FlowBuilder

Online order fulfilment flowchart

An e-commerce order flow is a good process flow chart example: every step is owned by a system or a team, and the two decisions (payment, stock) are where orders get stuck. Switch it to a swimlane chart to show who does what.

How to write steps
  • One step per line. Lines connect top to bottom.
  • End a line with ? to make a decision. Indent the answers under it: yes: Ship it, no: Refund.
  • Indent more lines under an answer to continue that branch.
  • -> Step name jumps back to an earlier step (a loop). no -> Step name works inside a decision.
  • Start, End, Done or Stop become rounded start/end shapes.
  • Shape tags: [input] [output] [doc] [db] [sub] [manual] [delay].
  • lane: Sales on its own line puts the next steps in a swimlane.
  • Or paste Mermaid code starting with flowchart TD. It’s detected automatically.

Mermaid code for this chart
flowchart TD
  n1(["Start"])
  n2[/"Customer places order"/]
  n3{"Payment approved?"}
  n4[/"Ask customer to update payment"/]
  n5{"Items in stock?"}
  n6[/"Offer backorder or refund"/]
  n7(["End"])
  n8["Pick and pack items"]
  n9["Print shipping label"]
  n10["Hand over to carrier"]
  n11[/"Send tracking email"/]
  n1 --> n2
  n2 --> n3
  n3 -->|"no"| n4
  n3 -->|"yes"| n5
  n5 -->|"no"| n6
  n6 --> n7
  n5 -->|"yes"| n8
  n8 --> n9
  n9 --> n10
  n10 --> n11
  n11 --> n7
  n4 --> n2

The steps as text

This is the source of the chart above, so the template is readable even without the diagram.

Start
[input] Customer places order
Payment approved?
  no: [output] Ask customer to update payment
    -> Customer places order
  yes: Items in stock?
    no: [output] Offer backorder or refund
      End
    yes: Pick and pack items
      Print shipping label
      Hand over to carrier
      [output] Send tracking email
      End

More flowchart examples

Employee onboardingHR, IT and the manager each have a lane; the new hire gets set up by day one.Customer support ticketTriage, escalate and close a support ticket with a satisfaction check.Hiring processScreen, interview and offer, with clear reject points.Expense approvalSubmit, approve and reimburse an expense claim with a manager threshold.

Questions people ask

How do I edit this online order fulfilment flowchart?

Change the text in the editor. Each line is a step, lines ending in “?” are decisions, and indented lines are the answers. The chart redraws as you type and is saved in your browser.

Can I download it?

Yes: PNG for documents and slides, SVG for sharp printing, or Mermaid code for GitHub, Notion and Obsidian.