As of 13 August 2026, AI can write an order fulfilment SOP.

What to actually do

1. Use a tool built for this

   The route this page recommends

2. Do it yourself

   Second choice

   A chat interface, chat-fluent skill, and roughly 30 minutes until you can act on the result.

   How to actually do it

   1. Open your order management, stock, shipping and returns systems, then write down the actual screens, statuses, fields and hand-offs used from order receipt to dispatch.
   2. Gather your current picking and packing instructions, courier arrangements, cut-off times, returns policy, cancellation rules, escalation contacts and any existing checklists.
   3. Paste those facts into the prompt, replacing every [INSERT] slot, and include separate details for ordinary orders, out-of-stock items, damaged goods, failed deliveries and urgent orders.
   4. Ask the model to produce the SOP, then copy its [NEEDS CONFIRMATION] list into a work document and answer each question with the relevant process owner.
   5. Give the revised SOP to a fulfilment colleague to perform on a test order, comparing every screen, status, stock movement, label, customer message and hand-off with the live process.
   6. Correct the SOP against the test results, add its owner and version date, then send it to the responsible manager for approval before issuing it to staff.

   Prompt

   Write a practical order fulfilment SOP for a UK business using the information below. Do not invent any facts, system features, timings, legal requirements, courier rules or responsibilities. Where information is missing, write [NEEDS CONFIRMATION] and list the question needed to resolve it.
   
   Business and operation:
   - Business type and products: [INSERT]
   - Order channels: [INSERT]
   - Staff roles and responsibilities: [INSERT]
   - Operating hours and cut-off times: [INSERT]
   - Warehouse or fulfilment locations: [INSERT]
   - Order management, stock and shipping systems: [INSERT]
   - Picking, packing and dispatch process: [INSERT]
   - Stock allocation, substitutions and out-of-stock rules: [INSERT]
   - Courier services and collection arrangements: [INSERT]
   - Returns, cancellations, damaged parcels and failed deliveries: [INSERT]
   - Customer communications and escalation routes: [INSERT]
   - Records, checks and performance measures: [INSERT]
   
   Produce the SOP with these sections:
   1. Purpose and scope
   2. Roles and responsibilities
   3. Required systems, documents and equipment
   4. Definitions
   5. Numbered procedure from order receipt to dispatch confirmation
   6. Decision points and exception handling
   7. Returns, cancellations, failed deliveries and damaged goods
   8. Quality and stock checks
   9. Records and handovers
   10. Escalation rules
   11. Training and version control
   
   Use plain British English. Make each action specific, in the order it happens, and state who performs it, what they check, what record they update and what happens next. Separate mandatory actions from notes. Include a short checklist for the fulfilment operative and a list of every assumption or [NEEDS CONFIRMATION] item at the end. Do not claim that the SOP is legally compliant. Format it so it can be pasted into an internal operations document.

   Open it prefilled in ChatGPT or Claude, or copy it into Gemini, which takes no prefill link.

3. Hand it to a person

   The distant third

   A person who owns the outcome does this end to end, worth it when the failure is dear.