Shopify Flow / New triggers

When an inventory transfer is "ready to ship" or "received,"
Flow starts running automatically

From warehouse to store—two new triggers have been added to Flow that can automatically launch workflows for notifications, record updates, and follow-up tasks the moment an inventory transfer between locations changes status.

What's on this page
  1. What's actually changing (in 30 seconds)
  2. The inventory transfer lifecycle and where the two triggers fire
  3. The difference between the two new triggers
  4. How it works: trigger → workflow flow
  5. Workflow examples cited in the article
  6. Requirements and prerequisites (as documented)
  7. 5 points developers should know
  8. 3 use cases for your operations
  9. A one-line summary you can use in proposals

1What's actually changing

Shopify Flow now hastwo new triggers that can start from a change in inventory transfer statusadded.
An inventory transfer means moving stock between your own locations,such as from a warehouse to a retail store. When that transfer becomes "ready to ship" or "received," a Flow workflow starts running automatically.

Before: you could only notice it manually

Whether a transfer was ready to ship or had arrived was something staff had to check on screen. Updating records and sending notices after receipt also had to be done by hand.

Now: a status change is the trigger

Flow detects "ready to ship" and "received" and launches automatically. You can build notifications, dashboard updates, and follow-up tasks with no code.

2The inventory transfer lifecycle and where the triggers fire

Prepare the transfer Gather the items Ready to ship "ready to ship" mark ⚡ Trigger ① In transit (not a trigger) Received Whether accepted or rejected ⚡ Trigger 2
What the article explicitly states is "ready to ship" and "completed" —only these two. Whether other intermediate statuses such as in preparation or in transit can serve as a starting point is not stated.

3Differences between the two new triggers

Trigger 1
Inventory transfer ready to ship
Inventory transfer ready to ship

When it fires : When a transfer is prepared and marked "ready to ship."

Use cases the article mentions

  • Alerting the receiving location
  • Updating logistics dashboards
  • and more
Trigger 2
Inventory transfer completed
Inventory transfer completed

When it fires : When a transfer is fully received at its destination (whether accepted or rejected).

Use cases the article mentions

  • Updating internal records
  • Notifying the team that inventory has arrived
  • Kicking off follow-up tasks such as putaway and inventory reconciliation
The "completed" trigger fires not only on acceptance but also on rejection—keep this in mind. If you want your workflow to branch on acceptance vs. rejection, you'll need to design it to evaluate the outcome using Flow's conditional branching (the specific fields available aren't stated in the article; check the documentation).

4How it works: trigger → workflow flow

Inventory transfer Status changes e.g. warehouse ↔ store Shopify Flow Trigger detects it ready to ship / completed No-code branching and conditions Alert the receiving side Update dashboards Update internal records Kick off putaway and inventory reconciliation

* The example actions on the right list the use cases mentioned in the article. Which action components you can actually use depends on the actions Flow supports.

5Example workflows the article mentions

ready to ship

Pre-alert to the receiving location

Notify the destination store or warehouse the moment shipment is ready, so they can prepare to receive it ahead of time.

ready to ship

Logistics dashboard update

Use "ready to ship" as a trigger to push the status to your internal logistics visibility dashboard.

completed

Internal record update

Use receipt completion at the destination as a trigger to automatically update internal records and ledgers.

completed

Team notification of stock arrival

Automatically alert the responsible team that "stock has arrived" to shorten the lead time before they start handling it.

completed

Kick off shelf stocking

Use receipt completion as the cue to kick off follow-up tasks for shelf stocking.

completed

Kick off reconciliation

Automatically launch follow-up reconciliation tasks, such as matching received quantities against transferred quantities.

6Usage conditions and prerequisites (as documented)

ItemWhat the article states
Feature category New Shopify Flow trigger (tags: Feature / Apps)
Target object Inventory transfer = moving inventory between your own locations
Trigger timing ① Ready to ship / ② Completed (whether accepted or rejected)
Supported plans / countries Not stated
Required apps / prerequisite features Not stated(Presumably requires the use of Flow, but this is not explicitly stated)
Handling via API / Webhook Not stated(See the documentation for details)
The article is an announcement introducing the existence and use cases of the triggers; it does not cover supported plans, usage conditions, or the data fields the triggers pass. Check the official documentation when considering adoption.

75 points engineers should keep in mind

1. The starting point is a status transition event

These are event-driven triggers that catch the moment an inventory transfer's status changes. Setups that monitored inventory transfers via polling can potentially be replaced by these two triggers.

2. The two triggers play different roles

"Ready to ship" is the sending side, an advance-notice type; "completed" is the arrival side, a closing type. Since both the notification destination and the processing differ, design the workflows as two separate ones in principle.

3. "Completed" fires even on rejection

The completed trigger runs whether the transfer is accepted or rejected. If you build reconciliation or record updates, always evaluate the result (accepted / rejected) with conditional branching.

API ?

4. The data fields passed need to be verified

The article does not document the specification of the fields the trigger passes to the workflow (source and destination locations, items, quantities, etc.). Verify which fields are available in the documentation before building conditional branching or external integrations.

5. It can serve as a hub for integrating external systems

Most of the example use cases in this post (updating a logistics dashboard, updating internal records, sending notifications) assume connecting from Flow to an external WMS, Slack, or an internal database. Taking inventory transfer events as the starting point, Flow can be positioned as an automation hub for internal operations. The specific action components for each integration target depend on what Flow currently supports.

8Three use cases you can put to work

USE CASE 1

Automating "arrival forecast → receiving prep" for multi-store retail

Challenge
When replenishing stock from a warehouse to each store, store staff can't tell in advance when or what will arrive, so the back room descends into chaos on delivery day.
Approach
Use the "Ready to ship" trigger to automatically alert the receiving store (email / chat). Use the "Completed" trigger to automatically kick off the put-away task.
Impact
Making incoming stock visible lets staff prepare ahead of time and speeds up how quickly store inventory is reflected.
Tech notes
Split "forecast" and "arrival" into separate workflows using the two triggers. Routing notifications to the right location depends on the data fields passed in (check the docs).
Logistics dashboard
USE CASE 2

Real-time sync for the logistics dashboard

Challenge
Inter-location transfer statuses are typed by hand into a separately managed internal dashboard, so missed updates and delays have become the norm.
Approach
From both the "Ready to ship" and "Completed" triggers, automatically update the inventory transfer records in an external dashboard or internal database via Flow.
Impact
Logistics status is reflected almost in real time with zero manual entry, turning status management that used to depend on specific individuals into a system.
Tech notes
Whether external integration actions are possible depends on the components Flow supports. Validate on the assumption that you'll connect via webhook or HTTP request actions.
Sent 10 Received 9 Discrepancy → notify
USE CASE 3

Inventory reconciliation and rejection handling triggered by receipt completion

Challenge
Discrepancies between the transferred quantity and the actual received quantity (damage, shortages, rejections) are only noticed later during stocktaking, so the response is delayed.
Approach
Use the "Completed" trigger to automatically start the inventory reconciliation task. If it is rejected, branch on the condition to send an escalation notification to the responsible person.
Impact
A discrepancy check runs on every receipt, making detection and first response for shortages and rejections instant.
Tech notes
Because completed fires for both receipt and rejection, a design that branches on the result is essential. Check the docs for whether the quantity and item fields you need for reconciliation are available.

9A one-line summary you can use in a pitch

"The moment an inter-location inventory transfer turns into "Ready to ship" or "Received", Flow catches it, and
arrival forecasts, dashboard updates, record updates, put-away / inventory reconciliationfire automatically with no code.
Two new triggers that turn the "notice and act" of multi-store and warehouse operations into a system."