Creating and managing inventory transfers

You can create inventory transfers to move and track inventory between your store locations, or to and from external locations such as suppliers. Use the Transfers page in your Shopify admin to restock retail stores from a warehouse, replenish low-stock locations, or receive new shipments from suppliers. When you process a transfer, shipments are automatically created and managed for you.

You can create inventory transfers for products that use a third-party fulfillment service, or fulfill and receive inventory transfers from Shopify POS.

Create an inventory transfer

You can create an inventory transfer between any of your store locations from your Shopify admin, including locations that aren't active for fulfillment. Transferring inventory to a location records quantity at the destination but doesn't activate the product there. If you want items to be sellable and fulfillable at the destination, then you can stock them as you receive the transfer, or activate the product at that location separately.

You can leave the origin or destination blank when creating an inventory transfer. This can be useful when you receive inventory from an external supplier or ship to an external location that isn't tracked as a location in Shopify.

You can also create a transfer with a barcode scanner. When you create a transfer you can view inventory quantities at the origin location and adjust the quantities that you want to transfer to a destination location.

After you create a transfer, your transfer is saved as a draft. Your inventory isn't reserved and you can edit any details of your transfer. To ship your inventory, process the transfer.

Steps:

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Products > Transfers.

2. Click Create transfer.

3. Optional: From the Select origin drop-down menu, select an origin location that you want to transfer inventory from.

4. Optional: From the Select destination drop-down menu, select a destination location where you want to receive the inventory.

5. Add products to your transfer:

   1. Click the Search products field.
   2. Select or search for products that you want to add to your transfer.
   3. Click Add.

6. In the Move column, enter the quantities for each product in the transfer. When you enter quantities, the inventory changes are displayed for both the origin and destination locations so that you can review the impact of the transfer.

7. Optional: Add additional information about your transfer:

   • In the Add reference name field, enter a name for your transfer.
   • In the Add note field, enter a note for your transfer.
   • In the Add tags field, search to find existing tags or create new tags to add to your transfer.

8. Click Save.

Add metafields to a transfer

You can add custom metafields to your inventory transfers to store specialized information, such as a supplier reference, a carrier, or an expected delivery date. To add metafields to a transfer, you first create a metafield definition for transfers in Settings > Custom data, and then add values to the metafield on a transfer's page.

Import products in bulk

You can bulk import variants to a new or existing transfer using a transfer CSV file. The transfer CSV file contains information that uniquely identifies products, product variants, and their inventory quantities at your location or specified locations. You can download and view a sample transfer CSV file to use as a template.

If you import variants to an existing transfer and the transfer CSV file contains variants that already exist on the transfer, then the existing variant quantities are overwritten by the new quantities.

Steps:

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Products > Transfers.

2. Click Create transfer or click an existing transfer.

3. Click Import, and then click Add file.

4. Select the transfer CSV file that you want to upload.

5. Click Import products.

Process an inventory transfer

After you prepare your items, you need to process your inventory transfer. If you're sending items to another location, then click Move to in transit. If you want to reserve the inventory at the origin location before shipping, then click Mark as ready to ship. If you've already physically moved the items, then click Mark as transferred to complete the transfer immediately.

Review the following table to learn more about the different actions that you can take to process a transfer.

After you process your transfer, you can't change the origin and destination locations, but you can edit all other transfer details, such as products, notes, or tags.

Steps:

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Products > Transfers.

2. Click a transfer that you want to process.

3. Do one of the following:

   • To move inventory to in transit, click Move to in transit.
   • To reserve inventory at the origin location, click , and then click Mark as ready to ship.
   • To receive and make inventory available at the destination location, click , and then click Mark as transferred.

4. Optional: If you moved the transfer to in transit, then add shipment details:

   • To add a tracking number for your shipment, click Tracking number, and then enter a tracking number.
   • To add a shipping carrier for your shipment, click Carrier, and then select a shipping carrier.
   • To add an expected arrival date for your shipment, click Expected arrival, and then select or enter an expected arrival date.
   • To add a barcode to your shipment so that staff can scan it to open the receiving page, click Barcode, and then enter a unique barcode of up to 250 characters.
   • To add a cost adjustment to your shipment, such as shipping, customs duties, or other fees, click Shipment cost, select an adjustment type from the Adjustment drop-down menu, enter an amount, and then click Done.

Receive items for an inventory transfer

After your inventory arrives at the destination location, you can receive the items. Receiving inventory means that the item has arrived, you have evaluated the item, and decided to accept or reject it. You can also receive items for a transfer with a barcode scanner.

You can accept and reject items in bulk or for specific item quantities. The Receive items dialog displays the total received items with a progress summary. Accepted inventory becomes available at the destination location, unless a product isn't stocked there. If you receive a product that isn't stocked at the destination location, then you can choose whether to make the product available when you save. Rejected inventory is recorded on the transfer, but doesn't increase inventory quantities at any location. After all items are received, the transfer status changes to Transferred. If you only receive some items, then the transfer remains In progress until you receive the remaining items.

Steps:

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Products > Transfers.

2. Click a transfer that you want to receive items for.

3. Click Receive items.

4. Accept and reject items:

   • To accept items in bulk, select the items that you want to accept, and then click Accept selected.
   • To accept specific item quantities, in the Accept column, enter the item quantities that you accept for each item.
   • To reject items in bulk, select the items that you want to reject, and then click Reject selected.
   • To reject specific item quantities, in the Reject column, enter the item quantities that you reject for each item.

5. Click Save.

6. Optional: If you received any products that aren't stocked at the destination location, then choose whether to make them available there:

   • To stock the products and make their inventory available to sell and fulfill, click Stock and fulfill.
   • To record the received quantity without making the products available, click Not now. You can activate the product at the location later.

Manage multiple shipments

When you create an inventory transfer, a single shipment is automatically created. For most inventory transfers, this is all you need, and you can receive items directly from the transfer details page.

If you need to send items in separate batches, then you can add additional shipments to an inventory transfer that's in the Ready to ship or In progress status. Each shipment has its own shipment ID, such as T289-1, and is tracked independently with its own status and tracking details. You can receive each shipment separately. For example, you might use multiple shipments when half your inventory is ready to ship immediately and the rest is available at a later date.

Steps:

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Products > Transfers.

2. Click a transfer that's in the Ready to ship or In progress status.

3. Click More actions, and then click Add products.

4. Select the products that you want to add to the transfer, and then click Add.

5. In the Move column, enter the quantities for the products.

6. Click Save.

7. To send the new shipment, click Move to in transit.

8. Optional: Add shipment details:

   • To add a tracking number for the shipment, click Tracking number, and then enter a tracking number.
   • To add a shipping carrier for the shipment, click Carrier, and then select a shipping carrier.
   • To add an expected arrival date for the shipment, click Expected arrival, and then select or enter an expected arrival date.
   • To add a barcode to the shipment so that staff can scan it to open the receiving page, click Barcode, and then enter a unique barcode of up to 250 characters.
   • To add a cost adjustment to the shipment, such as shipping, customs duties, or other fees, click Shipment cost, select an adjustment type from the Adjustment drop-down menu, enter an amount, and then click Done.

Edit, duplicate, cancel, or delete a transfer

After you create and process an inventory transfer, you can duplicate, edit, cancel, or delete it. You can edit transfer details such as products, quantities, tracking information, and notes. Some actions are available only for transfers that are in specific statuses.

Edit a draft inventory transfer

After you create a draft inventory transfer, you can edit your transfer details, such as changing the origin and destination location, adjusting products, and amending other transfer information.

Steps:

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Products > Transfers.

2. Click a draft transfer that you want to edit.

3. Optional: From the Select origin and Select destination drop-down menus, adjust your origin and destination locations.

4. Optional: Add or remove products from your transfer:

   • To add new products, click the Search products field, select the products that you want to transfer, and then click Add.
   • To remove products from a transfer, click x for the products that you want to remove.
   • To adjust product quantity, in the Move column, enter the quantities for each product in the transfer.

5. Optional: Adjust the reference name, note, or tags.

6. Click Save.

Edit a processed inventory transfer

After you process your inventory transfer, you can edit your transfer details, such as products, tracking information, and other transfer information. You can't edit the origin and destination locations for processed transfers. If you need to change either of the locations, then duplicate or cancel the transfer.

Steps:

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Products > Transfers.

2. Click a transfer that you want to edit.

3. Optional: Add or remove products from your transfer:

   • To add new products, click the Search products field, select the products that you want to transfer, and then click Add.
   • To remove products from a transfer, click x for the products that you want to remove.
   • To adjust product quantity, in the Move column, enter the quantities for each product in the transfer.

4. Optional: Edit your shipment tracking information:

   • To add a tracking number for your shipment, click Tracking number, and then enter a tracking number.
   • To add a shipping carrier for your shipment, click Carrier, and then select a shipping carrier.
   • To add an expected arrival date for your shipment, click Expected arrival, and then select or enter an expected arrival date.

5. Optional: Adjust the reference name, note, or tags.

6. Click Save.

Edit a shipment

You can edit item quantities, add products, move items between shipments, and edit shipment tracking information, such as a tracking number, shipping carrier, or an expected arrival date. You can edit shipments that are in Draft or In transit status. To change item quantities in a received shipment, manage received items instead.

If a transfer has multiple shipments, then reducing an item's quantity in one shipment moves that item to another shipment on the same transfer. If a shipment is left without any items, then that shipment is deleted automatically.

Steps:

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Products > Transfers.

2. Click a transfer that you want to edit a shipment for.

3. For the shipment that you want to edit, click the icon, and then click Edit shipment.

4. In the Edit dialog, edit the items in the shipment:

   • To change item quantities, on the Selected tab, adjust the quantity for each item.
   • To add products to the shipment, click All, select the items that you want to add, and then enter the quantity for each item.

5. Click Save.

6. Optional: Edit your shipment tracking information:

   • To add a tracking number for your shipment, click Tracking number, and then enter a tracking number.
   • To add a shipping carrier for your shipment, click Carrier, and then select a shipping carrier. If your carrier is supported by Shopify and you add a tracking number, then the carrier is automatically selected for you.
   • To add an expected arrival date for your shipment, click Expected arrival, and then select or enter an expected arrival date.

Manage item quantities in a received shipment

You can edit the accepted or rejected item quantities in a received shipment to make corrections. For example, if you find an item that was initially lost in transit, then you can adjust the item's quantity in a received shipment.

Steps:

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Products > Transfers.

2. Click the transfer with the received shipment that you want to edit.

3. For the shipment that received items, click , and then click Manage received items.

4. Accept and reject items in a shipment:

   • To accept specific item quantities, in the Accept column, enter the item quantities that you accept for each item.
   • To reject specific item quantities, in the Reject column, enter the item quantities that you reject for each item.

5. Click Save.

Duplicate an inventory transfer

You can duplicate an existing inventory transfer. You can duplicate any transfer including canceled transfers. Your new transfer is created in Draft status.

Duplicating a transfer can be useful when you need to make a new transfer from the same origin or destination, or for the same items.

Steps:

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Products > Transfers.

2. Click a transfer that you want to duplicate.

3. Click More actions, and then click Duplicate.

4. Click Duplicate transfer.

Cancel an inventory transfer

If you no longer need to make an inventory transfer, then you can cancel it. You can cancel a transfer that is in Draft or Ready to ship status. You can access and duplicate canceled transfers at any time.

After you cancel a transfer, your reserved items are made available at the origin location.

Steps:

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Products > Transfers.

2. Click a transfer that you want to cancel.

3. Click More actions, and then click Cancel transfer.

4. Click Cancel transfer.

Delete an inventory transfer

You can delete inventory transfers that are in Draft status. You can't delete transfers that are ready to ship. If you need to stop a transfer that is ready to ship, then cancel it instead.

You can't access deleted transfers after they're deleted.

Steps:

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Products > Transfers.

2. Click a draft transfer that you want to delete.

3. Click More actions, and then click Delete transfer.

4. Click Delete transfer.

Inventory transfer statuses

Review the following different transfer statuses that your inventory transfers can have.

Transfers created by third-party apps

You can view and manage inventory transfers created by third-party apps directly from your Shopify admin. When you create an inventory transfer using a third-party app, your transfer is displayed in the Source column on the Transfers page. The transfer source is also displayed on each transfer, so you can identify whether a transfer is coming from a third-party app. You can also view the transfer timeline for third-party app events.

You can manage your third-party transfers in the same way that you manage transfers created directly in your Shopify admin. You can duplicate, cancel, and delete third-party transfers. Shipments are automatically managed for third-party transfers. If you need to send items in separate batches, then you can manage multiple shipments.