Locations represent where inventory is stocked and where orders can be routed for fulfillment. Keeping locations clean and organized improves inventory accuracy, reduces split shipments, and helps lower fulfillment costs.
On the Inventory pages, the app shows inventory by location. By default, most warehouse locations are created automatically from your 3PL integrations.
Steps
Viewing Locations
Go to Inventory → Locations.
Use the Locations table to review attributes such as status, integrations, routing impact, rules applied, and assigned groups (if the column is enabled).
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To see inventory quantities for a SKU at a specific location:
Go to Inventory and select a SKU/location row to open Inventory details.
From Inventory details, select View location if you need to open Location details to edit location settings.
Creating Locations
Go to Inventory → Locations.
Select Create location.
Enter the location details and save.
Most warehouse locations are created automatically by 3PL connectors.
Create a virtual location if you need a place to divert orders for manual review or workflows that should not fulfill.
Editing Locations
Go to Inventory → Locations.
Select a location name to open Location details.
Update fields as needed.
Status, Name, and 3PL Integration
Field |
Purpose |
Operational impact |
|---|---|---|
Status |
Operational state of the location |
Determines whether the location participates in routing and inventory updates |
Name |
Human-readable label in the app |
Does not affect external systems |
3PL integration |
Fulfillment integration responsible for shipping requests |
Required for the Order Routing Engine to consider the location a shipping destination |
Inventory integration (if available) |
Integration used as the inventory source |
Allows inventory to come from a different integration than fulfillment |
If 3PL Integration is not set, the location is non-fulfillment; typically a sales channel location. Set a 3PL only for locations that should receive shipping requests.
Status Options
Status |
Inventory updates |
Order routing |
Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
Active |
Included |
Included |
Normal operations |
Inactive |
Excluded |
Excluded |
Temporarily closed or retired locations |
Additional statuses such as Pending, Merged, or Deleted may appear as system-managed states. These statuses are typically assigned by the system and may not be selectable in the UI.
Recommendation: set locations to Inactive rather than deleting them so historical data remains available.
Behavioral Flags and Routing Controls
Setting |
What it does |
Operational impact |
Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
Preserve bundles |
Sends bundle line items to fulfillment as bundles instead of decomposing them into components |
Ensures the 3PL receives bundle SKUs as expected |
3PLs that pack or kit bundles |
Exclude from totals |
Removes the location from inventory calculations unless explicitly selected |
Prevents overpromising inventory |
Virtual, POS-only, or duplicate locations |
Virtual commit |
Temporarily commits order quantities to selling-channel locations when orders import, before routing completes |
Helps prevent overselling while routing decisions are pending |
Channels publishing per-location inventory |
Do not track inventory |
Temporarily pauses inventory ingestion or maintenance for the location |
Prevents inventory changes during controlled pauses |
Cycle counts or temporary ingestion pauses |
Pause location |
Temporarily excludes the location from routing |
Stops allocation without changing the location status |
Maintenance or operational outages |
Exclude from totals by integration |
Excludes the location from inventory totals for selected integrations |
Enables channel-specific inventory control |
Hide stock from specific channels |
If a channel uses Totals (single destination location), you can reduce available inventory globally using a Virtual Location strategy.
If a channel uses per-location inventory, enable Virtual commit on one selling location per channel to reduce inventory immediately while minimizing temporary inventory fluctuations.
Address
Address fields are primarily administrative and do not affect routing or inventory behavior.
Required fields may vary depending on configuration or validation rules. If you cannot save a location due to address validation:
Complete all address fields shown in the UI.
Confirm required fields with your implementation team if validation rules differ across regions.
External Locations
Use External locations to map this Pipe17 location to locations in other systems, such as a 3PL, Shopify store, or ERP. These mappings determine how inventory and fulfillment data flow between systems.
Routing Behavior
The app prioritizes fulfilling orders from a single location to reduce shipping costs and operational complexity. Routing rules determine how locations are evaluated.
Setting |
Effect |
|---|---|
Split orders disabled |
Orders must be fulfilled by one location containing all SKUs |
Split orders allowed |
Orders can be split across multiple locations |
Priority order |
Locations are evaluated in rule order; changing rule order influences selection |
Example:
Location |
Inventory |
|---|---|
Warehouse 1 |
5 × SKU A |
Warehouse 2 |
5 × SKU B |
Warehouse 3 |
5 × SKU A and 5 × SKU B |
Split allowed → SKU A from Warehouse 1 and SKU B from Warehouse 2
Split disabled → Warehouse 3 fulfills the order
Priority rules → The highest-priority location that satisfies routing rules is chosen
Deactivating Locations
When a location should no longer be used:
Open Inventory → Locations.
Select the location.
Set Status to Inactive.
Inactive locations are removed from routing and inventory updates but remain available for historical reference.
Location Groups
Location Groups let you organize multiple fulfillment locations into reusable groups for use in order routing rules. Instead of selecting individual locations in every rule, you select a Location Group once and reuse it.
For setup steps, examples, and routing behavior, see Location Groups.
Common Scenarios
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Push inventory from fulfillment to a sales channel
Ensure the warehouse location has a 3PL integration assigned.
Map the sales channel location under the warehouse’s External locations.
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Publish inventory to an ERP
Add the ERP location identifier in External locations so inventory updates publish to the correct ERP location.
Troubleshooting
Symptom |
Likely cause |
Fix |
|---|---|---|
Inventory not appearing in a sales channel |
Missing external mapping or incorrect integration configuration |
Verify the channel mapping under the warehouse’s External locations and confirm integrations are configured correctly |
Orders routed to the wrong warehouse |
Routing priority, split configuration, or a paused location |
Review routing rule order and confirm Pause location and Status settings |
Duplicate or confusing locations |
Multiple integrations created similar locations |
Merge locations where appropriate, rename for clarity, set duplicates to Inactive, and apply Tags (if available) |
Bundles sent as components |
Preserve bundles disabled |
Enable Preserve bundles on the fulfillment location |
Inventory updates stop unexpectedly |
Inventory ingestion paused or event filtering enabled |
Check Do not track inventory, Scheduled routing pauses, and Exclude inventory events settings |
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