Managing inventory across multiple locations can be challenging, but it’s essential for scaling your Shopify store.

By centralizing your inventory management across locations, you can ensure smoother operations, reduce stockouts, and enhance your customer experience.

Now, let’s explore how to manage Shopify multi location inventory, and how it can help you manage stock, improve your Shopify store, and take your business to the next level.

What is a multi-location inventory?

Multi-location inventory allows Shopify merchants to manage stock in more than one place, whether it’s physical stores, warehouses, or other fulfillment centers.

This system ensures that you can keep track of your inventory across various locations, providing a clear view of your stock in real-time, regardless of where it's stored.

By managing stock in multiple locations, you can easily fulfill orders from the nearest location, making operations more efficient and reducing shipping time and costs.

Future Trends: AI and Automation in Shopify Inventory Management

1️⃣ AI-driven demand forecasting reduces errors by up to 50%:

• McKinsey reports that AI-powered demand forecasting can reduce forecasting errors by 20-50% and lower inventory costs by 10-40%, helping merchants optimize stock levels and minimize overstock or stockouts.

2️⃣ AI-driven real-time inventory decisions:

• Driven by evolving data communications networks like 5G, Gartner predicts that 25% of supply chain decisions will be made through intelligent edge ecosystems by 2025. Additionally, 75% of large enterprises are expected to adopt intralogistics smart robots in their warehouse operations by 2026, significantly reducing manual inventory errors and improving efficiency.

3️⃣ Multi-location AI optimization cuts shipping costs by 15-20%:

• A 2025 C3 AI report shows that sellers using AI for multi-location inventory optimization reduce shipping costs by 5-15% and improve delivery speed by up to 15%.

4️⃣ Automated inventory tracking improves turnover by 15% and cuts overstocking by 20%:

• AI-driven inventory management apps for Shopify have enabled merchants to improve inventory turnover by 15% and reduce overstocking by 20%, resulting in higher sales and lower operational costs

Benefits of multi-location inventory on Shopify

Managing inventory across multiple locations brings numerous advantages that can have a direct impact on your Shopify store’s growth and efficiency.

Here’s how it can benefit you:

• Easier inventory tracking: Shopify lets you monitor stock in real-time across locations, centralizing your inventory and eliminating the need for manual updates or spreadsheets.
• Effective order fulfillment: Fulfill orders from the closest location to the customer, reducing shipping time and costs, while minimizing stockouts for popular items.
• Better stock rotation: By managing inventory at multiple locations, you can rotate stock more effectively, ensuring older products are sold first and reducing waste.
• Streamlined returns process: Handling returns becomes easier with inventory at multiple locations. Products can be returned to the nearest location, speeding up the process and reducing shipping costs.
• More fulfillment options: Ship from different locations or offer local pickup and delivery, giving customers more flexibility and improving overall fulfillment.
• Reduced shipping costs: Shipping from the nearest location cuts down on shipping expenses, whether local or international, ensuring faster and cheaper deliveries.
• Enhanced customer experience: Spread inventory across locations to offer local pickup or delivery, making it easier for customers to receive their orders quickly.
• Increased scalability and business growth: Multi-location inventory allows you to expand into new regions and markets, helping you manage stock efficiently as your business grows.

How many locations can Shopify manage?

The number of locations you can manage depends on your Shopify subscription plan. Here’s a breakdown:

📋 Starter: 2 locations

🎯 Basic, Shopify: 10 locations

🚀 Advanced: 10 locations

🌟 Shopify Plus: 200 locations

Note: Locations that are deactivated do not count toward your limit.

Additionally, fulfillment apps (like dropshipping services) are considered locations, but they don't count toward your location limit.

You can manage inventory across multiple locations, even with fulfillment services, as long as your app allows it.

How do you set up and manage multiple-location inventory with Shopify?

Setting up multi-location inventory on Shopify is simple and intuitive.

Here’s how you can do it step-by-step:

1️⃣ Add a location

• Go to Settings > Locations in your Shopify admin.
• Click Add location and enter the location details (name, address, and contact information).
• If you're fulfilling online orders from this location, check the Fulfill online orders box.
• Click Save.

2️⃣ Prioritize fulfillment locations

• After adding your locations, Shopify automatically assigns a fulfillment priority.
• Click Edit Fulfillment Priority to drag-and-drop locations based on your preference. For example, set your most stocked warehouse at the top for priority fulfillment.

3️⃣ Manage inventory quantities

• Go to Products and select the product you want to manage.
• Click Edit Locations in the Inventory section.
• Set quantities for each location based on current stock and needs.
• Click Save.

4️⃣ Monitor and update locations

• Keep track of inventory levels across multiple locations in the Inventory page or use bulk editing to adjust stock across locations quickly.
• You can deactivate a location if needed, but remember to transfer any pending orders before doing so.

Best practices for managing the inventory for multiple locations

📊 Analyzing sales trends

What it is:

Monitoring sales trends at each location helps you identify which products are in demand at specific stores or warehouses.

By keeping an eye on product sales across regions, you can adjust inventory levels to meet demand more effectively.

Benefits:

• Prevents overstocking at underperforming locations.
• Helps stock the most popular products at the right locations, reducing stockouts and optimizing sales.

Solution:

Leverage Shopify’s analytics tools to track sales by location, identify trends, and adjust inventory accordingly.

💡 Pro tip

With real-time insights into inventory levels, logistics, and supplier performance, Fabrikatör allows you to proactively manage risks, seize opportunities, and streamline your processes.

By continuously analyzing key metrics, Fabrikatör ensures that your inventory management remains efficient, cost-effective, and adaptable to changing market conditions.

📅 Forecasting demand

What it is:

Forecasting demand involves analyzing past sales data to predict future product needs.

This helps you prepare for seasonal spikes, promotions, and customer preferences, ensuring your locations are stocked with the right products.

Benefits:

• Avoids stockouts by proactively ordering products before demand peaks.
• Aligns inventory with seasonal trends, boosting sales during key shopping periods.

Solution:

Use AI-driven forecasting tools in Shopify or third-party apps to predict demand and optimize stock levels.

💡 Pro tip

Fabrikatör helps you forecast future sales by analyzing past performance and anticipated growth trends, ensuring you are always prepared for shifts in demand.

You can also use seasonal event templates (for example, holiday promotions) to capture short-term sales spikes or dips, keeping stock levels agile and cost-efficient.

This combined approach, using both historical data and seasonal adjustments, enables you to maintain optimal inventory at all times.

🔄 Tracking inventory in real time

What it is:

Real-time tracking allows you to see inventory levels at each location as sales are made, minimizing the risk of overselling products that are out of stock.

Benefits:

• Improves fulfillment accuracy by syncing stock levels in real time.
• Reduces customer dissatisfaction by providing accurate product availability.

Solution:

Use Shopify’s real-time inventory management to track stock at each location automatically, ensuring updates happen instantly.

💡 Pro tip

Fabrikatör syncs with your eCommerce store in real-time, ensuring immediate updates on sales data, stock levels, and new products.

This means you can respond instantly to promotions, unexpected surges, and monthly performance goals instead of waiting on day-old data.

Additionally, Fabrikatör’s live dashboards and KPI tracking also help you stay on top of revenue and AOV targets, letting you spot potential issues early and take timely action.

🔔 Automated replenishment notifications

What it is:

Automated notifications alert you when the inventory at a location is running low.

This ensures that you reorder products before they sell out, keeping stock levels optimal.

Benefits:

• Reduces the risk of stockouts by giving you timely reminders to restock.
• Saves time by automating inventory replenishment, ensuring efficient order management.

Solution:

Set up automated alerts in Shopify to notify you when stock falls below a set threshold, allowing you to reorder quickly.

💡 Pro tip

Fabrikatör’s replenishment feature helps optimize stock levels by using AI-powered algorithms to analyze demand patterns, lead times, and stock coverage metrics.

You can set up customized replenishment rules based on your supply chain needs, including the ideal reorder point and quantities.

Once configured, the tool automates the restocking process, ensuring timely replenishment and reducing the risks of stockouts or overstocking.

📈 Setting inventory rules for each market

What it is:

Customizing inventory rules for each location based on factors like customer demand and market conditions helps you optimize stock management across regions.

Benefits:

• Helps tailor inventory to local needs, improving product availability.
• Optimizes your supply chain by ensuring that each location has the right amount of stock based on demand.

Solution:

Use inventory rules in Shopify to customize stock levels for each market or location, adjusting based on historical sales or forecasted demand.

🧳 Optimizing SKU assortment

What it is:

Efficient SKU management helps you categorize products correctly and ensures each product variant is properly tracked at each location.

Benefits:

• Reduces errors during order fulfillment.
• Makes it easier to track inventory by maintaining a consistent and clear SKU system.

Solution:

Ensure you use a clear SKU system for each product variant and maintain consistency across all locations.

💡 Pro tip

In Fabrikatör, you can maintain both your internal product SKU and the supplier’s SKU to prevent mix-ups when placing orders.

This allows you to streamline purchase orders, especially if a supplier uses different identifiers than your own.

Managing both sets of SKUs in one system helps ensure clear communication, reduces errors, and keeps your inventory records consistent.

🔄 Monitoring return rates to adjust inventory levels

What it is:

High return rates can signal issues with product quality or a mismatch with customer expectations.

By tracking returns, you can adjust inventory levels accordingly to optimize product availability.

Benefits:

• It helps prevent overstocking of unpopular products that are frequently returned.
• Provides valuable insights into product quality and customer satisfaction.

Solution:

Monitor return rates for each product in Shopify, and use this data to adjust stock levels.

💡 Leverage technology for inventory control

What it is:

Incorporating tools like barcode scanners, RFID technology, and automated stock tracking ensures accurate, real-time updates across multiple sales channels and locations.

Benefits:

• Reduces human error and ensures accurate stock levels.
• Automates many tasks, increasing efficiency and reducing costs.

Solution:

Integrate barcode scanners and RFID systems with your inventory management system to streamline operations and track stock across all locations.

💡 Pro tip

Fabrikatör’s barcode scanner feature simplifies the receiving process by allowing you to scan items and automatically update inventory levels quickly.

By ensuring that barcode information is set up for each product on your purchase order, you can easily receive and verify items, adjust quantities, and track their status—all while maintaining accuracy and efficiency.

Manage Shopify inventory with Fabrikatör

Fabrikatör is an inventory management solution for Shopify users that can help you automate stock tracking, replenishment, and inventory optimization across multiple locations.

By automating restocking and backorders, you can maintain accurate stock levels, prevent stockouts, and avoid overstocking, no matter how many locations you manage.

With Fabrikatör, you can:

✨ Streamline purchase orders with flexible creation modes and real-time supplier SKU tracking across all locations.

✨ Automate restocking with AI-powered demand forecasting for accurate stock levels at each location.

✨ Enable backorders by linking incoming stock to POs, preventing lost sales due to out-of-stock items.

✨ Optimize inventory flow with shipment tracking, MOQs, and centralized supplier communication.

✨ Gain real-time insights with a customizable dashboard and 100+ metrics, tailored to each location.

✨ Easily integrate with Shopify, QuickBooks, Shopware, Paypal, and Klaviyo to enhance efficiency and scale your multi-location operations.

Try Fabrikatör or request a demo today to streamline your multiple-location inventory management! 🚀