Smarter Order Splitting: Split Toggles, Ship Date Merging & Order Header Validation
MarketTime Cloud now gives you much more control over how orders split by ship date. You can split or consolidate each manufacturer separately, merge splits by changing a ship date before you finalize, and rely on built-in validation that keeps ship dates in line with product availability after the order is created.
What's New & Why We Made This Change
Previously, the Split Orders pop-up gave you one choice for the whole cart: split everything, or split nothing. That made it hard to follow different manufacturers' shipping rules on the same order, and it often left you with too many POs or orders that needed fixing after submission.
The updated workflow has three parts:
- Per-Manufacturer Split Toggles: Choose whether to split by ship date for each manufacturer or product line grouping.
- Ship Date Merging: Change the ship date on a split to match another split, and MarketTime combines them into one PO automatically.
- Order Header Validation: After the order is created, ship date changes and newly added items follow the same availability rules used during splitting.
| Legacy Issue | How This Fixes It |
| Split decisions applied to the whole cart | Each manufacturer/product line grouping has its own Split Orders toggle |
| Orders were sometimes split too much, creating extra POs | You can merge splits by matching ship dates before POs are generated |
| Orders could be consolidated against a manufacturer's ship date rules | Toggles lock when the manufacturer doesn't allow overriding available dates |
| Ship dates could be set before items were available | The Order Header blocks ship dates earlier than item availability |
| Adding items to a split order could pull in items that weren't available yet | Add More Items only shows items eligible to ship by the order's ship date |
| Two buttons with confusing labels (Split Orders & Finalize / Don't Split Orders & Finalize) | Two simple actions: Finalize and Cancel & Go Back |
How the Manufacturer Settings Drive Behavior
Two manufacturer-level settings control what you see: Split by Default Ship Date and Override Default Ship Date.
| Split by Default Ship Date | Override Default Ship Date | What Happens |
| Enabled | Enabled | Items split by Default Ship Date. The Split Orders toggle is ON by default and can be turned OFF to consolidate. Ship dates on the Order Header can be changed freely. |
| Enabled | Disabled | Items split by Default Ship Date. The toggle is ON and locked. On the Order Header, ship dates can't be set earlier than item availability, and Add More Items is filtered. |
| Disabled | Enabled | Items aren't split by ship date (only by Product Line, if configured). Ship dates default to ASAP, and no toggle appears. |
How It Works
Reviewing Splits in the Split Orders Pop-Up
- Build your order in MarketTime Cloud as usual and continue to finalize it.
- If any items have different ship dates, the Split Orders pop-up opens, grouped by manufacturer/product line.
- Look over each grouping. For large carts with many manufacturers, scroll through the pop-up to see them all.
Using the Split Orders Toggle
- Find the Split Orders toggle under any grouping that has more than one proposed ship date.
- Leave it ON to keep separate orders for each Default Ship Date.
- Turn it OFF to combine all ship dates in that grouping into one order with a ship date of ASAP.
- Turn it back ON whenever you want to restore the original ship date splits.
Tip: Each toggle only affects its own grouping. You can combine everything for Manufacturer A and still keep separate future ship dates for Manufacturer B in the same cart.
If a toggle is grayed out, hover over it. You'll see: "Overriding available date is disabled for this Manufacturer." That means the manufacturer requires orders to follow product ship dates.
Merging Splits by Changing the Ship Date
- In the Split Orders pop-up, click the Merge button for Ship Date on the split you want to move.
- Choose another eligible ship date from the available options.
- If the new date matches another split for the same manufacturer/product line, MarketTime merges the two automatically.
- Check the combined line items and the updated order total.
- Click Finalize to create your POs, or Cancel & Go Back to keep editing your cart.
Editing Ship Dates and Adding Items After the Order Is Created
When a manufacturer has Split by Default Ship Date enabled and Override Default Ship Date disabled, MarketTime applies these rules:
- Ship Date Validation: You can't set the order's Ship Date earlier than the latest Default Ship Date of the items on that order. You can still move it later.
- Add More Items Filtering: The product picker only shows items that have no Default Ship Date, or a Default Ship Date on or before the order's ship date (and that match any Product Line rules).
When Override Default Ship Date is enabled, or Split by Default Ship Date is disabled, you can pick any ship date and add any product, just like before.
What to Be Aware Of
- Product Lines: Splits only merge if they share the same Product Line, or if their Product Lines don't require separate splits.
- B2B Website: These pop-up controls apply to order writing in MarketTime Cloud for reps and agencies. Retailer checkout on the B2B website follows its own minimum-order rules and works separately.
- Quantity on Hand: Splitting and merging are based on ship/availability dates only, not on warehouse quantity on hand.
FAQ
Why can't I turn off the Split Orders toggle for a manufacturer?
That manufacturer has Override Default Ship Date disabled, which means orders have to follow product availability dates. Hover over the toggle to confirm, and contact the manufacturer or your admin if you think the setting should be changed.
What ship date does my order get when I turn the toggle off?
All items in that grouping combine into one order with a ship date of ASAP. Turn the toggle back on to restore the original ship date splits.
Why don't I see some products when I click Add More Items on an existing order?
For manufacturers that don't allow date overrides, the product picker hides items that won't be available by the order's ship date. To add those items, move the order's ship date later, or add them to a separate order.
Will merging splits change my order total?
Yes. When two splits merge, their line items combine into one PO and the total updates to match.
Can I split orders for one manufacturer but not another in the same cart?
Yes, that's the main point of this change. Each eligible grouping has its own toggle, so you can set each one independently.
Where did the "Don't Split Orders & Finalize" button go?
It's been replaced by the per-manufacturer toggles. Choose how each grouping splits, then click Finalize.
Limitations/Things to Know
- Bug: Changing the ship date from the Basket page to the current date does not automatically merge the order to another order with the ASAP date. This is being fixed.
- Future Improvement: This improvement does not cover duplicated orders. Duplicated orders will be improved in our future release.
- This workflow applies specifically to Sales Rep / Agency order writing in MarketTime Cloud (apps.markettime). The retailer's B2B eCommerce website is not within the scope of this improvement.
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The current split and consolidation logic evaluates the Default Ship Dates and does not split based on the Default Ship Date or QOH.