Adding a new location to a store with a large number of products.

Shopify Apps
,

Topic summary

Main issue: Adding a new location to a store with many products requires updating InventoryLevels per inventoryItemId, leading to one API request per product. Shopify does not provide batching and recommends pacing updates to avoid REST API rate limits.

Key terms:

  • InventoryItem/InventoryLevel: Shopify resources linking product inventory to locations.
  • Locations: Fulfillment points that must be associated with each inventory item.
  • API rate limits: Shopify caps request throughput; exceeding limits throttles or blocks calls.

Questions raised:

  • Best approach for large catalogs when adding a new location?
  • Whether public apps can streamline or handle the process efficiently.

Suggestions shared:

  • Pace/stagger requests carefully; no native batching available.
  • Consider inventory apps (e.g., Stocky, TradeGecko) to automate related workflows; they won’t remove API limits but may simplify execution.

Latest update: OP will evaluate suggested apps to register new locations, preferring an app-based approach to avoid custom API work that could trigger rate limits and disrupt other features.

Status: Open. No concrete solution beyond staged updates and potential use of inventory management apps.

Summarized with AI on December 19. AI used: gpt-5.
1

I am planning to add a new location to a store with a large number of products.

Currently, for each product (more precisely, for each inventoryItemId associated with a product), all locations are being added. However, the issue is that updating for the number of products results in the same number of requests as there are products.

From Shopify’s side, it seems that there isn’t a way to batch these requests at present, and they have suggested that we proceed slowly, being careful to avoid hitting rate limits with the REST API.

Reference material: InventoryLevel

Therefore, since inventory and its locations are managed via InventoryItem, it appears that updating this information is necessary.

From the above, my questions are:

  • For stores handling a large number of items, is there a best method for adding new locations?
  • Are there any efficient methods, such as using public apps, that could help with this process?

I would appreciate it if you could share any insights you might have.

2

Hey Shuwambobobo,

Heddy from Gameball here.

Since Shopify’s API rate limits are a concern, it’s really about pacing your updates. Unfortunately, Shopify doesn’t offer a way to batch those requests at the moment, so spreading the process out gradually is the safest route. As for public apps, you might want to look into inventory management apps like Stocky or TradeGecko that could help with location handling in a more automated way. They might not solve the API limit issue directly but could streamline other aspects of your workflow. Just keep an eye on the rate limits and stagger your requests where you can.

3

Hey Heddy,

Thanks, I’ll check if the apps you mentioned can help with registering new locations.

As you know, building my own API means that if I hit the rate limits, it could stop all the other functionalities I’m using, which is why I was hoping to find a solution through a public app if possible.

Thanks again!