FS-DOC-01Operations
Launch Plan
Delivery Exception Handling
[YourCompany.com] · Fulfilment Department · Prepared by FullSpec · [Today's Date]
This Launch Plan is your end-to-end guide to getting the Delivery Exception Handling automation built, tested, and live. It covers exactly what is being built, how FullSpec runs the four build stages, what you need to provide at each stage, and what your day-to-day role looks like once the automation is running. FullSpec handles every technical step from tool connections through to go-live monitoring. Your role is to provide credentials, confirm one key configuration decision, and stay across the progress updates we send at the close of each stage.
01What you're launching
Right now, your fulfilment team checks carrier portals several times a day, manually logs exceptions into a spreadsheet, writes individual customer emails from scratch, opens Gorgias tickets by hand, and updates Shopify after each resolution. This takes around 94 minutes of hands-on work per day and leaves a gap of hours, sometimes days, between a carrier marking a shipment as failed and your customer being told. The automation replaces all of that manual effort with a real-time webhook from ShipStation that fires the moment an exception occurs. An Exception Triage Agent classifies the failure, opens a Gorgias ticket, and sends a tailored customer notification via Gmail, all within two minutes of the carrier event. A Resolution Agent then applies the reship or refund in Shopify and logs the outcome to Google Sheets and Slack. High-value orders pause for a Slack approval from your Fulfilment Manager before any resolution is applied. Nothing else stays manual.
Process
Delivery Exception Handling
Trigger
Carrier tracking status changes to failed, held, or undeliverable in ShipStation, firing a webhook instantly
Final output
Exception classified, customer notified, Gorgias ticket opened, reship or refund applied in Shopify, outcome logged in Google Sheets and posted to Slack
Agents being built
2 agents: Exception Triage Agent and Resolution Agent
Tools involved
ShipStation, Shopify, Gorgias, Gmail, Slack, Google Sheets
Volume
Approximately 90 exceptions per month (94 runs this month)
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02How the build works
FullSpec runs the build across four sequential stages: Connect, Build, Test, and Launch. Each stage has a defined set of tasks for the FullSpec team and a small number of actions for you. The stages run in order, and each one must close before the next begins. You will receive a progress update at the end of every stage confirming what was completed and what is needed to open the next one. The total delivery window is four business weeks from the close of Connect.
Complexity level: Moderate. This build is scoped at 28 hours of build effort across a four-week delivery window. The delivery clock starts at the close of Connect, not payment. Until FullSpec has confirmed access to all required tools, the build has not started.
1Connect
Business days 1 to 3
FullSpec
Send the credential request checklist for all six tools. Confirm ShipStation webhook endpoint requirements and carrier exception code library. Review your Gorgias queue structure to ensure tickets land in the right place. Confirm Gmail sending domain and Shopify API permission scopes needed.
You
Provide API credentials and access for ShipStation, Shopify, Gorgias, Gmail, Slack, and Google Sheets using the checklist FullSpec sends. Confirm the order value threshold above which a manager must approve resolutions before Connect closes.
2Build
Business days 4 to 14
FullSpec
Build the ShipStation webhook receiver and Shopify order fetch. Build and test the Exception Triage Agent classification logic against real carrier exception codes. Build Gorgias ticket creation, Gmail notification templates for all four exception types, and the Slack approval prompt. Build the Resolution Agent reship and refund logic with the order value threshold gate. Connect the Google Sheets outcome log and Slack fulfilment channel summary.
You
Remain available to answer any clarification questions FullSpec sends during the build, typically one or two short replies per week. No technical action is required from you during this stage.
3Test
Business days 15 to 18
FullSpec
Run end-to-end QA across all four exception types (address issue, failed attempt, customs hold, lost parcel) using sandbox orders. Test the high-value order approval path in Slack. Verify Google Sheets logging is accurate on every run. Confirm the polling fallback for carriers that do not push webhook events reliably. Share a test summary report with you before requesting go-live sign-off.
You
Review the test summary FullSpec sends and confirm the results look correct for your operation. Check that the Slack approval prompt displays the right order detail for your manager. Give written go-live confirmation once satisfied.
4Launch
Business days 19 to 20
FullSpec
Switch the automation to live against your production tools. Monitor the first 48 hours of live runs and confirm the first real exception flows through end-to-end without error. Retire any sandbox configuration and hand over the live monitoring dashboard access.
You
Notify your fulfilment team that the automation is live and that manual portal polling can stop. Confirm with your Fulfilment Manager that the Slack approval prompt is visible and actionable. Contact FullSpec at support@gofullspec.com if anything looks unexpected in the first week.
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03What FullSpec needs from you
FullSpec needs only access to your existing tools. No technical knowledge is required from you or your team. All credential handling, API configuration, and integration work is done by FullSpec. You provide the login or API key details using the checklist sent during Connect, and FullSpec takes it from there.
ShipStation
API key and secret from your ShipStation account settings, plus confirmation of which carriers are active in your account
Before Connect closes
Shopify
A custom app API key with read and write access to orders and refunds, created in your Shopify admin under Apps and Sales Channels
Before Connect closes
Gorgias
API key and your Gorgias subdomain, plus confirmation of which queue and tags exceptions should be assigned to on creation
Before Connect closes
Gmail
OAuth authorisation for the sending address your team uses for customer emails, confirmed via Google account sign-in
Before Connect closes
Slack
OAuth authorisation for your Slack workspace, with access to the fulfilment channel and the manager's direct message channel for approval prompts
Before Connect closes
Google Sheets
The URL of the exceptions log spreadsheet and edit access granted to the FullSpec service account email provided during Connect
Before Connect closes
One decision you must confirm before Connect closes: the order value threshold above which a reship or refund requires manager approval via Slack before the automation proceeds. This threshold controls whether the Resolution Agent acts automatically or holds for a human decision. FullSpec will ask you to confirm this figure in writing during the Connect stage. Without it, the Resolution Agent cannot be built correctly and the build timeline will slip.
04Your role once live
Once the automation is live, the day-to-day exception handling process is almost entirely off your team's plate. The table below sets out what your team remains responsible for and what FullSpec continues to own on the technical side.
Role
Ongoing responsibilities
What you no longer touch
You (business owner and fulfilment team)
Review and act on Slack approval prompts for high-value orders. Monitor the Google Sheets exception log to spot any unusual exception rate increases. Update FullSpec if you change carriers, add a new Shopify store, or adjust your resolution policy. Contact support@gofullspec.com if any live run produces an unexpected result.
Manual carrier portal polling. Copying exception details into spreadsheets. Writing individual customer notification emails. Manually opening Gorgias tickets. Updating Shopify order records by hand after resolution. Sending Slack resolution summaries to the team.
FullSpec
Monitor automation uptime and webhook delivery. Apply fixes if a carrier changes its exception code format or webhook structure. Update Gmail templates on request. Adjust the order value threshold or classification rules when your policy changes. Provide ongoing support via support@gofullspec.com.
N/A. FullSpec owns the full technical layer.
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05What success looks like
The table below shows what you should expect to see at each stage after go-live. Use these milestones to assess whether the automation is performing as designed. If anything in the first week does not match what is described here, contact FullSpec at support@gofullspec.com immediately.
Timeframe
What to expect
Sign of success
Week 1
All live carrier exceptions trigger the webhook and flow through without manual intervention. Customer notification emails go out within two to three minutes of each exception event. The Slack approval prompt fires correctly for any order above the configured threshold. Google Sheets logs every run with the correct classification and outcome.
Zero manual portal checks needed. Your team receives no unexpected customer complaints about late or missing exception communications.
Month 1
Approximately 90 exceptions processed automatically. Staff time spent on exception handling drops from 6 hours per week to under 30 minutes. The Google Sheets log shows a complete audit trail with classification, resolution type, and timestamp on every row. No exceptions fall through without a Gorgias ticket.
Your Fulfilment Coordinator is no longer the bottleneck for exception resolution. The team can see the full exception history in one place for the first time.
Month 3
Around 270 exceptions have been handled automatically. The automation has saved approximately 78 hours of staff time and around $2,340 in labour cost. Exception-to-resolution time is consistently under three minutes for automated cases. Any pattern in exception types (repeat carriers, specific SKUs, address issues) is visible in the Google Sheets log for the first time.
The process is running without any manual intervention on routine cases. The data in Google Sheets is good enough to surface carrier or product patterns your team could not see before.
Next step: to open the Connect stage and start the delivery clock, send your completed credential checklist to support@gofullspec.com and confirm your order value approval threshold in the same message. FullSpec will acknowledge receipt within one business day and schedule the Connect close call.
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