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Originally published on July 28, 2023 Last updated on March 6, 2026

A Decade of Partnership Success: Celebrating 10 Years with ShipStation

At Finale Inventory, we understand the intricacies of ecommerce. Twelve years ago, we set sail on our journey to streamline inventory and warehouse management. We joined forces with an equally ambitious partner, ShipStation, a few years later, whose mission was to simplify the complexities of online shipping. This marked the beginning of a partnership that […]
The ShipStation and Finale Inventory team at ShipStation University.
The ShipStation and Finale Inventory team at ShipStation University.
The ShipStation and Finale Inventory team at ShipStation University.

At Finale Inventory, we understand the intricacies of ecommerce. Twelve years ago, we set sail on our journey to streamline inventory and warehouse management. We joined forces with an equally ambitious partner, ShipStation, a few years later, whose mission was to simplify the complexities of online shipping. This marked the beginning of a partnership that would see us grow and evolve together, guiding businesses in their online selling journey.

Throughout this journey, we’ve had the privilege of supporting the thousands of sellers in this amazing community and, together, have helped them manage millions upon millions of orders. To us, these milestones are more than just statistics; they’re a testament to the dedication and hard work of our users and respective teams.

“What we honor about partnerships like that with Finale is the longevity. Not only with us together as businesses and people working together but with our clients, as well.

Seeing how we can respectively help to grow shared customers is really what a good partnership is about at the end of the day. Finale’s ability to streamline processes while also providing unmatched support to users is what makes them special as our partner and as a software company.”

Michael Delmedico, Strategic Partner Manager

Finale and ShipStation Growth Stories

Over the decade, the sellers we’ve supported have shown exceptional growth. In many cases, sales orders increased by over 400% in many cases and revenues even more dramatically – soaring by over 2,000%, which is a remarkable testament to our commitment to sellers’ growth. We’ve seen businesses flourish from modest beginnings to successful organizations, with a swimming pool contractor’s annual revenues growing from $700K to $18M. Even larger, established businesses have experienced similar growth, with another example being a car accessory business leaping from $6M to an impressive $59M in annual sales. 

These are just a few of the impressive growth examples that come from the impact of our combined services in the ever-evolving landscape of ecommerce. This incredible growth was propelled by the ongoing evolution of ShipStation’s integrations and Finale’s steadfast commitment to improving inventory management while providing excellent customer support. As the ecommerce landscape grew more complex, so did our solutions. 

Navigating the eCommerce Landscape Together

Finale Inventory and ShipStation, each with their unique strengths, have found synergy in their partnership, making the ecommerce journey more navigable for users.

Finale Inventory excels in offering a robust, flexible, and user-friendly inventory management solution. It gives businesses control over their operations, tracking products across multiple warehouses and ensuring optimal stock levels. By providing on-demand inventory updates, sales tracking, and reordering assistance, Finale Inventory helps businesses maintain efficiency and avoid costly oversolds or overstocks. But our contribution to ecommerce doesn’t stop there.

Enter ShipStation, a comprehensive shipping solution that streamlines the order fulfillment process. ShipStation makes shipping a breeze, offering features like batch label creation, shipping rate calculation, and more. It supports multiple shipping carriers and provides users with the best rates, speeding up the shipping process and saving them money. Furthermore, its ability to auto-populate customs forms and taxes makes international shipping less daunting for businesses.

Together, Finale Inventory and ShipStation create an ecosystem that covers all aspects of online sales and shipping. As orders are processed in ShipStation, Finale Inventory syncs with it within minutes, ensuring inventory levels across all channels are updated. 

Not only are our syncing capabilities available on-demand, but we also have all possible workflows covered. Finale’s integration with ShipStation runs deep. Through years of collaboration and teamwork, we’ve built a connection that enhances and covers all use cases. Not only that, but if you think you can trump us, know that we have a support team who is dedicated to educating you and also educating themselves so that no question is left unanswered. 

This seamless integration eliminates the risk of overselling and helps businesses maintain excellent customer service by fulfilling orders promptly. 

A Partnership for the Ages

The symbiotic relationship between Finale Inventory and ShipStation enables businesses to manage their inventory and shipping efficiently and effectively. This partnership underscores our commitment to providing our users with end-to-end solutions that simplify the complexities of ecommerce.

Together, we continually expanded our offerings to provide more channels, handle more orders, and support an increasing variety of products. Every enhancement reflects our commitment to adapting to the dynamic needs of online sales.

“It has been incredible to see the impact ShipStation has had on our industry over the years. They have become the go-to shipment solution by having a straightforward, easy-to-use platform and by always expanding their sales channel integrations. 

This isn’t just about offering batch shipping labels and estimating shipping rates for sellers to make the best decisions and work effectively. It’s about commitment. ShipStation starts with a business when it is just starting out and sticks with it until the business hits 20M or more in revenue, encouraging the business to grow and expand, always a steady industry partner. 

It’s this kind of innovation and dedication to seller needs that inspires us and pushes the entire industry forward.”

Chris Hondl, Co-Owner of Finale Inventory

ShipStation University and Community Engagement

A pivotal moment was the introduction of ShipStation University, a learning event that educates users on how to navigate ecommerce, which Finale has the honor of sponsoring in 2023. We are excited to engage in meaningful conversations with the ShipStation community at the event, where knowledge is shared, insights are gained, and valuable connections are formed. Through events, hands-on tutorials, webinars, and informative guides, ShipStation has been able to nurture and support users’ growth. 

Looking Ahead to the Future

Reflecting on the past decade, we take great pride in the progress achieved alongside ShipStation. However, it is the future that truly ignites our enthusiasm. With the ever-increasing prominence of ecommerce in society, our commitment to providing a seamless online selling experience for our audiences grows stronger.

Anticipating the exciting times ahead, we eagerly anticipate our ongoing collaboration with ShipStation as we navigate the realm of ecommerce. Together, we are driven to assist you in discovering fresh opportunities, surmounting challenges, and attaining your aspirations.

As we commemorate a decade of partnership with ShipStation, we also celebrate each and every one of you who has been a part of this remarkable journey. 

“The core of maturity, that I see, is starting with a unified view of inventory. I’ve got to be able to accurately represent what do I have, make sure that I know where it’s located so I can get it to my customers quickly.”

— Troy Graham, Descartes

What is the first thing I should fix if I want to scale operations?

Start with a unified view of inventory. The core of maturity starts with being able to accurately represent what you do have and make sure that you know where it’s located to get it to customers quickly. Without a unified view across your warehouses, 3PLs, and vendors, you cannot make the best decisions because you don’t have the best information at hand.

With Inventory Visibility, Businesses Can Make Smarter Allocation Decisions

Once inventory is centralized, businesses can move from reactive updates to intentional allocation. They can decide how much inventory to expose to each channel, when to use buffers, which marketplaces need extra protection, and how seasonality or campaign performance influence availability.

Once I know what inventory I have, how should I decide where to make it available?

Inventory allocation should reflect where orders are coming from, where marketing is working, and which channels carry the most risk. Once you know what you have and where it is located, you can think more strategically using centralized inventory to make prioritization happen automatically. One fertilizer company lost a little over 5,000 orders in one weekend because someone manually uploaded the wrong available inventory to Amazon.

Better Inventory Data Improves Planning, Purchasing, and Growth Bets

Better visibility turns inventory data into a planning tool. With insight into sales velocity, inventory levels, vendors, and channel performance, businesses can make more informed replenishment decisions, avoid overbuying, and test new product lines or vendor-supplied inventory without taking on unnecessary risk.

“You have to have unified inventory to know how to price your products just at that basic level. I can’t price my products if I don’t know the true cost to get it.”

— Mike Bernico, Flxpoint

How does better inventory data help me make smarter buying decisions?

It lets you measure whether your plan is working before you commit more capital. A key question becomes: “Did my plan work? Am I overleveraged in one place or another?” Centralized systems can also help businesses test new product lines or vendor relationships by looking at sales velocity by channel, allowing them to take risks in a calculated and measured way.

Intelligent Order Routing Turns Inventory Complexity Into Automation

Once inventory and supplier data are reliable, businesses can automate fulfillment decisions. Orders can be routed based on cost, speed, margin, location, warehouse priority, vendor fallback, split-shipment rules, or customer expectations. This helps hybrid fulfillment scale because every order does not need a manual review.

How do I decide the best way to fulfill each order?

There is no single answer, which is why order routing needs to account for the context of each order. Intelligent order routing is not just sending an order to someone who has stock; it is taking each and every order and treating it like its own unique use case. Depending on the order, the business may prioritize speed, margin, an internal warehouse, vendor fallback, or preventing split shipments.

Supplier Inventory Sync Extends Inventory Beyond the Four Walls

For hybrid fulfillment to work, supplier inventory needs to become part of the operating model. Supplier sync does not always require advanced technology; it can happen through automated files, FTP, email, APIs, EDI, or ecommerce storefront integrations. The key is replacing manual updates with automated, reliable supplier data.

Can supplier inventory really be treated like part of my own inventory?

Yes, but the goal is not necessarily to force every supplier into a complex integration. Real-time supplier sync can be defined as any way to get an automated update from a supplier, such as Google Sheets, email, FTP, API, EDI, or ecommerce storefront connections. The key is that accurate supplier stock is foundational. If you don’t have an accurate view of what is in stock with your suppliers, you cannot tell your sales channel accurately what’s available.

Exception-Based Workflows Keep Humans Focused Where They Matter

Automation does not remove people from the process. Mature operations let technology handle the routine majority while humans focus on exceptions, such as high-value orders, fraud risk, compliance requirements, restricted products, export rules, or unusual fulfillment scenarios.

If my business has special cases, can automation still work?

Yes. The point is not to automate every possible decision; it is to automate the routine work and surface the exceptions. Businesses should not have to look at every single order. Instead, technology can highlight high-value orders, risky locations, or compliance requirements. The goal is to take care of the 80% of workflows that are obvious while still allowing human review when specific exceptions arise.

The Right Inventory Technology Should Fit the Business, Not Overwhelm It

Software decisions should be based on business fit, not popularity, feature volume, or broad “all-in-one” promises. Growing ecommerce businesses should identify their highest-impact bottleneck, prioritize what matters now, and choose technology that is right-sized but flexible enough to support future phases of growth.

How should I choose software without overbuying or picking the wrong system?

Start with your priorities, not the biggest feature list. Avoid an all-in-one system that claims to “do everything under the sun” and look for a “best of breed approach” with systems that can scale as you add channels or vendors. The practical advice is to stack rank what matters now, make sure the system can support future phases, and choose technology that fits your business rather than overwhelming it.

How to Scale Ecommerce Operations Beyond Spreadsheets

For many growing ecommerce businesses, Finale and Flxpoint work together as a practical answer to these challenges. Finale helps centralize and manage internal inventory, purchasing, warehouse operations, and stock visibility, while Flxpoint helps connect vendor inventory, automate supplier sync, and route orders across hybrid fulfillment networks. Together, they give businesses a best-of-breed way to improve inventory accuracy, reduce spreadsheet work, and scale fulfillment without forcing every process into a one-size-fits-all system.

Ecommerce Fulfillment Operations FAQ

What Is Ecommerce Fulfillment Operations?

Ecommerce fulfillment operations are the processes that move an online order from purchase to delivery. This includes managing inventory, syncing product availability across channels, routing orders to the right warehouse, 3PL, supplier, or vendor, and making sure the customer receives the right product on time. As discussed in the webinar, fulfillment is no longer limited to “what’s in my warehouse these days”; growing businesses may rely on internal warehouses, 3PLs, marketplace fulfillment services, and supplier inventory at the same time.

What Are Ecommerce Fulfillment Operation Examples?

Examples of ecommerce fulfillment operations include updating inventory across Shopify, Amazon, Walmart, and other sales channels; allocating inventory to specific marketplaces; sending orders to an internal warehouse, 3PL, or vendor; syncing supplier inventory through files, APIs, EDI, email, or FTP; replenishing warehouse stock based on sales velocity; and flagging exceptions such as high-value orders, compliance requirements, or restricted products. In the webinar, the speakers also discussed hybrid fulfillment examples where a business may fulfill some products from its own warehouse and use vendors as a fallback or extension of available inventory.

How Can I Track My Inventory at an Ecommerce Fulfillment Center?

The best way to track inventory at an ecommerce fulfillment center is to create a unified inventory view that shows what is available, where it is located, and how that inventory connects to each sales channel. That means tracking inventory across internal warehouses, fulfillment centers, 3PLs, marketplace fulfillment programs, and supplier locations instead of relying on disconnected spreadsheets. The webinar emphasized that businesses need to “accurately represent” what they have and know where it is located so they can get products to customers quickly.

How Can I Connect My Inventory to My Supplier?

You can connect supplier inventory through several methods, depending on what the supplier supports. The webinar discussed low-tech and advanced options, including automated Excel or CSV files, Google Sheets, email updates, FTP servers, APIs, EDI, and direct connections to ecommerce storefronts such as Shopify, BigCommerce, or Magento. The key is to ask suppliers how they share inventory today, then use a system that can automate that data flow instead of manually copying supplier inventory into spreadsheets.

What Is Ecommerce Order Routing?

Ecommerce order routing is the process of deciding where an order is fulfilled from after a customer buys. In a simple operation, every order may go to one warehouse. In a more complex or hybrid fulfillment model, the best fulfillment source may depend on inventory availability, shipping speed, cost, margin, customer location, warehouse priority, vendor fallback rules, or whether the order should be split. The webinar described intelligent order routing as treating each order like its own use case, so businesses can automate the best fulfillment decision without manually reviewing every order.

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