Auto-Routing Currently in Beta
Shipping orders from multiple locations? If yes, we invite you to join our Auto-Routing Beta Program. Auto-Routing splits orders based on product location and assigns the closest shipping locations automatically!
Complete this form to request access to the Auto-Routing Beta Program and one of our team members will reach out to you.
Auto-Routing assigns orders to a Ship From Locations based on which locations stock the order items and are located closest to your customer. When there are multiple items on an order that need to be shipped from multiple locations, Auto-Routing will split the order and route each shipment.
Additionally, you can specify whether you wish Auto-Routing to prioritize shipping from the closest Ship From Location to the customer or to prioritize the fewest number of Ship From Locations, even when it means that an order will not be shipped from the closest location to your customer. Learn more about how ShipStation auto-routes orders in the Introduction to Auto-Routing help article.
When Auto-Routing cannot determine the correct Ship From Location for an order, such as when the Ship To address cannot be verified or an item on the order has no assigned Ship From Location, the order will be moved to the the Planning status so you can review and correct any issues.
This article will guide you through configuring and enabling Auto-Routing and how to review orders in the Planning status. Already have Auto-Routing enabled and just need to update the Ship From Locations assigned to your Products? Check out our Auto-Routing: Update Ship From Locations help article.
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The Auto-Routing feature is available to ShipStation accounts on the High Volume plan.
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All of the products you wish to be auto-routed must be added to the ShipStation Product catalog and each of these products must be assigned to the correct Ship From Locations.
Configuring Auto-Routing requires several steps. Our Auto-Routing onboarding process will take you through all of them.
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Launch the Auto-Routing setup
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Create a Product file
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Assign Ship From Locations & upload the product CSV file
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Review the product settings, set the Auto-Routing priority, and enable the feature
The sections below will take you step-by-step through the entire process.
Products that you wish to auto-route need to be included in the ShipStation product catalog with the correct Ship From Locations assigned. Follow the steps in this section to download a CSV (Comma-Separate Value) file containing your current products in ShipStation. You will add any missing products to the CSV and to assign active Ship From Locations.
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Click the Export Product CSV button to download a CSV file containing the products currently in ShipStation.
The file will download to your computer as a .zip file to your browser's download folder.
SKU, Name, and ActiveShipFrom Fields
The downloaded CSV file contains multiple columns for the products already in ShipStation. In the following steps you will review and update information in the SKU, Name, and ActiveShipFroms fields. All other information can be left as-is.
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Locate and open the downloaded CSV file.
We recommend opening the file using a spreadsheet application like Excel or Google Sheets.
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Review the products contained in the file and add the SKU and Name for any products that you wish to add.
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Select Continue.
You are now ready to assign Ship From Locations to your products.
Next, add the Ship From Locations for each product in the file. Once all Ship From Locations have been added, the file will be ready to import to ShipStation.
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Add the Ship From Locations for each product into the ActiveShipFroms column.
For products with more than one Ship From, separate each Ship From Location with the pipe symbol (|). Add a pipe symbol by pressing SHIFT + \ on your keyboard.
Ship From Locations in ShipStation
The Ship From Locations you add to the ActiveShipFroms column in the CSV file must match the Ship From Location names in ShipStation for the file to be imported successfully. Review the current, active Ship From Locations in ShipStation at
Settings > Shipping > Ship From Locations. -
Save your work!
Save the file to a location on your computer that you can easily access. Then, exit the file.
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Click the Select File button in ShipStation.
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Locate and select the product CSV file you saved in the previous steps. Click Open.
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Verify that the correct CSV file is selected. Then, click the Upload File button.
The file will be uploaded to ShipStation. Once complete, click Continue.
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Review the information about the new Planning status. Then, click Continue.
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Select Save Setup.
Next, you will review your products to ensure all Ship From Location assignments are correct and enable Auto-Routing.
Prior to enabling Auto-Routing, it is important to review the products in ShipStation to ensure they were assigned to the correct Ship From Locations. Then, you will specify the Fulfillment Priority and enable Auto-Routing.
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Click Products in the informational banner on the Auto-Routing screen to open the Products page in a separate browser tab.
You can also click the Products tab at the top of ShipStation.
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Review the Active Ship Froms column for each product to ensure the correct Ship From Locations are assigned.
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(Optional) Correct any incorrect Ship From Location assignments:
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Check the box to the left of the products you wish to update. Multiple products can be selected.
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Select the correct locations for the selected products from the Active Ship Froms drop-down menu.
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Switch back to the Auto-Routing browser tab or go to
Settings > Automation > Auto-Routing. -
Select whether to prioritize shipping from the closest location or shipping from the fewest number of Ship From Locations.
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Products Closest to Customer: Select this option if you wish to prioritize shipping from the Ship From Location(s) closest, geographically, to the Ship To address. Auto-Routing will split the order into as many shipments as needed.
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Fewest Ship From Location(s): Select this option if you wish to prioritize shipping from the location that can fulfill the most order items and is closest to the customer. This will avoid splitting the order unless necessary, even if the Ship From is further away.
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Toggle Auto-Routing to Enabled.
Auto-Routing is now configured and enabled. Auto-Routing will apply to newly imported orders. Learn more about how automation is applied to orders in ShipStation.
Orders that cannot be auto-routed will be moved to the Planning status so that you can review and correct any issues and move the order to either the Awaiting Shipment or On Hold status.
Orders are moved to the Planning status when:
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The Ship To address cannot be verified
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There are items on the order that do not have an assigned Ship From Location
To review and correct issues for orders in the Planning status:
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Select Planning.
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Click the order number for the order you wish to review. The Order View screen will open.
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Check for any issues related to the Ship To address. Click the Edit link to correct any issues.
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Check for any Order Items that do not have an assigned Ship From Location.
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Select the correct Ship From for all order items from the Ship From drop-down menu.
Once an item has been assigned to a Ship From Location, the Status for the item will update to Planned, indicating that the item can be moved to the correct status.
Save Ship From Locations for Products
You can save the selected Ship From Locations as the active Ship From so that you do not have to select the location again in the future. Click the Save as active Ship From for this product link for each order item for which you wish to save the Ship From Location.
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Send the order items to the correct status.
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Select the items you wish to send to the Awaiting Shipment or On Hold status.
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Click the Send to Awaiting Shipment button to send the selected items to Awaiting Shipment or move the items to On Hold by clicking the drop-down and selecting Move to On Hold.
The Status column will update to indicate the current status of the line items, and the Shipment column will display the shipment to which each item has been assigned.
Items with No Ship From Selected
When sending items with no Ship From selected to the Awaiting Shipment or On Hold status, you will be notified that the selected items will be assigned to the default Ship From location. Click Cancel to return to the Order View screen and assign Ship From Locations, or Send to Awaiting Shipment/On Hold to assign the items to the default Ship From.
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Auto-Routing will not apply to manual orders.
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Marketplace updates will not apply to orders that have been auto-routed.
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Shopify orders containing items with a zero quantity will not be auto-routed. This is so that any quantity updates sent from Shopify will be applied to the order in ShipStation.
The Error
When uploading the product CSV file during the setup process, you encounter the error:
! ERROR - Row XX [Location Name] Active Ship From does not exist
What it Means
The Ship From Location listed in the error message was not found and needs to be added to the Ship From Locations in ShipStation.
What to Do
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Cancel out of the Auto-Routing setup.
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Go to
Settings > Shipping > Ship From Locationsin ShipStation. -
Click the Add New Location button and add the missing Ship From Location.
The Ship From Location name is indicated in the error message. For example, in the below image St. Louis needs to be added as a Ship From Location.
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Follow the steps to configure Auto-Routing and upload the file again.