Ship From Store orders look identical to warehouse orders from the customer’s perspective—same emails, tracking, and delivery experience. The difference is purely operational.
Phase 1: Define the customer experience
Before any technical setup, define how SFS orders will be handled from the customer’s perspective. Questions to answer:- Which carriers and service levels will stores use?
- What’s the fulfillment SLA (same-day, next-day)?
- What documents need to be printed (packing slip, return label, branded insert)?
- How are undeliverable orders handled—return to store or centralized at DC?
Phase 2: Define SFS and routing strategy
Determine the scope, constraints, and routing logic.SFS strategy
- How many orders per day can each store handle?
- Are all products eligible, or are some excluded (fragile, oversized)?
- How many stores are included in the pilot?
- Who handles SFS orders—dedicated staff or shared?
Routing strategy
- When all locations have stock, which one wins? DC first? Closest to customer?
- Should SFS be limited to customers within a certain radius?
- What’s the cutoff time for same-day shipping?
Phase 3: Prepare stores
Ensure participating stores have the necessary equipment and supplies.Shipping label printer
Thermal printer recommended for efficiency
Packaging materials
Boxes, tape, branded inserts
Staff access
Configure Shopify POS permissions
Packing area
Dedicated space or back office
Phase 4: Configure Shopify
Set up Shopify to support Ship From Store.Enable stores as fulfillment locations
Go to Shopify → Settings → Locations and enable online order fulfillment for each store.
Configure shipping profiles
If stores have different shipping rates, create separate shipping profiles in Settings → Shipping and delivery.
Set up carriers
Configure shipping carriers via Shopify Shipping or your preferred carrier integration.
Configure order routing
Go to Settings → Shipping and delivery → Order routing and set up basic routing rules.
Phase 5: Configure Charlie
Apply your SFS strategy using Charlie’s no-code interface.| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Daily capacity | Max orders per store per day |
| Safety stock | Reserve inventory for walk-in customers |
| Fulfillment constraints | Block stores for specific products or conditions |
| Order routing rules | Prioritize DC, then stores (or your preferred logic) |
| Split shipment limits | Control how orders can be split across locations |
Charlie installs from the Shopify App Store—no custom development required. Order routing happens at checkout, so your existing fulfillment workflows remain untouched.
Phase 6: Training & launch
Final step before going live.- Train store teams on the fulfillment workflow
- Create documentation for store staff
- Define escalation process for issues
- Set up a support channel for questions during pilot