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Small Package QuotesUnishippers Edition for Shopify |
The Unishippers Small Package Quotes app retrieves your negotiated parcel rates, takes action on them according to the app settings, and displays the results as shipping options in the Shopify checkout process. Unishippers (unishippers.com ) is a third party logistics company that gives its customers access to UPS and over 60 LTL freight carriers through a single account relationship. To establish a Unishippers account click here to access the new account request form.
Basic Plan $20/month
Live negotiated carrier rates returned to the checkout process.
Supported origins: United States.
Supported destinations: All countries to which UPS provides service.
Select which services to present to your shoppers.
Identify standard box sizes so that rates accurately reflect dimensional weight rules. (Optional feature)
Support for individual items that ship as multiple packages.
Define multiple warehouse locations.
Identify products that drop ship from vendors.
Compatible with Shopify Locations.
Assign products and variants a shipping weight and dimensions.
Basic option for residential delivery.
Embed a handling charge in the displayed rates to recover the cost of packaging materials or other shipping related expenses. The handling charge can be specified as dollars and cents, or as a percentage of the quoted rate.
Dynamic presentation of parcel and LTL freight rates with the installation of compatible apps from Eniture Technology
Standard Plan $25/month
Everything in the Basic Plan, plus…
Automatic detection of residential addresses allows the carrier’s residential delivery fee to be automatically included in quotes.
Do not display rates if a post office box is detected
Support for products that ship hazardous material.
Specify an order cut off time and have it reflected in the estimated delivery date.
Extend estimated delivery dates to account for lead times in manufacturing and/or fulfillment.
Identify the days of the week you ship orders and have it reflected in the estimated delivery date.
Advanced Plan $40/month
Everything in the Standard Plan, plus…
Limit when Ground service is offered based on transit time.
Offer options for in-store pick up and local delivery.
Support for products that can be nested when shipped, such as garbage cans or drinking cups.
Current version: 2.0
Requirements
A Shopify account with the Real-Time Carrier Shipping feature enabled. The feature is standard on the Advanced Shopify subscription package. It can be added to other packages by contacting Shopify customer service.
A Unishippers account number.
A Unishippers issued UPS account number.
The phone number or email address registered with your Unishippers account number.
FAQ’S
How do I get this application?
This application can only be installed from the Shopify App Store. Click here to locate the app in the Shopify App Store and then click the GET button to install the app. You must have the Shopify store owner credentials to perform the installation.
How do I get a Unishippers account number?
Unishippers is a US national franchise organization. Check your phone book for local listings or click here to access the new account request form.
Why were the shipment charges I received on the invoice from Unishippers different than what was quoted by the application?
The rates will be the same if the shipment parameters used to obtain the quote are exactly the same as those that were used for the invoice. Compare the shipment parameters in the application with those on the invoice. Pay close attention to product weight, dimensions and various accessorial fees like residential delivery. Consider making changes as needed. Remember that the weight of packaging materials is included in the weight of the shipment and that your use of box size may also have an impact on the shipment’s billable weight. If you are unable to reconcile the differences call your local Unishippers office for assistance.
Why do I sometimes get a message that a shipping rate estimate couldn’t be provided?
There are several possibilities:
UPS has restrictions on a shipment’s maximum weight, length and girth which your shipment may have exceeded.
There wasn’t enough information about the weight or dimensions for the products in the shopping cart to retrieve a shipping rate estimate.
The city entered for the shipping address may not be valid for the postal code entered. A valid City+State+Postal Code combination is required to retrieve a rate estimate and Shopify does not perform this level of address validation. Contact us by phone (404-369-0680) or email (support@eniture.com) to inquire about solutions to this problem.
The Unishippers RateLink API isn’t operational.
Your Unishippers account has been suspended or cancelled.
Your subscription to the application has expired because payment could not be processed.
There is an issue with the Eniture Technology servers.
There is an issue with the Shopify servers.
User’s Guide
To use these instructions you must be logged in to Shopify as the store’s administrator, or with a login that has administrative privileges.
Setting up the application to display small package (UPS) quotes consists of the following steps:
- Prepare Shopify to use the application.
- Get credentials for the Unishippers API.
- Choose the desired plan.
- Connect the application to the Unishippers API.
- Identify your warehouse and drop ship locations.
- Choose the desired quote settings.
- Box Size (Packaging) Settings.
- Shipping Rules.
- Enter the product shipping parameters.
Other information contained in this guide:
1. Prepare Shopify to use the application |
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You must have the Third-party calculated shipping rates feature on your Shopify plan to have live carrier quotes displayed in the checkout process. It is standard on the Shopify Advanced plan and can be added to other Shopify plans by calling Shopify Customer Service at 888-746-7439. (Learn more)
Navigate to the Settings>Shipping page. Click on the Manage rates link for the General shipping rates in the Rates at checkout section.
In the General shipping profile, locate the shipping origin from which you want the app to provide quotes.
If the only shipping zone you have is Rest of world, click on the Create shipping zone link and then enter a zone name (i.e. “Domestic”).
Locate the shipping zone for which you want to app to provide quotes. Click the Add rate button.
Select the option Use carrier or app to calculate rates.
It may take a moment for Shopify to retrieve the list of apps capable of providing shipping quotes for your store. After it has, the appearance of the Add rate page will be similar to the image below. Perform the following actions:
- Select the app from the drop down list.
- Enable the Services are selected in the app preferences setting. If this setting isn’t available to enable, don’t be concerned. Click the Done button at the bottom of the page and continue on to the next step.
- Click the Done button at the bottom of the page.
Repeat the steps above to enable the app for any other shipping zone. You should only enable the app in shipping zones that the app is capable of returning quotes for. Unishippers originates service in the United States only. Keep this in mind when you identify your warehouse and drop ship locations in Step 4 of these instructions.
2. Create credentials for the Unishippers RateLink API |
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To connect to the Unishippers RateLink API you first need to create credentials for it. To do so you must have the following:
- Your Unishippers customer number (this starts with a capital letter U)
- The contact phone number or contact email address associated with your Unishippers customer number
Follow this link (http://uone-billing.unishippers.com/uone/signup.do) to access and complete the Unshippers RateLink API registration page.
| User Name | Enter a user name for use with the Unishippers RateLink API. This is completely separate from other user names that you have for Unishippers.com or UPS.com. |
| Unishippers Customer Number | Enter your Unishippers customer number. It will begin with the letter “U”. |
| Your contact phone number on Unishippers records | Enter the phone number associated with your Unishippers customer number. |
| Your contact email address on Unishippers records | Enter the email address associated with your Unishippers customer number. |
| User Password | Enter a password to use in conjunction with the user name entered at the top of this form. Limit the password to eight characters. Although you may think you succeeded in creating a longer password, anything longer that eight characters will result in an unsuccessful connection to the API. |
| Confirm User Password | Re-enter a password entered in the User Password field. |
| Please enter text from above image | Enter the text that appears in the image above this field. |
3. Choose the desired plan. |
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Begin by selecting Apps from the Shopify menu. Locate the entry for the Unishippers Small Package Quotes app and click on the app name to access the app preferences.
The Plans page is used to confirm the plan you are currently subscribed to, see the features offered on each plan, and to perform upgrades or downgrades according to your needs. The plan you’re currently subscribed to will have This is your current plan above the monthly subscription rate. To change plans, click on the desired plan’s monthly subscription rate. You must be signed into Shopify with the Store Owner credentials to change plans.
4. Connect the application to the Unishippers RateLink API |
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The Connection Settings page is used to establish the plugin’s connection to Unishippers’ web services. What is required depends on whether you will connect to Unishippers’ New API or Legacy API. The Which API will you connect to? setting will determine whether you will complete this step using the instructions in section 4a, or 4b.
| Which API will you connect to? | New API Choose this option if you obtained a Client ID and Client Secret to use when connecting to the Unishippers API. Instructions on how to obtain these is presented earlier in this guide. If you select this option, proceed to Step 4a. Legacy API
Choose this option if you have credentials to Unishippers’ legacy API. If you select this option, proceed to Step 4b. |
4a. Connect to Unishippers’ New API |
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The instructions in this section are relevant only if you selected the New API option for the Which API will you connect to? setting.
Enter the information prompted for, then click Save Settings.
| Client ID | Enter the Client ID you received for the New API. |
| Client Secret | Enter the Client Secret you you received for the New API. |
After saving the settings, click the Test Connections button. You will see a success message if your credentials validated. If the connection fails, correct the credentials and try again.
The plugin’s License Key will be tied to a subscription. The Trial Plan will give you 15 days of free access to the Basic Plan. Two other plans are available; the Standard Plan and the Advanced Plan. The features associated with each plan are listed on the Features tab of this web page. Each plan is available for a monthly or yearly subscription rate. To manage your License Key, including which plan is associated with it, see the section titled Managing your license. at the end of this User’s Guide.
4b. Connect to Unishippers’ Legacy API |
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The instructions in this section are relevant only if you selected the Legacy API option for the Which API will you connect to? setting.
Enter the information prompted for, then click Save Settings.
Note: Unishippers RateLink API server may limit the number of requests made to 1000 quote requests per day. Please contact your local Unishippers office if you believe that this is not a large enough limit.
| Unishippers Customer Number | Your Unishippers customer number. It will begin with the letter “U”. |
| UPS Account Number | Your Unishippers issued UPS account number. |
| Username | The username you created in Step 2 of these instructions when you registered to use the Unishippers RateLink API. |
| Password | The password you created in Step 2 of these instructions when you registered to use the Unishippers RateLink API. |
| Request Key | (optional) An ASCII string (of your choosing) that the system will return to you in the response to enable tracking of the request through the Unishippers RateLink API system. |
5. Define Warehouse and Drop Ship Locations |
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Note: Unishippers originates service in the United States only. If you have warehouse or drop ship locations located in other countries, you need to also install one of our apps that supports service from that country.
You can choose to use the app’s warehouse and drop ship functionality, or Shopify’s Locations feature to determine the shipment origins for orders placed on your store. Make your selection using the drop-down field labeled, How will your shipment origins be identified?
If you ship from only one location, it doesn’t matter which option you choose. However, your decision will matter if you ship from more than one location.
The app’s functionality assumes than an unlimited amount of inventory is available from each stocking location. The app has two types of stocking locations: warehouses and drop ship locations. If multiple warehouses exist, the one closest to the ship-to address is used as the ship-from location. This approach minimizes the estimated shipping costs and, if you have the setting enabled, presents your shopper with quicker estimated delivery dates. When an item is assigned to a drop ship location, it always ships from there.
Shopify Locations introduces the ability to do inventory tracking at multiple locations. Shopify Locations may be a good option for you if:
- You have visibility to the inventory levels at all your shipping locations.
- You will maintain accurate inventory counts in Shopify.
- You have items that can ship from more than one location, but not all locations.
Be aware that Shopify’s selection of the ship-from location isn’t influenced by its proximity to the ship-to address. Instead, you’ll list your locations in the order in which you want Shopify to look for available inventory. Once Shopify finds it, that location (or locations) becomes the ship-from address even if the next one on your list is across the street from the ship-to address and has enough inventory to fulfill the order. To get a better understanding of how Shopify Locations identifies the ship-from location, look over the example borrowed from Shopify’s Help Center.
If you choose to use Shopify Locations, you’ll lose visibility to how the app built the shipping quote when Shopify determines that more than one location is needed to fulfill the order. This occurs because Shopify makes individual shipping rate requests for each location and doesn’t provide enough information to relate each of them back to the same order. The section in this document titled, What you see, has examples of the information normally captured with an order. This information will be missing when Shopify Locations is used, and more than one location is used to fulfill the order.
Click the Add button in the appropriate sections to add warehouse and drop ship locations. Warehouses should have a complete inventory of all products not otherwise assigned to a drop ship location. If you have more than one warehouse defined, the warehouse closest to the shopper will be used to retrieve shipping rate estimates.
Drop ship locations usually represent vendors that supply items that you don’t inventory. These items are shipped directly to your customer on your behalf. An item can be assigned to only one drop ship location. Items not assigned to a drop ship location are assumed to ship from your warehouse(s).
When an order will ship from more than one stocking location (e.g. warehouse and drop ship locations or more than one drop ship location) a single figure will display for the shipping rate estimate labeled “Shipping”. The amount of the quote will be equal to the sum of the cheapest shipping option for each location.
A best practice is to define at least one warehouse, even if all your products are drop shipped. If all your products are drop shipped (you have no warehouses), make the highest volume drop ship location a warehouse. This ensures that shipping rate estimates will still be returned in the event a product was added to your catalog and its drop ship location wasn’t identified.
| Nickname | Enter a nickname for the location. It will only be seen in the app settings. |
| Street Address | Enter the street address for the location. This is important for features in the app that need to know the distance between the location and the ship-to address. Examples are the In-store pick up and Local Delivery features. |
| ZIP | Enter the postal code for the location. Enter only the five digit ZIP Code for US addresses. |
| City | The plugin will attempt to prefill the City based on the postal code. Edit it if the prefilled value is incorrect. |
| State | The plugin will attempt to prefill the State based on the postal code. Edit it if the prefilled value is incorrect. |
| Country | The plugin will attempt to prefill the Country based on the postal code. Edit it if the prefilled value is incorrect. Use only the two character standardized country code. |
| Handling Fee / Markup | Increases the amount of the quote received for this location by a specified amount prior to displaying it/them in the shopping cart. The number entered will be interpreted as dollars and cents unless it is followed by a % sign. For example, entering 5.00 will cause $5.00 to be added to the quotes. Entering 5.00% will cause each quote to be multiplied by 1.05 (= 1 + 5%).
Note: The app has four settings that can be used to mark up shipping quotes. They are applied to shipping quotes in the following order: 1) Product-specific Mark Up (Product settings); 2) Location-specific Handling Fee / Mark Up (Warehouse settings); 3) Service-specific Mark Up (Quote settings); and 4) General Handling Fee / Mark Up (Quote settings).
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The locations you identified in Shopify will be displayed on the page when you select Shopify Locations from the How will your shipment origins be identified? drop down. Any changes to your locations will need to be made in Shopify. If you are on the app’s ADVANCED plan you can use the Edit link to enable and manage your in-store pickup and local delivery settings.
5a. In-store pick up settings |
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The Advanced Plan is required to use this feature. If you aren’t on the Advanced Plan the words Advanced plan required will appear adjacent to the settings header, and the fields associated with the feature will be inaccessible.
Click on the text Advanced plan required to upgrade your plan and gain access to the feature. You must be signed into Shopify with the Store Owner credentials to perform the upgrade.
In-store pick up can be offered as an option in the checkout process based the shopper’s postal code or proximity. It will only be offered if the feature is enabled and only one stocking location (warehouse or drop ship location) is involved in providing a quote. The settings for In-store pick up are visible on the page used to add or edit a warehouse or drop ship location.
| Enable in-store pick up | Check the box to enable the in-store pick up feature. |
| Offer if address is within (miles) | The distance in miles within which you’d like to offer in-store pick up. The distance is route miles (driving distance). Leave blank if you don’t want to use distance to determine if in-store pick up should be offered. If both distance and postal codes are used as evaluation criteria, in-store pick up will display if either is satisfied. |
| Offer if postal code matches | The postal codes to which you’d like to offer in-store pick up. Enter only the five digit ZIP Code for US addresses. Leave blank if you don’t want to use postal codes to determine if in-store pick up should be offered. If both distance and postal codes are used as evaluation criteria, in-store pick up will display if either is satisfied. |
| Checkout description | The description to use to identify the option in the checkout process. The most obvious candidate is In-store pick up, but you can make it anything you’d like. |
5b. Local delivery settings |
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The Advanced Plan is required to use this feature. If you aren’t on the Advanced Plan the words Advanced plan required will appear adjacent to the settings header, and the fields associated with the feature will be inaccessible.
Click on the text Advanced plan required to upgrade your plan and gain access to the feature. You must be signed into Shopify with the Store Owner credentials to perform the upgrade.
Local delivery can be offered as an option in the checkout process based the shopper’s postal code or proximity. It will only be offered if the feature is enabled and only one stocking location (warehouse or drop ship location) is involved in providing a quote. Local delivery can display as a free option or have a charge associated with it. Other shipping options provided by the app can be suppressed when local delivery is to be offered. The settings for Local delivery are visible on the page used to add or edit a warehouse or drop ship location.
| Enable local delivery | Check the box to enable the local delivery feature. |
| Offer if address is within (miles) | The distance in miles within which you’d like to offer local delivery. The distance is route miles (driving distance). Leave blank if you don’t want to use distance to determine if local delivery should be offered. If both distance and postal codes are used as evaluation criteria, local delivery will display if either is satisfied. |
| Offer if postal code matches | The postal codes to which you’d like to offer local delivery. Enter only the five digit ZIP Code for US addresses. Leave blank if you don’t want to use postal codes to determine if local delivery should be offered. If both distance and postal codes are used as evaluation criteria, local delivery will display if either is satisfied. |
| Checkout description | The description to use to identify the option in the checkout process. The most obvious candidate is Local delivery, but you can make it anything you’d like. |
| Local delivery fee | Enter the amount to charge for local delivery. Leave blank to offer local delivery for free. |
| Suppress other rates | Check the box to show only the option for local delivery when the criteria for doing so (distance or postal code) is met. Leave unchecked to have local delivery offered in addition to the shipping options normally displayed by the app. |
6. Quote Settings |
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On this page you’ll choose the settings that will affect every Small Package Quote your shopper sees. Enter the information prompted for, and then click the Save Settings button at the bottom of the page. This will conclude the application setup. Next you’ll identify which of your products will ship small package (parcel) and enter the corresponding shipment parameters.
| UPS Services | Place checkmarks next to the UPS domestic, international and contract services you want to display in your shopping cart at checkout. For a description of the service guarantees for each option go to ups.com and retrieve the current year’s Service Guide. You must have an agreement in place with UPS to use the Contract Services.
Beneath each service is a markup field. You can enter a dollar amount (e.g. 5.00) or percentage (e.g. 3.5%) in the field if you’d like to mark up the rate returned for that service. You can also enter a negative value if you want to mark down the rate. Later in the Quote Settings there is a general Handling Fee / Mark Up field that will be applied to all returned rate estimates. The service level markups are applied before the general setting. |
| Delivery Estimate Options | Don’t display delivery estimates Select this option if you don’t want information about the delivery estimate to display with the shipping quote. Display estimated number of days
Select this opiton to display the number of days the shipment will be in transit. Display estimated delivery date
Select this opiton to display the orders estimated delivery date. The shipment date will be the date of the order, unless you are using the Order Cut Off Time, Shipment Offset Days or Shipping Days Of The Week features to adjust the shipment date. |
| Cut Off Time & Ship Date Offset | The Standard Plan is required to use these settings. The settings are only relevant if you have the Display estimated delivery date setting enabled.
When the app requests shipping quotes, it identifies a ship date. The estimated delivery date is dependent on the ship date. These settings allows you to influence the ship date so that it aligns with your fulfillment operations. Order Cut Off Time
Enter the cut off time for orders. Orders received before the cut off time are quoted using the order date as the ship date. Orders received after the cut off time use the next workday as the ship date. Workdays are Monday through Friday except for public holidays on which the carrier does not provide pick up service. When left blank, the order date will be the ship date. Orders received on weekends will use the next workday as the ship date. Fulfillment Offset Days
Enter the number of days to offset the ship date. This setting allows you to postpone the ship date by a specified number of workdays. Example 1 Example 2 Workdays are Monday through Friday except for the public holidays on which the carrier does not provide pick up service. What days do you ship orders?
Identify the days of the week on which you ship orders. The ship date used for the rate request will be modified accordingly, which may affect the expected delivery date. |
| Ground transit time restrictions | The Advanced Plan is required to use this feature. If you aren’t on the Advanced Plan the words Advanced plan required will be displayed. Click on the Advanced plan required text to upgrade your plan and gain access to the feature.
This feature is commonly used by merchants who sell perishable products and need to prevent Ground service from displaying as an option when the shipment transit time exceeds a certain number of days. Enter the number of transit days to restrict ground service to. Leave blank to disable this feature.
In the box provided, enter the maximum number of days your products can be in transit. Leave blank to disable this feature. Restrict by the calendar days in transit
Pick this option to if you want to include weekends and holidays when determining if Ground service will be displayed. Choose this option if you always ship orders at the first opportunity to do so. Restrict by the carrier’s in transit days metric
Pick this option to apply the rule based on the carrier’s in transit days estimate. Carriers identify the in-transit days as business days. Choose this option if you hold orders until a ship date occurs upon which the order can be shipped and not be delayed by weekends or holidays. |
| Residential address settings | Do not return rate if the ship-to address appears to be a post office box Enable this setting you don’t want the application to present shipping quotes when the ship-to address appears to be a post office box. If the app is on the BASIC subsription plan, text string matching is used to identify post office boxes. This method is not infallible or guaranteed. When the app is on the STANDARD or ADVANCED subscription plan, post office boxes in the United States are reliably identified through an API sourced from the US Postal Service. Text string matching will continue to be used for other countries. Always quote residential delivery
Enable this setting if you want the residential delivery fee always included in shipping rate estimates. Automatically detect residential addresses
The Standard Plan is required to use this settings. Enable this setting to have the app determine if the ship-to address is a residential address. If it is, the freight quote(s) will include the residential delivery fee. This setting allows the address type to be determined real-time so that quotes to commercial addresses don’t include the residential delivery fee. Default unconfirmed address types to:
Displays only if the Automatically detect residential addresses setting is enabled. In rare cases the app my be unable to confirm the address type. This occurs when a match for the address can’t be found in the USPS database. Invalid addresses are the most common reason for this. In rare cases an address may be valid, but the match found in the USPS database has a low confidence metric. Choose how you want addresses treated in these cases.
Residential
Default. Choose this option if you want unconfirmed address types to be treated as residential. Commercial
Choose this option if you want unconfirmed address types to be treated as commercial. Address type disclosure:
Inform the shopper when ship-to address is identified as a residential address
Default. When enabled, the visitor will be informed if the shipping quote includes the residential delivery fee. Don’t disclose the address type to the shopper
Choose this option if you don’t want to visitor to be informed that a shipping quote includes the residential delivery fee. |
| Hazardous material settings | The Standard Plan or higher is required to use this feature. If you aren’t on the Standard Plan or higher the words Standard plan required will be displayed. Click on the Standard plan required text to upgrade your plan and gain access to the feature.
Only quote ground service for hazardous materials shipments
Check this box if you only want ground service quoted in the event that one or more of the products in the shopping cart is identified as hazardous material. Ground Hazardous Material Fee
Enter in the amount that should be added to the ground rate estimate in the event that one or more of the products in the shopping cart is identified as hazardous material. The fee will only be added once per shipment. Air Hazardous Material Fee
Enter in the amount that should be added to the air service estimates in the event that one or more of the products in the shopping cart is identified as hazardous material. The fee will only be added once per shipment. A special agreement/contract may be required to use air services to ship hazardous materials. |
| Handling Fee / Mark Up | Increases the amount of each returned quote by a specified amount prior to displaying it/them in the shopping cart. The number entered will be interpreted as dollars and cents unless it is followed by a % sign. For example, entering 5.00 will cause $5.00 to be added to the quotes. Entering 5.00% will cause each quote to be multiplied by 1.05 (= 1 + 5%). |
| Error management | Quote shipping using known shipping parameters, even if other items are missing shipping parameters. Choose this setting if you want the app to return shipping quotes using the known shipping parameters of the items in the Cart. If the shipping parameters of items in the Cart are incomplete, they will be excluded when retrieving shipping quotes. Don’t quote shipping if one or more items are missing the required shipping parameters.
Choose this setting if you don’t want the app to return shipping quotes if any of the items in the Cart have incomplete shipping parameters. |
| Quote Details | Write the quote details to the Additional Details widget Choose this option if you want the details of the shipping quote selected by the shopper to be recorded in the Additional Details widget. Write the quote details to More Actions > Shipping quote details page
Choose this option if you want the details of the shipping quote selected by the shopper to be recorded in this alternate destination. You should choose this option if you have other apps installed that also record information in the Additional Details widget. Each app writing to the Additional Details widget will replace the information previously recorded there. |
7. Box Size (Packaging) Settings. |
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These settings are active when the Standard Box Sizes feature is disabled. Use of the Standard Box Sizes feature will result in the most accurate shipping rate estimates possible, but it is a usage billed feature (3¢ per packaging solution). If you’d prefer not to use the Standard Box Sizes feature, choose the method you want the application to use to rate your shipments.
| Quote each item as shipping as its own package | Each item in the Cart will be quoted as shipping as its own package. Unless orders are shipped this way, the shipping rate estimates using this method will tend to be high. |
| Quote shipping as if all items ship in one package | All the items in the Cart will be quoted as shipping in one box and the shipping rate estimates will be based on weight only. If the total weight of the Cart exceeds 150 pounds, the total weight will be divided in to multiple packages of equal weight. Shipping rate estimates using this method will tend to be low. |
| Combine the weight of all items without dimensions as shipping as one package while quoting each item with dimensions as shipping as its own package | A hybrid of the other two options. Shipping rate estimates may be higher or lower than the actual shipping charges depending on the contents of the Cart. |
The Box Sizes tab allows you to identify your standard box sizes you use. They are used to calculate a packaging solution that mirrors what should occur during order fulfillment. Enabling this feature will result in a charge of 3¢ per calculation. We highly recommend this feature if your operation uses standard box sizes. Identifying your box sizes ensures that your customers will receive the most accurate rates possible. The packaging solution is saved with the order so it can be viewed while the order is being packed.
Example of packaging solution graphic
The packaging solution is accessed from the Order Details page. It provides an illustration of the final solution, and step by step illustrations on how each item should be oriented and placed in the box.
Dimensional weight is an extremely important factor when calculating rates for parcel services. Have a clear understanding of the topic when deciding whether or not to use the Standard Box Sizes feature. (Learn more about dimensional weight)
7a. Identify your standard box sizes |
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| Enable checkbox | Check this box to enable the standard box sizes feature. While enabled a charge of 3¢ for each calculated packaging solution will be incurred unless the capped amount for the billing cycle has been reached. If the capped amount has been reached you can re-enable the feature by increasing the capped amount. |
| Current usage | Shows the usage of the feature at the time the page loads. |
| Capped amount | The amount entered into this field is the maximum you can be charged for the standard box size feature in a billing cycle. If this amount is reached the feature will stop working and the optimal packaging solution algorithm will be used instead. This may effect the accuracy of your shipping rates. You can increase the capped amount to re-enable the feature. |
| Notification email address | An email will be sent to the email address entered when the usage of the standard box sizes feature is 80% of the capped amount. Taking action to increase the capped amount immediately after receiving the email will mitigate the risk of the feature being disabled which can otherwise lead to less accurate shipping quotes. |
| Optimization mode | Maximize space utilization Choose this setting if you want the packaging algorithm to prioritize the amount of space used in each box. For example, two boxes may be selected for the packaging solution if they have a higher utilization percentage than using a single, larger box. Minimize the number of packages
Choose this setting if you want the packaging algorithm to prioritize the fewest number of boxes used for the packaging solution. |
| Save button | Clicking the save button will save changes made to the fields located above the button provided the changes pass the field level validation.. |
| Add Box button | Clicking this button will display a form for use to capture the box parameters. |
| Nickname | Enter a nickname for the box. This will be used to identify the box in the graphical representation of the packaging solution. |
| Box Type | Select the option for Merchant defined box unless you are adding carrier-provided packaging. |
| Length | Enter the length in inches. |
| Width | Enter the width in inches. |
| Height | Enter the height in inches |
| Max Weight | Enter the maximum weight, in pounds, that the box can weigh. This includes the weight of the box. |
| Box Weight | Enter the weight of the box in pounds. |
| Box fee | If you want to have a fee for the box added to the shipping quotes, enter the fee here. |
| Available | Select this checkbox to make the box available to the algorithm that calculates the packaging solution. |
7b. Items that ship as multiple packages |
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The Product Shipping Parameters page (see Step 8 – Enter the product shipping parameters) has a Boxing properties section that includes a checkbox labeled, This item ships as multiple packages. When enabled, the item will appear on the Box Sizes page beneath your standard box sizes in the Items that ship as multiple packages section.
To add a box, click the Add Box button. A popup will display prompting you for the following information about the box:
| Quantity | Enter the number of boxes there are of this size and weight. |
| Nickname | Enter a nickname for the box. The nickname will be used to identify the box in the graphical illustration of the packaging solution. |
| Length | The length of the box in inches. |
| Width | The width of the box in inches. |
| Height | The height of the box in inches. |
| Weight | The weight of the box in pounds. |
If you also have one of Eniture Technology’s LTL Freight Quotes apps installed, it will use the Freight Class and Weight entered on the Product Shipping Parameters page when an LTL freight quote will be returned. However, if the Freight Class is set to Density Based (and the Item ships as multiple packages setting is enabled), then a freight class for the item will be calculated using the weight and dimensions of the boxes entered here.
8. Shipping Rules |
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| Rule Name | Enter a name for the rule. The name is for your convenience. It will not be seen by your customers. |
| Type | Select the rule type. The following options are available:
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| Apply to | Cart Choose this option if you want the shipping rule to apply to the entire Cart. Shipment
Choose this option if you want the shipping rule to apply only to individual shipments. For example, the app is capable of combining shipping quotes from multiple ship-from locations. If you want the rule to apply only to the shipments that meet the rule filter(s), then choose this option. If you want the rule to apply to all the shipments if any of the shipments satisfy the rule filter(s), then choose the option for Cart. |
| When the Type is “Hide Methods” | No other settings apply to this rule type. If the rule filter is met and it applies to the “Cart”, then the app will not present shipping quotes during checkout. If the rule filter is met and it applies to the “Shipment”, then the quotes for the shipment will not contribute to the sum of the shipping rates retrieved for the other ship-from locations. |
| When the Type is “Discount” or “Surcharge” | Discount/Surcharge Amount Enter a dollar amount (e.g. 5.00) or a percentage (e.g. 5.0%). |
| When the Type is “Override Rates” | Display As Enter the text that should be used to identify the rate on the Shopify Shipping Methods page. Description
Enter the text you want to accompany the “Display As” text to describe it. Often this is used to convey the expected shipping interval (“Allow 5 to 7 days for delivery”) or something about the rate (“Promotional flat rate shipping”). Flat Rate
Enter the dollar amount of the rate that will be displayed when the rule filter(s) are met. Enter a zero (0) if you want to offer free shipping. Suppress other rates
Enable the checkbox if you want the override rate to replace the rates that the app would otherwise display on the Shopify Shipping Methods page. Leave it disabled if you want the override rate to be displayed in addition to the the real-time rates that the app will display on the Shopify Shipping Methods page. |
| When the Type is “Large Cart Settings” | Max items Enter the threshold for the number of items. If the Cart contains a quantity of items equal to or greater than this value, the Standard Box Sizes feature will be bypassed. Maximum weight per package
In the event the Standard Box Sizes feature is bypassed, what should be used for the maximum weight for each package. |
| When the Type is “Minimum Shipping Charge” | Minimum Shipping Rate Enter the amount for the minimum shipping rate. This value will be presented on the Checkout page as the quoted shipping rate for any service that was quoted by the carrier at a lessor amount. |
| Filters | Filter Name Enter a name for the filters you want to implement. The name is for your convenience. It will not be seen by your customers. Filter by weight
Enable the checkbox if you want to use the weight of the cart as a criteria for the application of the rule. Enter the range for the weight in the From and To fields. The value entered in the From field will be included in the criteria. The value entered in the To field will be excluded from the criteria. If you enter “From 100” “To 150”, then a Cart with a total weight of 100 LBS will trigger the rule while a Cart with a total weight of 150 LBS will not. Consider the “To” field as the “Up to” value. Filter by price
Enable the checkbox if you want to use the price of the cart as a criteria for the application of the rule. Enter the range for the price in the From and To fields. The value entered in the From field will be included in the criteria. The value entered in the To field will be excluded from the criteria. If you enter “From 100” “To 150”, then a Cart with a total price of $100 will trigger the rule while a Cart with a total price of $150 will not. Consider the “To” field as the “Up to” value. Filter by quantity
Enable the checkbox if you want to use the quantity of items in the cart as a criteria for the application of the rule. Enter the range for the quantity in the From and To fields. The value entered in the From field will be included in the criteria. The value entered in the To field will be excluded from the criteria. If you enter “From 10” “To 20”, then a Cart containing 10 items will trigger the rule while a Cart with 20 items will not. Consider the “To” field as the “Up to” value. Filter by vendor
Enter the vendor name. The value entered must be an exact match for what you have entered on the Shopify Product Detail page in the Product Organization > Vendor field. Separate multiple entries with a comma. Filter by product tag
Enter the product tag. The value entered must be an exact match for what you have entered on the Shopify Product Detail page in the Product Organization > Tags field. Separate multiple entries with a comma. Available
Enable this checkbox if you want the rule to be applied. Disable it if you want to keep the rule settings for future use, but you don’t want to actively apply it. |
9. Product Settings |
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Now that the application settings have been established, it’s time enter the product settings. Repeat these instructions for every product that you want the app to provide shipping rate estimates for. Select Products from the Shopify menu. Locate the product on the list and choose it by clicking on it. You’ll be delivered to the product’s details page. Click on the More actions button located at the top right hand corner of the page and select the app.
You’ll be delivered to a page on which you’ll enter the product’s weight and dimensions. Enter the information prompted for, and then click the Save & Return button at the bottom of the page to return to the product’s Shopify product details page.
The image above and the instructions below are for a single product. If you have product variants, each variant will have its own settings. When product variants are present, copy buttons will appear. Use the buttons to copy the settings of the first product variant to the remaining product variants. Afterwards the product variant settings may still be edited. The copy buttons are provided to eliminate the entry of redundant data.
| Quote as a parcel shipment | Check this box to indicate that the product or product variant will ship as a parcel shipment. |
| Quote as an LTL shipment | This option will be visible if you have one of Eniture Technology’s LTL Freight Quote apps installed. Checking this box will indicate that the product or product variant will ship LTL freight. |
| Weight | Enter the weight of the product in pounds. Include the weight of any packaging materials that are used to ship the product. |
| Freight Class | Freight class is relevant to LTL freight shipments. If you installed one of Eniture Technology’s LTL Freight Quotes apps, its a good idea to set this parameter even if the product normally ships through the parcel network. When there are products in the cart that ship both parcel and LTL freight, or the weight of the order exceeds the parcel network weight threshold, a quote for LTL freight will be offered. In these cases, the accuracy of the quoted shipping rate will be improved greatly if the freight class setting is populated.
Select the product’s freight class from the drop down list. You may also select Density Based from the list, which will calculate freight class on the fly using the product’s weight and dimensions. The density based calculation will return the correct freight class in most, but not all cases. You are solely responsible to identify the correct freight class of your product(s). If you need assistance, contact your LTL freight provider or refer to the National Motor Freight Classification (NMFC) directory published by the National Motor Freight Transportation Agency (NMFTA.org). |
| NMFC | Usually an NMFC number is not required to get an LTL freight quote. However, in certain circumstances, an LTL freight provider may require it for individual accounts. If you are required to provide a commodity’s NMFC number to obtain an LTL freight quote, enter it here. |
| Length | Enter the length in inches. It should include any incremental inches added by packaging materials that may be required to ship the product. |
| Width | Enter the width in inches. It should include any incremental inches added by packaging materials that may be required to ship the product. |
| Height | Enter the height in inches. It should include any incremental inches added by packaging materials that may be required to ship the product. |
| Fulfillment Offset Days | The Standard Plan is required to use this setting. The setting is only relevant if you have the Display estimated delivery date setting enabled on the Quote Settings page.
When the app requests shipping quotes, it identifies a ship date. The estimated delivery date is dependent on the ship date. The Quote Settings page has three settings that are applied globally that will alter the ship date so that it aligns with your fulfillment operations. The product-level setting for Fulfillment Offset Days allows the offset to be different for individual products. The product-level setting for Fulfillment Offset Days takes precedent over its globally applied counterpart on the Quote Settings page. In cases where the Cart contains multiple products with different Fulfillment Offset Days, the largest number of offset days is used to adjust the ship date. Enter the number of days to offset the ship date for this product. If you don’t need a unique setting for this product, leave it blank. |
| Handling Unit Settings | These settings are relevant only if you are using an Eniture Technology product that retrieves LTL freight quotes. Skip these settings (leave them blank) if you are not.
The Quote Settings page has handling unit settings that are applied globally. If different handling unit settings are required for an individual product, enter them here. Leave these settings blank to utilize the global handling unit settings on the Quote Settings page. Product-level handling unit settings take precedent over the global handling unit settings. Weight of handling Unit
Enter in pounds the weight of your pallet, skid, crate or other type of handling unit you use. The amount entered will be added to shipment weight for this product prior to requesting a quote. Maximum Weight per Handling Unit
Enter in pounds the maximum weight that can be placed on the handling unit. If the total weight of the the product exceeds this value, the weight of additional handling units will be added as needed. For example, if the maximum weight is 500 LBS, and the total weight in the Cart for the product is 1200 LBS, the weight of the handling units added to the shipment shall be 3 times the weight entered in the Weight of Handling Unit field. (=roundup(1200/500,0)*Weight of Handling Unit) |
| Nested item | The Advanced Plan is required to use this feature. If you aren’t on the Advanced Plan the words Advanced plan required will appear adjacent to the settings header, and the fields associated with the feature will be inaccessible.
Enable this checkbox if the item can be stacked into another identical item when it is shipped. An example would be 13 gallon trashcans or plastic cups. When this setting is enabled, the Freight Class is always Density Based. |
| Nested dimension | This setting is only relevant if the Nested item setting is enabled.
Identify the dimension (length, width or height) on which the nesting occurs. |
| Nesting percentage | This setting is only relevant if the Nested item setting is enabled.
Enter the percent of the item that can be nested inside of another identical item. For example, if an item is 10 inches in height and after stacking two together the total height is 11 inches, the stacking percentage is 90%. (11 inches = 10 inches + (10 inches x 90%)) |
| Maximum nested items | This setting is only relevant if the Nested item setting is enabled.
Enter the maximum number of items you’ll allow in a single stack of nested items. |
| Stacking property | This setting is only relevant if the Nested item setting is enabled.
Select Maximized or Evenly. If your Maximum nested items is 6, and there are 7 items in the cart, then the Maximized option will result in one stack of 6 and one of 1. If the Stacking property is set to Evenly, it will result in one stack of 4 and one of 3. |
| Boxing properties | This setting requires the optional Standard Box Sizes feature to be enabled.
Allow item to be rotated vertically when placing it in a box
Enabling this setting allows the item to be rotated while identifying a packaging solution involving standard box sizes. This setting provides the most flexibility for arriving at a solution. This item ships as its own package
Enabling this setting prevents the item from being combined with other items into one of the standard box sizes. The item will be included in the shipment as its own package with the weight and dimensions specified. Items with this setting enabled are not fed to the Standard Box Sizes packaging algorithm and do not incur a charge. This item ships as its own package when it is the only item in the cart
Enabling this setting prevents the item from being combined with other items into one of the standard box sizes when the Cart contains only one of it. In this case the item’s weight and dimensions will be used as the package shipping parameters. Items with this setting enabled are not fed to the Standard Box Sizes packaging algorithm and do not incur a charge. This item ships as multiple packages
When this setting is enabled, the product will be added to the Items that ship as multiple packages section of the Box Sizes page. The section appears below the list of standard box sizes. Locate the product there to record boxes that contain the materials and parts that the item is comprised of.Items with this setting enabled are not fed to the Standard Box Sizes packaging algorithm and do not incur a charge. |
| Markup | Use this field to modify the shipping quotes returned by app. Enter a dollar amount (e.g. 1.00 or -1.00) to increase or decrease the shipping quotes. The amount of the adjustment will be multiplied by the quantity of the item in the Cart. Enter a percentage (1.0% or -1.0%) to have a percentage of the item’s price added to or subtracted from the shipping quotes. When a percentage is entered and there is more than one of the item in the Cart, the percentage will be applied to the extended price (quantity x price).
Note: The app has four settings that can be used to mark up shipping quotes. They are applied to shipping quotes in the following order: 1) Product-specific Mark Up (Product settings); 2) Location-specific Handling Fee / Mark Up (Warehouse settings); 3) Service-specific Mark Up (Quote settings); and 4) General Handling Fee / Mark Up (Quote settings).
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| Hazardous Material | The Standard Plan or higher is required to use this feature. If you aren’t on the Standard Plan or higher the words Standard plan required will be displayed. Click on the Standard plan required text to upgrade your plan and gain access to the feature. You must be signed into Shopify with the Store Owner credentials to perform the upgrade.
Check this checkbox if this item must be identified as hazardous material. If so, when the item is included in the cart, the hazardous material fee identified in the quote settings will be added to the rate estimate. |
| Drop ship this product | Check this box if this item is drop shipped from a location other than your warehouse. |
| Drop ship this product | Check this box if this item is drop shipped from a location other than your warehouse. |
| Drop ship location | Displays only when the Drop ship the product checkbox is checked. Select the drop ship location from the drop down. These locations are defined on the Warehouses tab in the app settings that was described in step 4. |
What your customer sees |
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Once you’ve completed the preceding steps, your Shopify store is ready to begin displaying shipping rate estimates to your shoppers. To ensure the best possible outcome, it’s highly recommended that weight and dimensions be entered for every product you sell.The exact presentation of the rates in the checkout process will depend on the options selected in the Quote Settings. The illustration below shows an example with multiple service options enabled.
What you see. |
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The app populates shipping related information in the Additional details widget on the Order Details page. The content varies on whether or not the optional Standard Box Sizes feature is enabled. Content falls into two categories: 1) Shipment Origin & Services; and 2) Shipment Content.
Shipment Origin & Services
This information block will identify the shipment origin, the selected carrier service and a list of any additional services (such as residential delivery) associated with the shipment. A separate Shipment Origin & Services information block will appear for each shipping location that will participate in fulfilling the order. This is particularly useful for stores with multiple warehouses and drop ship locations.
Shipment Content
A Shipment Content information block is presented beneath each Shipment Origin & Services information block. It identifies the products that will ship from that location.
If the optional Standard Box Sizes feature is enabled, a separate Shipment Content information block will be present for each box in the shipment. Each information block will identify the box’s nickname, its dimensions and its contents. This information is available graphically by clicking on the More Actions button at the top of the Order Detail page and selecting the Packaging Solution option.
A graphic will be presented illustrating the packaging solution. Each box will have an illustration of it fully packed and step by step illustrations on how each item should be placed in the box.
Updating products with the Import CSV Utility. |
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You can use the app’s Import CSV utility to enter or update the product shipping parameters. This method can be more time efficient than navigating in and out of the app’s user interface, particularly if you have a lot of products.
Navigate to the Import CSV tab in the app preferences.
You can’t use the Import CSV utility to create products in Shopify. The products must exist in Shopify prior to downloading the CSV template if they are to be updated.
Use the link below to access instructions on how to…
- Download the CSV template.
- Use the filters to isolate the product/variant records you want to update.
- Populate the CSV file with your shipping parameters.
- Save the CSV file in the proper format.
- Import the CSV file to the app.
Shipping with FreightDesk Online |
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- How capture the cost of shipping on orders placed online.
- How to ship the order, including how to create the shipping label (or Bill Of Lading in the case of LTL freight), schedule the carrier to pick up the shipment, and update the customer with the tracking number.
Quoting apps, like this one, provide a solution for the first challenge. What are your options for the second challenge?
Option 1 – The carrier’s website: You can log into the carrier’s website and manually enter all of the relevant information. Carrier websites are free to use since the carrier makes money when you use them to deliver an order. However, if you have more than a handful of orders each day this approach is time consuming and ripe for data entry errors which can be costly to correct.
Option 2 – Shopify Shipping: Shopify Shipping offers pretty competitive rates for postal companies like the US postal service, and parcel companies like UPS, and DHL. But if you ship with another provider or have more than a low-to-moderate number of daily orders, you’ll find Shopify Shipping clunky and woefully inefficient.
Option 3 – Cloud-based Shipping Platforms: The next step up in capability are cloud-based shipping systems that will connect to your online store and retrieve the details of your orders, thereby eliminating the need for much of the manual data entry. Many of these shipping systems have arrangements with postal and parcel carriers that are on par if not better than the options available through Shopify Shipping. Where these systems excel is in the efficiency of the fulfillment process. That translates in to a much higher volume of shipments per unit of time. These systems are relatively inexpensive and the reduction in the amount of labor and time it takes to ship your orders will pay dividends.
Option 4 – FreightDesk Online: FreightDesk Online (freightdesk.online) is also a cloud-based shipping system. It enjoys all of the benefits of other cloud-based offerings but expands the solution in two ways:
- It makes use of the detailed information collected by Eniture Technology’s quoting apps (like this one) such as the packaging solution and the additional services included in the shipping option chosen when the order was placed.
- It provideds merchants access to more than two dozen LTL freight providers in addition to the typical postal and parcel integrations offered by other cloud-based solutions.
These expanded capabilities deliver you closer to true “click-and-ship” shipping than any other alternative, whether you’re shipping with a postal carrier, a parcel carrier, or an LTL freight provider.
How to connect your Shopify store to FreightDesk Online |
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First, if you don’t already have one, register for a FreightDesk Online account (https://freightdesk.online/register). You can connect multiple online stores to FreightDesk Online, so you don’t have to create separate accounts for each one.
The pricing for FreightDesk Online is á la carte. You’ll be able to pick a separate plan for parcel (and postal) shipments, and for LTL freight shipments based on the anticipated volume for each type of shipping. Your monthly subscription rate will be comprised of these two selections. You can begin a 30-day trial of both types of shipping by selecting Trial in the corresponding dropdown fields on the registration form.
After you complete the registration process, log into FreightDesk Online. Click on your avatar located in the top right-hand corner of the browser window. Copy your FreightDesk Online ID which will be located below your company name.
Return to the app preferences and click on the FreightDesk Online tab. Enter your FreightDesk Online ID and click the Connect button.
Complete the connection by granting the permissions that Shopify prompts you for.
Now that you’ve connected FreightDesk Online, unfulfilled orders will automatically appear in FreightDesk Online. To view them, log into FreightDesk Online and click on Orders in the navigation menu. You’ll need to connect your shipping providers before you can start shipping. You can find a quick start guide in FreightDesk Online by navigating to Help > Getting Started.
Using Validate Addresses |
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– Benjamin Franklin
Shipping to invalid addresses is expensive and avoidable. The cost of failed deliveries, returned shipments, and carrier fees can quickly change a profitable sale into a loss. Without interfering with the Shopify checkout process, Eniture Technology’s DIY Validate Addresses app immediately identifies orders that are safe to ship or notifies customers to confirm or correct the address. Customer updates are instantly reflected in Shopify so you know when it’s safe to ship the order.
The peace of mind knowing that you are shipping to a valid address can cost as little as 1¢ per order. The DIY Validate Addresses app is available in the Shopify App Store, and more detailed product information, including the User Guide, is available on eniture.com. The links below will take you to these resources:
DIY Validate Addresses Shopify App Store Listing
DIY Validate Addresses product information on eniture.com