Refund processing from wrong location after split fulfillment for same product

Fulfillment & Inventory
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1

Hi, Community
I’m experiencing an issue with refunds after performing a split fulfillment for the same product across two locations in Shopify.
Details:

  • Product: C3PL-HOODIE-BLK-M

  • Order setup: I created an order with 8 quantities of this product.

  • I did a split fulfillment —

    • 4 units from Carrier3PL Warehouse

    • 4 units from Unit 403, Sperry Way

  • Issue: When I try to process a refund for 1 quantity from the Carrier3PL Warehouse, the refund is instead processed from the Unit 403, Sperry Way location.

  • This happens even though I’m selecting the Carrier3PL fulfillment line while processing the refund.

Expected behavior:
The refund should process from the same location from which the item was fulfilled (Carrier3PL Warehouse in this case).

What I’ve checked so far:

  1. Both fulfillments are correctly recorded in the order details.

  2. Inventory for the product shows correctly across both locations.

  3. Refund line selection is done properly for Carrier3PL.

Can anyone confirm if this might be a known issue or a configuration problem?
Any suggestions or workarounds would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

2

Hi Jamie,

It sounds like the issue is related to how Shopify currently handles refunds for split fulfillments across multiple locations. Even when selecting a specific fulfillment line, the refund can sometimes default to another location if inventory at that location is available or if the system doesn’t properly tie the refund to the fulfillment line.

A few things you could try or check:

  1. Confirm fulfillment line selection carefully sometimes Shopify requires you to click the small checkbox next to the exact fulfillment line in the refund modal.

  2. Check if the inventory is managed at each location separately if Carrier3PL Warehouse is not set to track inventory correctly, Shopify may pick another location automatically

  3. Test a partial refund on a different order with similar split fulfillment see if the same behavior occurs. This can confirm whether it’s a configuration issue or a system quirk

  4. Contact Shopify Support this behavior may be a known limitation in the current refund flow, and they can confirm if a workaround or beta feature exists

In my experience, many merchants create manual refunds for the affected fulfillment line if the automatic system selects the wrong location. Not ideal, but it ensures inventory accuracy.

Hope this helps, and let me know if you discover a confirmed solution this would be useful for others with split fulfillment setups