CustomerOrder

CustomerOrder is an information object used in commerce systems to record a customer’s request to purchase goods or services. It functions as the primary record for processing fulfillment, payments, and post-sale activities. In many architectures, a CustomerOrder serves as the aggregate root coordinating related data such as line items, customer details, pricing, and shipment information.

Typical data captured in a CustomerOrder includes an order identifier, customer identifier, order date, currency, status, and a collection of order lines with product identifiers, quantities, unit prices, and line totals. Additional attributes commonly cover subtotal, tax, shipping cost, total amount, billing and shipping addresses, payment method and status, chosen shipping method, and tracking information. A CustomerOrder is linked to a Customer and to fulfillment and financial entities such as Shipments and Invoices, and it ties to Product records through its line items.

Lifecycle states commonly observed are Created, Confirmed, Paid, Packed, Shipped, Delivered, Cancelled, and Returned. Transitions are governed by business rules such as inventory reservation, payment authorizations, and fraud checks. The order may be mutable before certain milestones and may require audits for changes. Comprehensive auditing and versioning help track status changes and modifications over time.

Key operations encompass creating an order, adding or removing line items, updating quantities, calculating totals, applying discounts, generating invoices, and initiating fulfillment. CustomerOrders support both consumer and business-to-business workflows and are used by e-commerce platforms, order-management systems, and ERP integrations to synchronize inventory, shipping, and financial data.

Technically, CustomerOrder is often modeled as an aggregate root with invariants that ensure a consistent state across related entities. Storage can be relational or document-based, with APIs for creation, update, and query, and with attention to data integrity, currency handling, localization, and audit logging.