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Set Up ShipStation's Internal Inventory

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ShipStation Content Team

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ShipStation's internal inventory management allows you to set your product inventory levels in ShipStation and track those stock counts as you ship out your orders.

ShipStation inventory includes multiple features and settings to customize your shipping workflow, such as: inventory locations on packing slips, First In/First Out allocation, Inventory Sync between certain order sources, and reorder thresholds.

Once you've decided ShipStation's internal inventory is right for your needs, you can set it up in ShipStation with these few basic steps:

  1. Create an Inventory Warehouse.

    This process includes adding an inventory warehouse to ShipStation and the optional steps of creating a warehouse layout and specifying inventory locations.

  2. Link your Inventory Warehouse as an Inventory Source to the appropriate Ship From Location.

  3. Establish On Hand Quantities for your stock.

  4. Review your Inventory settings.

  5. Enable Inventory Tracking.

Follow the instructions in each section below to successfully set up your inventory in ShipStation. Once you’ve completed these steps, you can set your reorder thresholds, allocation strategy, and enable Inventory Sync.

How To Set Up an Inventory Warehouse

Review the sections below and learn how to:

  1. Create an Inventory Warehouse

  2. Create a warehouse layout (optional)

  3. Specify Inventory Location (optional)

For ShipStation to track your stock levels, you need to create at least one Inventory Warehouse and link it as an Inventory source to one of your Ship From Locations. Think of this as the physical location where you store your inventory.

You can also configure your Inventory Warehouse to mirror your actual warehouse layout (for example, if your warehouse is separated into aisles, rows, and bins). By adding Locations, you can have ShipStation show specifically where each item is located (for example, Toy A is located in B-24-7).

Add an Inventory Warehouse

To create an Inventory Warehouse:

  1. Go to Account Settings.

    sssettings.png

  2. Select Inventory Management and then Inventory Warehouses from the left-hand sidebar.

    Settings Sidebar. Inventory Management dropdown: Red box highlights Inventory Warehouses option.

  3. Click Add Inventory Warehouse.

    Inventory Warehouses: Red box highlights Add Inventory Warehouse button.

    Tip

    Feel free to use or edit the Default Warehouse that is already added by ShipStation, instead of creating a new one!

  4.  Name the new Inventory Warehouse(s), and click Save.

Create a Warehouse Layout

Tip

This step is not required before you start using inventory, but is helpful if your products are located in clearly defined locations within your warehouse.

To adjust the Inventory Warehouse layout:

  1. Click the Actions menu (three dots) and select Manage Locations from the drop-down menu for the Inventory Warehouse you just created.

    Inventory Warehouses: Red box highlights Manage Locations button.

  2. Click the Warehouse Layout drop-down in the top right of the pop-up window.

    Settings: Inventory Warehouse. Red arrow points to Warehouse Layout options: Area, Unit, Shelf, Bin

  3. Configure how detailed you want your inventory locations to be for each warehouse.

    The options are Area, Unit, Shelf, and Bin.

  4. Check as many options from the Warehouse Layout drop-down (Area, Unit, Shelf, and Bin) as apply to your warehouse.

Specify Inventory Locations

To create Inventory Warehouse Locations:

  1. Click Add Location in the Inventory Warehouse window

  2. Enter all of this warehouse’s Inventory Locations in the boxes when they appear.

    Inventory Warehouse Layout. Red arrows point to Add Location & Save/Cancel actions. Box highlights Location fields.

  3. Repeat this process for all the locations you need to add.

  4. Click Save for each location you create.

Create Layout During Inventory CSV Import

If you import your new stock levels via CSV, you can also create the layout and specify locations in bulk via CSV using the alternate method outlined in the Set Your Initial Stock Levels article.

Link Inventory Warehouse to Ship From Location

Every shipment in ShipStation must have a Ship From Location. By linking an Inventory Warehouse to a Ship From Location, ShipStation can allocate and deduct inventory within the warehouse.

A Ship From Location can only be linked to one Inventory Source at a time, so as long as an order has the right Ship From Location selected, you’re all set!

You can, however, use the same Inventory Warehouse as the Inventory Source for multiple Ship From Locations. This is useful if you have the same SKU in multiple locations. Using multiple Ship From Locations in this way will allow inventory to deduct from the correct place.

Set Inventory Source

To link the Inventory Warehouse as Inventory Source to a Ship From Location::

  1. Go to Account Settings.

    sssettings.png

  2. Select Shipping then choose Ship From Locations from the left-hand sidebar. 

    Settings sidebar with Shipping section open and Ship From Locations section highlighted.

  3. Click the ellipsis menu and then Edit for an existing Ship From Location (or click the  Add New Location button if you want to make a new one).

    Closeup of Ship From Locations. Add New Location button highlighted & arrow points to Edit action.

  4. Look for the Inventory Source option, and select the Inventory Warehouse you want to link.

    Sample Ship From Location details panel. Red arrow points to selected Inventory source.

  5. Remember to Save Changes!

    Tip

    Steps 6 and 7 are useful, but not required.

  6. Optional Step: Go to Settings > Inventory Management > Inventory Warehouses, and notice that there’s a checkmark icon in the Linked to Ship From column. This checkmark confirms the link to the Inventory Warehouses section.

    Inventory Warehouse Layout. Red arrow points to Edit action. Yellow highlights Linked to Ship From

  7. Optional Step: Click the three dots and select Edit from the drop-down menu to see a list of all Linked Ship From Locations using that Inventory Warehouse as an inventory source!

    Inventory Warehouse popup. Red arrow points to Linked "ShipFrom Locations"

Enable Inventory Tracking

Before ShipStation will start deducting inventory from your products, you must enable the inventory tracking option. You can do this step before or after you set your initial stock levels.

To enable Inventory Tracking:

  1. Go to Account Settings.

    sssettings.png

  2. Select Inventory Management and then Inventory Settings from the left-hand sidebar.

    Settings Sidebar. Inventory Management dropdown: Red box highlights Inventory Settings option.

  3. Toggle the Enable Inventory Tracking for Products option (near the bottom of the Inventory Settings screen).

    Arrow points to Enabled status for Product Inventory Tracking

    You are now ready for ShipStation to start tracking your inventory as you ship orders. If you ever want ShipStation to stop counting and deallocate any allocated orders, then set Enable Inventory Tracking to Disabled until you're ready to turn it back on.

    Arrow points to Disabled status for Product Inventory Tracking

  4. Click Save Changes at the page bottom. Enabled or disabled, don't forget to Save Changes if you made any adjustments!

Note

If you enable this setting before completing the basic setup process, you'll likely get an error about not having any stock.

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