Introduction to Order Routing

Subscription Plan Requirement

This feature is only available on certain subscription plans.

If you cannot access it, visit our pricing page to compare plans. To upgrade your plan, see Manage your Subscription.

Order Routing (formerly Auto-Routing) automatically determines how to fulfill orders based on inventory availability and proximity to the recipient.

When enabled, Order Routing selects the best Ship From Location(s) for each order. If an order contains multiple items that must ship from different locations, Order Routing can split the order into multiple shipments and route each item accordingly.

When enabled, Order Routing:

  • Identifies which Ship From Locations have the required items in stock

  • Selects the best location(s) based on your routing preferences

  • Splits orders into multiple shipments when items must ship from different locations

  • Routes orders to a fulfillment provider, when applicable

    • If Order Routing cannot determine how to fulfill an order, the order will use the default Ship From Location.

Requirements

To use Order Routing, you must meet the following requirements:

  • Order Routing is available to accounts based in the United States and Canada.

  • You must manage inventory in ShipStation

  • Products must be assigned to Ship From Locations

  • Inventory levels must be accurate across locations

    • Oder Routing relies on inventory data to determine where items are in stock

Benefits

Order Routing helps improve efficiency and delivery performance:

  • Save time: Automatically route orders instead of assigning Ship From Locations manually

  • Reduce shipping costs: Minimize the number of shipments and optimize fulfillment decisions

  • Deliver orders faster: Ship from locations closest to your customers to reduce transit time

How Order Routing Works

Order Routing evaluates each order using the following logic:

OrderRoutingWorkflowDigram.png

Routing Scenarios

These scenarios show how Order Routing selects Ship From Location(s) for your orders based on inventory and routing preferences.

Ship from a Single Location

If one Ship From Location has all items in stock, the order is routed from that location.

Prioritize Closest Locations

If enabled, Order Routing will:

  • Route each item from the closest Ship From Location

  • Split the order into multiple shipments if needed

This prioritizes delivery speed over shipment count.

Prioritize Fewer Shipments

If enabled, Order Routing will:

  • Route orders from the fewest number of Ship From Locations

  • Choose locations that can fulfill the most items

This prioritizes lower shipping costs over proximity.

Things to Know

  • If multiple locations are the same distance from the customer, routing is determined alphabetically by location name

  • Order Routing does not apply to manually created orders

  • Orders split into multiple shipments may not sync updates back to marketplaces

  • Order Routing does not apply to Shopify orders with zero-quantity items

To set up Order Routing and assign products to Ship From Locations, visit: Configure Order Routing and Update Product Ship From Locations.

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