Multi-Warehouse Allocation (MWA) rules decide which of your warehouses fulfills each order, and which warehouse each item is backordered to when stock runs out. Beyond choosing the closest warehouse, MWA rules can send an order to the warehouse that can ship the most items, keep an order together in one warehouse, or reserve specific products for specific warehouses.
Before You Begin
- Brand accounts: MWA must be turned on for your account by ShipHero. Email support@shiphero.com to request it.
- 3PL accounts: MWA is turned on and rules are set up at the client account level. 3PLs can turn on MWA for a client themselves from the Multi-Warehouse Allocation page (see How to Turn On MWA for a 3PL Client).
- MWA overrides other warehouse settings: Once MWA is on, it overrides every other way of setting an order's warehouse, including automation rules and manual changes. You can't override MWA for an individual order.
To set up your warehouses first, see How to Set Up Multiple Warehouses in ShipHero. For transfer orders, see How to Create an MWA Rule for Transfer Orders.
Table of Contents
- How Multi-Warehouse Allocation Rules Work
- How to Turn On MWA for a 3PL Client
- Multi-Warehouse Allocation Page Overview
- How to Create an MWA Rule
- ShipHero's Default MWA Rule
- How to Define MWA Warehouse Priority Lists
- MWA Conditions and Actions Defined
How Multi-Warehouse Allocation Rules Work
Like automation rules, each MWA rule has Conditions that decide which orders it applies to and Actions that decide what happens to the items on the order. ShipHero checks MWA rules from the top of the list to the bottom. Unlike automation rules, only one MWA rule runs per order: the first rule whose conditions the order meets.
When MWA rules run: MWA rules run every time an order is processed or reprocessed. That includes when the order is first created or imported, when an item is added, and when a setting on the order changes. To run MWA rules again on an order yourself, select Reprocess in the Actions section of the Order Details page.
MWA rules and order tags: Order tags that are on the order when it's created (from your store, a manual order, or a CSV Order Upload) are used the first time MWA rules run. When you add a tag to an existing order, reprocess the order so MWA rules use it. See How to Use Order Tags in ShipHero.
Things to Consider Before Creating MWA Rules
- Define every item on the order: An MWA rule must say what happens to every line item, especially on orders that may split between warehouses. For example, when you allocate a specific SKU to Warehouse B, also set which warehouse it's backordered to if it oversells, and what happens to the other items on the order.
- Kits need a workaround: MWA rules only look at items with a pending fulfillment quantity greater than 0, so built kit items don't trigger them. To apply an MWA rule to a kit, use an automation rule to add an order tag based on the kit SKU, then use that tag as the MWA rule's condition.
- Warehouse visibility on the Manage Orders page: After MWA rules run, the Manage Orders page shows the order's new warehouse. When the order is assigned to a warehouse that isn't in a user's Allowed Warehouses setting, that user can't see or filter for the order. Orders split between warehouses show every warehouse in the Warehouses column.
Note for 3PLs: When you share a client with another 3PL that uses ShipHero, your 3PL account only shows the client's orders assigned to your warehouses. To see all of the client's orders, go to the client's account.
How to Turn On MWA for a 3PL Client
3PLs can turn on Multi-Warehouse Allocation for a client directly from the Multi-Warehouse Allocation page, without contacting Support. When the selected client doesn't have MWA yet, the page shows Enable Multi Warehouse Allocation with the message that the client "is not enabled for Multi Warehouse Allocation yet."
- From your 3PL account, go to the Multi-Warehouse Allocation page.
- Select the client that needs MWA.
- Select Enable MWA.
After MWA is on, create the client's rules on the same page. See How to Create an MWA Rule.
Multi-Warehouse Allocation Page Overview
The Multi-Warehouse Allocation page lists every MWA rule on the account. From this page you can:
- Create new rules with Create new rule.
- Turn a rule on or off with its Status toggle.
- Change the order rules are checked in by dragging a rule by its handle.
- Manage warehouse priority lists with Manage Warehouse Priority Lists.
How to Create an MWA Rule
Every MWA rule is built from conditions and actions. For what each one does, see MWA Conditions and Actions Defined.
- Go to the Multi-Warehouse Allocation page and select Create new rule.
- Choose the Conditions for the rule. An order must meet every condition for the rule to apply. When you leave conditions blank, the rule applies to every order.
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Choose the Actions for the rule. Actions set which warehouse items are allocated to or backordered to. A rule can have several actions, and together they must cover every item on the order.
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Select Create, enter a name for the rule, and select Save. You can't change the rule's name after you save it. New rules are off by default.
- On the rules list, drag the new rule to where it should be checked, then turn it on with its Status toggle. Only the first rule an order matches runs, so place more specific rules above broader ones.
ShipHero's Default MWA Rule
When MWA is turned on, ShipHero adds a DEFAULT RULE to your rules list. You can't turn it off or change it. The default rule is a fallback: it makes sure every order is allocated even when no other rule matches, and it keeps all of the order's items in a single warehouse so the order doesn't split.
Which Warehouse Does the Default MWA Rule Use?
The default MWA rule sorts all available warehouses on the account by priority and picks the highest-ranked one. In most accounts, that's the Primary warehouse.
The exception is a 3PL client that isn't connected to the Primary warehouse. For that client, ShipHero only considers the warehouses the client is connected to, and picks the one that was created first in the 3PL's account (the one with the lowest warehouse ID).
How to Create Your Own Default MWA Rule
- Create a new MWA rule with no conditions.
- Add the Allocate and Backorder actions, and select the warehouse orders should default to, or a custom warehouse priority list.
- Save the rule and turn it on.
- Drag the rule directly above ShipHero's DEFAULT RULE in the rules list.
How to Define MWA Warehouse Priority Lists
A warehouse priority list sets the order in which MWA rules check your warehouses. Priority works like location priority: 1 comes before 2, and so on.
- On the Multi-Warehouse Allocation page, select Manage Warehouse Priority Lists.
- Create a new list or edit an existing one.
- Select each warehouse to include and enter its priority.
In this example, the PA warehouse has priority over the Seattle warehouse.
MWA Conditions and Actions Defined
Every MWA rule has conditions, which decide whether the rule applies to an order, and actions, which decide where the order's items are allocated and backordered.
MWA Rule Conditions
Conditions are the "IF" part of an MWA rule.
- Optional: A rule with no conditions applies to every order.
- AND logic: When a rule has several conditions, the order must meet all of them.
- First match wins: Only the first rule in the list whose conditions the order meets runs on that order.
| Condition | What it matches | How to enter the value |
|---|---|---|
| Shipping Country Equals | Orders shipping to one specific country. The country can be edited on the order. | Select one country from the dropdown. |
| Shipping Country Not Equals | Orders not shipping to one specific country. The country can be edited on the order. | Select one country from the dropdown. |
| Order Store Equals | Orders imported from one specific connected store. The store can't be edited on the order. | Type one store name, exactly as it appears on the Order Details page. |
| Order Shop Name in list | Orders from any shop name in the list. The shop can't be edited on the order. | Type each shop name exactly as it appears on the order and press Enter. Several names use OR logic. |
| Order Profile Equals | Orders assigned one specific order profile. The profile can be edited on the order. | Type one profile, exactly as it's assigned to the order. |
| Order Profile in List | Orders assigned any profile in the list. The profile can be edited on the order. | Type each profile exactly and press Enter. Several profiles use OR logic. |
| Order Contains Tags | Orders with any of the order tags in the list. Tags can be edited on the order. | Type each order tag exactly and press Enter. Several tags use OR logic. |
| Has Product Tags in list | Orders containing any product with a product tag in the list. | Type each product tag exactly and press Enter. Several tags use OR logic. |
| Product SKUs in list | Orders containing any SKU in the list. | Type each SKU exactly and press Enter. Several SKUs use OR logic. |
MWA Rule Actions
Actions are the "THEN" part of an MWA rule. They tell ShipHero which warehouse to allocate or backorder the order's items to once the rule's conditions are met. Each action is set up in the six parts below.
MWA Action Part 1: Entire Order or Each SKU
Choose whether the action looks at the whole order or at each SKU on its own. To allow an order to split across warehouses, use Each SKU.
- Entire Order: Applies the action to the order as a whole. For example, allocate the order to the warehouse that can fulfill the most items on the order.
- Each SKU: Applies the action to each SKU separately. For example, allocate each SKU to the warehouse that can fulfill the most of that SKU.
MWA Action Part 2: Allocate or Backorder
- Allocate: Allocates items to a warehouse using the sort you choose in Part 6. Add a Backorder action in the same rule for items that can't be allocated.
- Backorder: Backorders the remaining unallocated items to a warehouse. Add an Allocate action in the same rule for the other items.
- Allocate from Single Warehouse and Backorder: Allocates the order to the single highest-ranked warehouse and backorders any out-of-stock items to that same warehouse, so ShipHero doesn't look for another one. You don't need separate Allocate or Backorder actions.
- Allocate and Backorder to Locked Warehouse: Allocates and backorders items to the order's locked warehouse, which is set by an automation rule or through the API. For an example, see How to Use Shopify Locations as an Automation Rule Trigger. When the order has no locked warehouse, this action doesn't work, so add other actions to the rule for those orders.
MWA Action Part 3: Which Items the Action Applies To
- All Items: Every line item on the order.
- SKUs: Only the SKUs you list.
- All Tags: Only SKUs that have every product tag you list (AND logic).
- Some Tags: SKUs that have any product tag you list (OR logic).
MWA Action Part 4: Warehouses to Include
Select the warehouses the action can allocate or backorder to.
MWA Action Part 5: Warehouse Filter (Optional)
Leave the filter empty to consider every selected warehouse. To narrow the list, choose one:
- Capacity to fulfill all items: Only warehouses that can ship every item on the order.
- Capacity to fulfill some items: Any warehouse that can ship at least some of the items.
MWA Action Part 6: How ShipHero Chooses the Warehouse
Choose how ShipHero sorts the warehouses. You can add more than one sort; ShipHero applies them in the order you list them.
- Distance: Sorts by distance from the warehouse to the order's shipping address. Distance needs ZIP code data loaded for each warehouse's ZIP code, so contact ShipHero Support to confirm it's loaded before you use this sort.
- Priority: Sorts by a warehouse priority list.
- Amount of fulfillable items: Sorts by the percentage of the order's items each warehouse can fulfill.
MWA Rule Action Examples
Example: Allocate to the Closest Warehouse and Backorder by Priority
This rule allocates each item to the warehouse closest to the customer, then backorders the remaining items to the highest warehouse on the priority list. It uses two actions:
- Allocate: Each SKU, sorted by Distance.
- Backorder: Sorted by Priority.
| Allocate action | Backorder action |
|---|---|
Example: Allocate and Backorder by Product Tag
This rule sends items to a warehouse based on their product tags, with one action per tag:
- Items with the primary product tag are allocated to the Primary warehouse. Out-of-stock items are backordered to the Primary warehouse.
- Items with the west product tag are allocated to the West Coast warehouse. Out-of-stock items are backordered to the West Coast warehouse.
| "primary" tag action | "west" tag action |
|---|---|