Inventory glossary
What is Inventory transfer?
Inventory transfer is the movement of stock from one location to another, such as from a warehouse to a retail store or between two store locations.
For a small Shopify store with more than one location, like a shop floor and a back room warehouse, or two physical stores, inventory transfers keep stock where it is needed. If one location sells faster than another, moving units across stops one place from running out while the other sits on excess.
You use inventory transfers when sales patterns differ by location, when you open a new location and need to seed it with stock, or when you consolidate slow sellers into one place before a sale. Good transfer records also matter for accurate stock counts, since a transfer that is not logged properly can make both locations look wrong.
Example
A candle store has 40 units of a vanilla candle in its warehouse and 2 left in its downtown shop, which sells 6 a week. The owner transfers 18 units from the warehouse to the shop, leaving 22 in the warehouse and 20 in the shop.
Common mistakes
- Not updating both locations at the same time, so one shows stock that already left.
- Transferring stock without checking which location actually has the higher sales rate.
- Treating a transfer as new stock instead of a move, which throws off purchasing decisions.
Inventory transfer and SteadyShelf
SteadyShelf forecasts and manages reordering from suppliers but does not handle transfers of stock between locations.
SteadyShelf is launching on the Shopify App Store. Join early access to get the install link first.
Related terms
Multi-location inventory · Stock cover · Replenishment · Perpetual inventory · Safety stock
FAQ
Does an inventory transfer change total stock on hand?
No. Total stock across all locations stays the same. Only the location of the stock changes, so one location's count goes down and another's goes up by the same amount.
When should a small store start using inventory transfers?
As soon as you operate more than one location or storage point and sales speed differs between them. A single-location store does not need transfers.
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