Complete Guide to Set Up Your Location and Shipping Rules
Plans : All plans Platforms : Shopify
AfterShip’s Location feature is a step ahead to solidify your estimated delivery date prediction and give you a better overview of your order-to-delivery time rate. Carefully defining your ship-from-locations, shipping rules, and order processing times specific to certain zones and product categories will improve our ability to predict delivery estimates for your customers based on where, when, and how you ship your orders.
What are shipping rules?
What are order processing rules?
Prerequisites
Set up default shipping rule
Set up custom shipping rules
Set up the order processing rules
Manage rules
FAQs
Shipping rules allow you to automatically apply specific shipping settings to your Shopify orders and for our AI engine to predict accurate estimated delivery dates (EDD).
You can define product categories to which a specific shipping rule will be applied.
You can specify locations ( Ship-from locations ) from where a particular product category or product will be fulfilled or shipped.
You can specify the carrier , shipping method , and service that will be used to fulfill and ship orders to a specific country/region/state .
In short, these shipping rules will define which products will be fulfilled and shipped from which warehouse using which carrier and shipping method to which country.
Types of shipping rules
Default : The default shipping rule will be applied to orders not covered under the custom shipping rules.
Custom : The custom shipping rules are product-specific. You can select a set of products to which this custom rule will apply and accordingly select the ship-from location, shipping zone, carrier, shipping method, and destination country.
Order processing rules allow you to specify order cut-off and processing time required for different warehouse locations and products so our AI engine can predict more accurate estimated delivery dates (EDD).
Order processing rules work in conjunction with the Ship-from locations you have set up in your Organization settings.
The order processing rules will consider the order processing times you’ve configured for each location in the Organization settings as the default order processing time for that location. However, the section allows you to set the custom order processing time for particular products that need additional preparation time from that particular shipping zone, overriding your warehouse's default processing time for the selected products.
Your configured order processing rules will directly impact the time it will take for a specific location to process and fulfill orders based on the products customers have ordered, the shipping method you’ve selected, and the destination where the products will be shipped. Based on these calculations, our AI model will give customers the pre and post-purchase estimated delivery dates.
Before starting the shipping and order processing rules set up, complete the checklist below.
Set up Locations in your Organization settings including, valid location address and processing times
Enable active warehouse locations and add them to your AfterShip Tracking Ship-from locations
Set one of your active Ship-from locations as the default location
Go to Ship-from locations and rules in your AfterShip Tracking settings
Move to Shipping rules . Click Edit under the Default shipping rule to enter the default shipping rule configuration page
The system will take your default location as the default ship-from location under the Shipping rules. If you wish to change the default ship-from location you must change the settings in your tracking ship-from location list.
Click {...} icon > Edit under Shipping zones to set the default shipping service. Select the default carrier and service type
(If you are an AEDD user, you need to make sure your default locations and shipping services are within AEDD-supported coverage .)
Find the complete list of AEDD-supported carriers and regions .
Click Save to save your configuration
Your default shipping rule will apply to all those store products that will not match any custom shipping rule. Therefore, product and shipping zone customization is not supported for default rules
You can also use our AI to set up default shipping rules . Learn more .
Go to Ship-from locations and rules in your AfterShip Tracking settings
Move to Shipping rules . Click Create rule to enter the custom shipping rule configuration page
Add a name for your custom rule for easy identification
Select products to which you want to apply this custom shipping rule. You can choose one of the 3 options for product selection.
If you have set multiple rules with each of these options enabled, the rules will be prioritized in the order given below.
Manual selection > Automatic selection > All products
a. Manual selection : Select a set of specific SKUs. Any new SKUs added to your store will not be automatically included in this rule.
b. Automatic Selection : Select a set of product types. All current and future products labeled with that particular product type will be automatically added to and follow this rule.
c. All products : Select all the products in your store.
For example, you have two product SKUs, a t-shirt and a raincoat , both under the same category Clothes .
If Custom Rule 1 has Manual selection enabled for a product, say a black t-shirt, Custom Rule 2 has Automatic selection enabled for the product type Clothes, and Custom Rule 3 has All products enabled, shipped and fulfilled from the same location .
Case 1: Custom Rule 1 will have the highest priority if the customer places an order for a black t-shirt, then Custom Rule 2 and then Custom Rule 3 .
Case 2: Custom Rule 2 will take priority if the customer places an order for a raincoat, as there is no matching custom shipping rule containing raincoats in the manual selection.
Case 3: If there is an order placed for a wooden table , Custom Rule 3 will be considered as there are no Manual or Automatic selection shipping rules set up for this product or product type and it will eventually fall under All products category.
Shipping zones are custom-defined geographic regions used to apply specific shipping rates, methods, or rules based on the destination of an order. These zones allow you to tailor shipping options by grouping together countries, states, or provinces that share similar shipping requirements or costs.
Click Create shipping zone.
Define the destination region(s):
Select one or more countries, states, or provinces that this shipping zone will cover.
These regions will be treated as a group for shipping the products you have selected.
AfterShip EDD covers a specific list of countries/states/regions they support. Find the complete list here
Name the shipping zone: Choose a clear, descriptive name that reflects the area the shipping zone covers — e.g.:
"USA - West Coast"
"Canada - Eastern Provinces"
"Europe Zone 1"
Add additional zones as needed:
You can create multiple distinct shipping zones within the same shipping rule and select their respective ship-from locations.
This is useful for setting different shipping methods, carriers, or rates for various destinations.
For each shipping zone, click + Add ship-from location.
Select a warehouse location from your list of active, fully configured locations.
This is the origin point from which orders will be shipped to the destinations defined in this zone. You can manage and add your locations
at Organization > Locations.
Add multiple ship-from locations to the same shipping zone if needed.
This is useful when more than one warehouse can fulfill orders for the selected products going to that region.
Prioritize accuracy in warehouse setup to ensure real-time shipping rates and inventory availability reflect the correct origin.
Once shipping zone(s) are selected, move on with the carrier services to define which carrier would take care of the shipping and what shipping method and service would be used
AfterShip EDD supports specific carriers. Find the complete list here
Click Add carrier service
Select the Shipping method , carrier , and service type from the dropdown. Select Only show carriers supported by pre-purchase EDDs which means that only the carriers supported by AfterShip's pre-purchase EDDs model will be shown i.n the dropdown.
You can configure the carrier services for every shipping zone configured under the same ship-from location.
You can add multiple carrier services for the same shipping zone.
Click Save to finish the process
If you wish to disable the custom shipping rule, do so by hitting the Disable button from the top of the custom shipping rule page. Disabled rules will not be taken into consideration whilst calculating AI EDDs.
You can also use our AI to set up additional custom shipping rules . Learn more .
a. The products and shipping methods listed in the dropdown for selection are synced from your connected Shopify store with data access authorization. You may need to authorize data access for your connected store by reopening the AfterShip app in your Shopify store and following the authorization process.
b. You are not allowed to choose products already selected in other rules.
c. With every new shipping zone within a custom shipping rule, the recipient (destination) country(ies) must be different. You cannot select the same destination country twice when setting up a shipping zone within a shipping rule.
d. For every shipping zone, you can set up multiple ship-from locations catering to that zone within the same shipping rule.
For the same product or set of products within the same shipping rule, you can set up multiple ship-from locations shipping to the same shipping zone. If ship-from location 1 is fulfilling and shipping orders for Africa, then ship-from location 2 can also fulfill and ship to Africa.
e. All the carriers, shipping methods, and services are the ones AfterShip Tracking supports and are integrated with.
Suppose an eCommerce store, selling smart glasses, has all their bracelets shipped and fulfilled from Locations 1,3, and 4 covering US and EU markets respectively, except a special type of polarized glasses that takes additional time to process is shipped and fulfilled from Location 2 covering the global market.
In this scenario, the merchant can create two custom shipping rules based on the type of glasses:
First shipping rule:
Assign ship-from locations 1, 3, and 4 to cover the U.S. and EU markets.
Select an appropriate carrier service, such as FedEx, for standard glasses.
Second shipping rule:
Assign ship-from location 2 to handle fulfillment for special glasses shipped to the global market.
Use a different carrier, such as UPS, tailored for international delivery.
This setup allows the merchant to optimize shipping costs, delivery speed, and carrier reliability based on product type and destination.
When a shipping rule includes multiple ship-from locations for a single shipping zone, the system calculates the Estimated Delivery Date (EDD) by following these steps:
Match customer to a shipping zone : The system identifies the correct shipping zone based on the customer’s delivery address.
Identify eligible ship-from locations: It considers all ship-from locations assigned to that specific zone within the rule.
Check inventory availability: Inventory for the product is checked at each eligible location. Locations without available stock for the item are excluded from the EDD calculation.
Select the optimal location
The system prioritizes in-stock locations and selects the one closest to the customer (based on shipping distance).
If no assigned locations have the item in stock, it defaults to the closest location from the list, regardless of inventory status, for fallback purposes.
Evaluate available carrier services : Once the best location is selected, the system references the carrier services defined for that location and zone.
Calculate estimated delivery dates: The EDDs are calculated based on:
The selected location’s processing cut-off times
The carrier's transit time for the destination
Go to Ship-from locations and rules in your AfterShip Tracking settings
Move to Order processing rules
The order processing times you’ve configured for each location in the Organization settings will be set as the default order processing time for that location
You can set up custom order processing rules for specific products under each location, if they may require additional processing times
Click Create rule for a location where you want to set up a custom order processing rule
Name this rule for easy reference
Select the products you want included in this rule
a. Manual selection : Select the products individually to which this rule will apply. Click Add products .
Search the product name or filter products based on a specific type for selection and hit Add
b. Automatic selection : All current and future products labeled with a particular product type will automatically follow this rule.
Select the product type from the dropdown list below
Set the order processing time . You can select either of the following options
a. Custom processing time : Add the number of days the selected products will take for processing. This will override your warehouse’s default processing time for these products.
b. Carrier pickup date : Select the exact date in the future to define a specific date when the order will be processed/picked by the carrier. Based on this date, the AEDD will be calculated for the selected products
The pickup date is based on the local timezone of the warehouse location and if the carrier pickup day is overdue, this rule will become invalid.
Click Save to finish the process set up
a. The products listed in the dropdown for selection are synced from your connected Shopify store.
b. You are not allowed to choose products that have already been selected in other rules under the same ship-from location.
c. Multiple order processing rules can be set up for the same ship-from location, though you cannot set different order processing rules for the same product under the same ship-from location
On the main Ship-from locations page , click {...} for the rules you want to tweak. Select Edit , make the required changes, and hit Save
Click Delete to remove the rule permanently. Deleted rules cannot be recovered
Answer: With our enhanced shipping rule structure, you can now select multiple ship-from locations within the same shipping zone for the same products. This gives you greater flexibility to fulfill orders from different warehouses based on inventory availability and distance. When an order is placed in that specific shipping zone, our system automatically selects the optimal warehouse for fulfillment.
Answer: If your configured custom shipping rule's carrier or location is not covered under AEDD, we will use the default shipping rule to calculate EDD for you. The default shipping rule takes precedence if your request does not fall under any other custom shipping rules.
Answer: You can refer to the EDD dashboard page to check the error message. You need to set up a valid default shipping rule to enable any pre-purchase EDD feature.
Overview
AfterShip’s Location feature is a step ahead to solidify your estimated delivery date prediction and give you a better overview of your order-to-delivery time rate. Carefully defining your ship-from-locations, shipping rules, and order processing times specific to certain zones and product categories will improve our ability to predict delivery estimates for your customers based on where, when, and how you ship your orders.
What are shipping rules?
What are order processing rules?
Prerequisites
Set up default shipping rule
Set up custom shipping rules
Set up the order processing rules
Manage rules
FAQs
What are shipping rules?
Shipping rules allow you to automatically apply specific shipping settings to your Shopify orders and for our AI engine to predict accurate estimated delivery dates (EDD).
You can define product categories to which a specific shipping rule will be applied.
You can specify locations ( Ship-from locations ) from where a particular product category or product will be fulfilled or shipped.
You can specify the carrier , shipping method , and service that will be used to fulfill and ship orders to a specific country/region/state .
In short, these shipping rules will define which products will be fulfilled and shipped from which warehouse using which carrier and shipping method to which country.
Types of shipping rules
Default : The default shipping rule will be applied to orders not covered under the custom shipping rules.
Custom : The custom shipping rules are product-specific. You can select a set of products to which this custom rule will apply and accordingly select the ship-from location, shipping zone, carrier, shipping method, and destination country.
What are order processing rules?
Order processing rules allow you to specify order cut-off and processing time required for different warehouse locations and products so our AI engine can predict more accurate estimated delivery dates (EDD).
Order processing rules work in conjunction with the Ship-from locations you have set up in your Organization settings.
The order processing rules will consider the order processing times you’ve configured for each location in the Organization settings as the default order processing time for that location. However, the section allows you to set the custom order processing time for particular products that need additional preparation time from that particular shipping zone, overriding your warehouse's default processing time for the selected products.
Order processing times implications on shipping rules
Your configured order processing rules will directly impact the time it will take for a specific location to process and fulfill orders based on the products customers have ordered, the shipping method you’ve selected, and the destination where the products will be shipped. Based on these calculations, our AI model will give customers the pre and post-purchase estimated delivery dates.
Prerequisites
Before starting the shipping and order processing rules set up, complete the checklist below.
Set up Locations in your Organization settings including, valid location address and processing times
Enable active warehouse locations and add them to your AfterShip Tracking Ship-from locations
Set one of your active Ship-from locations as the default location
Set up default shipping rules
Go to Ship-from locations and rules in your AfterShip Tracking settings
Move to Shipping rules . Click Edit under the Default shipping rule to enter the default shipping rule configuration page
The system will take your default location as the default ship-from location under the Shipping rules. If you wish to change the default ship-from location you must change the settings in your tracking ship-from location list.
Click {...} icon > Edit under Shipping zones to set the default shipping service. Select the default carrier and service type
(If you are an AEDD user, you need to make sure your default locations and shipping services are within AEDD-supported coverage .)
Find the complete list of AEDD-supported carriers and regions .
Click Save to save your configuration
Your default shipping rule will apply to all those store products that will not match any custom shipping rule. Therefore, product and shipping zone customization is not supported for default rules
You can also use our AI to set up default shipping rules . Learn more .
Set custom shipping rules
Go to Ship-from locations and rules in your AfterShip Tracking settings
Move to Shipping rules . Click Create rule to enter the custom shipping rule configuration page
Add a name for your custom rule for easy identification
Select products
Select products to which you want to apply this custom shipping rule. You can choose one of the 3 options for product selection.
If you have set multiple rules with each of these options enabled, the rules will be prioritized in the order given below.
Manual selection > Automatic selection > All products
a. Manual selection : Select a set of specific SKUs. Any new SKUs added to your store will not be automatically included in this rule.
b. Automatic Selection : Select a set of product types. All current and future products labeled with that particular product type will be automatically added to and follow this rule.
c. All products : Select all the products in your store.
For example, you have two product SKUs, a t-shirt and a raincoat , both under the same category Clothes .
If Custom Rule 1 has Manual selection enabled for a product, say a black t-shirt, Custom Rule 2 has Automatic selection enabled for the product type Clothes, and Custom Rule 3 has All products enabled, shipped and fulfilled from the same location .
Case 1: Custom Rule 1 will have the highest priority if the customer places an order for a black t-shirt, then Custom Rule 2 and then Custom Rule 3 .
Case 2: Custom Rule 2 will take priority if the customer places an order for a raincoat, as there is no matching custom shipping rule containing raincoats in the manual selection.
Case 3: If there is an order placed for a wooden table , Custom Rule 3 will be considered as there are no Manual or Automatic selection shipping rules set up for this product or product type and it will eventually fall under All products category.
Create shipping zones
Shipping zones are custom-defined geographic regions used to apply specific shipping rates, methods, or rules based on the destination of an order. These zones allow you to tailor shipping options by grouping together countries, states, or provinces that share similar shipping requirements or costs.
Click Create shipping zone.
Define the destination region(s):
Select one or more countries, states, or provinces that this shipping zone will cover.
These regions will be treated as a group for shipping the products you have selected.
AfterShip EDD covers a specific list of countries/states/regions they support. Find the complete list here
Name the shipping zone: Choose a clear, descriptive name that reflects the area the shipping zone covers — e.g.:
"USA - West Coast"
"Canada - Eastern Provinces"
"Europe Zone 1"
Add additional zones as needed:
You can create multiple distinct shipping zones within the same shipping rule and select their respective ship-from locations.
This is useful for setting different shipping methods, carriers, or rates for various destinations.
Assign ship-from locations to shipping zones
For each shipping zone, click + Add ship-from location.
Select a warehouse location from your list of active, fully configured locations.
This is the origin point from which orders will be shipped to the destinations defined in this zone. You can manage and add your locations
at Organization > Locations.
Add multiple ship-from locations to the same shipping zone if needed.
This is useful when more than one warehouse can fulfill orders for the selected products going to that region.
Prioritize accuracy in warehouse setup to ensure real-time shipping rates and inventory availability reflect the correct origin.
Add carrier services
Once shipping zone(s) are selected, move on with the carrier services to define which carrier would take care of the shipping and what shipping method and service would be used
AfterShip EDD supports specific carriers. Find the complete list here
Click Add carrier service
Select the Shipping method , carrier , and service type from the dropdown. Select Only show carriers supported by pre-purchase EDDs which means that only the carriers supported by AfterShip's pre-purchase EDDs model will be shown i.n the dropdown.
You can configure the carrier services for every shipping zone configured under the same ship-from location.
You can add multiple carrier services for the same shipping zone.
Click Save to finish the process
If you wish to disable the custom shipping rule, do so by hitting the Disable button from the top of the custom shipping rule page. Disabled rules will not be taken into consideration whilst calculating AI EDDs.
You can also use our AI to set up additional custom shipping rules . Learn more .
Additional considerations
a. The products and shipping methods listed in the dropdown for selection are synced from your connected Shopify store with data access authorization. You may need to authorize data access for your connected store by reopening the AfterShip app in your Shopify store and following the authorization process.
b. You are not allowed to choose products already selected in other rules.
c. With every new shipping zone within a custom shipping rule, the recipient (destination) country(ies) must be different. You cannot select the same destination country twice when setting up a shipping zone within a shipping rule.
d. For every shipping zone, you can set up multiple ship-from locations catering to that zone within the same shipping rule.
For the same product or set of products within the same shipping rule, you can set up multiple ship-from locations shipping to the same shipping zone. If ship-from location 1 is fulfilling and shipping orders for Africa, then ship-from location 2 can also fulfill and ship to Africa.
e. All the carriers, shipping methods, and services are the ones AfterShip Tracking supports and are integrated with.
Custom shipping rules: Use case
Suppose an eCommerce store, selling smart glasses, has all their bracelets shipped and fulfilled from Locations 1,3, and 4 covering US and EU markets respectively, except a special type of polarized glasses that takes additional time to process is shipped and fulfilled from Location 2 covering the global market.
In this scenario, the merchant can create two custom shipping rules based on the type of glasses:
First shipping rule:
Assign ship-from locations 1, 3, and 4 to cover the U.S. and EU markets.
Select an appropriate carrier service, such as FedEx, for standard glasses.
Second shipping rule:
Assign ship-from location 2 to handle fulfillment for special glasses shipped to the global market.
Use a different carrier, such as UPS, tailored for international delivery.
This setup allows the merchant to optimize shipping costs, delivery speed, and carrier reliability based on product type and destination.
How estimated delivery date (EDD) is calculated with multiple locations
When a shipping rule includes multiple ship-from locations for a single shipping zone, the system calculates the Estimated Delivery Date (EDD) by following these steps:
Match customer to a shipping zone : The system identifies the correct shipping zone based on the customer’s delivery address.
Identify eligible ship-from locations: It considers all ship-from locations assigned to that specific zone within the rule.
Check inventory availability: Inventory for the product is checked at each eligible location. Locations without available stock for the item are excluded from the EDD calculation.
Select the optimal location
The system prioritizes in-stock locations and selects the one closest to the customer (based on shipping distance).
If no assigned locations have the item in stock, it defaults to the closest location from the list, regardless of inventory status, for fallback purposes.
Evaluate available carrier services : Once the best location is selected, the system references the carrier services defined for that location and zone.
Calculate estimated delivery dates: The EDDs are calculated based on:
The selected location’s processing cut-off times
The carrier's transit time for the destination
Set up order processing times
Go to Ship-from locations and rules in your AfterShip Tracking settings
Move to Order processing rules
The order processing times you’ve configured for each location in the Organization settings will be set as the default order processing time for that location
You can set up custom order processing rules for specific products under each location, if they may require additional processing times
Click Create rule for a location where you want to set up a custom order processing rule
Name this rule for easy reference
Select the products you want included in this rule
a. Manual selection : Select the products individually to which this rule will apply. Click Add products .
Search the product name or filter products based on a specific type for selection and hit Add
b. Automatic selection : All current and future products labeled with a particular product type will automatically follow this rule.
Select the product type from the dropdown list below
Set the order processing time . You can select either of the following options
a. Custom processing time : Add the number of days the selected products will take for processing. This will override your warehouse’s default processing time for these products.
b. Carrier pickup date : Select the exact date in the future to define a specific date when the order will be processed/picked by the carrier. Based on this date, the AEDD will be calculated for the selected products
The pickup date is based on the local timezone of the warehouse location and if the carrier pickup day is overdue, this rule will become invalid.
Click Save to finish the process set up
Additional considerations
a. The products listed in the dropdown for selection are synced from your connected Shopify store.
b. You are not allowed to choose products that have already been selected in other rules under the same ship-from location.
c. Multiple order processing rules can be set up for the same ship-from location, though you cannot set different order processing rules for the same product under the same ship-from location
Manage shipping and order processing rules
On the main Ship-from locations page , click {...} for the rules you want to tweak. Select Edit , make the required changes, and hit Save
Click Delete to remove the rule permanently. Deleted rules cannot be recovered
FAQs
1. Questions: Can I set up multiple warehouses for the same products?
Answer: With our enhanced shipping rule structure, you can now select multiple ship-from locations within the same shipping zone for the same products. This gives you greater flexibility to fulfill orders from different warehouses based on inventory availability and distance. When an order is placed in that specific shipping zone, our system automatically selects the optimal warehouse for fulfillment.
2. Will AEDD still do the prediction if my carrier is not supported?
Answer: If your configured custom shipping rule's carrier or location is not covered under AEDD, we will use the default shipping rule to calculate EDD for you. The default shipping rule takes precedence if your request does not fall under any other custom shipping rules.
3. I can not turn on my pre-purchase EDD feature despite being on the AEDD plan?
Answer: You can refer to the EDD dashboard page to check the error message. You need to set up a valid default shipping rule to enable any pre-purchase EDD feature.
Updated on: 14/04/2025
Thank you!