Multiple shipping profiles in B2B: what to know
Understand how Shopify shipping profiles and split shipping behave in B2B checkout, and where the limits sit.
Last verified against Shopify: April 21, 2026
This article explains how Shopify shipping profiles behave in B2B checkout, especially when a retailer's cart spans more than one profile.
It focuses on the split shipping behaviour that matters most for Roadmap Trade merchants.
What shipping profiles are and why merchants use more than one
Shipping profiles let you rate different groups of products differently.
Merchants often use more than one profile because not every product ships the same way.
A common Trade setup is:
standard parcel items in one profile
oversized or freight items in another profile
This keeps shipping logic accurate. It also avoids hiding freight costs inside a broad flat rate.
How split shipping works at checkout
When a cart contains products from more than one shipping profile, Shopify can split the cart into separate shipments for rating.
That lets Shopify calculate each shipment against its own profile rules.
In practical terms, the retailer still experiences one checkout, but the shipping calculation is happening across more than one shipment behind the scenes.
Shopify documents this in its split shipping guide.
How split shipping interacts with each order submission mode
Automatically submit orders
This is the safer option for multi profile B2B carts.
Orders submit normally. Shipping can still be calculated across the separate profiles.
Submit all orders as drafts for review
This is where the limitation appears.
If the cart spans more than one shipping profile, split shipping is not supported in the B2B draft order flow.
That can surface as the misleading address error covered in Troubleshooting "Your order cannot be shipped to the selected address" at B2B checkout.
When to consolidate profiles, and when to keep them separate
Consolidate profiles only when the products genuinely share the same shipping logic.
Keep profiles separate when the products need different rating treatment, such as standard parcel versus freight.
Roadmap does not recommend collapsing profiles just to make draft review work.
That usually solves the wrong problem. It also removes your ability to price freight separately.
Instead, keep the shipping structure that reflects the real fulfilment model, then use Automatically submit orders with payment terms.
Common multi profile setups for Trade merchants
The most common pattern is standard items plus oversized freight items.
That setup is usually correct. It only becomes a problem when a company location is forced through draft review.
If the same retailer regularly buys across both profiles, test that account with a mixed cart before launch.
Watch outs and edge cases
Check these early:
a company location on draft review can fail even when the address is valid
the problem only appears when the cart spans more than one shipping profile
testing a one profile cart can hide the issue until real orders start coming through
Related articles
Troubleshooting "Your order cannot be shipped to the selected address" at B2B checkout, for the exact error that usually exposes this limitation.
Choosing your B2B company checkout settings, for the company location setting that decides whether split shipping can work cleanly.
Handling custom payment terms like "20th of the month following", for the payment control Roadmap recommends once orders submit automatically.
Need a hand? Contact us in the Roadmap app via Intercom.
Last updated