Basic Guide To Shipping Methods
Now that you're familiar with the fundamentals of Shipping, here’s a basic guide to creating and managing your shipping methods tailored to your business needs. Whether you're setting up a new shipping method or editing an existing one, this guide ensures a seamless process to effectively manage your shipping operations. Follow these steps to optimize your shipping configurations, ensuring reliable and efficient delivery services for your customers.
Upon logging in, navigate to the side menu of the Upstart Commerce Portal, go to Shipping, and click on Shipping Methods. Now, you can easily create a new shipping method or choose from the list of existing ones to view and update as needed.
Initiate the shipping method creation process by clicking on the + icon at the top-right in the Shipping Methods section.
Once you've initiated the shipping method creation process, provide essential details for your carrier including:
- Associate to Website: Associate the shipping method with your existing site's list using the dropdown menu. This ensures the shipping method is linked with all the relevant sites.
- Shipping Method Name: Enter a unique and descriptive name for the new shipping method.
- Tax Code: Specify the tax code associated with the shipping method. The tax code plays a role in specifying the tax percentage on the shipping cost.
- Shipping Calculator: This tool works behind the scenes to calculate the shipping cost for your chosen method. Depending on the Shipping Calculator option you select from the dropdown menu, you must tweak some additional settings.
While selecting the shipping calculator, you have various options, each with its own configuration steps. These calculators help you determine shipping costs. Depending on the calculator you choose, you can add different carrier options. After setting up a carrier during the creation of the shipping method, make sure to assign a tracking URL to each newly created carrier using their unique carrier Id in the Carriers section in Shipping Management. This ensures accurate tracking of customers’ orders in the Carrier section of Shipping Management.
Store Delivery
The Store Delivery option lets customers pick up their purchased items from a nearby store instead of having them delivered. To set this up:
- Choose the Store Delivery option from the Shipping Calculator dropdown menu.
- Click the Save button to save the shipping method.
FixedRate
For FixedRate shipping, you'll set one standard rate that applies to all locations and services.
- Choose the FixedRate option from the dropdown menu.
- In the Fixed Rate Calculator section, input estimated delivery dates in the Carrier Delivery Dates field and set a fixed shipping Price.
- Finally, hit the Save button to save your changes.
ShipEngine
With the ShipEngine Calculator, you can easily link up with third-party carrier services and set up a real-time rate calculator right on your online store's checkout page. Here's how to do it:
- Select the ShipEngine option from the dropdown menu.
- Click on Set Carrier Id and pick your preferred third-party carrier service from the Carrier Identifier dropdown menu.
- Choose the services you want to offer by clicking the checkboxes in the Service Code Selection section. You can select multiple services from the dropdown menu.
- To add more carriers, simply click the Add Carrier button and repeat the previous steps.
- Now, choose a Default Service Code from the dropdown menu in the ShipEngine Calculator section. This will be the default carrier service if the customer doesn't select a specific option during checkout.
- Finally, click the Save button to save the shipping method.
FixedRates
For FixedRates, you have the option to offer multiple carriers for your customers to choose from based on their preferences. The shipping rate calculation depends on the carrier and service code you define. Here's how you can set it up:
- Select the FixedRates option from the dropdown menu.
- Click Set Carrier Id to add a carrier and then fill in the following details in the Carrier Properties section which appears once you click on it.
- Rate Id: An identifier for a specific shipping rate within the system, used for internal tracking and management.
- Service Code: A code assigned to each shipping service offered by a carrier, distinguishing between different types of services such as standard or express shipping.
- Carrier Code: A unique identifier for a carrier integrated into the shipping management system, distinguishing one carrier from another.
- Service Type: Indicates the nature or category of the shipping service, such as domestic or international, ground or air shipping.
- Delivery Dates: Estimated or guaranteed dates for the delivery of shipments, providing customers with information on when they can expect to receive their orders.
- Price: The cost associated with the shipping service, may vary based on factors like shipping method, carrier service, destination, and package specifications.
- Click Add Carrier to add multiple carriers, if needed, and repeat the previous steps to fill out the previously mentioned fields.
- Once you've added multiple carriers, make sure to choose a Default Service Code from the dropdown menu in the Fixed Rates Calculator section. This will automatically select a default carrier if the consumer doesn’t pick any specific option during checkout.
- Click the Save button to finalize your settings.
Upon logging in, navigate to the side menu of the Upstart Commerce Portal, go to Shipping, and click on Shipping Methods. You can now choose a shipping method from the list of existing ones and edit it by clicking the edit icon.
Update any necessary details, such as linking the shipping method to a new site, or modifying the details such as the Shipping Method Name, Tax Code, or Shipping Calculator.
Once you've made your changes, click the Save button to save your updates.
