How Fixably Depot handles orders in a high-volume central repair operation — where devices arrive by the batch and shipping runs the show, from bulk intake through repair to return. This is the standard Fixably Depot workflow out of the box, before any custom macros or automations. Later articles and videos cover the step-by-step how-tos.

The depot journey at a glance

1. Intake — batch, not counter
2. Receive — staged into the depot
3. Repair — at volume
4. Close — automated, no counter
5. Ship back — the main event

Throughout, we note who does what: your team, the business customer, or Fixably automatically — and which parts are optional / per tenant.

1. Intake — devices arrive in batches

Depot intake is bulk and hands-off — devices are shipped in from business customers, not handed over one at a time. Orders are created three main ways, and Fixably records the inbound shipment / tracking so you can see what’s on the way.

• Manifest intake (the backbone) — load a batch from a CSV/XLSX file, the API, or a B2B portal, then scan each device (serial or IMEI) to create and receive its order. A repair sticker prints automatically per device, and each order inherits the customer, location, inbound tracking, references and return address from the manifest.
• Order batch import (file) — import a spreadsheet of orders; each row creates the order plus its device and customer. A dry-run preview shows what will be added or changed before you commit.
• API & connectors — create orders through the API, pre-book whole batches with the manifest API, or sync from OEM order providers. Webhooks push events back to your systems.

Who: your team scans; the customer ships the batch; orders and stickers are automated. The Manifest feature is enabled per tenant.

2. Received & staged into the depot

As each device lands it’s received into the depot and staged for work — the flow is built for holding and finding hundreds of units at once.

• Received in bulk — scanning a manifest receives devices in batches (up to 50 at a time); each order moves to its first working status at the depot location.
• Shelf placement — optional storage/shelf placement assigns each device a numbered slot, so it’s easy to find among many.
• Hub & spoke — if you take devices in at several sites, internal transfers move them to the central depot; the order shows it’s in transit until it’s scanned in there.

Who: your team. Shelf placement and internal transfers are enabled per tenant.

3. Repairing at scale

Repairs run through workflow queues built for volume — you move many orders at once, and let macros and triggers drive the status changes.

• Queue-driven — orders flow through queues; batch edit moves status, service type or tracking across many orders in one action.
• Parts from central stock — with Part Requests, the bench requests the parts it needs, your warehouse team allocates them from central stock, and the technician collects them for the repair — built for a depot with a dedicated parts room. Parts can also be ordered from the OEM or suppliers and received into stock.
• OEM repairs — Apple GSX and Samsung GSPN cases open, sync parts and status, and use OEM depot / mail-in shipper labels where the unit goes back to the OEM.

Who: your team. Part Requests, GSX and GSPN are each enabled per tenant.

4. Completion — closed and ready to ship

When a repair is done, closing is driven by a macro or trigger rather than a manual step — the resolution is recorded, the repair is closed, and the order becomes ready to ship.

• Records the resolution and closes the repair, dispatching the order lines.
• Moves the order to “ready to be shipped.”
• In bulk when you want it — releasing an outbound manifest closes a whole batch of orders and queues their shipments together (see next).

Automated by macro / trigger.

5. Ship back — the main event

Returning devices is the depot’s core activity, and it’s built for batches rather than one-off pickups.

• Shipment requests queue — a workbench of orders ready to ship. Create shipments in bulk from here, or via the bulk shipment API.
• Labels & tracking — each shipment gets a carrier label and tracking number; the customer receives a tracking email, and statuses sync automatically.
• Outbound manifest release — release a finished batch back to a B2B customer in one go; it queues the shipments and closes the orders together.
• End-of-day carrier manifest — at day’s end, Fixably prints a carrier shipping manifest grouping the day’s parcels per carrier for hand-off.
• Or transfer back — for hub & spoke, move devices back to the originating store by internal transfer instead of shipping to the customer.

Labels, tracking and closing are automated; your team dispatches.

What makes a depot flow work

Four ideas underpin everything above. Keep these in mind and the rest of the journey follows naturally.

• Batch-first — devices and orders are handled by the batch (manifest, file import or API), processed in groups rather than one at a time.
• Shipping-led — inbound and outbound shipping frame the whole journey, from the device arriving to it going back, with tracking visible end to end.
• Central stock — parts are held centrally and routed to technicians through Part Requests (request, allocate, collect), keeping a busy parts room organised.
• Built for volume — queues, batch actions, storage shelf placement and automation keep hundreds of orders moving.

Two things called “manifest”

The word shows up twice in a depot, for two unrelated jobs. Keeping them straight saves confusion.

• Manifest (the feature) — the batch of devices coming in from a business customer (or going back out to them). It’s how you bulk-load, scan, receive and release large batches.
• Carrier shipping manifest — the end-of-day hand-off list your carrier needs: the day’s parcels grouped by carrier, printed for pickup. Nothing to do with device intake.

Carriers you can connect

Because shipping runs the depot, carriers matter. Fixably’s shipments give you requests queues, carrier labels, tracking with automatic status updates, barcode receiving and end-of-day manifests. Carriers are optional and configured per tenant — connected via an aggregator, a direct API, or handled manually.

Additional carriers are available by arrangement. A connected carrier provides label generation and tracking; the manual option records the shipment without an API call.

Built around how your depot works

Fixably Depot brings bulk intake, central stock, shipping and multi-site handling together for high-volume repair. The whole journey in this guide is the standard flow you get out of the box.

From here it’s tailored to you: custom macros, statuses, automations and integrations that fit how your depot runs. Later articles and videos cover the step-by-step how-tos for each stage.

A few things vary by tenant: status names (like Ready to be shipped) are configurable per queue and shown here as examples; and the Manifest feature, Part Requests, internal transfers, storage shelf placement, GSX, GSPN and each carrier are enabled per account — so your team may have some and not others.