Setting up shipping rates for Shopify Fulfillment Network

Note

This guide is for merchants who started using the Shopify Fulfillment Network (SFN) before January 30, 2024. The Shopify Fulfillment Network app has been rebuilt to offer fulfillment solutions in partnership with Flexport. If you use the new SFN app, then refer to the new SFN guide.

When you fulfill your orders through Shopify Fulfillment Network (SFN), the cost of fulfillment and shipping is combined and charged to you in your monthly Shopify invoice. SFN uses a package's size, weight, and shipping zone to determine your shipping costs. For more information about how your shipping costs are calculated, refer to Prices and billing.

To ensure that you're covering your shipping costs, review which shipping rate strategy is best for your business. Shipping rates can be changed at any time as your business needs change. SFN doesn't support carrier calculated shipping rates.

Shopify shipping overview

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Shopify's shipping settings are centered around shipping profiles. Shipping profiles use product-based shipping rules that enable you to set up shipping rates for specific products, and charge different amounts based on where the products are being shipped to.

Within each profile, you can create shipping zones. Shipping zones are used to create a group of countries or regions that you can then assign the same shipping rates to. For example, you can create a shipping zone for the US that has a free shipping rate, and another zone for Canada that has a $5 flat shipping rate.

Within each shipping zone, you can set up shipping rates. For products that are fulfilled by SFN, you can use flat shipping rates or free shipping rates. Carrier calculated rates aren't supported by SFN.

Note

For delivery dates to display, US domestic shipping rates are always named Standard and can't be changed.

Locations are a physical place or an app where you sell products, ship and fulfill orders, or stock inventory. When you fulfill orders through SFN, then a location for SFN will automatically be added in your Shopify admin. If you stock or fulfill products from other locations, then you will need to add each location in your Shopify admin.

Learn more about fulfillments when you have multiple locations.

Considerations when setting up your shipping zones for SFN

If a country or region is added to a shipping zone that has shipping rates assigned to it, then the country or region becomes eligible for fulfillment. If you use the Rest of the World feature to assign zones and shipping rates to your shipping profiles, then it might include countries and regions that aren't supported by SFN. A zone should contain a list of only the countries and regions that are supported by the fulfillment centers.

Another thing to note, if an order is split between fulfillment by SFN and an additional location, then the order can fall under two separate zones. If a fee is assigned to each shipping zone it will add both fees together. Read about combined shipping rates when setting up your rates to avoid over charging your customers.

After you finish setting up your shipping rates, you can assign shipping speeds to your shipping rates to associate the shipping speeds offered by SFN to your shipping rates.

Tip

You can manually update the fulfillment location of an order if your fulfillment delay hasn't expired.

Split shipments on SFN

If you fulfill your orders from the SFN location as well as other locations, and you have a single shipping profile assigend to both, then split shipments might occur.

If an order can't be fully fulfilled at one location, then the shipments will be split if the following requirements are met:

• there are other locations that have the necessary inventory
• the other locations contain the same countries or regions and shipping rates within their zones

Split shipments result in your being charged for shipping multiple times. For example, if an order has 3 line items where 2 can be fulfilled at SFN and 1 item at a non-SFN location, then the order is split. SFN ships 2 items, and your non-SFN location ships the remaining 1 item. You're charged shipping for each respective shipment.

To help avoid split shipments, make sure that all of your fulfillment locations are sufficiently stocked with your inventory.

Draft orders on SFN

Draft orders that aren't submitted directly through the online store don't follow the same logic when determining which location to fulfill the order from. These orders default to the Fulfillment Priority Location. Some apps can also cause orders to default to the Fulfillment Priority Location. Contact SFN support for more information about approved apps.