Shopify Fulfillment

Shopify for sellers

Shopify is a popular e-commerce platform that makes it possible for companies and individuals to quickly create and operate an online store.

The system offers a variety of tools and functions that enable merchants to offer their products for sale online, accept payments, manage shipping and much more.

With Shopify, you can easily create your online store and customize it to your branding without the need for extensive programming knowledge.

Outstanding features of Shopify:

• An intuitive dashboard that makes managing the store easier
• A wide range of templates and themes that are suitable for companies of every industry and size
• A variety of payment options that customers can choose from
• An integrated marketing toolset that helps companies promote their products and services
• Multi-warehouse capable, multilingualism, B2B & B2C solutions, multichannel capable
• Shopify Shop price ➚ monthly from 36 €

What does fulfillment mean for Shopify?

Shopify Fulfillment in Logistics is a service for merchants that takes over the complete order processing of incoming orders in the Shopify Shop. The service offers online retailers to take over tasks that make their work easier, including warehousing, inventory management, picking, packing and shipping goods to the end customer.

Where are fulfillment centers offered for Shopify sellers?

Shopify Fulfillment ➚ Network (SFN), the processing of the service is based on a network of several warehouses that handle logistics and order processing and are strategically located in the USA and Canada.

However, in 2023, the company Flexport➚ took over Shopify’s logistics business, including the e-commerce platform Deliverr.

When an order with physical products is received in Shopify, the nearest Flexport warehouse that has the ordered goods in stock is selected for processing. There, the order is put together by the order picker, who carefully packs the products and sends them to the end customer.

The retailer can track the progress of his orders via the dashboard and receives notification of the dispatch and delivery of his goods.

Shopify Fulfillment in Germany and Europe

As a merchant, would you like to use an external Shopify fulfillment provider for Germany, the EU and non-EU for your store system?

Various fulfillment service providers, such as Subke GmbH, take care of this. After receiving your order, we take care of the entire logistics of order processing and shipping to your end customers within Germany, the EU, non-EU and internationally.

As a logistics service provider, we offer Shopify retailers scalable solutions. This allows you to expand your business with more flexibility, without having to deal with the challenges and complexities of order fulfillment yourself.

This is particularly advantageous for retailers who do not have the time to handle warehousing and fulfillment themselves. Outsourcing also allows you to reduce your own fixed costs and increase customer satisfaction with reliable processing.

All logistics processes are connected via an interface to Shopify. This means that the retailer’s sales processing is integrated with fulfillment.

How does the fulfillment connection to Shopify work at Subke?

With our Shopify Fulfillment, you as a seller can outsource your entire order processing from the store to us.

As a logistics service provider, we use the merchandise management system from JTL. You connect to our logistics center via a JTL-FFN interface.

Shopify Fulfillment at Subke – a short process:

1. First you create your webshop with Shopify.
2. You make an inquiry and receive a personal offer from us for the fulfillment of your products. You will then receive a service contract and a JTL-FFN account.
3. Then send your goods to our warehouse. The goods are booked into the Wawi system and stored in the goods receiving department.
4. Your Shopify store is connected to our JTL Wawi via the API interface of the FFN Connect app.
5. Your articles are automatically transferred to the warehouse via the JTL-FFN dashboard in our Wawi.
6. We carry out test orders together with you and optimize the process until everything runs smoothly.

JTL-FFN is an all-in-one connector with many options and saves you as a merchant from having to set up your own ERP system.

1. Create a free JTL-FFN account. JTL-FFN login ➚
2. Create your articles in Shopify.

Further steps in the connection:

1. Log in to JTL-FFN with your login data.
2. Go to Search stock at the top of the menu.
3. Enter our name “Subke” and select one of our warehouses.
4. Send an inquiry to our warehouse.
5. We accept the request.
6. You will receive an invitation link.
7. Click on the link and log in to JTL-FFN with your access data.
8. Grant the rights requested by JTL.
9. Enter the necessary information in the form.
10. Complete registration and click on the activation link in the following e-mail.
11. We start the connection and install the FFN Connect app in Shopify with you.

How do we retrieve the orders as fulfillers?

To automatically retrieve your incoming orders via the interface, we use the FFN-Connect APP ➚, which is installed in Shopify. The app recognizes new orders and transfers all the necessary data as an order to our Fulfillment Center just outside Hamburg.

This is the procedure:

1. The customer orders in your Shopify store.
2. The order is recognized by the app in real time.
3. FFN-Connect automatically creates the order for us as the fulfiller.
4. The order is transmitted to our warehouse directly to the warehouse employee’s handheld device.
5. We pick the stored items as requested by the customer in the order.
6. The items are professionally packed, stamped and sent to the customer.

What does the fulfillment connection to Shopify cost?

If you use us as a fulfillment service provider for Shopify, you as a merchant will not incur any additional costs for the store connection and transfer of orders, regardless of the order volume. Our monthly service fee covers the costs of the software and transactions.

Advantages of using the FFN-Connect app in Shopify:

1. No JTL Wawi required.
2. No set-up fees.
3. No hosting fees.
4. Permanent optimization of data transmission.
5. Fast support by e-mail

What data is transferred?

The following order data can be transferred from the Shopify webshop for processing.

• Customer name
• Delivery address
• Article with SKU, barcode (ISBN, UPC, GTIN etc.)
• Shipping weight
• Attributes (colors, size, material, style)
• Image
• Customs information (HS code)
• Selling price (net)

Unfortunately, there is no field for product dimensions in Shopify. For this, extra product meta fields would have to be created manually or the size specification would have to be defined in the variants.

The entire order processing procedure:

1. Customer order in the online store
2. Payment processing in the online store
3. Order to the fulfillment center
4. Order appears on the warehouse employee’s handheld device
5. Compilation of the order (order picking)
6. Packing the goods
7. Print out and enclose the delivery bill and, if applicable, the invoice
8. Create and attach shipping label
9. Parcel arrives at the outbox by conveyor belt
10. Parcel is picked up by the shipping service provider
11. Parcel is being sent
12. Returns management for customer returns

Data that is transferred back to Shopify from the Fulfiller:

• Status of order processing
• Adjustment of stock levels
• Consignment number (tracking)

Can I get help with the setup?

Yes, as a fulfillment partner, our employee will help you with the integration and connection to our logistics system.

We have already implemented the connection to Shopify for many of our customers. We only need a few hours for the actual set-up.

We will check everything together with you. The order process, the products created and the respective status.

Ask us directly about the Shopify Fulfillment service.

Shopify merchandise management: How the integration works

It is also possible to connect Shopify with a merchandise management system. There are various integrations and apps that enable a seamless connection between the two systems. This allows stock levels, orders and shipping information to be synchronized automatically, saving time and effort.

Advantages of merchandise management?

E-commerce companies that sell via other channels in addition to their Shopify store, i.e. use the multichannel approach, find it easier to collect all orders in an external merchandise management system.

Can the orders still be retrieved by the fulfillment service provider Subke?

Yes, we have an API interface to many merchandise management systems and can connect these to our Fulfillment Center.

Which merchandise management systems from Germany are available for cooperation with Shopify?

1. plentymarkets ➚: plentymarkets is a comprehensive merchandise management system that offers seamless integration with Shopify. It enables the management of stocks, orders, invoices and much more.
2. JTL-Wawi ➚: JTL-Wawi is another popular merchandise management solution that is compatible with Shopify. It offers functions such as warehouse management, order processing, invoicing and dispatch processing.
3. pixi by Descartes ➚: pixi is a powerful merchandise management and e-commerce platform that also enables integration with Shopify. It offers functions such as inventory management, order processing, returns management and shipping optimization.
4. Afterbuy ➚: Afterbuy is a merchandise management system that has been specially developed for e-commerce. It offers extensive functions for warehouse management, order processing, invoicing and more. Afterbuy also offers integration with Shopify.
5. DreamRobot ➚: DreamRobot is an all-in-one system for e-commerce and offers functions for order management, storage, invoicing and much more. It also enables integration with Shopify.
6. Tricoma ➚: Tricoma is a comprehensive merchandise management solution that supports the needs of e-commerce companies to manage their business processes efficiently. By integrating with Shopify, it enables seamless data exchange and smooth automation of processes to increase sales success and improve growth.

The list is only an excerpt. There are of course other merchandise management systems that can work with Shopify.