From purchase order to shelf: Shopify receiving and putaway
Shopify can record that a purchase order arrived. Your warehouse still has to count it, deal with the damaged units, and give every accepted item a physical home.
# Receiving and putaway are two separate promises
Receiving says the supplier delivered the item and the warehouse accepted it. Putaway says the item now has a known storage address. The first changes what the inventory system believes you own. The second makes that stock findable for the next order.
Shopify's purchase-order receiving guide explains how a received or partially received quantity updates inventory. That screen cannot confirm that six units went to A-01 and another case went to O-04. Shopify's Location total and the warehouse's bin map answer different questions.
Treating the two steps as one vague task is how cartons end up beside the dock while Shopify says they are ready to sell. A picker reaches the assigned shelf, finds nothing, and starts checking any box that looks recently delivered. The count may be correct in the building and still useless on the floor.
# Prepare a small receiving area before the delivery arrives
You do not need a loading dock to have a receiving area. A marked table or one pallet position is enough if everyone agrees that stock there is not yet put away. Keep the purchase order, a way to scan or identify variants, and a place for damaged or disputed units within reach.
Pull up the expected order before opening boxes. Check the supplier, purchase-order number, cartons, and obvious transport damage. If a carton is crushed or wet, photograph it before moving the contents. Separate accepted stock from anything waiting on a supplier decision. A quarantine shelf is better than a sticky note on a sellable case.
Finish one delivery before mixing in the next one. Two suppliers can ship the same-looking product with different variants, batch details, or costs. A crowded table turns a simple count into a memory test.
# Count what arrived, not what the purchase order expected
Open each carton and match the product or variant identifier. Record the quantity you can accept. If the purchase order says 24 and the supplier sent 22, receive 22. If two units are damaged, decide whether they are rejected, quarantined, or accepted as non-sellable stock before updating available inventory.
Partial receiving exists because real deliveries are untidy. Backorders, split cartons, substitutions, and damage should remain visible rather than being rounded up to the ordered amount. Shopify lets you receive part of a purchase order and adjust the received quantity later. Use that history instead of keeping the missing two units in somebody's inbox.
For unfamiliar or high-value stock, have a second person recount a mismatch. For ordinary deliveries, spot-check sealed case quantities and record which cases were opened. This catches a supplier or counting error while the cartons and paperwork are still in front of you.
# Decide when accepted stock becomes available in Shopify
Marking inventory as received changes the quantity Shopify can work with. If customers can buy it immediately, the warehouse needs a rule for the gap between the receiving table and the shelf. One shop may put away each line before receiving it in Shopify. Another may receive the full delivery first, then treat the receiving area as a temporary controlled bin.
Either approach can work. The bad version is accepting stock in Shopify and leaving it in an unmarked pile. If the delivery is large enough to remain staged for hours, give the stage a real name, keep it out of normal picking when necessary, and make one person responsible for closing the putaway.
Do not add rejected units to available inventory just to make the purchase order look complete. Keep damaged goods in quarantine until the supplier credit, replacement, or internal write-off is clear. A clean receiving report is not worth creating a failed pick tomorrow.
# Turn the Shopify increase into bin quantities
When Shopify inventory rises after a receipt, a bin-level system sees more units at the Location but does not know which shelf gained them. Guessing would be worse than leaving the difference open. The person doing putaway has the missing information because they are holding the product and standing beside the destination bin.
BinTech records that unmatched increase as positive variance. The receiver can allocate the units to one or more bins during putaway. Once the bin quantities account for the Shopify Location total, the variance clears and the next pick list can use the new stock. The reconciliation guide explains positive and negative variance and the audit record left by each decision.
Scan or confirm both sides of the movement where possible: the variant and the destination bin. Put the product down only after the quantity is recorded. If the software step is saved for later, later tends to happen after the next delivery has covered the label.
# Split a delivery between the pick face and overstock on purpose
Fast sellers rarely need the entire delivery beside the packing bench. Refill the pick face to a sensible working level and put the remaining cases into overstock. If A-01 has 3 units and its target is 15, send 12 there. A 48-unit delivery leaves 36 for O-04.
Record both quantities. Shopify should show the full warehouse total, while the bin ledger shows the split. Moving a case from overstock to the pick face later changes the bins but not Shopify's Location total. The article on multiple bin locations for one Shopify SKU walks through that arithmetic.
Do not bury the two addresses in one text field. A-01 / O-04 tells a picker where stock might exist but not which bin can fill the order. Quantities turn two labels into a useful putaway and picking record.
# Close the exceptions before clearing the receiving area
Before the cartons leave the receiving area, compare four numbers: ordered, delivered, accepted, and put away. They do not always match, but every difference should have a reason. Missing units remain open on the purchase order. Rejected units stay out of available stock. Accepted units should appear in Shopify and have a bin or controlled staging address.
Check the neighbouring shelf after putaway if the destination was crowded. It is easy to place a case one bay over while carrying several items. Break down empty cartons, remove old supplier labels, and leave the staging area ready for the next delivery. That last five minutes makes tomorrow's receipt much less error prone.
If the bin total and Shopify still disagree, stop and investigate while the delivery is recent. Review the received quantity, recount the staged and destination stock, then look for another inventory adjustment that arrived at the same time. Do not spread an unexplained difference across several bins to make the screen turn green.
# A receiving checklist small teams can keep using
Before opening cartons, clear the receiving area and open the correct purchase order. Check external damage, identify each variant, and count the quantity physically delivered. Record shortages and quarantine anything disputed. Receive only the accepted quantity in Shopify.
Next, choose the destination bins, split pick-face and overstock quantities, and record each putaway as the stock moves. Reconcile the bin total to Shopify, close any remaining purchase-order exceptions, then clear the staging area. Put the checklist where the work happens, not in a folder beside the manager's desk.
Shopify's native receiving and one-bin model may be enough when every variant goes straight to one permanent shelf. BinTech becomes useful when the accepted quantity needs to be split across bins, the receiving increase must be reconciled, or the same bin records also drive automated pick lists and cycle counts. The getting-started guide covers the first Location and bin setup.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between receiving and putaway?
Receiving confirms that a supplier delivery was accepted and updates the inventory record. Putaway moves that accepted stock into a known physical bin so warehouse staff can find and pick it.
Can Shopify partially receive a purchase order?
Yes. Shopify supports receiving part of a purchase order and adjusting received quantities later, which lets shortages, split deliveries, and damaged units remain visible.
When should received inventory become available in Shopify?
Choose a consistent point after the warehouse has accepted the stock. If putaway will take time, manage the receiving area as a controlled stage so Shopify does not promise units that pickers cannot locate.
How should a delivery be split between a pick face and overstock?
Refill the pick face to its working target and place the remainder in overstock. Record a quantity in each bin while keeping Shopify's total equal to all accepted units at that Location.