About fulfillment configuration

In order to use Shipium’s APIs, your organization needs to establish your fulfillment network configurations within the Shipium platform. This document guides you through the fulfillment configuration workflow. For our preferred, more modern workflow, see Fulfillment Contexts.

Configuring settings for your fulfillment network enables your organization to fulfill shipments according to preset rules, requiring less hands-on maintenance on your part. To set up and maintain your fulfillment network via the fulfillment configuration workflow, you'll first need to access the Shipium Console.

Case sensitivity for unique IDs

The values you provide for optional unique identifiers during configuration are case sensitive.

This document guides you through the general process for configuring your fulfillment network settings, including for your fulfillment center, carriers, labels, carrier selection, and packaging. To access any of the fulfillment configuration settings, you'll select Fulfillment Configuration from the Configure menu.

About tenants in the Shipium platform

Within Shipium's ecommerce shipping platform, tenant refers to a customer on whose behalf your organization provides shipping services. For example, if your organization contracts with Customer A to ship their products to fulfill their customers' orders, Customer A is your tenant.

Why you might use tenants with Shipium

If your organization engages with tenants, or individual shippers, to transport goods on their behalf via your carrier relationships, you may want to configure settings for each of your tenants, for a subset of your tenants, or for all your tenants at once. Within Shipium's Tenants feature, you can configure specific rulesets for your tenants to automate functionality for less hands-on management for your organization.

Use tenant configuration for a return address

Your organization may wish to configure a return address for your tenant(s). A return address is not the same as a customer return address.

• For a return address, in the case of an undeliverable package (for any reason), the package would be returned to the sender's address (the destination of the package return).
• For a customer return address, a return address label is included in the package and is available to a partner's customer to return an unwanted or damaged product.

You can configure a tenant return address by setting up an address for your tenant, which typically prints in the upper left corner of the shipping label.

How the return address works in Shipium's platform

Your organization can configure a return address in multiple places within the Shipium platform. However, we've established a hierarchy that ensures retrieval of the most accurate return address.

1. Tenant. The tenant is the first place Shipium searches for a return address. Shipium will search for a return address that your organization has specified for the origin from which the shipment is leaving.
2. Carrier Account. The carrier account is the second place Shipium searches for a return address. Some carriers require a return address; in those cases, you can configure those carrier addresses in the Shipium Console.
3. Partner. Similar to the option to add a return address when configuring a tenant within the Shipium Console, Shipium soon will offer this configuration ability at the partner level for partners who use the Tenants feature.
4. Origin Ship-From Address. If Tenant, Carrier Account, or Partner is not configured for a return address, Shipium will use the address of the origin for the return address. You can configure your organization's fulfillment center address in the Shipium Console.

Fulfillment center configuration

The first step is to set up your physical locations, such as warehouses and fulfillment centers. This is the foundation of your fulfillment network.

Within the fulfillment configuration menu, you'll see the Fulfillment Center Configuration section with individual cards for each asset associated with the fulfillment center: Origins, Addresses, Schedules, Contacts, Returns, and Carrier Shipment Lane Configurations. The following sections provide the suggesting sequencing for these configurations.

Addresses

You can edit or view details for existing addresses in the Addresses homepage. You'll select the Add Address button and provide the following details to add a new one.

• Address ID Alias. An optional identification for the address you can reference in calls to our APIs
• Address Name. A human readable name for the address
• Address Description. An optional description for the address
• Address Location. The physical location of the address
• Tenant Select. If the address belongs to a tenant in your organization, you'll select it from the dropdown menu.

Contacts

You can edit or view details for existing contacts in the Contacts homepage. To Add Contacts, you'll need to provide the following details.

• Contact Email. The email address for the contact
• Contact Full Name. The name for the contact
• Contact Phone. The phone number for the contact
• Contact ID Alias. An optional unique identification for the contact you can reference in calls to our APIs
• Contact Name. A human readable name to help disambiguate multiple entries for the contact
• Contact Description. An optional description for the contact
• Tenant Select. If the contact belongs to a tenant in your organization, you'll select it from the dropdown menu.

Origins

You can edit or view details for existing origins in the Origins homepage. To Add Origins, you'll need to provide the following details.

• Origin Type. You'll select from the dropdown menu: Fulfillment Center, At Large, or Store.
• Origin ID Alias. An optional identification for the origin you can reference in calls to our APIs
• Origin Name. A human readable name for the origin
• Origin Description. An optional description for the origin
• FC Address. The physical location of the origin; you can select an existing address from the dropdown menu or add a new one.
• Schedule. The operating hours for the origin; you can select an existing schedule from the dropdown menu or add a new one.
• FC Contact. The contact person for the origin; you can select an existing contact from the dropdown menu or add a new one.
• Tenant Select. If the origin belongs to a tenant in your organization, you'll select it from the dropdown menu.

Schedules

You can edit or view details for existing schedules in the Schedules homepage. You'll select the Add Schedule button and provide the following details to add a new one.

• Schedule ID Alias. An optional identification for the schedule you can reference in calls to our APIs
• Schedule Name. A human readable name for the schedule
• Schedule Description. An optional description for the schedule
• Add a Schedule. You'll create a schedule entry for your fulfillment network, which is essentially an operations calendar for your origin. You can add additional future entries later.
• Tenant Schedule. If the schedule belongs to a tenant in your organization, you'll select it from the dropdown menu.

Returns

You can edit or view details for existing returns settings in the Returns homepage. To Add Returns Settings, you'll need to provide the following details.

• Return ID Alias. An optional identification for the return settings you can reference in calls to our APIs
• Address. The physical location for the returns setting; you can select an existing one from the dropdown menu or add a new one.
• Contact. The contact for the returns setting; you can select an existing one from the dropdown menu or add a new one.
• Name. A human readable name for the returns settings
• Description. An optional description for the returns settings

Carrier shipment lane configurations

You can edit or view details for existing shipment lane configurations in the Carrier Shipment Lane Configurations homepage. To Add Carrier Shipment Lane Configuration, you'll need to provide the following details.

• Carrier. You'll select the carrier to apply to the shipment lane configuration from a dropdown menu.
• Name. A human readable name for the shipment lane configuration
• Description. An optional description for the shipment lane configuration
• Shipment Lanes. You'll select shipment lanes to add to the configuration from a dropdown menu.

Packaging configuration

Before you configure your carriers and rates, you should define the packages you use. This is where you'll set up your individual packaging (defining the dimensions and weights of your boxes, envelopes, etc.) and group them into packaging sets.

Packaging

You can edit existing packaging configurations or add a new one. To Add Packaging, you'll provide the following details.

• Linear Unit. You'll choose inches or centimeters from the dropdown menu.
• Weight Unit. You'll select pounds or kilograms from the dropdown menu.
• Packaging Material. You'll chose from box, envelope, or flat pack from the dropdown menu.
• Unsupported Product Details. You can multi-select the types of products not supported for the packaging configuration: ORMD, LIO (lithium-ion), and Fragile.
• Name. A human readable name for the packaging configuration
• Packaging ID Alias. An optional identification for the packaging configuration you can reference in calls to our APIs
• Description. An optional description for the packaging configuration

Packaging set

You can edit existing packaging set configurations or add a new one. To Add Packaging Set, you'll provide the following details.

• Name. A human readable name for the packaging set
• Packaging Set ID Alias. An optional identification for the packaging set you can reference in calls to our APIs
• Description. An optional description for the packaging set
• Packaging Select. You'll choose the packaging that should apply to the packaging set.

Carrier configuration

With your origins and packages defined, you can move on to configuring your carriers, accounts, service methods, and rates.

Carrier accounts

This is where you establish the connection with your shipping carriers. You'll add a new carrier account and enter your specific account credentials (e.g., account number, API keys). Within the Carrier Accounts homepage, you can edit existing accounts or add a new one.

To Add Carrier Accounts, you'll provide the following details. The information requested or required differs by carrier, including account credentials; however, the following fields appear for all carriers.

• Carrier. You'll select the applicable carrier from the dropdown menu.
• Return To Address. An optional return-to address; some carriers require this address.
• USPPI Address. The U.S. Principal Party in Interest address; some carriers require this address for international shipments.
• USPPI Contact. The USPPI contact for this carrier account
• Cost Center. An optional cost center identifier
• Carrier Account ID Alias. An optional identification you can reference in calls to our APIs
• Carrier Account Name. A human readable name for the carrier account; Shipium recommends choosing something that involves the carrier name.
• Carrier Account Description. An optional description for the carrier account; Shipium recommends something that uses the carrier name along with additional description to help you differentiate the carrier account from another.
• Tenant Select. If the carrier account belongs to a tenant in your organization, you'll select it from the dropdown menu.

Carrier settings

Within the Carrier Settings homepage, you can edit existing carrier settings or add new settings. To Add Carrier Settings, you'll provide the following details. The information requested or required differs by carrier, but the following fields appear for all carriers.

• Carrier Select. You'll select the applicable carrier from the dropdown menu.
• Carrier Settings ID Alias. An optional unique identification you can reference in calls to our APIs
• Carrier Settings Description. An optional description for the carrier settings
• Label Failover. Sometimes carrier label APIs will fail. If you enable label failover, we can either not generate the label or use the next best carrier in the event of an API failure.
• Volume Overage. If you have volume-tiered peak surcharges, this number represents the percentage difference between average daily volume versus holiday volume.
• LQ Exempt. If your organization is LQ exempt for the carrier, you'll select yes.
• Peak Surcharge. If your organization is eligible for peak surcharges for the carrier, you'll select yes.
• Add Tags. You can associate an existing tag with the carrier settings by choosing it from the dropdown menu or add a new one.
• Tenant Select. If the carrier settings belong to a tenant in your organization, you'll select it from the dropdown menu.

Carrier rates

Rate tables are a way for your organization to configure carrier service rates within the Shipium Console. For each carrier service method that you add, you will also need to update your rate table and any surcharge modifiers associated with your account. These should have been made available to you either as part of signing up for an account with a carrier or as part of your negotiations for rates.

Within the Carrier Rates homepage, you can edit existing carrier rates or add new ones. To Add Carrier Rate, you'll provide the following details.

• Name. A human readable name for the carrier rate
• Description. An optional description for the carrier rate
• Carrier. You'll select the applicable carrier from the dropdown menu.
• Carrier Service Method. You'll select the applicable service method from the dropdown menu. Your selection will enable other fields to populate, depending on the carrier service method.
• Allowed Destination Type. You'll choose All, Commercial, or Residential from the dropdown menu.
• Currency. You'll select the desired currency from the dropdown menu.

Dimensional weight configuration

As part of your carrier rate setup, you can establish any dimensional weight configurations.

• Dimensional Weight Volume Threshold. Optional. You may have a custom dimensional weight volume threshold for the applicable carrier service method. This value represents the minimum volume required for any package for any dimensional weight divisor to be applied, whether it's a single or tiered divisor.
• Dimensional Weight Volume Discount Factors. Optional. You can add volume discount factors according to packaging material, to be applied against the package volume before the dimensional weight is applied.
• Dimensional Weight Calculation Type. _Optional, but required if configuring a dimensional weight volume threshold._You can choose between normal (single) and tiered divisors for calculating the dimensional weight.

Rate table entries

Once you have rate table entries configured, you'll see a listing of them in the lefthand column in the Rate Table Entries section.

• Rate Table Start Date. Required. You'll select the date on which you wish the carrier rate to start applying.
• Rate Table End Date. Required. You'll select the date on which you wish the carrier rate to stop applying.
• Rating Type. Choices for the type of rating are determined by the carrier service method you selected in the previous step. Options include: Shipium Costing, Carrier Rating, and Uncosted.
• Negotiated Surcharge Overrides. Optional. When creating a rate, you may also elect to enter any surcharge overrides your organization has negotiated with the carrier applicable to the service method for which you're creating the rate.

Rate sheet configuration

Three types of rate sheets can be configured. Standard rate sheets, Remote rate sheets, and Multiparcel rate sheets. In addition, cubic rate cards may be uploaded for carriers shipping with USPS for part of the delivery transport.

Standard rate sheet

The standard rate sheet is the default option, unless you've selected a USPS service method that qualifies for remote rates.

• Weight Rate Sheet. Optional. You may download a CSV file to complete with the carrier service method rates and upload the CSV file back to the console.
• Cubic Rate Sheet. Optional. You also can download a CSV file to complete with the carrier service method rates to upload for your cubic rates.
• Rate Shopping Cost Modifier. Optional. You may have a cost modifier for this carrier rate.

Remote rate sheet

For certain USPS service methods, you can add a remote rate sheet.

Multiparcel rate sheet

Nationex uses a dual rate sheet system to rate multiparcel shipments. If you're using this carrier, you'll need to upload a multiparcel rate sheet in addition to the standard rate sheet.

Carrier rate sets

Within the Carrier Rate Sets homepage, you can edit existing carrier rate sets or add new ones. To Add Carrier Rate Sets, you'll provide the following details.

• Carrier. You'll select the desired carrier from the dropdown menu.
• Rate Set Entries. You'll choose the carrier rates to apply to the rate set.
• Rate Set ID Alias. An optional identification for the carrier rate set you can reference in calls to our APIs
• Rate Set Name. A human readable name for the rate set
• Rate Set Description. An optional description for the rate set

Contracts

Within the Contracts homepage, you can edit existing carrier contracts or add new ones. To Add Contracts, you'll provide the following details.

• Carrier. You'll select the desired carrier from the dropdown menu.
• Contract ID Alias. An optional identification for the carrier contract you can reference in calls to our APIs
• Contract Name. A human readable name for the contract
• Contract Description. An optional description for the contract

Label configuration

In order to print labels, you will need to to configure what kinds of labels are used in your fulfillment centers, or origins. For each fulfillment center, you will need to add a label configuration in order to be able to generate labels for that fulfillment center.

Label properties

This is the step to define the format, size, and other properties of your shipping labels. Within the Label Properties homepage, you can edit existing label properties or add new ones. To Add Label Properties, you'll provide the following details.

• Linear Unit. You'll choose inches or centimeters from the dropdown menu.
• Label Height. The height of your labels
• Label Width. The width of your labels
• Label Orientation. You'll choose from the orientation options in the dropdown menu: No Rotation, 90 Degrees, 180 Degrees, or 270 Degrees.
• Label DPI. The dots per inch for the label; you'll select an option from the dropdown menu: 203, 300, or 600.
• Label Properties ID Alias. An optional identification for the label properties you can reference in calls to our APIs
• Name. A human readable name for the label properties
• Description. An optional description for the label properties

Carrier selection configuration

You'll define the logic for how carriers are selected for each shipment for your organization. Carrier configuration should be completed ahead of this setup.

Tags

Tags are simple labels that you can create and then apply to other assets in the Shipium system, such as carriers, service methods, or fulfillment contexts. They are used to group and identify assets.

Within the Tags homepage, you can edit existing tags or add new ones. To Add Tags, you'll provide the following details.

• Tag ID Alias. An optional identification for the tag you can reference in calls to our APIs
• Tag. A string value for the tag
• Name. A human readable name for the tag
• Description. An optional description for the tag

Tenants

Within the Tenants homepage, you can edit existing tenants or add new ones. To Add Tenant, you'll provide the following details.

• Tenant ID Alias. An optional identification for the tenant you can reference in calls to our APIs
• Name. A human readable name for the tenant
• Description. An optional description for the tenant
• Tax Identification Number. The tenant's employer identification number (EIN); required to ship internationally

Third party billing groups

You'll first create a Third Party Billing Group and then add individual Third Party Billing Accounts to that group. Within the Third Party Billing Groups homepage, you can edit existing groups or add new ones. To Add Third Party Billing Group, you'll provide the following details.

• Third Party Billing Account Group ID Alias. An optional identification for the third party billing group you can reference in calls to our APIs
• Group Name. A human readable name for the third party billing group

Return to address overrides

This feature allows you to specify a different return address for specific situations, overriding the default return address. Within the Return to Address Overrides homepage, you can edit existing overrides or add new ones. To Add Return to Address Overrides, you'll provide the following details.

• Unique Identifier. An optional identification for the override you can reference in calls to our APIs
• Name. A human readable name for the override
• Description. An optional description for the override

Fulfillment contexts

A fulfillment context is a collection of settings that defines how a shipment is processed. It brings together your origins, carriers, tenants, and other configurations. Within the Fulfillment Contexts homepage, you can edit existing contexts or add new ones. To Add Fulfillment Contexts, you'll provide the following details.

• Fulfillment Context Name. A human readable name for the fulfillment context
• Fulfillment Context Type. You'll select the type from a dropdown menu: Customer, Hundredweight, Returns, or At Large.

Carrier selection overrides

This allows you to override the default carrier selection logic for specific scenarios. To Add a New Carrier Selection Override, you'll provide the following details.

• Override Type. You'll select either Pause or Test Mode from the dropdown menu.