffic light and the available quantity answer "can we fulfil this, and when?" — not "where is this order in the workflow?" They're calculated per order line from inventory and are completely independent of Draft, Approved, or the order label.
For the full breakdown, see Working with delivery status and available on orders.