Setting up bin locations
Assign warehouse bin locations to your Shopify products so pickers see where to find each item. Bin locations appear on the picking screen, on printed pick lists and in product lookup results.
How bin locations work
Shopify does not come with any default 'bin rack' functionality so Pickscan reads bin locations from a Shopify product metafield called my_fields.bin_location. You can set this metafield at the product level, the variant level, or both. When a picker opens an order or prints a pick list, Pickscan shows the bin code next to each item so your team knows exactly where to find it.
Products without a bin location still appear in the picking queue and on pick lists. On printed pick lists they are grouped under an UNSPECIFIED section.
Where bin locations appear
- Pickscan picking page in Shopify — a location chip appears on each line item that has a bin set.
- Printed pick lists — items are grouped by bin location in alphabetical order. Products with no bin are listed last under UNSPECIFIED.
- Product lookup — when you scan a barcode or SKU from the Pick queue and no order matches, Pickscan shows the product card with its current bin location.
Setting a bin location from the product lookup
You can set or edit a bin location directly from the embedded Pickscan app within Shopify.
- Scan or type a product barcode or SKU
From the Pick queue, enter a barcode or SKU that does not match an order number. Pickscan opens the product card.
- Set or edit the bin location
If the product already has a bin, the location chip and an Edit button appear. If no bin is set, select Set bin location. Type or scan the bin code (for example LOCA-12-3) and select Save.
- Confirm the save
A Saved confirmation appears next to the location chip. The new bin is written to the product's
my_fields.bin_locationmetafield in Shopify.
Press Esc to return to the picking queue after setting a bin.
Setting bin locations in Shopify admin
You can also set the my_fields.bin_location metafield directly in the Shopify admin. This is useful when setting up bin locations in bulk before your team starts picking.
- Open a product in Shopify
Go to Products in your Shopify admin and open the product you want to update.
- Find the metafield
Scroll to the Metafields section. Look for
my_fields.bin_location. If the metafield definition does not exist yet, create it as a single-line text field. - Enter the bin code
Type the bin code that matches your warehouse layout (for example LOCA-12-3) and save the product.
Use a consistent naming convention for bins, such as Aisle-Bay-Shelf. Pickscan sorts bins alphabetically on pick lists, so a consistent format keeps the walk order logical.
Choosing the bin location level
If you set the my_fields.bin_location metafield at both the product and variant levels, Pickscan needs to know which one to use. Go to SETTINGSBin location level and choose:
- Variant (default) — uses the variant-level bin when both are set.
- Product — uses the product-level bin when both are set.
If a bin is only set at one level, that value is always used regardless of this setting. Most stores only set bins at one level and never need to change this option.
For a full list of picking settings, see Pick-list and picking settings.
Bin locations on pick lists
When you print a pick list from the picking queue, items are grouped by bin location:
- Bins are sorted alphabetically so your picker can walk the warehouse in order.
- Products with no bin location are grouped at the end under UNSPECIFIED.
- Within each bin group, products are sorted by name.
For help printing pick lists, see Printing a pick list.