Smart order routing
Multi-Warehouse Order Management and Routing
Managing inventory across multiple warehouses? Vectis OMS picks the warehouse automatically from where the stock is, and, with two or more warehouses (Growth and above; Starter includes one warehouse), can split an order across them.
The second warehouse was supposed to fix everything.
You did the math. West Coast customers were waiting 5-7 days for packages from your New Jersey warehouse. Shipping costs were eating your margins. A Phoenix location would cut transit times in half and save you thousands per month.
So you signed the lease, set up the racking, hired the team, and… created a whole new category of problems.
Now you have two inventory systems that don’t talk to each other. Someone has to manually decide which warehouse ships each order (and they’re guessing half the time). Split shipments turn into customer service nightmares because nobody knows which package has which items. And when a customer calls asking “where’s my order?”, you spend ten minutes piecing together what happened across two locations.
The second warehouse was supposed to make things better. Instead, it doubled your operational complexity without doubling your capacity to manage it.
This is what “multi-warehouse” actually looks like
It’s 2 PM. Order comes in from Chicago: 3 items.
Without proper routing, here’s what happens:
Someone checks Phoenix inventory. Two items in stock. Someone checks New Jersey inventory. One item in stock. Someone decides to ship from Phoenix because it’s “closer” (is it? they’re not sure, but it feels right). Phoenix picks and ships two items, then realizes they don’t have the third. They message someone. That someone messages New Jersey. New Jersey ships the third item separately. Customer gets two packages on different days with two tracking numbers and no explanation of why their single order arrived in pieces. Customer calls: “Where’s my order?” You spend ten minutes across three browser tabs figuring out what happened.
With Vectis, here’s what happens:
Order comes in. Vectis checks both warehouses automatically. Vectis sees the inventory split and creates two shipments: two items from Phoenix, one from New Jersey. Both warehouses see their assignments immediately. Each package gets its own tracking number, and Vectis sends tracking back to your store when packages ship. Everyone knows what’s happening. Nobody calls.
That ten minutes of confusion? It just doesn’t happen. Multiply that by fifty orders a day and you start to understand why people pay for routing software.
How routing actually works (it’s not magic, it’s logic)
Here’s how Vectis works it out:
Where’s the inventory? Vectis picks the warehouse automatically from where the stock is, and, with two or more warehouses (Growth and above; Starter includes one warehouse), can split an order across them.
There are no routing rules to maintain.
Need a different call? While an order is pending or confirmed, you can review the warehouse options and pick one (Pro plan and above).
One dashboard. Every warehouse. Actually current.
The spreadsheet you’re using to track inventory across locations? It’s wrong. It was wrong the moment someone forgot to update it after a shipment. It’s been wrong ever since.
Vectis shows you real inventory, in real time, across every location:
| SKU | Phoenix | New Jersey | 3PL | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WIDGET-BLU-SM | 150 | 89 | 200 | 439 |
| WIDGET-BLU-LG | 0 | 45 | 100 | 145 |
| GADGET-PRO | 75 | 75 | 0 | 150 |
You can see problems before they become customer service tickets. Phoenix is out of WIDGET-BLU-LG, so either transfer from the 3PL or stop routing those orders to Phoenix. GADGET-PRO isn’t at the 3PL at all, so don’t send those orders there. Total inventory is dropping across the board: time to reorder before you’re writing “sorry, we’re out of stock” emails.
Split shipments without the drama
Split shipments are inevitable when you have multiple warehouses. The question is whether they create confusion or just… work.
For your warehouse teams: Each package belongs to one warehouse. Pick your building at the top of the floor queue, and Phoenix sees “pick items A and B” while New Jersey sees “pick item C.” Nobody’s confused about who ships what. No Slack messages asking “did you already ship this?”
For your customers: Tracking goes back to your Shopify, WooCommerce or API2Cart store as packages ship, and your store’s shipping notification tells the customer. (Orders entered by hand or through the API don’t trigger a customer email from Vectis.)
For customer service: One screen shows the complete order with the status of each shipment. When someone calls asking “where’s my stuff?”, you can answer from one screen. You can see each package’s status and tracking number. No digging through multiple systems.
Your 3PL is just another warehouse
Using a third-party logistics provider for overflow, specific SKUs, or regional fulfillment? Vectis treats them like any other location.
A 3PL warehouse gets orders the same way your own buildings do: by where the stock is. Mark it as running its own WMS, and the 3PL can pull its packages and report status through the Vectis fulfillment API (or you update status by hand). Keep its stock current in Vectis with inventory adjustments. Tracking flows back to your Shopify, WooCommerce and API2Cart stores.
Your customer doesn’t know a 3PL fulfilled their order. They don’t care. They just get their package on time. That’s the point.
Adding a warehouse is a short form, not a project
No implementation project. No consultant. No “onboarding specialist” scheduling calls for next week.
Basic info: Name, code and address. The stuff you already know.
Carrier accounts: Which carriers ship from this location? Connect them.
Inventory: Add stock by SKU, receive a transfer, or run a cycle count.
Once it’s active and stocked, Vectis can pick it for orders. Each warehouse has its own carriers and shipping methods. Vectis coordinates the rest.
See it work with your actual locations
30-minute demo. Bring your warehouse addresses and we’ll show you real routing scenarios for your specific operation.
We’ll walk through how Vectis picks a warehouse from where the stock is, how split shipments work in practice, and how inventory stays in sync without the spreadsheet.
No slides. No “let me show you our vision.” Just a screen share showing how your orders would flow through the system.
Common questions
How many warehouses can I add?
Depends on your plan: 1 warehouse on Starter, up to unlimited on Enterprise. See pricing for the details.
What if my warehouses use different carriers?
That’s normal. Each warehouse can have its own carrier accounts, rate preferences, and shipping rules. Phoenix uses UPS, New Jersey uses FedEx, your 3PL uses whoever’s cheapest: Vectis handles it.
Can I manually override the routing?
Yes. Automatic routing handles the routine stuff, but you can review the warehouse options and pick a different one while an order is pending or confirmed (Pro plan and above). After packages are created, repackage the order to re-run allocation, or name a specific warehouse through the API, as long as nothing has shipped. (API-client tokens are read-only on orders, products, and inventory today.) Customer requests their order ship from a specific location? Override it. Warehouse is slammed and you want to redirect volume? Override it.
What about warehouse management (WMS) features?
Vectis includes a browser-based warehouse floor: pick and pack queues, batches that release a group of packages to the floor, bin locations, receiving transfers between warehouses, cycle counts and inventory adjustments. If a warehouse already runs its own WMS, connect it via the API (Pro and above): Vectis sends its orders to the WMS’s REST endpoint.
How does inventory transfer between warehouses work?
Create a transfer in Vectis, and the stock leaves the source warehouse as in transit. The destination receives it, notes any discrepancy, and inventory updates at both ends. No spreadsheet required.