The Pipe17 Connect:MCF App for Shopify allows you to connect your Shopify store directly to Amazon MCF for order fulfillment.
In this article
Who should use the app?
The app allows Shopify merchants to use their Amazon MCF inventory for fulfillment of online/POS Shopify orders. You can read more about its benefits and install the Connect:MCF app from the Shopify app store.
If you are an existing Pipe17 customer, contact support for help on connecting the app to an existing Pipe17 environment.
Primary features
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Support for Amazon's latest Selling Partner API that lets you automatically request blank box fulfillment, block Amazon logistics and meet exclusion needs.
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Continuous order pulls and updates between Shopify and Amazon MCF.
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Fulfillment Status and Tracking numbers inserted into Shopify.
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Email notifications when there are problems fulfilling orders.
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Shopify available inventory is updated as your Amazon inventory changes.
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Expandable platform. Easily add your marketplaces, ERPs, Financials for seamless sync of orders and inventory throughout your operation.
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Set up Connect:MCF
To get started with the Connect:MCF app, follow these steps:
- Add the app from the Shopify App Store page. You may need to log into your Shopify store.
- Click "Install app" to accept the permissions and install the app on your store.
- Select your plan and click "Continue", then click "Approve" to approve any charges.
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Turn off any pop-up blockers in your browser (or continuously check for pop-ups that you need to allow throughout the installation process).
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The Connect:MCF onboarding wizard will launch and present a few steps to get you connected.
- At the appropriate time, click on "Connect to MCF" and log in to Amazon Seller Central in the newly opened tab. Authorize the requested permissions to proceed.
- Answer questions on the options presented. If you do not have approval from Amazon MCF to use blank box inventory do not enable that option.
- When all steps are completed, you should see a success screen like this one:
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One quick way to verify everything if configured correctly is to look for a new App Location called "Pipe17" in the Location settings in Shopify (navigate to Settings > Locations).
- To access the full Pipe17 portal (for instance to view problems with orders), look for email from Pipe17 with a subject like "Set Your Password - Pipe17". Create a password and then login.
Configure your products
Now that the app is added and configured, you can choose which of your Shopify products should be fulfilled using the MCF fulfillment service. To do this, find each product and change its "Inventory will be stocked at" setting to the new Pipe17 location. You can also do this in bulk by changing the "Fulfillment service" for multiple products at once using Shopify's bulk editor.
Test your orders
Instead of waiting for your next order to come in, you may want to test your new fulfillment flow by manually creating a new order in Shopify. Make sure the order includes one of the products you configured to be fulfilled with MCF.
After the order is placed, the fulfillment behavior will depend on your Shopify settings:
- If you have automatic order fulfillment enabled, your order will automatically flow into Pipe17 and onto Amazon Seller Central. You should be able to see the order in Amazon within 10 minutes.
- If you do not have automatic order fulfillment enabled, you will need to click "Request fulfillment" on the Shopify order page in order to send the order to Amazon.
This setting can be changed in Shopify under Settings > Checkout > Order processing > "After an order has been paid".
Access the Pipe17 portal
If you want to have more visibility over your orders and explore the advanced features of the Shopify <> MCF connection, you will need to access the full Pipe17 portal.
When you installed the app in Shopify, you provided an email address. Open that inbox and look for an email from Pipe17 with the subject line "Set Your Password". Follow the instructions in that email, then invite any other users from your organization that will need to update integration settings or otherwise have access to the Pipe17 portal.
We recommend reviewing our set of articles on Getting Started With Pipe17 to familiarize yourself with the portal.
FAQ
How do I know my orders are flowing?
We recommend following the steps under "Test your orders" under our Setup steps, to create a test order in the Shopify admin. Make sure the order contains a product that has its inventory being managed by Pipe17 (see Configure your products), and put in a valid shipping address. After requesting fulfillment on this order, it should be visible in Amazon Seller Central within 10 minutes. For added visibility you can also access your full Pipe17 portal to see the order "land" in Pipe17 before making its way over to Amazon for fulfillment. This is also where you would see any errors indicating that something is preventing Amazon from accepting the order.
How do I send my orders for fulfillment?
First, make sure you update your products in Shopify to have their inventory managed by Pipe17. You can follow this guide from Shopify to change the inventory management for a product.
As long as inventory management is correctly configured, an order containing that product will be set for fulfillment at the Pipe17/MCF location. To fulfill that order, follow the steps below:
- On the page of the order in Shopify, click on the "Request fulfillment" button, and then "Send Fulfillment Request".
- You should see the status change to "Requested":
- Once Pipe17 has pulled the order, you will see the status change to "Accepted":
- Once Amazon MCF fulfills the order, the order will automatically be marked "Fulfilled" on Shopify, tracking information will be added, and Shopify will send a shipping notification email to your customer (as long as you have those notifications active in Shopify).
If you don't see the "Request fulfillment" button, your order is probably sent for fulfillment automatically based on your Shopify settings. See the question Do I have to request fulfillment for each order? for more information on this behavior.
How do I ship in a blank box?
Select the appropriate option at the time of installation. Or use these instructions. For this you will need access to the full Pipe17 portal (see Access the full Pipe17 portal).
- Turn on the blank box location in the MCF Integration Settings in Pipe17. You can review our detailed MCF Connector Guide for more information on this setting and others.
- Change your default fulfillment location to Amazon.com Blank Box, by heading into Organization > Order routing and adjusting the fulfillment location.
If you also want only the blank box-fulfillable inventory to sync to Shopify, you will need to follow these steps:
- Navigate to Inventory > Locations in Pipe17 and click into the Amazon.com (MCF) location (not the blank box location)
- You will see this location has an "External location" called Shopify, with a corresponding location ID. Copy this ID.
- You can now use the trash can icon to delete the Shopify External Location, since you will no longer be syncing inventory from this Amazon location. Make sure you have copied the ID before deleting it.
- Now head back into the Inventory > Locations page and click into the Amazon.com (MCF) Blank Box location.
- Add a new External Location, where the integration is Shopify and the ID is the one you copied in step 2. Save your changes.
Do I have to request fulfillment for each individual order?
No. If you change your Shopify settings to automatically fulfill all of your order line items, then you will not have to click the "Request fulfillment" button each time.
This setting can be changed in Shopify under Settings > Checkout > Order processing > "After an order has been paid". This will affect all orders in Shopify so ensure you understand the implications of how this would work with other fulfillment channels.
What if my customers want faster (expedited) shipping?
For this you will need access to the full Pipe17 portal (see Access the full Pipe17 portal). Then, follow the steps in this detailed guide on Configuring Your Amazon MCF Shipping Methods
Can I self fulfill products instead of sending them to MCF?
Yes, you can set these products back to "Inventory managed by" = Shopify and they will not be sent to MCF for fulfillment.
However, if the same product(s) is sometimes self-fulfilled and sometimes MCF-fulfilled, and you want to pick which one after each order is placed, you can do so as long as you do not have automatic order fulfillment enabled in Shopify (see the question Do I have to request fulfillment for each order? for more details on this setting). Then, simply click "Fulfill item" instead of "Request fulfillment" on the order page:
Can I install the app on multiple Shopify stores?
Yes - simply follow the installation steps for each store. Use a different email for the installation on each store, so that a Pipe17 account can be successfully created for each one. Once all accounts are created, you can add the same email as a User to each Pipe17 account so that you can easily switch between Pipe17 accounts.
If you run into any issues that are not answered in this document, please visit our support knowledge base or create a support ticket.
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