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Capacity lets you limit how many orders a location can fulfill per day. This prevents locations from being overwhelmed and helps balance workload across your network.

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How capacity works

Each location can have a daily order limit. When the limit is reached:
  • The counter resets at midnight (store timezone)
  • Remaining capacity = Daily limit − Orders fulfilled today

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How to configure capacity

1

Go to the location

Navigate to Charlie → Locations and select a location.
2

Open Shipping settings

In the Fulfillment settings card, click Shipping.
Fulfillment settings
3

Enable daily order limit

Toggle on Daily order limit and set the maximum number of orders per day.
Daily order limit configuration
4

Choose capacity mode

Select how Charlie should behave when capacity is reached.

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Capacity modes

ModeBehavior
Prefer other locationsDeprioritize the location but allow overflow if needed. Orders can still be fulfilled if no other option exists.
Block ordersExclude the location entirely when capacity is reached. Hard block—no orders assigned.
Use Prefer other locations for a soft approach that maximizes fulfillment. Use Block orders when you absolutely need to cap volume (e.g., limited staff, operational constraints).

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Capacity as constraint vs routing rule

Capacity can work in two ways depending on your setup:
When set to Block orders, capacity acts as a hard constraint.
  • Location is excluded from fulfillment when at capacity
  • If it’s the only location that can fulfill, the order is blocked at checkout
  • Use for strict operational limits
To use capacity in order routing, you need to enable a Capacity routing rule in Shopify’s order routing settings. Charlie will prompt you if this isn’t configured.

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Examples

A store can only process 10 ship-from-store orders per day.Setup:
  • Daily order limit: 10
  • Mode: Prefer other locations
Result: After 10 orders, the store is deprioritized. Warehouses handle overflow.
A 3PL charges extra for orders beyond their daily SLA.Setup:
  • Daily order limit: 500
  • Mode: Block orders
Result: After 500 orders, the warehouse is excluded. Orders route elsewhere or are blocked if no alternative.
A store has more staff on weekdays than weekends.Setup:
  • Use Charlie’s Automations to schedule capacity changes
  • Weekdays: 50 orders
  • Weekends: 20 orders
Result: Capacity adjusts automatically based on the day.

Capacity Routing Rules

How capacity affects order routing

Automations

Schedule capacity changes by day