Building an end-to-end Shopify integration and logistics engine for a premium art-book publisher
Client
Volume (vol.co) is part of the Thames & Hudson group and specialises in limited-edition, design-led hardback books created with well-known artists, architects, and cultural institutions. Many releases are produced in small batches, frequently as pre-order only, which creates unique fulfilment and stock management challenges. Customer expectation is very high, and the publisher relies heavily on accurate shipping, reliable dispatch, and timely communication.
The Challenge
Before our integration work, Volume were experiencing several operational pressures:
- `Pre-order heavy workflow
Most products were unavailable for immediate dispatch and had long lead times. Shopify’s standard fulfilment tools struggled to handle this elegantly, especially for large batches of pre-orders arriving simultaneously. - Courier surcharge issues
Shopify’s built-in shipping engine calculates prices only using weight, destination, and its own zone logic. It does not include courier-specific surcharges – such as remote-area fees (for example, the Scottish Highlands, Isle of Man, Channel Islands), fuel surcharges, or hard-to-reach international destinations.
Thames & Hudson were routinely absorbing these additional fees, significantly eroding margins on international orders. - Manual processes and high support load
EP Global Logistics (EP-GL), the fulfilment partner, were receiving orders in inconsistent ways that often required manual checking.- Mixed orders (containing both pre-order and in-stock items) needed individual review.
- Orders with missing weight data were delayed.
- Any discrepancy meant customer service teams had to intervene.
- Stock accuracy issues
When stock finally arrived for a title, large numbers of pre-orders needed to be matched, processed, and finally dispatched. The lack of real-time stock updates caused:- Overselling
- Inaccurate product availability
- Confusion around fulfilment priority
The Solution: The Hub
We built a complete Shopify-to-logistics automation platform that connects Volume’s Shopify store directly to EP-GL’s systems. The solution includes three major components:
1. Live Shipping Price Engine (Custom Shopify App)
We engineered a bespoke app that connects Shopify checkout to EP-GL’s courier systems. When a customer enters their delivery address, the app:
- Queries DHL and FedEx APIs through EP-GL’s logistics portal
- Retrieves real pricing based on weight, exact location, and all relevant surcharges
- Returns the true, final price back into Shopify checkout in real time
This guarantees fully accurate pricing for every order, eliminating surprises for both customers and the publisher.
Business impact:
- Customers see fair, transparent pricing
- Thames & Hudson no longer subsidise courier surcharges
- Dramatically fewer customer enquiries about shipping costs
2. Automated Order Management Engine
Twice daily, the system downloads new Shopify orders and applies a full decision-making workflow:
- In-stock products
- Shipping labels are automatically generated via DHL/FedEx
- Orders are queued for immediate dispatch
- All necessary paperwork is generated
- Pre-orders
- Orders are grouped by product title and stored until stock arrives
- Batch release and fulfilment happens the moment stock is scanned into EP-GL
- No manual sorting or searching required
- Mixed orders
- The engine intelligently determines whether to split the shipment, wait, or partially despatch
- Custom rules allow tailored handling per publisher
- Exceptions
- Missing item weight
- Product unavailable
- Partial restock
Automated notifications and workflows mean EP-GL resolves issues quickly.
This significantly reduced manual overhead and created consistency across every order type.
3. Real-Time Stock Synchronisation
After processing, the system updates Shopify with:
- Exact remaining stock for each SKU
- Pre-order availability logic
- “Sold out” or “back in stock” status
This ensures customer-facing stock levels are always correct, preventing overselling and managing expectations around pre-order timelines.
Results
The new system has transformed the operational capability of Volume:
- 0% courier surcharge losses — all shipping is now accurately priced in real time
- 80–90% reduction in manual fulfilment tasks for EP-GL
- Accurate, reliable pre-order handling, even for large campaign launches
- Improved customer satisfaction due to predictable delivery and fewer support tickets
- Scalable infrastructure ready for future imprints and titles
Volume now runs a modern, predictable, cost-efficient fulfilment operation that handles pre-orders and dispatches at scale with almost no manual intervention.