Shopify guide · Fulfillment Rules
How to ship products from a specific location and stop split shipments in Shopify
Updated
Short answer
Shopify's order routing chooses locations by priority and can try to minimize split fulfillments, but it doesn't guarantee it. A fulfillment constraints Function enforces it at checkout: certain items only ship from the locations you choose, or a group of items always ships from one location. App Store apps with Functions run on every plan, and Toolbench's Fulfillment Rules is built on this.
How to do it with Toolbench
Toolbench's Fulfillment Rules chooses which locations can ship which items, or keeps items together from one location. It runs as a fulfillment constraints Function inside Shopify's checkout, so it works on every plan.
- Install Toolbench from the Shopify App Store, open Fulfillment Rules and click Turn on.
- Add a rule, or start from the example "Frozen items ship from cold storage".
- Under Items this rule applies to, choose the items by tag, collection, vendor, type or SKU, for example items tagged frozen.
- Under Then, choose Ship them only from these locations and pick the locations, or choose Ship them together from one location.
- Save. Checkout now only offers delivery from locations that meet the rule.
Rules stores use
- Items tagged frozen ship only from the cold-storage location.
- Items tagged hazmat ship only from the warehouse licensed for them.
- Items tagged bundle ship together from one location.
- A vendor's products ship only from the location that stocks them.
Why this happens
Frozen products need to ship from cold storage. Hazardous or made-to-order items can only leave one warehouse. An ERP or 3PL can't handle an order that ships from two places. Bundles arrive in two boxes and customers think something is missing.
Order routing usually gets it right, but when stock is spread across locations, Shopify can still split an order or pick a location you didn't want.
Your options in Shopify
Order routing (Settings > Shipping and delivery)
Ranks locations and can be set to minimize split fulfillments. It's a preference, so an order still splits when no single location has everything.
The split shipping setting
Changes how delivery options appear at checkout. It doesn't stop Shopify from creating separate fulfillments when items sit in different locations.
Location settings
Turning off online order fulfillment for a location keeps it out of routing completely, for every product.
Order routing location rule Functions (Shopify Plus only)
Shopify offers these by request to Plus stores. Fulfillment constraint Functions are the option available on every plan.
You only approve what Fulfillment Rules needs
Toolbench asks for no permissions when you install it. When you turn on Fulfillment Rules, Shopify asks you to approve only what this tool uses: read products and locations, and manage the fulfillment rules Toolbench creates.
It doesn't ask for orders, customers or inventory. Each of Toolbench's other tools asks for its own access separately, and only if you turn that tool on, so you never grant access for tools you don't use. Read access means Toolbench can see that data but can't change it.
Before you turn it on
- If no chosen location stocks the items, or no single location stocks them all, checkout shows no shipping rates. Check stock coverage before turning a rule on.
- Rules limit which locations are allowed. Shopify's order routing still picks among them.
- Rules apply to orders placed through checkout.
Pricing
Fulfillment Rules is a free tool. The free plan runs any 3 of Toolbench's 12 free tools at a time, with no time limit and no credit card. Premium is $9.99 a month for all 16 tools at once and starts with a 14-day free trial.
Questions
Does turning off split shipping stop split orders in Shopify?
No. The split shipping setting changes what customers see at checkout. Shopify still creates separate fulfillments when items are stocked in different locations.
Do I need Shopify Plus to control which location ships an order?
No. Fulfillment constraint Functions from App Store apps work on every plan. Only order routing location rule Functions are limited to Plus.
What happens if the chosen location is out of stock?
Checkout shows no shipping rates for that cart, so the order can't be placed with shipping until stock is back or the rule changes.
What permissions does Fulfillment Rules need?
Only the ones it uses: read products and locations, and manage the fulfillment rules Toolbench creates. It doesn't ask for orders, customers or inventory. Toolbench asks for no permissions at install, and each of its other tools asks for its own access separately, only if you turn that tool on.