Setting up your locations for order fulfillment in Shopify is crucial for managing your inventory effectively and ensuring that your customers' orders are fulfilled efficiently. Here’s a step-by-step guide to configuring your locations for various fulfillment scenarios:

Changing the Default Location

1. Access Locations: In your Shopify admin, navigate to Settings > Locations.

2. Change Default Location: In the "Default location" section, click "Change default location."

3. Select and Save: Choose your new default location from the list and click "Save."

The default location is key for calculating shipping rates and is used when specific fulfillment preferences aren't set.
 

Setting Locations for Order Fulfillment Priority

Shopify assigns orders to fulfillment locations based on inventory availability and the priority you set. If an order can be completely fulfilled by a higher-priority location with available inventory, Shopify assigns it there. Otherwise, it may assign it to a location that can partially fulfill the order or lead to overselling in some cases.

1. Prioritize Locations: Navigate to Settings > Locations and use the handles on the right to reorder your locations according to your fulfillment priority.

2. Utilize Order Routing: Advanced setups can leverage order routing rules to further refine fulfillment assignments based on location and product.

 

Preventing a Location from Fulfilling Online Orders

This is useful for locations used solely for in-store sales, storage, or specific kinds of sales not meant for online fulfillment.

1. Edit Location: In Settings > Locations, click on the location you wish to modify.
2. Adjust Settings: Uncheck "Fulfill online orders from this location."

3. Save Changes: Click "Save" to apply your adjustments.

This action ensures inventory from specified locations isn't used for online orders, but can still be allocated for draft orders or other sales channels.

 

Example of Online Order Fulfillment with Multiple Locations

Consider you have locations in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Pittsburgh, with the latter not fulfilling online orders. Your fulfillment priority might be set from New York to Chicago. If an order comes in for items stocked in multiple locations:

• Single Item Orders: Assigned based on item availability and fulfillment priority.
• Multiple Item Orders: Shopify tries to assign the order to a single location. If not possible, it splits the order based on where items can be fully fulfilled without splitting line items.
• Oversold Items: If an item is oversold, it’s assigned to the highest priority location where it’s stocked.

Remember, the configuration should align with your business model and operational capabilities. Shopify’s flexible location and fulfillment settings allow for tailored solutions whether you fulfill orders in-house, use dropshipping, or a combination of fulfillment methods.