Problem
Orders land in Shopify. Someone copies them into a WMS, a sheet, or an email. Stock on the storefront drifts. Partial picks and sell-outs become customer-service problems.
INT · SHOPIFYOnDraft
Integration
Shopify ↔ Warehouse Management
one process, two systems.
A Shopify order is not fulfilled until the warehouse says it is. The integration has to respect that authority.
System
Shopify orders enter warehouse workflows with the identifiers and lines operations expect. Allocation, pick, pack and dispatch follow warehouse rules. Status can travel back so the shopfront is not a second reality.
Outcome
One order truth from checkout to carton. Fewer sell-outs of stock you never had, and fewer “where is my order” loops that start with a missing paste.
OnDraft already routes channel orders into Dark Store Systems where configured for a tenant. Shopify is one of those commerce surfaces.
The design problem is not “get the order in”. It is preserving warehouse rules (allocation, locations, exceptions, live-selling spikes) so Shopify does not get a special, weaker path.
We map the order payload, the stock authority, and the status you want customers to see. Then we connect it. Indexed copy on this site stays honest: detailed tenant behaviour is scoped, not invented.
What a Shopify WMS integration actually means
People search for a Shopify WMS as if it is one product. In practice it is three jobs. Orders go from Shopify into the warehouse. Stock comes back from the warehouse to Shopify. Status (picked, packed, dispatched, short) goes back so the customer sees what really happened.
If any one of those three is a person with a spreadsheet, you do not have an integration. You have a re-keying job with extra steps.
Shopify app or custom integration?
Start with an app if you can. If you have one warehouse, a simple pick list and no unusual rules, a Shopify app that pushes orders to your WMS or 3PL will often do the job. Do not pay for custom work you do not need.
Go custom when the warehouse rules start to break the app. The usual signs: more than one stock location, bundles or kits, partial picks, pre-orders, a second sales channel, or spikes from live selling. At that point people start fixing orders by hand, and the app is just moving the mess faster.
A simple test. Count how many orders a week somebody edits, splits or re-types between Shopify and the warehouse. If the answer is more than a handful, the rules belong in the system, not in someone's head.
Who owns the stock: Shopify or the warehouse?
The warehouse should own stock. It is the only place that knows what is physically on the shelf, what is allocated and what is damaged. Shopify should show a view of that number, not keep its own copy.
When both systems keep their own count, they drift. Then you sell stock you never had, and customer service picks up the pieces.
Where Shopify warehouse integrations usually go wrong
Oversells. Shopify stock is updated in batches, so fast sellers go negative between syncs.
Partial picks. The order splits on the warehouse floor, but Shopify still shows it as one parcel, so the customer gets half and a confusing email.
Multiple locations. The integration assumes a single stock pool, and orders get routed to a site that cannot fulfil them.
Live-selling spikes. A burst of orders in a few minutes hits stock that has not been reserved yet.
Status that never comes back. Tracking and dispatch live in the courier portal, so "where is my order" becomes a manual lookup.
How we approach it at OnDraft
OnDraft builds warehouse software under Dark Store Systems, so we come at this from the warehouse side. Where it is configured for a tenant, Dark Store Systems already takes channel orders in, and Shopify is one of those channels.
We start by mapping three things: the order payload the warehouse needs, which system owns stock, and the status you want customers to see. Then we connect it, keeping your warehouse rules intact so Shopify does not get a weaker path than every other channel.
If an off-the-shelf app covers you, we will say so. If it does not, we scope the custom work honestly before anything gets built.
Questions about this system
What is the difference between a Shopify WMS and Shopify's own inventory?
Shopify inventory tracks how many units it thinks you can sell. A WMS runs the warehouse itself: locations, allocation, picking, packing and dispatch. An integration lets the WMS own stock and feed that figure to Shopify.
Do I need a custom integration, or will a Shopify app do?
If you have one location and simple picking, an app is often enough. Custom work makes sense when you have multiple locations, bundles, partial picks, several channels or live-selling spikes that the app cannot handle without manual fixes.
Does this work with Shopify Plus?
The approach is the same on Shopify and Shopify Plus: orders in, stock from the warehouse, status back. What changes is the detail of your setup, which we map at the start.
Does this include Shopify Payments or Xero?
This page is the order-to-warehouse path. Finance posting is a separate integration (for example Xero or QuickBooks) if you need cash and fulfilment to meet.
What about Shopify POS or multiple locations?
Location and channel rules are part of the map. We do not assume a single stock pool.
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