> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://partners.usecharlie.ai/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # What is Charlie. > A one-page brief on Charlie's product, positioning, and core capabilities. Charlie is a **Shopify-native platform** for omnichannel retail brands. It does exactly and only what Shopify doesn't : order routing, omnichannel analytics, better ship-from-store in-store operations, without adding a new tool for any team. Charlie does exactly the 30% that Shopify doesn't. ## Four core capabilities. Every order is assigned to the best location automatically — based on stock, proximity, store capacity, customer segment, cart value, or any combination. Zero manual work. Charlie reserves buffer inventory per location, before it reaches any sales channel. Sellable quantity is always accurate, based on available native inventory, in real time. Set a daily order limit per location. When a store hits the limit, Charlie reroutes automatically. No burnt-out teams. Every order fulfilled in-store is credited to that location. Store managers see their real contribution — the right incentive for the right team. ## What it enables in practice. Shopify assigns fulfillment locations from a static priority list and it can't reroute when a store does not answer. Charlie evaluates live stock, proximity, and capacity on every order and assigns to the right location dynamically and automatically. Staff ships directly from Shopify POS. No second screen, no new app, no manual reassignment. Shopify doesn't let you control which products are eligible for BOPIS — it's all or nothing, with no rule per product or location. Charlie gives merchants granular control over pickup eligibility, and surfaces a prioritized pickup queue directly in POS so staff always know what to prepare next and how urgently. Shopify can place the order in-store, but it has no logic to route it to the location that actually has the stock. Charlie detects which location holds the inventory and routes the order there for home delivery automatically, all without leaving POS. The merchant keeps the sale; the customer gets the product. Shopify applies the same location priority to every order regardless of who's buying or how much they're spending. Charlie reads order value and customer tags at the moment of purchase and routes high-value or VIP orders to a flagship automatically — so the right team can add a personal touch without any manual triage. Shopify has no concept of a daily order limit or order backlog — a single store can be flooded with more orders than its team can handle. Charlie caps each location. When a store hits its limit, orders reroute automatically to the next best location. SLAs stay intact, teams stay sane. Shopify doesn't track which location fulfilled an order — there's no store-level P\&L inside the platform. Charlie credits every fulfillment to the location that shipped it. Retail managers see their real contribution in a dedicated view, creating the right incentive to fulfill well. ## How a client goes live. One click. No ERP integration. No engineering. Done in under 2 minutes. No code needed. Rules are set inside the Charlie dashboard within Shopify admin. Average time to first order routed by Charlie: **2 days**. ## What makes it different. Charlie runs inside Shopify. Your clients' store teams use 1 screen — not 2. No middleware, no new platform, no 12-month IT rollout. | | Charlie | Classic OMS | | ------------------------ | ------------- | ----------- | | Lives inside Shopify | ✓ | ✗ | | Lives inside Shopify POS | ✓ | ✗ | | Time to go live | 2-4 weeks | 6-18 months | | Setup cost | None | \$100k+ | | New tool for store teams | None | Yes | | Pricing | Fixed monthly | High CAPEX | | Variable cost per order | No | Yes | Understand who needs Charlie and why now.