Some stocks, orders and returns managed separately between Shopify, Galaxus and the european marketplaces create availability gaps. For an active merchant between Switzerland, France and the European Union, these gaps complicate preparation, tracking and customs formalities (overwhelmed by e-commerce. Source: EC).
Why Shopify and the marketplaces require centralized management
A WMS (warehouse management system) is software that manages stock and preparation, from receiving to shipping. Connected to Shopify and the marketplaces, it becomes the coordination point for orders, stocks and returns.
Galaxus must be treated as a fully Swiss channel (read how to become a merchant at Galaxus). The traffic rankings published by Lengow in 2025 place it at the top of visits to marketplaces in Switzerland. The Swiss market also imposes high demands regarding data quality, return processing and customer service.
A integration of Galaxus marketplace to Shopify must therefore coordinate commercial data with logistical execution. This centralization reduces separate entries and gives e-commerce, operations and logistics teams a common view of Swiss and European flows.
The data flow between Shopify, Galaxus and a centralized WMS
How to connect Shopify to Galaxus and other Swiss and European marketplaces using a single WMS ? Each channel exchanges standardized data with the WMS, which then orchestrates the execution.
The operational flow follows these steps:
- Transmission of the catalog, SKUs, and variants
- Receiving the order
- Control and allocation of stock
- Preparation in the selected warehouse
- Shipping by the selected carrier
- Transmission of tracking
- Recording and processing of returns
From sales channels to the WMS
Shopify and each marketplace send to the WMS the orders, order lines, statuses, and customer data necessary for delivery (see the example of an order or a variable product at Shopify). Catalog updates must also maintain the same SKUs and variants across each channel.
Emaloja offers automated flow connectors for Digitec, Galaxus, and Manor in its marketplace integration services. Emaloja also masters Shopify, WordPress with WooCommerce, Magento, and Odoo, placing Shopify among the supported technological environments.
From the WMS to the channels and carriers
The WMS returns available stock, confirmations, order statuses, and Fulfillment events. It also transmits the tracking numbers and return statuses useful to the channels. Access the data from fulfillment and inventory management from Shopify.
Carriers receive the data necessary for shipping according to the selected service. The exact scope depends on the interfaces available for each marketplace, carrier, and warehouse.
Synchronize inventory in real-time to avoid uncovered sales
How does centralized synchronization limit uncovered sales between Shopify and the marketplaces? It shares the same usable availability after each order, cancellation, return, or restock.
This inventory synchronization on marketplaces for ecommerce relies on allocation rules defined before the opening of the flows:
- Shared inventory between channels or reserved quantity
- Safety threshold per product or warehouse
- Priorities between Shopify, Galaxus, and the European channels
- Processing of orders received simultaneously
Emaloja ensures inventory synchronization, order processing, and the tracking of shipments in real-time. Its WMS also allows for the management of availability and the tracking of orders in real-time.
Before activation, ensure that each SKU and each variant has a consistent identifier across all systems.
Organize the Fulfillment between Switzerland and the European Union
The cross-border orders are routed according to their channel, destination, and physical location of the inventory. The WMS then transmits the tasks of preparation, shipping data, tracking, and return instructions.
Swiss channels and European channels: two routing models
For Galaxus and other Swiss channels, the flow can originate from a warehouse in Switzerland or cross a border. For an order destined for France or another country in the European Union, stock already located in the EU can follow a different route.
Swiss, French, and European warehouses allow for organizing storage, order processing, and shipments according to each flow. Emaloja services cover importing, storage, packaging, shipping, and return management.
Routing rules must specify:
- The warehouse responsible for preparing the order
- The carrier and the delivery service
- The return route
- The checks required before restocking
The services for integrating marketplaces with Shopify in Switzerland must incorporate this territorial distinction from their design.
Customs declarations in the execution flow
A customs declaration is the act by which an operator places goods under a customs regime of the European Union. These declarations are generally submitted online [1].
Before their production, the flow must make available the product information, quantity, value, origin when required, shipping data, and contact details necessary for transport. The required documents vary depending on the goods and the route.
The importer can submit the documents themselves or appoint a representative, such as a customs broker [2]. The WMS of Emaloja handles customs clearance as part of its logistics e-commerce. Its operational role does not replace the legal responsibility of the operator or a customs advisor.
The checklist before activating the sales channels
What needs to be checked before choosing and deploying a Shopify integration service to marketplaces in Switzerland? Galaxus requires a technical connectivity as well as daily updates of product and stock data via FTP or API [3].
Use this checklist before deployment:
- SKU and variant matching between Shopify, Galaxus, the WMS, and other channels
- Stock allocation rules with reserves, thresholds, and priorities
- Order routing by destination, warehouse and return path
- Product and shipping data, with validation of Swiss–EU customs elements and identification of the declarant or their representative
- Transmission of tracking to the channels and handling of sending failures
- Management of returns and exceptions, with a complete test of an order
The end-to-end test must cover receipt from Shopify or Galaxus, preparation, stock update, shipping, tracking, and return. Add a controlled anomaly to verify its identification and handling.
Manage exceptions from a single dashboard
How to track inventory, orders, customs status and exceptions from a single dashboard? Group the availability, order statuses, preparation steps, shipments, tracking and returns into an operational view.
Emaloja connects the WMS to marketplaces to manage orders, track inventory and process returns. The dashboard should report a break, a synchronization failure, a blocked order, an incomplete address or a missing customs data. The availability of customs statuses must be confirmed for each interface included in the integration.
In summary: centralize cross-border trade and execution
Shopify and marketplaces send their data to the WMS. It coordinates inventory, preparation, tracking and returns according to the channel and destination.
This organization aims for real-time inventory consistency, a clear separation of Switzerland–EU flows and centralized management of operations. Evaluate with Emaloja your Shopify and Galaxus flows, your warehouses as well as the necessary customs data before activating the channels.