Setting Up Product Routing and Checkout Shipping Rates (Early Access) – SHOPLINE Help Center

When you fulfill orders from multiple locations, Product routing rules determine which fulfillment location is assigned to each item in a new order. You can arrange the rules to reduce split shipments, favor locations in the customer’s market, or follow a custom location order.

After SHOPLINE assigns each item to a fulfillment location, it uses the item’s shipping profile and the location group for the assigned location to determine which shipping methods and rates appear at checkout. If no single location has enough inventory or the order needs to ship from multiple locations, customers can see the estimated number of shipments, along with the available shipping methods and rates for each shipping group. When a group offers more than one option, customers can choose a shipping method for that group.

This guide explains how to configure Product routing rules, how SHOPLINE determines shipping rates for multi-location orders, what customers see at checkout, and how to resolve unavailable shipments.

Note: This feature is currently available to selected merchants only. To request early access, please contact SHOPLINE Support.

Preparing Your Store for Product Routing Rules

Before using Product routing rules, complete the following setup:

Add and enable your fulfillment locations under Settings > Locations. For instructions on managing warehouses, retail stores, and other fulfillment locations, see “Managing Shipping Location Groups and Rates”.
Assign available inventory for the relevant products at each location. For instructions, see the “Managing Inventory” guides.
Set up shipping zones and rates for each relevant location under Settings > Shipping and Delivery. For instructions, see “Setting Up Your SHOPLINE Shipping Profiles and Fees”.

Note: Before SHOPLINE can assign items to a location, that location must have enough available inventory and at least one shipping rate that applies to the order.

Understanding Product Routing Rules

SHOPLINE evaluates the rules from top to bottom in the order shown on the page. Place the rule that best reflects your fulfillment priorities closer to the top.

The order below is for reference only. SHOPLINE follows the rule order configured in your admin.

Avoid split shipments

SHOPLINE first looks for a single location that can fulfill every item in the order. This helps reduce the number of separate shipments.

If no single location can fulfill the entire order, SHOPLINE may assign items to multiple locations based on inventory availability and the remaining rules. This rule can reduce split shipments, but it does not guarantee that every order will ship from one location.

Match by target market

SHOPLINE prioritizes fulfillment locations in the same market as the customer’s shipping address.

For example, if the customer’s shipping address is in the United States, SHOPLINE first considers eligible locations within the same market, such as locations included in your North America market. If several locations qualify, the next rule determines which location takes priority.

This rule is useful for stores with warehouses in multiple countries or regions that want to prioritize local or regional fulfillment.

Match by custom order

SHOPLINE prioritizes locations based on the order you set.

This rule uses the location priority you already configured. You can place your primary warehouse near the top and move backup warehouses or retail stores further down the list.

Setting the Product Routing Rule Priority

To change the order in which SHOPLINE applies the routing rules:

From your SHOPLINE admin, go to Settings > Locations.
Scroll to Product routing rules, and then click Edit.
Under Rule priority, drag and drop the rules into your preferred order:

Avoid split shipments
Match by target market
Match by custom order

Click Update.

Notes:

Changes to the rule priority apply only to new orders. SHOPLINE does not reassign items in existing orders.
Currently, when the rules are ordered as Avoid split shipments, Match by target market, and Match by custom order, SHOPLINE skips Match by target market if Avoid split shipments cannot assign a SKU to a fulfillment location and proceeds directly to Match by custom order. Other rule orders are applied in the sequence shown on the page.

Setting a Custom Location Order

To change the location priority used by Match by custom order:

On the Product routing rules page, find Match by custom order.
Click Edit.
In the Customize location order window, drag and drop the locations into your preferred order. Locations closer to the top have a higher priority.
Click Save.
Return to the Product routing rules page, and then click Update to apply your changes.

How SHOPLINE Assigns Items to Fulfillment Locations

When a customer reaches checkout, SHOPLINE considers the following information:

Your product routing rule priority
The customer’s shipping address
Available inventory at each location
Whether each location has a shipping rate that applies to the order

When one location can fulfill the entire order

If one location has enough inventory for every item and offers a shipping rate that applies to the order, SHOPLINE prioritizes that location according to your routing rules.

When different products need to ship from different locations

If no single location can fulfill the entire order, SHOPLINE can assign different products to different locations. Each location must have enough inventory and an available shipping rate.

For example, if Product A is stocked only in New York and Product B is stocked only in Los Angeles, the order may be divided into two shipments.

When the same SKU needs to ship from multiple locations

If no single location has enough inventory, but the combined inventory across multiple locations is sufficient, SHOPLINE can split the quantity of the same SKU across those locations.

For example:

A customer orders 10 units of SKU A.
The Guangzhou location has 6 units.
The Shenzhen location has 4 units.
Both locations offer shipping to the customer’s address.

SHOPLINE can assign 6 units to the Guangzhou location and the remaining 4 units to the Shenzhen location. At checkout, it displays the shipping rates available for the location group each location belongs to.

How Shipping Rates Appear at Checkout

After SHOPLINE assigns items to fulfillment locations, it displays shipping rates based on each item’s shipping profile and the location group of its assigned location.

A location group is a set of fulfillment locations within a shipping profile. Locations in the same group share the shipping zones and rates configured for that group. For setup instructions, see “Managing Shipping Location Groups and Rates”.

Checkout shows the estimated number of shipments and organizes the items into shipping groups. Multiple shipping groups may appear when:

Products are assigned to locations in different location groups or use different shipping profiles.
The quantity of the same SKU is split across locations that belong to different location groups.

Note: Shipping from multiple locations does not always result in multiple shipping groups. If the locations belong to the same location group, checkout displays one set of shipping methods for that group.

How Shipping Methods Are Selected

SHOPLINE selects the lowest-priced available shipping method for each shipping group by default.

If a group offers more than one method, customers can click Customize shipping methods to review the available options and select a method for each group.

The window shows the items, available shipping methods, and charges for each group. After making their selections, customers click Save to return to checkout.

Notes:

Shipping methods and charges are shown separately for each shipping group; checkout does not combine them into a single shipping option.
Customize shipping methods appears only when at least one shipping group has more than one available method.

Handling Items With No Available Shipment

If SHOPLINE cannot match one or more items with both available inventory and an applicable shipping rate, the affected items appear under No available shipment, and checkout displays a Refresh button.

This may happen for the following reasons:

The location assigned to an item does not have enough available inventory.
The location has enough inventory, but the shipment does not meet the conditions of any shipping rate configured for that location.

Shipping rate eligibility may depend on:

Product subtotal
Order subtotal
Package weight
Item quantity

For example, if a shipping rate applies only to shipments containing 1 to 4 items, a shipment containing 10 items will not qualify.

What Happens When the Customer Clicks Refresh

When the customer clicks Refresh, SHOPLINE opens a page where they can review and resolve the affected items. Based on the inventory and shipping rates currently available, SHOPLINE may reduce an item’s quantity to the amount that can still be shipped.

For example, a customer orders 10 units of SKU A, but only 4 units can be matched with both available inventory and a shipping rate. The page prompts the customer to reduce the quantity from 10 to 4.

After confirming the change and clicking Continue, the customer returns to checkout. The cart keeps the 4 units that can be shipped, and the customer can continue placing the order.

If none of the ordered quantity can be fulfilled, the item may be removed from the current checkout.

Note: Resolving an unavailable shipment may reduce the quantity of an item or remove it from checkout. Keep your inventory and shipping rate conditions up to date to reduce interruptions during checkout.

Troubleshooting No Available Shipment

If customers frequently see No available shipment, review the following settings:

Confirm that the assigned location has enough available inventory for the relevant products.
Go to Settings > Shipping and Delivery, and confirm that the shipping zone for the location includes the customer’s destination.
Review whether the shipping rate conditions cover the types of orders your customers commonly place.
Make sure there are no gaps between the configured ranges.
For example, if one rate applies to quantities from 1 to 4 and another applies to quantities of 6 or more, an order containing 5 items will not match either rate.

Frequently Asked Questions About Product Routing

Q1: Why wasn’t an item assigned to the first location in my custom order?

The custom location order is one factor in the routing process. The location must also have enough available inventory and a shipping rate that applies to the order.

If Match by target market or Avoid split shipments appears earlier in the rule priority, SHOPLINE evaluates that rule first.

Q2: Why don’t customers see Customize shipping methods at checkout?

The option does not appear in the following situations:

Every shipping group has only one available shipping method.
One or more shipping groups cannot be matched with both available inventory and an applicable shipping rate. In this case, checkout displays Refresh.

Q3: Can the same SKU ship from multiple locations?

Yes. If no single location has enough inventory, SHOPLINE can split the quantity across multiple eligible locations. Their combined inventory must be sufficient, and the relevant location groups must offer shipping rates that apply to the order.

Q4: Why did the item quantity change on the resolution page?

SHOPLINE keeps only the quantity that can be matched with both available inventory and a shipping rate. Any quantity that cannot be fulfilled is removed before the customer returns to checkout.

Q5: Do changes to product routing rules affect existing orders?

No. Updated rules apply only to orders created after you save the changes.