# Stock across multiple locations

Level: Intermediate. About 45 minutes. Plans: All plans; up to 2 active locations on Starter, 10 on Basic, Grow and Advanced, 200 on Shopify Plus. Checked against Shopify's documentation on 2026-10-08.

**Short answer:** Add each warehouse, shop or pop-up in **Settings** > **Locations**, then stock products at each location from the product's **Inventory** section [2][4]. Choose which locations fulfill online orders, and rank them in **Settings** > **Shipping and delivery** > **Order routing** [3][6]. Move stock between them with **Products** > **Transfers** [7].

## Before you start

A location is any physical place where you sell products, fulfill orders or stock inventory, such as a warehouse, a retail store or a pop-up. Some apps, like dropshipping apps and third-party logistics services, also count as locations [1]. With more than one location, Shopify tracks stock separately at each one [1].

Your plan sets how many active locations you can have [2]:

- Starter: 2
- Basic, Grow and Advanced: 10
- Shopify Plus: 200

Deactivated locations don't count toward the limit. Neither do apps that stock inventory for you; they appear under **App and custom fulfillment locations** [2]. You always need at least one active location [2].

Example: a candle shop with a warehouse in Ohio and a small shop in Toronto. Both hold stock, but only the warehouse ships online orders.

## Steps

1. **Add the location.** From your Shopify admin, go to **Settings** > **Locations**. In **All locations**, click **Add location** [2].
2. **Enter the name and address.** In **Location details**, click the edit icon next to **Name**, enter a name and click **Done**. Click the edit icon next to **Address**, enter the address and click **Save** [2]. Google verifies the address. An unverified address can block local delivery and shipping label purchases [2].
3. **Decide whether it ships online orders.** The setting **Inventory at this location is available to fulfill online orders** is on by default. Turn it off for a location that should only sell in person [2]. If you sell in person, you can also turn on **List this location as a physical store to help customers find it** under **Physical storefront**. Click **Save** [2].
4. **Change the online setting later if needed.** Go to **Settings** > **Locations**, click the location and use the **Use inventory at this location to fulfill online orders** toggle in the **Fulfillment** section. Click **Save** [3]. When it's off, that stock no longer counts toward the product's online quantity, but draft orders and other sales channels can still use it [3].
5. **Stock products at the new location.** A new location starts with no inventory [4]. Go to **Products**, click a product, and in the **Inventory** section click **Edit locations**. Select the locations that stock it, enter a quantity for each, click **Done**, then **Save** [4]. For many products, use the bulk editor (up to 50 products at a time) or an inventory CSV file, which Shopify recommends for more than 100 products [4].
6. **Set your default location.** Go to **Settings** > **Locations**. In the **Default location** section, click **Change**, select a location and click **Save** [3]. Only an active location can be the default. If you have not moved to shipping profiles, the default location also sets your shipping rates [3].
7. **Rank which location ships first.** Order routing needs at least two active locations [5]. Go to **Settings** > **Shipping and delivery**. In the **Shipping** section, click **Order routing**, then the right arrow icon. Click **Add rule**, then **Use ranked locations** [6].
8. **Arrange the ranking.** Drag the new rule's handle to the top of the list. Click its pencil icon, drag your preferred warehouses into the top group and leave the rest in the bottom group. Click **Done** [6]. With several warehouses, add **Ship from closest location** at the end to break ties, then click **Save** [6].
9. **Move stock between locations.** Go to **Products** > **Transfers** and click **Create transfer**. Choose a location in **Select origin** and **Select destination**, add products with **Search products**, and enter quantities in the **Move** column. Click **Save** [7]. The transfer is saved as a draft.
10. **Send and receive the transfer.** Open it from the **Transfers** page. Click **Move to in transit** to show the stock as incoming at the destination, or use **Mark as transferred** only if the items have already moved [7]. You can't change the origin or destination after processing [7].

## Check your work

- Open a product and confirm the **Inventory** section lists a quantity at each location that stocks it [4].
- Go to **Settings** > **Locations** and check how many active locations you use against your plan's limit [2].
- Place a test order to an address near each warehouse and confirm it is assigned to the location your routing rules rank first [6].

## Common problems

- **"The product shows a dash at one location."** The product is inactive there. Click **Edit locations** again and select that location [4].
- **"I received a transfer but can't sell the stock there."** Receiving adds quantity but doesn't make the product sellable at that location. Activate the product there or stock the items when you receive them [7].
- **"I can't add another location."** You've reached your plan's limit. Deactivate a location you don't use, since deactivated locations don't count [2].
- **"I can't deactivate my main location."** You can't deactivate the default location. Change the default first [2].
- **"One order is split across two warehouses."** If no single location can fulfill the whole order, Shopify splits it or assigns it to the highest-priority location [3]. **Ship from closest location** also ships from the nearest location even if the order splits [6].
- **"I can't remove a product from a location."** It has unfulfilled orders or active transfers there. Finish those first [4].

## Further reading

- [Setting up order fulfillment for locations](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/inventory-and-locations/locations/fulfillment) [3]
- [Setting up order routing](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/fulfillment/setup/order-routing/setting-up-order-routing) [6]

## Sources

1. [Locations](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/locations), Shopify Help Center, accessed 2026-10-08
2. [Setting up and managing locations](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/inventory-and-locations/locations/setup), Shopify Help Center, accessed 2026-10-08
3. [Setting up order fulfillment for locations](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/inventory-and-locations/locations/fulfillment), Shopify Help Center, accessed 2026-10-08
4. [Multi-managed inventory](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/inventory-and-locations/setup/multi-managed-inventory), Shopify Help Center, accessed 2026-10-08
5. [Order routing](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/fulfillment/setup/order-routing), Shopify Help Center, accessed 2026-10-08
6. [Setting up order routing](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/fulfillment/setup/order-routing/setting-up-order-routing), Shopify Help Center, accessed 2026-10-08
7. [Creating and processing inventory transfers](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/products/inventory/transfers/create-transfer), Shopify Help Center, accessed 2026-10-08

Source page: https://webmerchants.net/guides/multiple-locations