Shopify continues to develop flexibility and sustainability of logistics for eCommerce stores. A recent update concerns an important aspect — now, when placing an order with several units of the same product, Shopify is able to automatically distribute them to different locations if one of them does not have enough inventory.
This update changes the approach to inventory management, especially for stores that use multiple warehouses or outlets. We at the Ice Store Group are already testing this functionality and recommend it to all customers whose goods are distributed by location.
🔄 What has changed?
Previously, if a customer added 5 items, Shopify tried to reserve the entire volume at one location. If the required quantity was not available, the order could be rejected or require manual reallocation. Now the system itself splits the volume between the warehouses where the goods are available.
📦 For example, if Warehouse A has 2 units and Warehouse B has 3, Shopify will automatically create two order executions and distribute them to the appropriate locations.
🔍 Why is this important for business?
1. Elimination of sales losses. Previously, an order with partial availability might not go through. Now it will be designed and executed — just from two points of view.
2. Logistics optimization. No need to manually move inventory. Everything is distributed automatically, without operator involvement.
3. More accurate inventory control. Shopify updates the balances for each location based on order fulfillment.
4. Convenience for the client. For the buyer, everything is transparent — he receives the order without knowing that it was going from different warehouses.
🛠 What should store owners consider?
- Make sure that the locations are configured correctly in the Shopify admin panel.
- Make sure that available locations and current balances are assigned to each product.
- If you are using a third-party ERP system, make sure that it synchronizes inventory by location correctly.
- If necessary, set up notifications for different teams in case orders come from different locations.
📌 Why do we recommend this feature to our customers
At IceStoreGroup, we create Shopify stores based on real business processes. If the client has warehouses in different regions, we design the store architecture in advance, taking into account multi-location execution, integrations with logistics and a transparent inventory control system.
This update greatly simplifies business scaling and is especially useful for:
- stores with branches in different cities;
- sellers with seasonal logistics (summer and winter warehouses);
- international shipments from different countries.
✅ Are you ready to implement a new order execution logic?
We will help you adapt your store to the new features of Shopify: from setting up locations and logistics scenarios to full integration with ERP systems and custom automation of execution.
