Overview

Amazon now lets sellers who ship from several warehouses set shipping rules for each site instead of using a single, account‑wide configuration. The change debuted in early 2024 and gives sellers the ability to match real‑world logistics—such as local carrier schedules and inventory levels—to the Amazon order‑routing engine. Sellers with more than one fulfillment center should adopt the new controls to keep delivery promises accurate and avoid stock‑outs.

Key Points

• Per‑location shipping rules — Each warehouse can have its own operating hours, carrier cut‑off times, and shipping capabilities, so a seller with a Dallas and a Seattle hub can promise different delivery windows for each region.
• Location profiles — Sellers enter a unique address, primary contact and time‑zone for every site, ensuring that Amazon’s calculations respect local business days and holidays.
• Activation flags — A simple on/off switch lets sellers pause shipping from a specific location (for example, during seasonal maintenance) without removing the profile entirely.
• Carrier‑specific cut‑off windows — When Shipping Settings Automation (SSA) is enabled, sellers can set a 2 PM UPS cut‑off for the New York warehouse and a 4 PM FedEx cut‑off for the Los Angeles warehouse, broken down by each day of the week.
• Multi‑location inventory sync — Amazon’s inventory APIs accept per‑SKU quantities per site, allowing a seller to push “120 units of SKU 12345 in Chicago, 45 units in Miami” so the system routes orders to the nearest stocked hub.

How Location‑Based Shipping Settings Work

1. Create or edit a location profile — In Seller Central’s Shipping Settings hub, click “Add New Location,” enter the warehouse’s street address, select the correct time‑zone (e.g., Pacific Time for a California fulfillment center), and save. A seller with three sites—Chicago, Denver, and Houston—will now see three separate entries.
2. Set shipping capability — Toggle the “Active Shipping” flag for each profile. If the Denver warehouse is undergoing renovation, the seller can switch its flag to “inactive,” causing Amazon to automatically exclude it from order routing while keeping its inventory data intact.