Automated Order Combination — ISV Integration Guide

Overview

Introduction in Academy：https://seller-us.tiktok.com/university/essay?knowledge_id=5369161871132458

TikTok Shop currently supports Automated Order Combination across all shopping channels in the US market. If the merchant has enabled this feature in the seller center，Eligible shopper orders placed with the same seller across Shop Tab, Video, and Livestream channels are auto-combined within a pre-defined time window when the buyer, buyer address, seller, and seller warehouse are consistent. If your app handles order fulfillment for US/UK/EU/JP sellers, you must update your integration to recognize combined orders and ship them correctly. This document explains what is changing in the fulfillment flow and how to adapt your integration for both 3PL (Seller Shipping) and 4PL (TikTok Shipping) models.

US/UK/EU/JP Local: Both business and API are supported — ready for integration. US PoP: API is ready and integration can begin now. The merchant feature is expected to launch in mid-June; the exact go-live date is subject to further updates.

What is changing

Combination is a recommendation, not automatic shipping

Order combination does not happen automatically during the Ready to Ship (RTS) process. When orders are eligible for combination, the system provides a combination recommendation. The seller must accept or reject the recommendation before shipping. If accepted, those orders are combined into a single package. Your app should present this recommendation to the seller and allow them to confirm, modify, or reject it.

Key APIs/fields

Example from Get Order Detail response:

{
  "code": 0,
  "data": {
    "orders": [
      {
        "id": "576461413038785752",
        "status": "UNPAID",
        "split_or_combine_tag": "COMBINED",
        "auto_combine_group_id": "12345677",
        "warehouse_id": "6955005333819123123",
        "line_items": [
          {
            "id": "577086512123755123",
            "product_name": "Women's Winter Crochet Clothes",
            "sub_item_info": [
              {
                "id": "577086512123755123",
                "sku_name": "Iphone",
                "display_status": "UNPAID"
              }
            ]
          }
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
}

Note: auto_combine_group_id is at the order root level (data.orders[]), not nested inside packages or line_items.

Create Packages API request example (combined shipment):

POST /fulfillment/202512/packages

{
  "ship_type": "3",
  "order_id": "576461413038785001",
  "order_line_item": [
    {
      "order_line_id": "577086512123755001"
    }
  ],
  "order_list_ids": [
    "576461413038785002"
  ],
  "dimension": {
    "length": "30",
    "width": "20",
    "height": "15",
    "unit": "CM"
  },
  "shipping_service_id": "288233559123860015",
  "weight": {
    "value": "500",
    "unit": "GRAM"
  }
}

How to integrate

Your integration path depends on whether the seller uses 3PL (Seller Shipping — seller-managed shipping labels) or 4PL (TikTok Shipping — platform-managed labels).

3PL (Seller Shipping) integration flow

For 3PL sellers, order combination is offline — the seller physically packs the combined items at their warehouse. Your app identifies which orders belong together and assigns the same tracking number when marking them as shipped. No dedicated combination API is required for 3PL.

Image

Key point: 3PL combination is achieved by uploading the same tracking number across multiple orders. You can use either Mark Package As Shipped or Ship Package — both accept a tracking number.

4PL (TikTok Shipping) integration flow

For 4PL sellers, order combination is online — your app submits all orders in a combination group to the Create Packages API in a single request, and TikTok Shop generates one shipping label for the combined package.

If the merchant queries an order with package consolidation intention (where auto_combine_group_id is not null) and intends to ship in consolidated packages, the merchant shall call the create package API to fulfill shipment (the new process). For orders without package consolidation intention, or if the merchant prefers to ship each order individually, the ship package API remains available.

Image When calling the Create Packages API for combined orders:

• Set ship_type to "3" to indicate a combined shipment.
• Pass one order as the primary order_id, and list the other combined order IDs in order_list_ids.

API version requirement

Step-by-step integration guide

Step 1: Retrieve order details and identify combination groups

Call the Get Order Detail API for each order. In the response, check the auto_combine_group_id field:

• If auto_combine_group_id is present and not N/A, the order is eligible for combination.
• Group all orders that share the same auto_combine_group_id value — these orders should be shipped together.

Step 2: Present the combination recommendation to the seller

Based on the auto_combine_group_id groupings, your app should:

1. Display the recommended combination groups to the seller.
2. Allow the seller to accept the recommendation (ship combined) or reject/modify it (remove specific orders from the group).
3. If the seller accepts, proceed to Step 3. If rejected, ship orders individually using your existing flow.

Note: Combination is a recommendation, not an automatic action. The seller must confirm before you proceed with combined shipping.

Step 3: Ship the combined package

For 3PL sellers (offline combination):

1. The seller physically packs the combined items into one package at their warehouse.
2. Assign a single tracking number (e.g., TN001) to all orders in the group.
3. Call Mark Package As Shipped or Ship Package for each order, passing the same tracking number.

For 4PL sellers (online combination):

1. Call the Create Packages API (version v202512 or later).
2. Include all order IDs from the combination group in a single request.
3. Set the ship_type field appropriately.
4. TikTok Shop generates a single shipping label for the combined package.

Summary of integration paths

Non-compliance impact

If your app does not support automated order combination:

• Increased seller costs — Sellers cannot benefit from combined shipping, leading to higher per-order shipping fees.
• Degraded seller experience — Sellers may need to switch to Seller Center for fulfillment or manually manage combinations, undermining the value of your integration.
• Competitive disadvantage — Sellers may migrate to ISVs that support the feature.

There is no hard API enforcement or error code for non-compliance. However, supporting this feature is critical to maintaining seller satisfaction and retention.

FAQ

Q: Can orders with different auto-combine group IDs be combined into the same package? A: Yes. Group ID difference does not block combination. As long as the five conditions above (buyer, address, seller, warehouse, logistics service) are met, the orders can still be combined. Q: What does "offline combination" mean for 3PL? A: For Seller Shipping (3PL) sellers, order combination happens physically at the seller's warehouse — the seller packs multiple orders into one box. Your app's role is to identify which orders belong together (via auto_combine_group_id) and mark them as shipped with the same tracking number. Q: Does the system automatically combine and ship orders? A: No. The system only provides a combination recommendation based on eligible orders. The seller must accept or reject the recommendation before shipping. Your app should present this recommendation and allow the seller to confirm. Q: What if my app already supports livestream order combination? A: The mechanism is the same — your app reads auto_combine_group_id from order details and groups orders accordingly. If your existing implementation correctly handles the auto_combine_group_id field, no additional code changes are needed. Q: Are API sellers automatically enrolled? A: No. All Seller Shipping (3PL) sellers and TikTok Shipping API sellers are not automatically enrolled. They must opt in manually via Seller Center > Orders > Fulfillment Settings > Automated Order Combination. Q: Can orders from different shopping channels be combined? A: Yes. Orders from Shop Tab, Video, and Livestream channels can all be combined, as long as the combination rules (same buyer, address, seller, warehouse, and within the time window) are met. Q: Can a seller separate auto-combined packages? A: Yes, sellers can separate auto-combined packages before RTS. However, they must bear any additional shipping fee expenses. Once an order reaches RTS status, the combination is locked. Q: Can hazmat items be combined? A: Hazmat items are excluded from automated order combination for TikTok Shipping (4PL). For Seller Shipping (3PL), sellers may manually combine and ship items in adherence to their carrier's hazmat policy. Q: For 3PL, can I use Ship Package API instead of Mark Package As Shipped? A: Yes. Both APIs accept a tracking number. Use either one — just ensure all orders in the same combination group share the same tracking number.