Start Strong
Sell Smart
Manage with Ease
Market to Success

Configuring Grouped Shipping Strategies Using Shipping Routes (Limited Access)

Shipping Routes are designed for merchants who need to apply specialized shipping rates. They are ideal for businesses that sell diverse product categories, manage items with significant size or weight variations (such as large furniture and lightweight decor), or offer expedited services such as same-day delivery and local warehouse fulfillment. In these cases, a single set of shipping rules may not be sufficient. 

With Shipping Routes, you can create dedicated shipping strategies for specific products, define shipping locations and their priority, and choose whether to keep standard shipping as a fallback option. At checkout, shipping methods are displayed by product group, allowing customers to select the appropriate option for each group and complete their purchase in a single checkout flow.

This guide explains how to create and manage shipping strategies, configure matching rules and display order, and use shipping routes to support real-world shipping scenarios.

Note: The Shipping Routes feature is available only to whitelisted merchants. To enable it, please contact SHOPLINE Support.

 

 

Introduction to Shipping Route Strategies

What Are Shipping Routes?

Shipping routes are an advanced shipping fee matching tool provided by SHOPLINE. They are designed for merchants who need to offer different shipping solutions for different types of products.

This feature is ideal for the following scenarios:

  • Significant variations in product type, size, or weight that cannot be covered by a single set of shipping rules.
  • Expedited delivery requirements, such as offering same-day delivery or priority fulfillment from local warehouses.
  • Multiple fulfillment locations that require distinct shipping methods or specialized rate strategies.

With shipping routes, you can group products at checkout and assign appropriate shipping methods to each product group. Customers can then select shipping options based on their needs and complete checkout in a single order.

Real-World Examples of Shipping Routes

Example 1: Different Product Types Use Different Shipping Methods

  • Large items → Dedicated delivery service or large-item freight
  • Regular items → Standard shipping

When a customer purchases both large items and regular items in the same order, the checkout page will display them as two separate product groups.  The customer must select the appropriate shipping method for each group before completing the checkout process in a single transaction.

Example 2: Prioritize Fast Shipping from the U.S. Warehouse, with Fallback to the Singapore Warehouse

  • U.S. warehouse: Limited inventory but supports fast delivery
  • Singapore warehouse: Most complete inventory, used as a backup fulfillment location

When inventory in the U.S. warehouse is sufficient to fulfill the order, the system prioritizes fast delivery options from the U.S. warehouse. If inventory is insufficient, the system automatically matches the standard shipping option from the Singapore warehouse instead.

 

 

Creating Shipping Strategies

A shipping strategy enables you to create specific shipping rates for different product groups. During checkout, the system automatically matches the most suitable shipping method based on the products in the cart and the product groups defined in your shipping strategies.

Notes:

  • You can create up to 10 shipping strategies.
  • The electronic map feature is currently not supported for shipping strategies.
  1. From your SHOPLINE admin panel, go to Settings > Shipping and Delivery.

  2. In the Shipping strategies section under Shipping routes, click Add strategy.

    EN_1.1.png

  3. Configure your strategy:

    • Shipping strategy name/description: Provide a clear and descriptive name and add any relevant details for your strategy. This information will be displayed to customers at checkout.

      EN_1.2.png

    • Please review your location inventory carefully. If it's not available, this strategy won't be used: Enable this option to verify the inventory availability at the shipping location. If the product stock is insufficient, this strategy will not be applied.EN_1.3.png

    • Also match standard shipping as an additional option: Enable this option to include standard shipping as an additional shipping option.

      EN_1.4.png

    • Products in use: Click Add product to select the products to which this strategy will apply.

      EN_1.5.png

    • Shipping zones and fees: Set up the shipping zones and corresponding shipping fees for this strategy.

      EN_1.6.png
       

  4. Enable the strategy and click Add to save your changes.

    EN_1.7.png

     

 

Understanding and Adjusting the Strategy Match Order

Shipping strategies are matched in the order they are created, with earlier strategies taking precedence. Standard shipping is always positioned last as a fallback option. To modify the matching order, follow these steps:

  1. From your SHOPLINE admin panel, go to Settings > Shipping and Delivery.

  2. In the Shipping route settings section under Shipping routes, click Set now. 

    EN_2.1.png

  3. In the Match order section, drag and drop the strategies to rearrange their order.

    EN_2.2.png

  4. Click Update to save your changes.

 

 

Adjusting the Strategy Display Order

The display order of your shipping strategies determines how shipping options are presented to customers at checkout. You can easily rearrange this order to meet your specific needs:

  1. From your SHOPLINE admin panel, go to Settings > Shipping and Delivery.

  2. In the Shipping route settings section under Shipping routes, click Set now. 

    EN_3.1.png

  3. In the Display order section, drag and drop the strategies to rearrange their order.

    EN_3.2.png

  4. Click Update to save your changes.

 

 

Managing Shipping Strategies

Updating a Shipping Strategy

You can modify existing shipping strategies, but those created by third-party apps cannot be edited here.

  1. From your SHOPLINE admin panel, go to Settings > Shipping and Delivery.

  2. In the Shipping strategies section, locate and click the strategy you want to modify.

    EN_4.1.png

  3. After making the necessary changes, click Update.

Deleting a Shipping Strategy

You can delete existing shipping strategies, but those created by third-party apps cannot be deleted here.

  1. From your SHOPLINE admin panel, go to Settings > Shipping and Delivery.

  2. In the Shipping strategies section, locate and click the strategy you want to delete.

    EN_5.1.png

  3. Scroll down to the bottom of the settings page, then click the Delete strategy button.

    EN_5.2.png

  4. In the pop-up window, click Delete to confirm the deletion.
    EN_5.3.png
     

 

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What’s the difference between shipping fees, local delivery, in-store pickup, and shipping strategies?

Delivery Method Use Case
Shipping Fees

Shipping fees are typically used for standard delivery services, such as courier shipping or home delivery. You can configure custom shipping fees for specific product groups. Products that are not included in any custom group will use the general shipping fee.

When items in the cart belong to different groups, the system calculates the shipping fees for each group separately and displays the combined total at checkout.
Local Delivery

Suitable for same-city deliveries fulfilled by the merchant. You must enable local delivery for specific locations and configure delivery areas and fee rules.

If a product is in stock at a location that supports local delivery and the shipping address falls within the configured delivery area, customers can select local delivery at checkout.
In-Store Pickup

Suitable for scenarios where the merchant does not offer delivery and customers must pick up orders in person. You must enable in-store pickup for specific locations and set an expected pickup time.

If a product is in stock at a location that supports in-store pickup and the shipping address meets the required conditions, customers can select in-store pickup at checkout.
Shipping Strategies

Use shipping strategies when standard shipping fee configurations cannot meet your operational needs. The core purpose of shipping strategies is to define dedicated shipping fees for products with special attributes and to clearly present these options to customers—or allow customers to choose them at checkout.

With standard shipping fees, the system can automatically switch warehouses and combine shipping fees in the background, but this process is invisible to customers and cannot be selected manually. With shipping strategies, you can assign shipping locations, shipping methods, and fees to different product groups, and use the shipping route matching order to determine which shipping options are applied and displayed at checkout.

Note: In shipping routes, the general shipping fee and custom groups configured under shipping fees are treated as a shipping strategy named Standard shipping and can always serve as a fallback option.

2. How do I use shipping strategies to prioritize shipping from Warehouse A and fall back to Warehouse B when inventory is insufficient?

Is it necessary to use shipping strategies to achieve this setup?

Not necessarily. If your only requirement is to automatically ship from Warehouse B when inventory in Warehouse A is insufficient, this can be achieved using standard shipping fees without configuring shipping strategies.

When should I use shipping strategies?

You should consider using shipping strategies if you want to achieve any of the following:

  • Provide a dedicated shipping method for specific products shipped from Warehouse A (such as same-day delivery or local express delivery)
  • Clearly display shipping options and fees for products shipped from Warehouse A at checkout
  • Allow customers to actively choose faster or higher-priced shipping options during checkout

Example Scenario

Assume you have two physical fulfillment warehouses:

  • Eastern U.S. Warehouse: Primarily stores best-selling products and offers faster delivery to meet customer demand for quick fulfillment.
  • Singapore Warehouse: Serves as the main warehouse with the most complete inventory and handles fulfillment when the U.S. warehouse does not have sufficient stock.

In this scenario:

  • When inventory in the U.S. warehouse is sufficient, the checkout page displays "Ship from U.S. Warehouse (Same-Day Delivery)"  as an available shipping option.
  • When inventory in the U.S. warehouse is insufficient, the shipping strategy is no longer applicable, and the system automatically matches Standard shipping fulfilled by the Singapore warehouse.

Configuration Steps

  1. Set up locations: Go to Settings > Locations and create two locations named "Eastern U.S. Warehouse" and "Singapore Warehouse".
  2. Allocate product inventory: In Products > Product detail page, assign inventory quantities for each product to both the Eastern U.S. Warehouse and the Singapore Warehouse.
  3. Configure shipping fees for the Singapore warehouse: Go to Settings > Shipping and delivery > Shipping fees and configure shipping methods and fees for the Singapore warehouse.
  4. Configure a shipping strategy for the Eastern U.S. Warehouse:
    • Go to Settings > Shipping and delivery > Shipping strategies and click Add strategy. Create a shipping strategy for the Eastern U.S. Warehouse and configure its dedicated shipping methods and fees.
    • Be sure to enable Apply this strategy only if inventory requirements are met.
  5. Adjust the matching order: Go to Settings> Shipping and delivery > Shipping route settings and click Set now. In the Match order section, confirm the order is: Eastern U.S. Warehouse > Standard shipping.
  6. Adjust the display order: In Shipping route settings, configure the Display order based on your business needs (for example: Eastern U.S. Warehouse > Standard Shipping).
  7. Verify the configuration: Test the checkout page to ensure shipping options are displayed and selectable as expected.

Shipping Example

Based on the configuration above, suppose product A has the following shipping setup:

  • Shipping strategy: Ship from Eastern U.S. Warehouse (Priority)
    • Shipping location: Eastern U.S. Warehouse
    • Shipping method: Same-day delivery
  • Standard shipping: Ship from Singapore Warehouse (Fallback)
    • Shipping location: Singapore Warehouse
    • Shipping method: Standard shipping
Warehouse Stock Shipping Method Qty: 3 Qty: 8 Qty: 16
Eastern U.S.  8 Same-day delivery Available Available Unavailable
Singapore  20 Standard shipping Available Available Available

3. Can I configure OneShip within my shipping strategies?

Yes, you can. You have the flexibility to assign specific carriers, including OneShip, to each individual shipping strategy. 

4. Will shipping routes conflict with Amazon Buy with Prime (BWP)?

No. Shipping routes are compatible with Amazon Buy with Prime (BWP). However, shipping strategies created by third-party plugins cannot be edited or deleted. You can still:

  • Disable the BWP strategy in the Admin
  • Adjust its matching order and display order