Ship online orders from store stock
Allocate an online order to stock sitting on a store shelf and ship it straight to the customer from that store. When the e-commerce warehouse is out of stock, a store that still has it can ship instead.
The hard part is not the idea — it is connecting the system, the label, the pickup, and the store's own steps into one flow.
The stock is in the store,
Ship-from-store looks like "just send it from the store," but it only works when orders, inventory, floor work, labels, and pickup all line up. Miss one and the work stalls in the stockroom.
Out of stock online, still sitting in stores
The same item is missing where it sells and piling up where it does not. You lose the sale and discount the stock at the end of the season.
A person decides which store ships
Someone hunts for a store with stock and asks by phone or email. It stops scaling as volume grows, and the call depends on who is making it.
The stockroom has no shipping setup
How the label gets printed, how pickup is booked, where packing material lives. What a warehouse takes for granted, a store may not have.
Route the order to the store,
The order is routed to a store, staff pick it with a phone, and a scan produces the shipping label. Ship-from-store is really about letting a store follow the same steps a warehouse does.
Route each order to a store that has it
Stock, destination, and location priority decide which store or warehouse should ship that order, automatically.
Store staff ship from a phone
They see where the item sits, pick it, and confirm with a scan — the same steps as the warehouse, with no dedicated hardware.
Labels print themselves
The scan confirmation issues the shipping label. Store staff never fill one in by hand.
What it takes,
Everything you need in place to start shipping from stores, split into what Last Mile provides and what you supply.
| What ship-from-store needs | Last Mile provides | You supply |
|---|---|---|
| Collecting orders and picking the origin | The OMS in our platform One Commerce. It aggregates orders from every channel and decides where each one ships from, using stock and location priority. | Your sales channel accounts |
| Keeping store and online stock in sync | IMS. Every location rolls into one ledger, and you set how much of it each channel sees. POS such as Smaregi syncs both ways. | Your POS subscription |
| The store's picking and packing | An app for store staff — shelf location on screen, confirmation by scan. | Work space in the store |
| Printing the shipping label | Issued and printed automatically once the scan confirms the item. | A label printer in the store |
| Pickup and delivery | Contracted rates through our logistics group partnership, with the method matched to destination and parcel size. | — |
| Restocking a store that runs out | Inventory transfers between stores and MFCs, moving stock to where it sells. | — |
| Looking after the customer after dispatch | A tracking page in your brand's design, with updates as the delivery progresses. | — |
You do not have to replace the cart, POS, or WMS you already run. Start with the parts you need and add more later.
Where ship-from-store leads
Once stores are shipping, the same inventory and the same steps extend to in-store pickup and to shipping across locations.
In-store pickup (BOPIS)
Let customers collect an online order at a store. Same inventory, same steps as ship-from-store.
Read moreMicro-fulfillment
Collect items from stores and ship them from a small site close to the customer, so store workload does not climb.
Read moreInventory transfers
Move stock between stores and MFCs to cut stockouts and overstock at the same time.
Read moreStart with one store, then widen
You do not need every store on day one. Pick the store with the most stranded stock, get it shipping, and widen once the steps are settled.
Assess
Look at where orders are delivered and how stock sits store by store, so you know which store shortens the distance.
Connect
Connect the cart and the POS, and surface store stock online. This is also where you set how much of it each channel sees.
Pilot
Ship for real from one store. Picking, scanning, labels, and pickup all get settled on the floor.
Expand
Widen the stores and the assortment, tune the routing rules, and extend to shipping across locations.
What is ship-from-store?
Allocating an online order to a store that has the item, rather than a central warehouse, and shipping it to the customer from there. Stock that was sitting on the floor becomes online revenue, and shipping from a store near the customer cuts both transit time and cost.
What do I need in place to start?
Order management that collects orders and picks the origin, inventory that keeps store and online stock in sync, an app for store staff, shipping label printing, and pickup and delivery. Last Mile provides all of it through one platform and one 3PL network. On your side: sales channel accounts, a POS subscription, and work space and a label printer in the store.
Do store staff need dedicated hardware?
No. A smartphone shows where the item sits and confirms it by scan, and the shipping label is issued automatically once confirmed.
Can we avoid selling the same unit twice?
Every location rolls into one inventory ledger, and POS such as Smaregi syncs both ways. You can also set how much stock each channel sees, so a sale on the floor reaches the online store.
Can we start without adding work for store staff?
Yes — items can be collected from stores and shipped from an MFC near the customer instead. Stores only hand the item over; packing and dispatch happen at the MFC.
Adoption and
partnership inquiries
We welcome inquiries about our services, adoption, and partnership. Start with where your inventory stands today.