Troubleshooting: Why Is Delete Not Working for a Location?

ShipHero blocks location deletion when the location still has inventory, assigned SKUs, billing history, or an active process tied to it. Check inventory and SKU assignments first. If both are clear and deletion still fails, check whether the location was used in billing, then match the error message to the table at the end of this article.

Before You Begin

• Zero inventory: The location must be physically empty and its inventory quantity must be zero.
• No assigned SKUs: Remove all SKU assignments from the location. See How to Delete Item Locations in ShipHero for the item-location removal steps.

Table of Contents

• Inventory or SKU Assignments Prevent Location Deletion
• Prior Billing Prevents Location Deletion
• ShipHero Location Deletion Error Messages

Inventory or SKU Assignments Prevent Location Deletion

ShipHero does not delete a location that has inventory or assigned SKUs. A physical location and an item location are separate records. An item location links a SKU to a location and can remain when its quantity is zero. If any item-location records remain, location deletion is blocked even when the inventory quantity is zero.

1. Go to the Inventory > Product Locations page and search for the location to check which SKUs are assigned to it.

2. Confirm that no inventory remains in the location on the warehouse floor. Update the inventory as needed. Do not delete the location while inventory remains.

   If you cannot reduce a location quantity because inventory is allocated to open orders, see Troubleshooting: Why You Can’t Reduce Inventory in a Location.

3. Remove every SKU assignment from the location using How to Delete Item Locations in ShipHero.
4. Go to the Inventory > Locations page and select Delete.

Remove Item-Location Assignments Through the API

For API workflows, remove each item-location assignment with the item_location_delete mutation before deleting the location. The item-location quantity must be zero before you can delete it. If the quantity is not zero, ShipHero returns "quantity must be 0 to delete". After all item-location records are removed, delete the location with the location_delete mutation.

Prior Billing Prevents Location Deletion

ShipHero does not delete a location that was previously included on a customer bill. For 3PL accounts, this also applies to a location used in the 3PL billing module. Keeping the location preserves historical billing records.

Rename the location so your team knows not to use it during inventory processes. Add Do Not Use to the name to make the restriction clear. Add the ZZZZ prefix to move the location toward the bottom of the list.

ShipHero Location Deletion Error Messages

ShipHero shows an error message when something other than inventory, SKU assignments, or billing blocks location deletion. Find your error message in the table, follow the fix, then try deleting the location again.