Orders Not Sending to Vendor

Introduction

One of the most critical issues in order management is when approved orders fail to reach the intended vendor. When an order does not send successfully, the vendor remains unaware of the work request, potentially causing delays in asset maintenance and operational disruptions. Understanding why orders fail to send and how to diagnose and resolve these issues quickly is essential for maintaining smooth order workflows.

This comprehensive troubleshooting guide walks administrators through identifying symptoms of send failures, understanding common causes, performing step-by-step diagnostics, checking system logs, resending failed notifications, testing email delivery, and implementing preventive measures. Whether dealing with a single failed notification or systematic sending problems, this guide provides the tools and procedures needed to restore order delivery quickly.

Understanding the Order Send Process

Before troubleshooting, it's helpful to understand the normal order send flow:

1. Order Creation: User creates order; status set to "Pending"
2. Approval (if required): Approver reviews and approves order; status changes to "Approved"
3. Notification Trigger: System detects approved order and triggers notification process
4. Vendor Contact Retrieval: System retrieves vendor email address from vendor profile
5. Email Generation: System generates email notification using OrderNotificationData
6. Email Transmission: System attempts to send email via configured mail service
7. Status Update: If successful, order status changes to "Sent"; if failed, status changes to "Failed"

Failures can occur at any stage from step 4 onward. Identifying which stage failed helps pinpoint the root cause.

Symptoms of Send Failures

Orders that fail to send to vendors display specific symptoms visible to administrators:

Primary Symptoms

Symptom	What You'll See	Where to Look
"Failed" Status	Order status shows "Failed" instead of "Sent"	Order list view, order detail page, order summary dashboard
Red Status Indicator	Status badge or icon appears in red/error color	Order list view, dashboard status cards
Failed Count Elevated	"Failed Orders" count on dashboard higher than zero	Order summary dashboard, failed orders card
Vendor Confirmation Missing	Vendor contacts you saying they didn't receive order	External communication, vendor inquiry
Stuck in Approved Status	Order remains "Approved" for extended period without progressing to "Sent"	Order list view sorted by status and date

Secondary Symptoms

• Error Messages: Error text may appear in order notes or system messages
• Missing Sent Date: "Date Sent" field remains empty on order detail page
• No Email in Sent Items: System email logs show no send attempt for the order
• Bounced Email Notifications: Administrator receives bounce-back emails from mail server
• Multiple Retry Attempts: Order history shows repeated failed send attempts

Common Causes of Send Failures

Understanding why orders fail to send helps focus troubleshooting efforts on the most likely causes.

Cause 1: Invalid or Missing Vendor Email Address

Description: The vendor's email contact information is incorrect, improperly formatted, or missing entirely from the vendor profile.

Why It Happens:

• Vendor profile created without email address
• Email address entered with typos or formatting errors (e.g., missing "@" symbol)
• Vendor changed email address but profile not updated in ARMOR
• Email field contains invalid characters or spaces
• Multiple email addresses entered incorrectly (improper delimiter)

Symptoms:

• Immediate failure upon approval (no delay)
• Error message referencing "invalid email" or "recipient address"
• Affects all orders to specific vendor consistently

Impact: High - All orders to affected vendor will fail until corrected.

Cause 2: Email Notification Service Failure

Description: The underlying email service or mail server ARMOR uses to send notifications is unavailable, misconfigured, or experiencing issues.

Why It Happens:

• Mail server downtime or maintenance
• Network connectivity issues between ARMOR and mail server
• SMTP authentication credentials expired or incorrect
• Mail server configuration changes breaking integration
• Rate limits exceeded on email service
• TLS/SSL certificate issues

Symptoms:

• Multiple orders to different vendors all failing simultaneously
• Order stuck in "Approved" status without progressing
• Error messages about mail service, SMTP, or connection issues
• All order sends failing, not just specific vendors

Impact: Critical - Entire order notification system non-functional until service restored.

Cause 3: Approval Process Stuck or Incomplete

Description: The order appears approved but approval process didn't complete properly, preventing send trigger from firing.

Why It Happens:

• Database transaction failed during approval saving
• Approver user ID invalid or missing in approval record
• Approval workflow configured incorrectly (multiple approvers expected but only one approved)
• System error occurred immediately after approval button clicked
• Background job responsible for sending notifications not running

Symptoms:

• Order shows "Approved" status but never progresses to "Sent"
• Approval date populated but send date remains empty indefinitely
• Order stuck even after waiting hours or days
• "Resend" action not available or doesn't appear

Impact: Medium - Affects individual orders; may require manual intervention to trigger send.

Cause 4: Vendor Profile Disabled or Inactive

Description: The vendor assigned to the order has been disabled or marked inactive in ARMOR, preventing notifications from being sent.

Why It Happens:

• Vendor intentionally disabled due to poor performance or terminated relationship
• Vendor accidentally disabled during profile update
• Vendor archived or marked inactive for regulatory/compliance reasons
• System automatically disabled vendor after repeated email bounces

Symptoms:

• Order approved successfully but immediately fails to send
• Error message indicating vendor inactive or disabled
• Consistently affects all orders to specific vendor
• Vendor still appears in automation rules but sends fail

Impact: Medium-High - Affects all orders to specific vendor; requires vendor status change or reassignment.

Cause 5: Email Content Triggering Spam Filters

Description: The order notification email is technically sent but blocked by recipient's spam filter, appearing as send failure in some systems.

Why It Happens:

• Vendor's email system has aggressive spam filtering
• ARMOR's sending domain not whitelisted by vendor
• Email content contains words/patterns flagged as spam
• Attachments or image size exceeds vendor's email limits
• Sender email reputation poor (if using shared mail service)

Symptoms:

• Order shows "Sent" in ARMOR but vendor claims not received
• Some vendors receive orders, others don't (inconsistent delivery)
• No bounce-back email received by ARMOR
• Email logs show successful send but vendor has no record

Impact: Low-Medium - May affect specific vendors; requires coordination with vendor IT to whitelist ARMOR emails.

Cause 6: Order Data Validation Failures

Description: Required order data missing or malformed, preventing notification email from being generated.

Why It Happens:

• Required field (asset, description, etc.) somehow bypassed during creation
• Character encoding issues in order description or notes
• Extremely large description text exceeding email limits
• Uploaded image files corrupted or inaccessible in GridFS
• Special characters in order data breaking email template rendering

Symptoms:

• Order fails immediately upon approval attempt
• Error messages about missing data or invalid format
• Affects individual orders, not systematic across all orders
• Order detail page may show incomplete information

Impact: Low - Affects individual problematic orders; can be resolved by editing order data.

Step-by-Step Troubleshooting Process

Follow this systematic approach to diagnose and resolve send failures:

Step 1: Verify Order Status

1. Navigate to Order Management > Order List
2. Filter to show "Failed" orders only
3. Locate the problem order(s) and click to open order detail
4. Note the exact status ("Failed" vs. "Approved" stuck)
5. Check order timestamps: Created Date, Approved Date, Sent Date (if any)
6. Look for any error messages displayed on order detail page

What to Look For:

• Status explicitly "Failed": indicates send attempt was made and failed
• Status "Approved" but sent date empty for >1 hour: indicates send never attempted
• Error message present: provides clues about failure cause

Step 2: Check Vendor Contact Information

1. From order detail, note the vendor assigned to the failed order
2. Navigate to Order Management > Vendor Setup
3. Search for and open the vendor profile
4. Verify Email Address field is populated
5. Check email address format: must be valid (e.g., vendor@example.com)
6. Look for typos, extra spaces, or special characters
7. Verify vendor status is "Active" (not disabled or inactive)
8. If multiple contacts, ensure at least one has valid email

Common Email Address Issues:

• Missing "@" symbol: john.doeexample.com
• Extra spaces: " john.doe@example.com " (leading/trailing spaces)
• Typo in domain: john.doe@exmaple.com
• Incomplete address: john.doe@
• Wrong delimiter for multiple addresses: semicolon instead of comma

Action: If email address invalid or missing, update vendor profile with correct email, then proceed to resend order (Step 7).

Step 3: Review Order Notification History

1. On order detail page, locate Notification History or Order History section
2. Review all notification attempts listed
3. Note timestamps of attempts
4. Check for error messages or failure reasons logged
5. Count number of retry attempts (multiple attempts indicate persistent issue)

Example History Entries:

• "2025-06-15 10:30 AM - Notification send failed: Invalid recipient email"
• "2025-06-15 10:45 AM - Retry attempt 1 failed: SMTP connection timeout"
• "2025-06-15 11:00 AM - Retry attempt 2 failed: Mail service unavailable"

What History Reveals:

• Immediate failure after approval: likely vendor email or approval issue
• Delayed failure after multiple retries: likely mail service issue
• No send attempts logged: approval process may not have completed

Step 4: Check System Email Logs

1. Navigate to Administration > System Logs or Settings > Email Logs
2. Filter logs by date range covering the failed order's approval time
3. Search for order ID or vendor email address
4. Review log entries for the failed send attempt
5. Note specific error codes or messages (e.g., SMTP 550 error, connection refused)
6. Check if other emails sent successfully around same time (indicates order-specific vs. system-wide issue)

Common Log Error Messages:

Error Message	Meaning	Likely Cause
"SMTP 550: Mailbox unavailable"	Recipient email address doesn't exist	Invalid vendor email address
"Connection timeout"	Cannot reach mail server	Network or mail server issue
"Authentication failed"	Mail server login credentials rejected	SMTP password expired or incorrect
"Recipient address rejected"	Mail server refuses to accept recipient	Email format invalid or domain blocked
"Message size exceeds limit"	Email too large (often due to attachments)	Attached images exceed mail server limits

Step 5: Verify Email Service Health

1. Navigate to Administration > Email Settings or System Status
2. Check mail service status indicator (if available)
3. Review SMTP configuration settings (server, port, authentication)
4. Look for recent configuration changes in audit logs
5. Send test email using system's "Send Test Email" function (if available)
6. Verify test email received at known good address

Testing Email Service:

• If test email succeeds: mail service working; issue likely vendor-specific
• If test email fails: mail service issue; affects all order sends
• If no test function available: check if other system emails (user notifications, alerts) are working

Action if Email Service Down:

• Contact ARMOR Support or IT department immediately
• Check mail server status with hosting provider
• Review recent changes to email configuration
• Verify SMTP credentials haven't expired
• Check firewall rules haven't blocked mail server access

Step 6: Examine Order Data Completeness

1. Return to failed order detail page
2. Verify all required fields populated: Asset, Description, Order Type, Vendor
3. Check description length (extremely long text may cause issues)
4. Review attached images: click to verify they load correctly
5. Look for unusual characters or formatting in description text
6. Check if asset still exists and is accessible (not deleted)

Data Validation Checklist:

• Asset: Must be valid, active asset in system
• Description: Not empty, no special characters breaking email template
• Order Type: Must be "Parts" or "Service"
• Vendor: Must be active vendor with valid email
• Images: Must load when clicked; not corrupted

Action if Data Invalid: Edit order to correct invalid data, save changes, then proceed to resend.

Step 7: Resend Failed Notification

Once root cause identified and corrected (vendor email updated, mail service restored, data fixed), resend the notification:

1. Navigate to failed order detail page
2. Look for "Resend Notification" or "Retry Send" button
3. Click button to trigger manual send attempt
4. Watch for confirmation message or new error
5. Refresh order detail page to verify status changed to "Sent"
6. Check that "Date Sent" field now populated
7. Optionally follow up with vendor to confirm they received email

Resend from Order List (Bulk Action):

• If multiple orders failed, use order list view
• Filter to "Failed" orders
• Select orders to resend (checkboxes)
• Click bulk "Resend" action
• Confirm action when prompted
• Verify orders changed to "Sent" status

Step 8: Test with Known-Good Vendor

If send failures persist after corrections, test the system with a vendor known to have valid contact information:

1. Create test order for asset
2. Assign to vendor with confirmed valid email (or create test vendor with your own email)
3. Approve test order (if approval required)
4. Verify test order sends successfully
5. Check your email to confirm notification received

Test Results:

• Test succeeds: original vendor's email was issue; update original vendor email and resend
• Test fails: system-wide email issue; escalate to ARMOR Support or IT immediately

Checking and Interpreting System Logs

System logs provide detailed technical information about send failures beyond what's visible in order history.

Accessing System Logs

Navigation Paths (varies by ARMOR installation):

• Administration > System Logs > Email Logs
• Settings > Logs > Notification Logs
• Developer Tools > Application Logs (admin only)

Key Log Fields to Review

Log Field	Information Provided	Troubleshooting Value
Timestamp	Exact date/time of send attempt	Correlate with mail server issues or system changes
Order ID	Unique identifier linking log entry to order	Ensure you're reviewing correct order's logs
Recipient	Email address notification sent to	Verify system used correct vendor email
Status/Result	Success, Failed, Retry, Pending	Confirm whether send actually attempted
Error Code	SMTP error code (e.g., 550, 554, 451)	Specific technical reason for failure
Error Message	Human-readable description of error	Understand what went wrong
Mail Server Response	Full response from receiving mail server	Detailed diagnostic information

Interpreting SMTP Error Codes

SMTP Code	Meaning	Resolution
550	Mailbox unavailable (doesn't exist)	Update vendor email to correct address
551	User not local; relay required	Mail server configuration issue; contact IT
552	Mailbox full	Vendor's mailbox full; contact vendor to clean up
553	Invalid email address format	Fix email format in vendor profile
554	Transaction failed / message refused	Often spam filter; contact vendor IT to whitelist
451	Temporary failure; try again later	Retry send; if persists, investigate recipient mail server
452	Insufficient system storage	Recipient mail server issue; contact vendor

Log Analysis Example

Log Entry:

2025-06-15 14:22:35 | Order ID: 12345 | Recipient: service@catparts.com | Status: Failed
Error Code: SMTP 550 | Error Message: Mailbox unavailable
Mail Server Response: 550 5.1.1 <service@catparts.com>: Recipient address rejected: User unknown in local recipient table

Interpretation:

• Send attempted at 14:22:35 on June 15
• Order 12345 was being sent to service@catparts.com
• SMTP 550 error: recipient mailbox doesn't exist
• Recipient's mail server explicitly rejected address as unknown user
• Conclusion: Vendor email address incorrect or vendor changed email and didn't update ARMOR
• Action: Contact CAT Parts vendor to get current email address; update vendor profile; resend order

Testing Email Delivery

After making corrections, systematically test email delivery to ensure issue resolved.

Test Method 1: Resend Original Failed Order

1. Make necessary corrections (vendor email, mail service, etc.)
2. Navigate to failed order detail
3. Click "Resend Notification"
4. Wait 1-2 minutes for processing
5. Refresh order detail page
6. Verify status changed to "Sent"
7. Check system logs for successful send entry
8. (Optional) Contact vendor to confirm receipt

Test Method 2: Create Test Order to Same Vendor

1. Navigate to Create Order
2. Select any asset
3. Set order type (Parts or Service)
4. Enter test description: "Test order - please disregard"
5. Assign to vendor that had failures (or override vendor selection)
6. Save order
7. Approve immediately (if approval required)
8. Monitor for successful send
9. Verify vendor receives notification
10. Cancel or delete test order afterward

Test Method 3: Send Test Email to Your Own Address

1. Create temporary test vendor with your own email address
2. Create test order assigned to this vendor
3. Approve and send
4. Check your email inbox (including spam folder)
5. Verify notification received with correct order details
6. Review email formatting and content
7. Delete test vendor after successful test

Test Method 4: System Email Test Function

Some ARMOR installations include built-in email testing:

1. Navigate to Administration > Email Settings
2. Locate "Test Email" or "Send Test Message" section
3. Enter your email address as recipient
4. Click "Send Test Email"
5. Check inbox for test message
6. If test succeeds but order sends fail, issue is order-specific (vendor email, order data)
7. If test fails, email service itself has problem

Preventive Measures

Implement these practices to reduce future send failures:

Vendor Email Maintenance

• Quarterly Email Verification: Contact all active vendors quarterly to confirm email addresses current
• Bounce Monitoring: Review email bounce reports monthly; proactively update vendors with bounced emails
• Email Validation: When creating/updating vendors, test send to verify email works before using in production
• Multiple Contacts: Encourage vendors to provide backup email addresses to reduce single points of failure
• Document Changes: Log all vendor email address changes in vendor notes with date and reason

System Monitoring

• Daily Failed Order Check: Review failed orders dashboard every morning; address immediately
• Email Service Health Monitoring: Set up alerts for mail service downtime or delivery failures
• Success Rate Tracking: Monitor send success rate metric; investigate if drops below 95%
• Vendor Performance Reports: Monthly review of send success by vendor to identify chronic issues
• Log Review: Weekly review of email logs for patterns indicating emerging issues

Email Infrastructure

• SPF/DKIM Configuration: Ensure ARMOR's sending domain has proper SPF and DKIM records to improve deliverability
• Whitelist Requests: Proactively ask vendors to whitelist ARMOR's sending email address/domain
• Redundant Mail Service: Consider backup mail service for automatic failover if primary fails
• Rate Limit Management: Monitor email volume against service rate limits; upgrade if approaching limits
• TLS/SSL Updates: Keep mail server certificates current to prevent authentication failures

User Training

• Vendor Setup Best Practices: Train users creating vendors on proper email format and validation
• Send Failure Response: Train order creators to check order status after approval and report failures promptly
• Contact Information Updates: Educate vendors to notify ARMOR when contact information changes
• Troubleshooting Basics: Train administrators on first-level troubleshooting steps for quick resolution

Escalation Criteria

Escalate to ARMOR Support or IT department if:

• System-Wide Failures: All or most order sends failing across all vendors
• Mail Service Down: Email service unavailable or test emails failing
• Persistent Individual Failures: Specific order fails repeatedly after all corrections attempted
• Configuration Issues: SMTP settings, authentication, or mail server configuration needed
• Database Errors: Error messages indicating database problems with order or notification data
• Unknown Error Codes: Log entries with unfamiliar error codes or technical messages
• After-Hours Urgency: Critical order must be sent outside business hours and troubleshooting unsuccessful

Information to Provide When Escalating:

• Order ID(s) of failed orders
• Vendor name(s) and email addresses
• Exact error messages from order detail and system logs
• Timestamp of failure(s)
• Steps already attempted to resolve
• Whether issue affects single order, single vendor, or all orders
• Screenshots of error messages or log entries

Real-World Troubleshooting Scenarios

Scenario 1: Single Order to Cummins Vendor Fails

Symptoms: Service order #45678 for Cummins generator fails to send; status shows "Failed"; other orders sending successfully.

Troubleshooting Steps:

1. Check Cummins vendor email in vendor profile: cummins.service@example.com
2. Review order detail error message: "SMTP 550: Mailbox unavailable"
3. Test email address by sending test order to same vendor
4. Test order also fails with same error
5. Contact Cummins vendor via phone; discover they changed email to cumminsservice@example.com (no dot)
6. Update vendor profile with correct email
7. Resend original order #45678
8. Order sends successfully; vendor confirms receipt

Resolution: Vendor email address updated; order resent successfully.

Scenario 2: All Orders Fail Suddenly at 2:00 PM

Symptoms: Multiple orders to different vendors all fail starting at 2:00 PM; failures continue for new orders; error: "Connection timeout".

Troubleshooting Steps:

1. Check order list: 8 orders failed between 2:00-2:30 PM to 5 different vendors
2. Review email logs: All show "Connection timeout" to SMTP server
3. Attempt to send test email: Test also fails with connection error
4. Check system status: Mail service status indicator shows "Unavailable"
5. Contact IT department: Mail server undergoing emergency maintenance
6. Wait for IT to restore service (completed at 3:15 PM)
7. Send test email: Test succeeds
8. Bulk resend all 8 failed orders
9. All orders send successfully

Resolution: Mail server maintenance caused temporary outage; orders resent after service restored.

Scenario 3: CAT Parts Vendor Claims Not Receiving Orders

Symptoms: CAT Parts vendor contacts administrator saying they haven't received orders in 3 days; ARMOR shows orders as "Sent".

Troubleshooting Steps:

1. Review order list: 6 orders to CAT Parts in last 3 days, all show "Sent"
2. Check email logs: All 6 orders logged as successfully sent with no errors
3. Create test order to CAT Parts using admin's own email as vendor email
4. Test order sends; admin receives email in spam/junk folder
5. Ask CAT Parts to check their spam folder: They find all 6 orders there
6. Provide CAT Parts with ARMOR sending domain: orders@armor-system.com
7. CAT Parts IT whitelists ARMOR sending address
8. Send another test order: CAT Parts receives in inbox, not spam

Resolution: Vendor's spam filter blocking ARMOR emails; whitelist added by vendor IT.

Related Articles

• Setting Up Vendor Contact Information: Proper vendor email configuration
• Understanding Order Statuses: Explanation of Pending, Approved, Sent, Failed, etc.
• Approval Emails Not Received: Troubleshooting approval notification issues
• Email Notification Configuration: System-level email settings and SMTP setup
• Vendor Performance Analytics: Monitoring send success rates by vendor

Summary

Troubleshooting orders that fail to send to vendors requires systematic diagnosis starting with order status verification, checking vendor contact information, reviewing notification history and system logs, verifying email service health, and examining order data completeness. Key takeaways:

• Invalid vendor email addresses are the most common cause of individual order send failures
• Mail service issues cause system-wide failures affecting all orders simultaneously
• System logs provide detailed error codes and messages essential for diagnosis
• SMTP error codes indicate specific technical failures (550=mailbox unavailable, 451=temporary, etc.)
• Resending notifications after corrections resolves most failed orders quickly
• Testing with known-good vendors helps isolate vendor-specific vs. system-wide problems
• Spam filtering can cause successful sends to never reach vendor inbox
• Preventive maintenance including quarterly email verification and daily failure monitoring reduces incidents
• Escalation to support appropriate for system-wide failures, mail service issues, or persistent unexplained failures

By following the troubleshooting steps outlined in this guide and implementing preventive measures, administrators can quickly resolve send failures and maintain reliable order delivery to vendors.

Tags: orders, troubleshooting, vendors, email, notifications, failed, sending, SMTP, delivery, errors