How to show shipping methods only to wholesale customers
Process Wholesale can give wholesale customers (B2B customers) their own shipping options. On the Shipping page of the app you select shipping rates, local pickup locations and local delivery. At checkout, logged-in customers tagged B2B see only the options you selected, and every other customer sees every option except those. Process Wholesale does not create rates or change their prices: it shows and hides the rates you already have in Shopify. The Shipping page needs the Enterprise or Professional plan.
At a glance
- Plan: Enterprise or Professional
- Where: Process Wholesale > Shipping
- Wholesale customers (logged in, tagged
B2B): see only the selected options - Everyone else (retail customers, guests, pending customers): see every option except the selected ones
- Matching: Exact names with Select from existing shipping methods, "contains" with Manual entry
- Default: Off
How wholesale shipping works#
The Shipping page divides your existing shipping options into two groups.
- Selected options are wholesale options. They are shown to wholesale customers and hidden from everyone else.
- Unselected options are retail options. They are shown to everyone else and hidden from wholesale customers.
Process Wholesale only shows and hides options that Shopify returns at checkout. It never creates a rate and never changes a rate's price.
Steps to set up wholesale shipping#
- In Shopify admin, open the Process Wholesale app and select Shipping.
- Check Enable shipping methods.
- Under Shipping rate configuration, choose Select from existing shipping methods or Manual entry (recommended for stores with many rates).
- Choose the wholesale options, as described in the sections that follow.
- Select Save in the save bar. The message "Settings updated" confirms it.
To stop filtering shipping, clear Enable shipping methods and select Save. Every customer then sees every option. Your selections are kept.
Video walkthrough: the Shipping page links to a shipping demo video (4 minutes) that shows how to choose wholesale shipping options.
How to select existing shipping methods#
With Select from existing shipping methods ("Choose from your Shopify shipping methods, pickup locations and local delivery"), the page lists your options in four tabs.
| Tab | What it lists |
|---|---|
| General Shipping Methods (or Markets) | Rates in your general shipping profile, one table per zone, or one table per market on stores that use Shopify's market-based shipping |
| Custom Shipping Methods (or Additional shipping methods) | Rates in your other shipping profiles; on stores that use market-based shipping, rates from all your shipping profiles |
| Local Pickup | The table Local pickup locations: every location with local pickup turned on |
| Local Delivery | One checkbox, Local delivery |
Each shipping table is headed "
- Names, not rows. A selection is stored by name. Selecting "Wholesale Freight" in one zone selects every rate named "Wholesale Freight" in every zone and market, on both shipping rate tabs. Pickup locations are a separate list.
- Exact matching. At checkout, a shipping rate counts as wholesale when its name is exactly a selected name, including capitalization. Pickup locations match the same way against the locations you select in Local Pickup.
- Local pickup per location. Select each location wholesale customers may pick up from. Pickup locations you do not select are hidden from wholesale customers and shown to everyone else.
- Local delivery is one switch. Shopify does not share individual local delivery settings with apps, so Local delivery covers every local delivery option at checkout: when checked, wholesale customers can use local delivery and other customers cannot. When unchecked, other customers can use it and wholesale customers cannot.
On stores that use market-based shipping, the tabs are named Markets and Additional shipping methods. A market whose carrier can return more rates than the list shows has the note "This carrier can return additional rates at checkout. To match a rate that is not listed, use manual entry with its checkout name."
How to enter shipping names manually#
Manual entry (recommended for stores with many rates) matches rates by part of their name instead of a list. It suits stores with many zones or carrier rates that are not listed.
- Select Manual entry (recommended for stores with many rates).
- In Shipping method name, type a name or part of one, for example
Ground Advantage, and select Add or press Enter. - Repeat for each name. The list is headed Active wholesale shipping methods with the count.
- Select Save.
Manual entry uses "contains" matching and ignores capitalization: an option is wholesale when its name contains any entered name. Ground Advantage matches "USPS Ground Advantage". Manual entry covers shipping rates, pickup locations and local delivery together, so enter pickup location names and "local delivery" the same way. An empty manual list hides every option from wholesale customers.
What your customers see#
Example. Checkout offers Standard, Wholesale Freight, pickup at Downtown Store, pickup at Warehouse, and Local delivery. You selected Wholesale Freight, the Downtown Store pickup location and Local delivery.
| Customer | Sees at checkout |
|---|---|
Wholesale customer (logged in, tagged B2B) |
Wholesale Freight, Downtown Store pickup, Local delivery |
| Retail customer, guest or pending customer | Standard, Warehouse pickup |
With Local delivery unchecked, the retail customer also sees Local delivery and the wholesale customer does not.
Manual example. The list is wholesale, Downtown, local delivery. A wholesale customer sees Wholesale Freight, Downtown Store pickup and Local delivery. A retail customer sees Standard and Warehouse pickup.
Customers see no message about the filtering; options are present or missing.
How to give wholesale customers free shipping#
Process Wholesale has no free shipping feature and does not change shipping prices. To offer free wholesale shipping:
- In Shopify admin, create a shipping rate with a price of 0 in each zone or market you sell to, with a clear name such as "Wholesale Free Shipping".
- On the Process Wholesale Shipping page, select that rate (or enter its name in manual entry) and select Save.
Wholesale customers then see the free rate, and retail customers do not. Add any other rates wholesale customers may use, such as an express option, the same way.
Messages on the Shipping page#
| Message | Meaning and what to do |
|---|---|
| "Shipping settings could not be loaded. Please retry before making changes." | Select Retry. Saving is blocked until the settings load. |
| "Shipping methods could not be loaded. Reopen the app to refresh its permissions, then reload this page. Your saved selections are preserved." | Close and reopen Process Wholesale, then reload the page. The shipping tables stay empty until then. |
| "Pickup locations could not be loaded. Reopen the app to refresh its permissions, then reload this page. Your saved pickup selections are preserved." | Same fix as above, for pickup locations. |
| "No locations with local pickup enabled were found. Enable local pickup on a location in Shopify, then reload this page." | Turn on local pickup for a location in Shopify, then reload. |
| "No shipping methods were found." | The table has no rates. Check your shipping settings in Shopify. |
| "Shipping feature is available on the Enterprise plan only." | The store is not on Enterprise or Professional. Select Upgrade to Enterprise; Professional also includes the Shipping page. |
Limits and things to know#
- Renamed rates stop matching. Selections are names. After you rename a rate in Shopify, select it again on the Shipping page (or update the manual entry) and select Save.
- One list for all zones and markets. A selected name is wholesale wherever a rate with that name appears.
- Only customers tagged
B2Bcount as wholesale. Pending customers taggedB2B_Registeration, guests and customers who are not logged in see the retail options. - No price changes. Process Wholesale cannot discount or reprice a rate.
- Unlisted carrier rates. Rates a carrier returns only at checkout are not in the tables. Use manual entry with the rate's checkout name.
- The plan is Enterprise or Professional.
Troubleshooting#
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Wholesale customers see no shipping options | No selected option exists for their address, or the manual list is empty | Select at least one rate for every zone or market, or add names to manual entry. |
| Wholesale customers do not see pickup or local delivery | Pickup locations and Local delivery are selected separately | Select the locations in Local Pickup and check Local delivery, then save. |
| A rate disappeared for retail customers | It is selected as wholesale, or its name contains an entered manual name | Clear the selection or use a more specific manual name, then save. |
| A rate stopped appearing for wholesale customers | The rate was renamed in Shopify | Select the new name and save. |
| Retail customers see the wholesale rate | The customer is tagged B2B, or Enable shipping methods is off |
Check the customer's tags and the checkbox. |
| The shipping tables are empty | The app could not read shipping methods | Reopen the app and reload the page. |
Frequently asked questions#
Can I give wholesale customers free shipping?#
Yes, with a free rate you create in Shopify. Process Wholesale has no free shipping setting; create a rate priced at 0 in Shopify, then select it on the Shipping page so only wholesale customers see it.
Why do wholesale customers see no shipping options?#
Because no option selected on the Shipping page is available for their address. Wholesale customers see only selected options, so every zone or market they ship to needs at least one.
What is the difference between selecting methods and manual entry?#
Select from existing shipping methods matches the exact names you pick from your Shopify rates. Manual entry matches any option whose name contains a word you type, ignoring capitalization, which suits stores with many rates.
Does Process Wholesale change shipping prices?#
No. Process Wholesale only shows or hides existing Shopify shipping options for wholesale and retail customers. Prices come from your Shopify shipping settings.
What happens when I rename a shipping rate?#
The renamed rate no longer matches your selection. Select it again on the Shipping page and save.