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Shipping Methods

You can find this section under Shipping > Shipping Methods in the IRP Admin left navigation menu.

Shipping Methods are the services that you will use to ship products to your customers. You can set up Shipping Methods for all services provided by any courier.

Intersoft

IRP Commerce has partnered with Intersoft, a complete multi-carrier shipping integration solution, to enable the full and complete integration of Royal Mail, FedEx, DPD UK, DHL and other multiple carriers into the IRP order flow. Using Intersoft will allow all shipping actions to be implemented without leaving the IRP and provide substantial efficiency savings for all in-house dispatch operations where dispatch teams previously had to enter order data, print labels and pay for them from a separate system.

We are confident that this integration will help IRP clients to save money in real terms by introducing efficiency into their order processing via the IRP. It should allow teams to put any current time wasted on manual input and logging into different systems to better use.

For more details, see the How to Set Up the Intersoft Shipping Integration on the IRP help topic.

Parcelforce

Currently, IRP Commerce also provides a standalone Parcelforce integration. This is available for use, Free of Charge, for as long as it is supported by Parcelforce. If a time arrives in the future where Parcelforce require a change to this integration for it to continue to function, the Parcelforce Label solution will be migrated into the IRP Intersoft Shipping Gateway Licence and provided as a service from within this gateway along with the other carriers mentioned above.

Note on Royal Mail COSS
The Customer Own System Solution (COSS) from Royal Mail integration is currently being deprecated. This solution has been superseded by Intersoft and will therefore no longer be supported. Please contact your IRP Account Manager for more information.

ShippingMethods.aspx page

The ShippingMethods.aspx page appears as follows:

IRP Admin image

This shows the following details:

  • ID: The unique IRP identifier for this Shipping Method, created automatically by the IRP.
  • Priority: This is used when printing order sheets. Higher-priority Shipping Methods will have their sheets printed first. If priority shipping does not apply to your dispatch process, set this value to 0.
  • Carrier: The carrier to be used to provide shipping services.
  • Display Name: The name of this Shipping Method that will appear on the front end of the website.
  • Average Shipping Cost: The average ex-tax cost of this Shipping Method as charged to your company.
  • Label BackGround: This shows the label background for this Shipping Method, if one has been configured.
  • [Delete check box]: Check this box to select a Shipping Method for deletion. Subsequently, click the Delete Selected Shipping Methods button.
  • Create Label: Click this button to create an Ad-Hoc Postage Label for this Shipping Method. This takes you to the ShippingAdHocLabelEdit.aspx page – see the Ad-Hoc Postage Label help topic for more information.
  • Edit: Click this button to make changes to a Shipping Method configuration. For more details, see the How To articles below.

Overview video

Note: Currently videos are not maintained in line with each software release and therefore features may work slightly differently from the way they are shown.

How To Guides (6)

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How To Add or Edit a Basic Non-Integrated Shipping Method
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How to Set Up the Intersoft Shipping Integration on the IRP
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How to Add or Edit an Intersoft Shipping Method
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How To Set Up Parcelforce Shipping Integration

Setting up the Parcelforce Integration in the IRP is a three step process:

  1. Contact your Parcelforce Account Manager
  2. Set Up Shipping Methods
  3. Set Up Shipping Rules

These steps are defined in further detail below:

Contact your Parcelforce Account Manager

Contact your Parcelforce Account Manager and let them know that you are looking to use IRP Parcelforce Integration and require the following information. Several IRP customers currently use the Live Parcelforce Integration which should speed up the setup process.

You need to confirm the following with your Account Manager:

  • expressLink User Name
  • expressLink Password
  • For each Parcelforce Service you will be using, you will need:
    • Service Name
    • Contract Number
    • Account Number
    • Department Number
    • Tariff Code
    • Content Detail Description - general description to appear on label, e.g. Sports Equipment.

These details can be entered against each specific Shipping Method or as general values in the following Application Settings. If the relevant detail is not present against the Shipping Method, the default values set against the corresponding Application Settings will be used.

  • Parcelforce Express Link Content Detail Description
  • Parcelforce Express Link Contract Number
  • Parcelforce Express Link Department ID
  • Parcelforce Express Link Password
  • Parcelforce Express Link Tariff Code
  • Parcelforce Express Link Username
  • Parcelforce Express Link Web Service Url - Should be set to 'https://expresslink.parcelforce.net/ws'

At this stage you can also discuss Billing with your Account Manager in Order to pay for the Parcelforce Services that you will be using.

Set Up Shipping Methods

To add or edit a Parcelforce Shipping Method, follow these steps:

  1. Go to Shipping > Shipping Methods in the IRP Admin left navigation menu.
  2. To add a new Parcelforce Shipping Method, click the Add New Shipping Method button at the top of the screen.
    To edit an existing Parcelforce Shipping Method, click the Edit button at the right side of the Parcelforce Shipping Method that you want to edit.
  3. Enter or edit the following details:
    SettingDescription
    Shipping Method Details
    Shipping Method ID The unique IRP identifier for this Shipping Method. This is generated automatically when adding a Shipping Method.
    Display Name The Name of this Shipping Method that will appear on the front end of the website. Click the 'Translate' button to change the language you are editing.
    Manifest Name Where the Name to be displayed on a Collection Manifest is different to Shipping Method Name, enter a Manifest Name. Otherwise, the Name displayed on the Manifest will be equal to the Shipping Method Name. For example, a Shipping Method has a Name value of 'Parcelforce 1st Class'. Customers understand this value so it makes sense for this to appear on the front end. Parcelforce refer to this service as 'CRL01 - Packet Post Daily Rate 1c' and they require this Name to appear on the manifest.
    Integration Provider To set up a Parcelforce Shipping Method, you must select 'Parcelforce' here. This will allow you to enter the information gathered in the Contact your Parcelforce Account Manager step. We recommend that you enter all of the details available to you for each specific Shipping Method.
    Selecting 'Parcelforce' here will open the Parcelforce section, beneath the Shipping Method Details section.
    Taxable Check this box if you have to pay VAT on this method. In the vast majority of cases, this should be set to true. In the case of Royal Mail in the UK however, this should be false. Changing the Carrier above will set this to false if a Royal Mail integration type is selected.
    Earliest Ship Day The earliest point in the working week at which an item can be shipped.
    This should be defaulted to 'Monday 09:00'. If you are creating a Shipping Method specifically for Saturday shipping, you would set the value to 'Saturday 09:00'. This has no effect on availability of Shipping Methods on the front end.
    Latest Ship Day The latest point in the working week at which an item can be shipped.
    This should be defaulted to 'Friday 16:00'. If you are creating a Shipping Method specifically for Saturday shipping, you would set the value to 'Saturday 16:00'. This has no effect on availability of Shipping Methods on the front end.
    Priority This is used when printing ‘Approved’ Order sheets. Higher priority Shipping Methods will have their sheets printed first. If priority shipping does not apply to your dispatch process, set this value to 0.
    Auto-Dispatch Additional details requested when a parcel with this Shipping Method is being Auto-Dispatched.
    • Request Parcel Dimensions: Check this box to prompt the user to enter the width, length and height of the parcel prior to dispatch.
    • Request Parcel Weight: Check this box to prompt the user to enter the weight in kg of the parcel prior to dispatch.
    You should enable these settings only if the Shipping Method needs these details for Manifests or API calls.
    Default Parcel Type This setting will determine the default Parcel Type that will be allocated to orders being dispatched using this Shipping Method. See the Parcel Types help topic for more information.
    Tracking URL This is the full URL (including http://) that a customer can go to in order to enter their tracking code as provided in their emails and My Account. If it is possible to go straight to the exact parcel by putting the tracking code in the URL, put the placeholder ‘$$TrackingCode$$’ in the URL e.g. http://www.carrierwebsite.com/tracking?code=$$TrackingCode$$. The IRP will automatically replace that placeholder when required.
    Avg. Shipping Cost The average ex Tax Cost of this Shipping Method as charged to your company. This value is used for profit calculations. You must enter a numerical value for this setting.
    External Shipping Method ID (Optional) This is a way of identifying a shipping method using an external code if, for example, you want to use the value in feeds, etc.
    Ship Method Amazon The 'ship-method' sent to Amazon in the _POST_FLAT_FILE_FULFILLMENT_DATA_ Order Fulfilment Feed for this Shipping Method.
    Carrier Code Amazon The 'carrier-code' sent to Amazon in the _POST_FLAT_FILE_FULFILLMENT_DATA_ Order Fulfilment Feed for this Shipping Method.
    Carrier Name Amazon The 'carrier-name' sent to Amazon in the _POST_FLAT_FILE_FULFILLMENT_DATA_ Order Fulfilment Feed for this Shipping Method.
    Carrier Details eBay The Carrier value sent to eBay when tracking information is transmitted.
    Parcelforce
    Service The Parcelforce Service associated with this Parcelforce Shipping Method. This will determine what Postage Label is printed from the Auto Dispatch page.
    Method has Unique Settings If this Parcelforce Shipping Method has specific settings that are different to the global ExpressLink Application Settings stored on your IRP, click this checkbox to enable their entry using the settings described below.
    expressLink Username Parcelforce expressLink Username for this Shipping Method. If none is specified, the global Username will be taken from the website's Application Settings. This value must be entered in at least one location and will be unique to the client.
    expressLink Password Parcelforce expressLink Password for this Shipping Method. If none is specified, the global Username will be taken from the website's Application Settings. This value must be entered in at least one location and will be unique to the client.
    expressLink Contract Number Parcelforce expressLink Contract Number for this Shipping Method. If none is specified, the global Username will be taken from the website's Application Settings. This value must be entered in at least one location. As Contract Numbers can change per Service, it ideally should be entered here.
    expressLink Department ID The Parcelforce expressLink Department ID for this Shipping Method. If none is specified, the global Department ID will be taken from the website's Application Settings. This value must be entered in at least one location. As Department IDs can change per Service, it ideally should be entered here.
    expressLink Tariff Code Parcelforce expressLink Tariff Code for this Shipping Method. If none is specified, the global Username will be taken from the website's Application Settings. This is not a required detail and should only be added if provided by your Account Manager.
    expressLink Content Detail Description Parcelforce expressLink Content Detail Description for this Shipping Method. If none is specified, the global Username will be taken from the website's Application Settings. This is not a required detail and should only be added if provided by your Account Manager.
    expressLink Notifications Notifications to be sent to a Customer. If multiple Notifications are to be sent to a Customer, they should be delimited by a comma. The Notification options are as follows:
    EMAIL
    SMSDAYOFDESPATCH
    SMSDAYOFDELIVERY
    For multiples, an example would be:
    EMAIL,SMSDAYOFDELIVERY
    Front-End Display
    Checkout Display Information on this Shipping Method to be displayed on the Checkout > Postage Page. You can translate this into any active language in your system.
    HTML Description The HTML Description for this Shipping Method, to be displayed to the Customer on the front end ShippingMethodDisplay.aspx page.
    Display Info Information on this Shipping Method to be displayed beneath the Method name on the Postage.aspx page/Step 3 of the Checkout Process.
    Please note that the Parcelforce API takes care of label generation so you do not need to create and add a label for Parcelforce Shipping Methods.
  4. When you have entered or edited all of the details,  click the Insert Shipping Method / Update Shipping Method button.

You should repeat this step should  for each Parcelforce Service you plan to use.

Set Up Shipping Rules

With the Shipping Methods created, you can now set up the Shipping Rules for the Parcelforce Shipping Method that you have created. The How To Add or Edit a Shipping Rule article in the Shipping Rules section covers this process in detail.

Using the Parcelforce Shipping Integration

When you have set up the Integration, you should consult with your Account Manager to explain that it is now live.

You can use the Auto Dispatch Orders feature to auto dispatch Parcelforce Orders, adding the packages to the Parcelforce Manifest for the collection driver who will arrive at the times specified by your Account Manager. To do this, go to the main Orders.aspx page and click the Print Manifest button. This will allow you to print collection Manifests and Weight Reports for the various couriers currently integrated with the IRP.

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How To Set Up Royal Mail COSS (DEPRECATED)
Open
How To Set Up Royal Mail Shipping Integration (DEPRECATED)

FAQs (1)

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With Parcelforce, what do I do if a Shipping Method has specific settings that are different to the global ExpressLink Application Settings, for example if there is a different Contract Number ?
If, for example, you are supplied with two shipping Contract IDs from Parcelforce, add the main one with the most services attached to it in the Parcelforce Application Settings, and the second code behind the other Shipping Method in the Shipping Methods section. You can edit the Shipping Method as follows:

1. In the ‘Parcelforce’ section of the ShippingMethodEdit.aspx screen, check the box for ‘Method has Unique Settings’.
2. Add the different setting, for example the Contract Number.
3. Click ‘Update Shipping Method’.

All default Parcelforce settings can be amended in this way if a particular method has a unique variant on the value.
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