{"id":1833,"date":"2021-02-25T10:45:55","date_gmt":"2021-02-25T15:45:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shipbob.com\/au\/blog\/shopify-inventory-management\/"},"modified":"2026-04-20T21:13:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T21:13:09","slug":"shopify-inventory-management","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.shipbob.com\/au\/blog\/shopify-inventory-management\/","title":{"rendered":"ShipBob\u2019s Guide to Shopify Inventory Management for Your Online Store"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Table of Contents<\/p>

** Minutes<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n

How to get started with Shopify inventory management<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reasons to look for a third-party inventory management integration<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not all Shopify inventory management solutions are created equal<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What to look for in an inventory management solution for Shopify<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Top 6 Shopify inventory management apps & integrations<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

ShipBob\u2019s Shopify inventory management integration<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leave inventory management to the experts<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Improve Shopify inventory management in your warehouse<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shopify inventory management FAQs<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

As you get ready to launch an ecommerce business, creating a Shopify store can be a fun part of the process. Shopify makes it easy to design, develop, and launch a beautiful online store that attracts customers and displays your products in the best light. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once orders are placed on your Shopify store, you can start fulfilling and shipping out orders and also start making profit \u2014 how exciting! But one aspect of running an ecommerce store tends to be less than glamorous: inventory management<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ordering, tracking, and storing inventory<\/a> is a big undertaking. Before you launch your Shopify store, it\u2019s important to take the time to plan and set up an inventory management process that works for you, which includes implementing the tools and technology to get the job done right. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this article, you will learn how to set up inventory management through Shopify, which third-party inventory integrations and apps are available, and what to look for in an inventory management solution. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to get started with Shopify inventory management<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To help you get started with inventory management using Shopify\u2019s built-in tools, here is an overview of some of the basic first steps. (Note: These instructions follow desktop setup only. For iPhone and Android, the setup will be slightly different). <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 1: Set up inventory tracking<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In order to make changes to inventory levels by product, you first will need to set up inventory tracking. Once this is set up, you can access inventory history for 90 days. Here are the steps on how to set up inventory tracking: <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. From your Shopify admin, go to ‘Products,’ and click on ‘All products.’<\/span><\/li>
  2. Click the name of the product that you want to track. If the product has different variants (e.g., colour or size), then click the variant that you want to track.<\/span><\/li>
  3. In the ‘Inventory’ section, select ‘Track’ quantity.<\/span><\/li>
  4. Set the quantity, then click ‘Save.’<\/span><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Step 2: Select a location for your inventory<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    The next step is to select a location (or locations) for your inventory. You can change the list of locations that stock a product and adjust the inventory levels<\/a> of the product at each location, as long as products are stocked at a minimum of one location. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. Go to ‘Products’ and open the product you want to select a location for. <\/span><\/li>
    2. In the ‘Inventory’ section, make sure the product’s quantity is selected.<\/span><\/li>
    3. Click ‘Edit Locations.’<\/span><\/li>
    4. Check the locations that stock the product.<\/span><\/li>
    5. Click ‘Save.’<\/span><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      Step 3: Change inventory levels<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      From the \u2018Inventory\u2019 page, there are several ways to update and change inventory levels. To make inventory changes at a single location, here are the steps:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      1. Select the location using the locations drop-down menu.<\/span><\/li>
      2. Locate the ‘Update Quantity’ column and enter the quantity change. You can enter a positive or negative number, or zero.<\/span><\/li>
      3. Click ‘Add’ or ‘Set,’ and then click ‘Save.’<\/span><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

        Reasons to look for a third-party inventory management integration<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

        Shopify comes with inventory management tools built in, but there are limitations. As your business grows \u2014 launching new sales channels or expanding your distribution centre<\/a> network \u2014 you might want to consider a more robust inventory management solution. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Here are the top reasons to look for a third-party inventory management integration for your Shopify store. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        1. Not all products are allowed on Shopify<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

        Though Shopify is the most popular ecommerce platform, several products cannot be integrated into Shopify. If you sell a product that\u2019s on Shopify\u2019s list of restricted items, you might need to rely on a different sales channel to sell certain products, as well as a separate inventory management system to track inventory. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        2. Shopify\u2019s inventory management system works in a silo<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

        Unlike other inventory systems, Shopify\u2019s inventory management system does not provide multichannel functionality. If your brand sells through multiple sales channels, you won\u2019t be able to view inventory levels and other insights from multiple channels in one place, making it harder to get a full picture on your inventory. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        3. Lack of inventory insights<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

        You can set up inventory tracking for your Shopify store, however, there is no data past 90 days. Because of this, it can be a challenge to use historical order data to make better decisions on inventory, such as which products to reorder when and how often. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Forecasting future demand<\/a> based on seasonality can also be a challenge, since you will only be able to access data from the last three months. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        4. Narrow sales overview<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

        With Shopify\u2019s inventory system, you don\u2019t get a full view of all the sales channels and the inventory being distributed to fulfil incoming orders. This can make it hard to understand important sales trends, such as which products are selling faster or slower across different channels.  <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Not all Shopify inventory management solutions are created equal<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

        Beyond Shopify\u2019s inventory management features, as a leading ecommerce platform, there are a lot of inventory management solutions that integrate with Shopify on the market. These types of solutions are designed to optimise the supply chain<\/a> by providing tools that help you gain more control over inventory. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        However, each solution has their own set of features and capabilities, so it\u2019s important to source the right solution that fits your needs. <\/span>Before you choose an inventory management solution to integrate with your Shopify store, you might want to consider a few things first, such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n