Shopify Multi Location Inventory: Complete Guide

Table of Contents

Last Updated: February 2025

Embarking on the journey of managing a growing Shopify store with multiple inventory and fulfillment locations? Navigating the challenges of tracking and overseeing inventory across various storefronts and warehouses? 

Enter Shopify Multi-Location Inventory – the ultimate solution. Designed as a multi-location management function within the app, it enables business owners to efficiently assign and monitor inventory in all locations. 

In this guide, we’ll unravel the intricacies of Shopify multiple locations, equipping you with essential insights for seamless inventory management. Let’s kick off the exploration!

What Are Shopify Multiple Shipping Locations?

Handling Shopify’s multiple shipping locations presents challenges for sellers managing inventory across diverse spaces like stores, warehouses, or homes. When a customer places an order and items are scattered, timely fulfillment becomes a puzzle.

The Solution: Shopify Multiple Locations

Shopify’s Multiple Locations feature simplifies inventory management. Say goodbye to complex spreadsheets and time-consuming tasks. This enhancement frees up your time to focus on growing your business.

    1. Inventory Insight: Easily track stock levels at different locations.
    2. Strategic Moves: Identify overstocked or understocked products.
    3. Seamless Fulfillment: Transfer items between locations or order directly from suppliers for efficient shipment to specific areas.
shopify multi location inventory
shopify.com

By streamlining these processes, Shopify Multiple Locations empowers you to make informed decisions, promoting a more efficient and responsive business operation.

Why Use Shopify Multiple Locations?

Selling online involves various places like retail stores, warehouses, and drop-shippers. Shopify’s multiple location features make it easy to handle inventory everywhere. 

Here are 5 benefits:

  1. Easy Warehouse Management: Shopify makes stocking and shipping products in different places, like warehouses, simple and cost-effective.
  2. Tailored Shopping Experience: Create separate online shops for each location, offering customers a personalized experience. Whether it’s a general store or a fancy boutique, it helps your store stand out.
  3. Smooth Buying Process: Having many products can be confusing. Splitting inventory into different shops makes it easier for customers to find and buy what they want.
  4. Local Pickup and Delivery: If you have both online and offline stores, you can move orders between them. This allows customers to shop online and pick up in-store based on availability.
  5. Dropshipping Boost: For drop shippers, tracking inventory by location is a game-changer. It helps manage more suppliers and offer a wider range of products, making your store more attractive to customers.

How Many Shopify Locations Can You Manage? 

The number of locations available for your store depends on the Shopify subscription plan you opt for:

  1. Shopify Lite – Allows up to 3 locations
  2. Basic Shopify – Supports up to 4 locations
  3. Shopify – Permits up to 5 locations
  4. Advanced Shopify – Extends to 8 locations
  5. Shopify Plus – Offers a maximum of 20 locations

It’s worth noting that apps treated as locations and deactivating locations do not impact your location limit.

How to Set Up and Prioritize Location

    1. Navigate to Settings > Locations in your Shopify dashboard.
    2. Select Add location.
    3. Provide the name and address for each location. If utilizing Shopify shipping rates, ensure to enter the complete warehouse address.
    4. Choose Fulfill online orders from this location if you want the inventory available for online purchases.
    5. Save your changes by clicking ‘Save.’

How to Fulfill Orders with Multiple Locations Enabled

Step 1: Navigate to Orders

Begin by selecting “Orders” from your Shopify Admin. This action will display a list of all your orders on the screen.

shopify multi location inventory
shopify.com

Step 2: Identify the Unfulfilled Order

Once you’ve accessed the Orders section, locate and choose the order number associated with the unfulfilled order.

shopify multi location inventory
shopify.com

Step 3: Create Shipping Label

To purchase shipping labels for the order, ensure that your store is located in Canada or the United States. Then, select “Create a shipping label” from the options bar.

shopify multi location inventory
shopify.com

If you’re utilizing Shopify Shipping, buying the shipping label is a recommended practice for your store. However, if you’re using an alternative shipping method, proceed to the next step.

Step 4: Mark as Fulfilled

From the options bar, click on “Mark as fulfilled.”

shopify multi location inventory
shopify.com

A message box will appear. If you wish to send a detailed email notification to your customer, check the “Send a notification to the customer” box and then click “Mark as fulfilled.”

shopify multi location inventory
shopify.com

Step 5: Fulfill Items and Purchase Shipping Label

Alternatively, you can fulfill items within a specific order. After clicking on an order, you’ll be directed to the order page. Select “Fulfill Items.”

shopify.com

When it comes to distributing orders, a priority list and available stock decide which location gets assigned when orders are placed online. Make sure to set the priority sequence for fulfilling orders.

Moreover, if a location has everything needed for the order, it’s used. If not, the order is split among different areas. You can change where an order gets fulfilled on the order details tab.

For orders from Shopify POS, it depends on what’s available when the sale happens. When delivering to a customer’s address, stock is assigned based on delivery priority, not where the store is located.

How to Improve Multiple Location Solutions in Shopify?

1. Managing Products Across Warehouses

Dealing with products across different warehouses can be tricky because of the limitations in handling inventory from multiple locations. 

This can make it tough for retailers to:

    1. Let customers know what’s in stock at each store.
    2. Allow in-store pickups and use each physical store for order fulfillment.
    3. Keep track of inventory at different locations, whether it’s the retailer’s own, a dropshipper’s, or a warehouse’s.

These features are crucial for stores selling in various ways to ensure a smooth experience for customers and to cut down on delivery times and costs.

To make things work better, it’s important to have real-time updates on inventory. This helps you avoid issues like selling more than what you have, which can cost you money, damage your brand’s reputation, and upset your customers.

2. Managing Orders and Fulfillment

Having multiple stores can make managing orders a bit tricky. When customers order the same stuff from different places, things can get confusing and cause delays and mistakes. To make it easier, it’s better to handle orders and returns from one central place. 

Here’s a solution for Product Inventory Management (PIM):

    1. Keep inventory updated in real-time.
    2. Process and track sales quickly.
    3. Keep tabs on orders for multiple addresses.

This feature is handy when you’re selling from different stores using one device. It’s a smart way to handle inventory and sales smoothly across various Shopify stores.

3. Managing Customer Services

Running multiple Shopify stores means you need to work extra to keep your customers happy. Managing support for different stores, each with its pricing and marketing plans, can be tough. 

To help your customers quickly and accurately, you should use specific solutions. For example, gather all customer requests and order info into one inbox

To provide great customer service across all your stores, make sure to:

    1. Reply quickly to questions and solve issues well.
    2. Deliver products on time and in good shape.
    3. Give discounts and special offers to loyal customers.

Best Apps for Shopify Multiple Location Enhancement

  1. ProMap ‑ Store Locator
  2. Stockist Store Locator
  3. GeoStock Inventory By Location

1. ProMap ‑ Store Locator

shopify multi location inventory

Rating: ⭐ 4.7

Pricing: Begins From $4.99/month. 7-day free trial.

ProMap is a fantastic application that enables you to include numerous store locations on Google Maps effortlessly. This ensures that your customers can easily and swiftly locate your stores.

Key Features

    • Effortless Store Management: Easily manage an unlimited number of stores with simplicity and convenience.
    • Customized Store Promotion: Promote your stores effectively with custom pins, banners, embedded forms, and more to enhance visibility.
    • Distance and Directions Display: Provide users with valuable information by displaying distances and directions to make navigating to your stores hassle-free.

2. Stockist Store Locator

shopify multi location inventory

Rating: ⭐ 5.0

Pricing: From $10/month. 14-day free trial.

The Stockist Store Locator is crafted to be straightforward and user-friendly, contributing to a boost in your in-store sales. It suits various businesses, including stores, dealers, distributors, and more.

Key Features

    • Dynamic Map Updates: See updated results as you move the map – always have the latest info at your fingertips.
    • Instant Nearby Locations: Quickly find nearby places based on your location – get the info you need instantly.
    • Easy Language Choices: Use the app in your preferred language – it supports many languages in one shop.

3.  GeoStock Inventory By Location

shopify multi location inventory

Rating: ⭐ 5.0

Pricing: From $10/month. 14-day free trial.

Product Inventory Information is an excellent method to showcase inventory details for each location to your customers. 

Additionally, you can organize your locations based on proximity to the customer or choose to display inventory exclusively for relevant locations.

Key Features

    • Location-specific Inventory Display: Showcase detailed inventory information for each location directly on the product page.
    • Precise Stock Status Messaging: Decide whether you want to see the exact quantity or a simple “in stock” / “out of stock” message for each location.
    • Convenient Store Pickup Selection: Easily select your preferred store pickup option directly on your cart page for a smoother shopping experience.

Also Read: 22 Best Shopify Inventory Management Apps in 2023

And that wraps up our guide on Shopify multi-location inventory! We hope it has offered valuable insights.

By the way, if you require an all-encompassing E-commerce customer service and order management solution that provides a simplified view of support tickets, make sure to explore saufter.io.

Saufter.io: Your Go-To E-commerce Support Companion

If you’re seeking software that simplifies customer support, order management, and returns processing, Saufter.io is the ideal solution.

It is tailored specifically for eCommerce and offers a user-friendly suite ensuring exceptional customer service.

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Key Features

    • Live Chat: Engage with customers instantly, providing real-time assistance and sharing helpful articles.
    • Self-Service Portal: Empower customers to independently update addresses, check orders, and manage returns.
    • Omnichannel Support: Offer assistance through email, phone, SMS, WhatsApp, and social media, all in one place.
    • Knowledge Base: Store information for easy sharing between customers and support agents.
    • Customer History View: Track all customer interactions conveniently in one spot.
    • Automated Order Monitoring: Receive timely alerts about order issues for swift resolutions.
    • Insights and Reports: Access reports on customer and agent performance, common issues, and essential business data.

Conclusion

To sum up, Shopify’s Multiple Locations system makes it easy to set up new distribution points, manage inventory, and respond to sales demand all in one place. 

With just a few clicks, you can prioritize and allocate inventory. However, managing multiple locations might need a bit more effort. 

Track your inventory in real-time, assign orders, sync inventory, and handle fulfillment efficiently. Use our tips to make the most of your business operations.

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