Couriers and shipping

What problems it solves

When waybills are made on the courier's website, someone retypes the name, phone, address and cash-on-delivery amount for every parcel. Each retype can introduce a mistake, and the mistake only shows when the parcel comes back. Then the tracking number is copied back into the order, if someone remembers.

The second half of the problem comes after dispatch. Statuses stay with the courier, COD statements arrive by email, and the courier's invoice is checked by eye, if at all. Money in transit becomes the hardest part of the business to see.

Our approach ties the order, the parcel and the money into one record. The waybill is issued with a button on the order, and everything the courier sends back (number, status, payout, charge) is added to that same record.

How it works

A parcel goes through a few clear moments, and each one is visible on screen.

1. The order arrives with the address the customer typed. The system checks it against the reference data of the courier that will carry the parcel, and recognises an office or locker if the customer wrote it in the wrong field.
2. If the address cannot be found, the order is flagged red and does not ship until someone confirms or fixes it. The message says exactly what is missing.
3. The operator sees which couriers and services can take the parcel, based on country, weight and delivery type, and picks one. Unsuitable options stay visible at the bottom with the reason.
4. On confirmation the waybill is created with the courier, its number is saved on the order and the label prints straight away.
5. The system pulls statuses from the courier and carries them into the order and the store. The customer is notified when the parcel is out for delivery and when it is delivered.
6. COD statements and courier invoices are matched to parcels by waybill number. A delivered COD order is marked as paid, and differences are shown line by line.

Two levels of courier connection

Not every courier offers a connection that lets our system create the waybill. So we work on two levels and list them separately further down the page.

With full integration the system connects to the courier directly: it creates the waybill, receives the label and number, and later pulls the statuses. You do not need to open another window.

With a manual number the waybill is made with the courier. Then the number is entered on the order, or the label is attached as a PDF and the system reads the number from it. From then on the parcel is visible, tracked and reported like all the others. Posts, smaller couriers and your own transport go through the same process, and the reports do not miss a single parcel.

A courier can move from the second level to the first when that makes sense. Orders and reports do not notice the difference, because the parcel record stays the same.

What you get

• A waybill from the order in one click, with no retyping and no separate portal.
• Address checks before dispatch, following the rules of the relevant courier and country.
• A label that prints the moment the order is confirmed, and a way to reprint it if the printer jams.
• A clear picture of the money held by couriers: what has been delivered, what has been paid out and what has not.
• Courier invoices checked against what the system expected to be charged.
• A report per courier on successful deliveries and returns that shows where parcels get stuck.

What it connects to

Couriers sit in the same database as orders, the warehouse and documents.

• Warehouse: the waybill is issued when a picked order is confirmed, and a returned parcel is scanned back into the warehouse.
• Online stores: the tracking number and statuses go back to the order in the online store.
• Checkout: our own shipping service can show the nearest offices and lockers while the customer is still ordering.
• Documents and money: cash on delivery, the return and the reversal are all tied to the same order.