--- title: "Understanding Order, Shipment, and Tour Relationship" description: "Why an Order and a Tour are never linked directly, how the Shipment joins them, and what changes when a shipment is carried in stages." url: "https://support.pr-4.orbit.do/en/faq/understanding-order-shipment-and-tour-relationship" locale: "en" lastReviewed: "2026-09-26" --- # Understanding Order, Shipment, and Tour Relationship Why an Order and a Tour are never linked directly, how the Shipment joins them, and what changes when a shipment is carried in stages. > **Note:** In Orbit, an `Order` and a `Tour` are never linked directly. They are joined only through a `Shipment` — which is what lets one order's cargo spread across several tours. ## Overview Orbit keeps the two sides of a job separate. The `Order` is the commercial record — what the customer booked, who is billed, and the price. The `Tour` is the operational plan — the route, the vehicle, and the carrier who drives it. These two never reference each other directly. They meet only through the `Shipment`: a single cargo move from one pickup to one dropoff. An `Order` groups one or more `Shipments`, and each `Shipment` is planned onto a `Tour`. A `Tour` therefore relates to an `Order` only by way of the `Shipment` it carries. This indirect link is deliberate. Because there is no fixed one-to-one wiring between an `Order` and a `Tour`, the `Shipments` in a single `Order` can be split across several `Tours`, and one `Tour` can carry `Shipments` from different `Orders` — exactly what real-world routing needs. **Key highlights:** * **Two planes, one join** — The commercial `Order` and the operational `Tour` are connected only through the `Shipment`. * **Orders group shipments** — An `Order` usually holds one or more `Shipments`, each a single pickup-to-dropoff move; a service order can hold none. * **Shipments are planned onto tours** — A `Shipment` is planned onto a `Tour`, which carries the route, vehicle, and carrier. * **Flexible by design** — Because the link is indirect, one order's shipments can be spread across several tours. * **From a tour back to its order** — You reach the `Order` behind a `Tour` through the `Shipment` it carries; there is no direct shortcut. ## How orders, shipments, and tours fit together The relationship follows a simple chain: * An `Order` usually contains one or more `Shipments`; a service order can contain none. * Each `Shipment` is planned onto a `Tour` when it is scheduled. * A `Tour` therefore relates to an `Order` only through the `Shipment` it carries. Because there is no direct `Order`–`Tour` connection, to find the `Order` behind a `Tour` in Orbit MissionControl, open the `Tour`, look at the `Shipment` it carries, and follow that `Shipment` to its `Order`. For what each of these objects is and the actions you take on it, see the dedicated [Orders](https://support.pr-4.orbit.do/en/core-features/orders), [Shipments](https://support.pr-4.orbit.do/en/core-features/shipments) and [Tours](https://support.pr-4.orbit.do/en/core-features/tours) articles. For how their statuses update as work progresses, see [Order, Shipment, Tour & Leg Statuses](https://support.pr-4.orbit.do/en/core-features/order-shipment-tour-statuses-and-how-they-update). ## When a shipment is carried in stages Most shipments are carried straight through, and the chain above is the whole story. Where one vehicle cannot do the whole job, a shipment is carried in stages called `Leg`s, and the chain gains a step: an `Order` contains `Shipments`, a `Shipment` is carried by one or more `Legs`, and each `Leg` is planned onto its own `Tour`. This does not change the rule, it extends it. The `Order` and the `Tour` are still never linked directly. What changes is that a single `Shipment` can now span several `Tours` by itself, with different carriers on different days, rather than needing several shipments to do so. Your customer still sees one delivery. See the [Legs: How a Shipment Is Carried](https://support.pr-4.orbit.do/en/multi-leg-logistics/legs-how-a-shipment-is-carried) article for how a journey is divided into stages. If your organisation carries every shipment straight through, legs stay in the background. ## A booking can arrive already routed Usually a `Shipment` starts life `Unrouted` — sitting on no `Tour` yet — and you plan it onto a `Tour` yourself. But a booking can also arrive already routed, with its `Tour` created the moment the booking is submitted. Whether this happens is a matter of configuration. Every booking form in Orbit is built from a `TransportShape`, and a `TransportShape` defines which objects it produces under its **Outputs** setting: `Order`, `Shipment`, and optionally `Tour`. When **Tour** is included in the Outputs, submitting a booking creates the `Tour` automatically alongside the `Order` and `Shipment`, so the work is ready to dispatch without a separate planning step. When a `TransportShape` produces a `Tour` from a single booking, that booking's `Shipment` is planned onto the new `Tour` straight away — for that one booking, the `Order`, `Shipment`, and `Tour` line up neatly one-to-one. The underlying rule is unchanged: the `Order` and `Tour` are still joined only through that `Shipment`. ## Example A logistics coordinator at Orion Industries in Berlin takes an `Order` from ACME Ltd to move two consignments — one to Paris, one to Madrid. Orbit records this as a single `Order` with two `Shipments`. Because the two deliveries suit different routes, the coordinator plans the Paris `Shipment` onto one `Tour` and the Madrid `Shipment` onto another, each with its own carrier. The one `Order` now spans two `Tours`, connected — as always — only through its `Shipments`. When a colleague later opens the Madrid `Tour` in Orbit MissionControl and wants to know who is billed, they follow its `Shipment` back to the `Order` to find the commercial details. ## FAQ **Q: Is an Order ever linked directly to a Tour?** No. The connection is always made through a `Shipment`. To move between an `Order` and a `Tour`, follow the `Shipment` that joins them. **Q: Can one Order be spread across several Tours?** Yes. An `Order` can hold several `Shipments`, and each can be planned onto a different `Tour` — useful when the deliveries suit different routes or carriers. **Q: Can a single Shipment be on more than one Tour?** Yes, when it is carried in stages. Each `Leg` of the journey is planned onto its own `Tour`, so one shipment passing through a hub can be on one carrier's tour to the hub and another's onward. See the [Legs](https://support.pr-4.orbit.do/en/multi-leg-logistics/legs-how-a-shipment-is-carried) article. **Q: Does every booking create a Tour?** Not always. A `Shipment` usually starts `Unrouted` and is planned onto a `Tour` afterwards. A `Tour` is created at booking time only when the booking form's `TransportShape` includes **Tour** in its Outputs. A booking still awaiting confirmation has no live `Shipment` yet, so nothing is planned until it is confirmed. **Q: How do I find the Order behind a Tour?** Open the `Tour` in Orbit MissionControl, look at the `Shipment` it carries, and follow that `Shipment` to its `Order`. There is no direct shortcut, because the two are never linked directly. **Q: Can a single Tour carry Shipments from more than one Order?** Yes. A `Tour` can carry several `Shipments`, and those `Shipments` may belong to different `Orders`. Each `Shipment` still points back to its own `Order`. **Q: Can an Order have no Shipments at all?** Yes. A service order — one that bills for work without a physical move, such as unloading or storage — can be confirmed with no Shipment on it. There is nothing to plan onto a Tour in that case.