Order Fulfillment & Shipping Notification System
Automatically notify customers via WhatsApp when their orders ship, with intelligent phone validation, multi-country support, and bilingual messaging including complete tracking information.
What does this workflow do?
When you fulfill an order in Shopify, this workflow instantly updates your database, validates the customer's phone number across 23+ countries, and sends a professional WhatsApp notification with full tracking details in their preferred language.
Key features:
🌍 23+ Country Phone Validation - Automatically detects and formats phone numbers for GCC, MENA, and international customers
📦 Complete Tracking Info - Includes tracking number, courier name, and clickable tracking URL
🌐 Smart Bilingual Messaging - Arabic and English with luxury brand tone
💾 Real-time Database Sync - Updates order status and shipping details instantly
🔒 Test Number Protection - Blocks notifications to development phone numbers
✨ Personalized Messages - Addresses customers by first name
⏱️ Delivery Expectations - Communicates clear 7-12 business day timeline
🎯 International Format - Handles phone numbers with automatic country code detection
Setup Requirements
Integrations Needed:
Shopify - For order fulfillment webhooks
PostgreSQL - For order and customer data storage
WhatsApp Business API - For sending notifications via Facebook Graph API
Credentials Required:
Shopify Access Token (with fulfillment webhook permissions)
PostgreSQL database credentials
WhatsApp Business API Bearer Token (Facebook Graph API v18.0)
How to Use
Import the workflow into your n8n instance
Configure credentials:
Add your Shopify store access token
Connect your PostgreSQL database
Add your WhatsApp Business API credentials
Update test phone numbers in filter nodes (If10 and If11) with your actual test numbers
Customize brand name in WhatsApp message templates if needed (currently "" / "")
Activate the workflow to start sending shipping notifications
Workflow Structure
-
Trigger (Shopify Webhook)
Listens for fulfillments/create events when orders are marked as shipped in Shopify
-
Update Order Status
Updates PostgreSQL database with:
Status changed to 'shipped'
Shipping company name
Tracking number
-
Customer Lookup
Retrieves customer record from database using phone number from fulfillment data
-
Phone Validator (Code Node)
Intelligent phone number formatting:
Detects country from shipping address
Validates and cleans phone number
Adds appropriate country code if missing
Supports 23 countries across GCC, MENA, and international markets
Ensures proper international format (+CountryCode)
-
Get Customer Preferences
Retrieves language preference and first name for personalization
-
Language Detection
Routes workflow based on customer's preferred language (Arabic vs. English)
-
Test Number Filter
Prevents notifications to internal/development phone numbers
-
WhatsApp Notification
Sends comprehensive shipping notification with tracking details in customer's language
Supported Countries & Codes
GCC Region:
🇴🇲 Oman (968)
🇦🇪 UAE (971)
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia (966)
🇰🇼 Kuwait (965)
🇶🇦 Qatar (974)
🇧🇭 Bahrain (973)
MENA Region:
🇯🇴 Jordan (962)
🇪🇬 Egypt (20)
🇮🇶 Iraq (964)
🇱🇧 Lebanon (961)
🇸🇾 Syria (963)
🇵🇸 Palestine (970)
🇾🇪 Yemen (967)
International:
🇺🇸 USA (1)
🇬🇧 UK (44)
🇩🇪 Germany (49)
🇫🇷 France (33)
🇮🇹 Italy (39)
🇪🇸 Spain (34)
🇹🇷 Turkey (90)
🇮🇳 India (91)
🇵🇰 Pakistan (92)
Message Templates
Arabic Message (عربي):
مرحبًا [الاسم]،
يسرّنا إعلامكم بأنه تم شحن طلبكم بنجاح.
رقم الطلب: [order_id]
رقم التتبع: [tracking_number]
شركة الشحن: [courier_name]
رابط التتبع: [tracking_url]
المدة المتوقعة للتوصيل: من 7 إلى 12 يوم عمل.
يمكنكم متابعة حالة الشحنة عبر رقم التتبع، وسنحرص على إبقائكم على اطلاع حتى استلام الطلب.
مع أطيب التحيات،
English Message:
Hello [Name],
We are pleased to inform you that your order has been shipped successfully.
Order No: [order_id]
Tracking No: [tracking_number]
Courier Company: [courier_name]
Tracking URL: [tracking_url]
Estimated delivery time: 7–12 business days.
You may track your shipment using the tracking number provided. We will continue to keep you informed until your order is delivered.
Kind regards,
Database Schema Requirements
Orders Table:
CREATE TABLE orders (
order_id VARCHAR PRIMARY KEY, -- Shopify order number
status VARCHAR, -- Order status ('open', 'shipped', 'delivered', 'canceled')
shipping_company VARCHAR, -- Courier service name
tracking_number VARCHAR, -- Package tracking ID
customer_id INTEGER -- Foreign key to customers table
);
Customers Table:
CREATE TABLE customers (
id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
website_id INTEGER, -- Shopify customer ID
phone VARCHAR, -- Customer phone number
language VARCHAR(2), -- Preferred language ('ar' or 'en')
first_name VARCHAR, -- Customer first name
last_name VARCHAR -- Customer last name
);
Phone Validator Logic
The Phone Validator node intelligently handles phone numbers:
Extracts phone from fulfillment data (checks destination.phone, shipping_address.phone, or root phone)
Detects country from destination.country_code (defaults to 'OM' if not provided)
Cleans number by removing whitespace and non-numeric characters (except +)
Validates length (minimum 5 digits required)
Checks for country code in the number
Adds country code automatically if missing based on shipping country
Ensures + prefix for international format
Returns:
phone: Formatted number with country code (+XXX)
original_phone: Raw input for reference
country_code: ISO country code
validation_status: 'success' or 'empty_or_invalid'
Customization Tips
Add more countries**: Extend the countryCodes object in Phone Validator node
Change brand name**: Update "" / "" in WhatsApp message nodes
Adjust delivery time**: Modify "7–12 business days" to match your actual shipping times
Add more languages**: Create additional language detection branches (e.g., French, Spanish)
Include product details**: Extend database query to fetch order items and include in message
Add delivery date estimates**: Calculate and include specific delivery date ranges
Email notifications**: Add email nodes for customers who prefer email
SMS fallback**: Add SMS nodes for customers without WhatsApp
Use Cases
E-commerce stores shipping to multiple countries
Luxury brands requiring premium communication
Businesses with Arabic and English speaking customers
International retailers with GCC and MENA presence
Multi-channel sellers needing unified shipping notifications
Stores using various courier services (DHL, FedEx, Aramex, etc.)
Error Handling
Empty phone numbers**: Workflow marks as 'empty_or_invalid' and skips notification
Invalid formats**: Phone validator attempts to fix common issues
Missing data**: Uses fallback values (e.g., 'OM' for country, 'en' for language)
SQL injection protection**: Single quotes escaped in database queries
Test number blocking**: Prevents accidental notifications during testing
Performance Notes
Execution time**: ~2-3 seconds per order
Database queries**: 3 total (1 UPDATE, 2 SELECT)
API calls**: 1 WhatsApp message per order
Scalability**: Handles concurrent fulfillments independently
Rate limits**: WhatsApp Business API applies standard rate limits
Technical Notes
WhatsApp API Version: v18.0
Phone API format: Country code without '+' (e.g., 962798087441)
Database: PostgreSQL with prepared statements
Default country: Oman (+968)
Default language: English if not specified
Workflow processes one fulfillment at a time (runOnceForEachItem)
Tags: #shopify #whatsapp #fulfillment #shipping #tracking #bilingual #arabic #english #phone-validation #ecommerce #notifications #international
