Overview
Rootstock has integrated UPS and FedEx APIs in order to make webservices calls to them to fetch “standard” pricing for freight directly from a given Sales Order, allowing users to easily get pricing by Sales Order Line, marked up when the user sets up Rootstock to do so.
Application
The process depends on setting up Container Types using valid Packaging Type Codes for UPS and/or FedEx. Having done so, the number and weight of “packages” are determined in order to determine the total Freight Cost. The number and cost of individual packages are visible on the given SO Header once the fetch is done.
Freight Costs obtained are written directly to the SO Line (and “sum to SO Header” is set up to do so). Both the Freight Cost and Freight “Amount” (Freight Cost + Markup) are displayed on the given SO Line.
Terminology
Official Carrier: A Carrier identified as an “official” FedEx or UPS carrier
Service Type: This is akin to what is referred to in Rootstock as Shipping Method (aka Ship Via) – it is a service such as “ground”, “air”, “next day air”, “2-day air”, and so on.
Packaging Type :The type of package used, as defined by Carriers (FedEx and UPS)
Tare Weight: The weight of the packaging (only) for a given product; also used for the weight of a “container”.
Container (aka Container Type): Represents the type of container that shipments are placed in, such as “box”, “crate”, “pallet” and so on.
Address of Origination (aka Primary Shipping Address in Rootstock): The sender’s address from which shipments are made.
Package: A Carrier’s individual container or package
Freight Cost: The cost derived from FedEx or UPS web-services call
Freight Amount: The value of the freight that would be charged to the customer, marked up by defined markup percentage.
Conditions
- Carrier size limits, units of measure (e.g., inches vs feet) and weight restrictions by Package Type must be conformed to when setting up relevant data in Rootstock. Rootstock does not “force” these, as restrictions vary by Carrier (and wouldn’t be applicable when not using FedEx or UPS).
- Rootstock strips off Postal Code characters that exceed characters as some carriers (and USPS in particular) require a 5-digit Postal Code.
- Country and State/Province Codes, too, must conform to UPS and FedEx requirements (e.g., United States = US, California = CA). Postal codes must be valid and consistent with the State/Province associated with them.
- Units of Measure for dimensions must be in inches/centimeters or feet/meters in order to calculate Freight Costs. Weights must be in pounds or kilograms in order to calculate Freight Costs.
- Packaging Types and Service Types need to match those used by UPS or FedEx (some of which are define in Appendix A)
Setup
Units of Measure (SYUOM)
Navigation
Unit of Measure Master
Action
Ensure that the following Units of Measure (UOM) are established
LBS = Pounds UOM Code can be any value as long as “pound” is in the UOM Code Description
KG = Kilograms UOM Code can be any value as long as “kilogram” is in the UOM Code Description
IN = Inches UOM Code can be any value as long as “inch” is in the UOM Code Description
FT = Feet UOM Code can be any value as long as “feet” or “foot” is in the UOM Code Description
CM = Centimeter UOM Code can be any value as long as “centimeter” is in the UOM Code Description
MTR = Meters UOM Code can be any value as long as “meter” is in the UOM Code Description
Sales Order Control (SOCNTL)
Navigation
Sales Order Control
Action
Set Sales Order Control > Order Processing tab > ‘Weight UOM’ field with any UOM with “pound” or “kilogram” in the UOM Code Description field
Set Sales Order Control > Credit, Charges & Commissions tab > ‘Default Freight Markup Percent' optional numeric field that can be set in to default field 'Freight Markup Percent' when SO Headers are created, which can then be overriden. The value entered is used to inflate the freight charges passed along to the Customer.
Container Types (SOCONTYPE)
Navigation
Container Type
Action
Create containers, defining dimensions (in inches, feet, centimeters or meters), Dimension UOM and Tare Weight. Set FedEx and UPS Packaging Type Codes to valid value for said Carriers.
NOTE Fed Ex and UPS Packaging Type Code: When Carrier is marked as official for Fedex/UPS, this is the Packaging Type code required for obtaining freight costs from FedEx/UPS. Value must match FedEx/UPS Packaging Codes exactly. Codes have been pre-populated as a reference only, but picklist values may be modified by users as appropriate. See carrier for current comprehensive listing.
Products (SOPROD)
Navigation
Products
Action
Set Product Master > Order Processing tab > ‘Default Container Type’ and ‘Default Qty Per Container’ fields
Set Product Master > Product Attributes tab > Weight (in pounds or kilograms)
Ship Method Type Code (SYSHIPVIATYPE)
Navigation
Shipping Methods
Action
Create or modify Shipping Methods for each Service Type
IMPORTANT The ‘Shipping Method’ Code must match the Service Type Code used by given Carrier. These values must be entered as the numeric/text value provided by the carrier (see example of codes, from below list: FEDEX_2_DAY, FEDEX_GROUND, 01, 02, 03 ....).
Below is a list of Service Types by Carrier – as a reference only, see specific Carrier for current comprehensive listing.
Fedex
FEDEX_1_DAY_FREIGHT
FEDEX_2_DAY
FEDEX_2_DAY_AM
FEDEX_2_DAY_FREIGHT
FEDEX_3_DAY_FREIGHT
FEDEX_EXPRESS_SAVER
FEDEX_FIRST_FREIGHT
FEDEX_GROUND
FIRST_OVERNIGHT
GROUND_HOME_DELIVERY
PRIORITY_OVERNIGHT
SMART_POST
STANDARD_OVERNIGHT
UPS (only the numeric part of below list is to be set for the field 'Code' on the 'Ship Method Type Code' record)
01 Next Day Air
02 2nd Day Air
03 Ground
12 3 Day Select
13 Next Day Air Saver
14 UPS Next Day Air Early
59 2nd Day Air A.M.
Carriers (SYCARRIER)
Navigation
Sales Order Setup > Carriers
Action
Add or modify Carriers, setting ‘Official XXXX Carrier Code’ (where XXXX = FedEx, UPS and/or USPS).
Set Carrier API User ID
NOTE A given Carrier can only be the “official” Carrier for one “service” (FedEx, UPS or USPS) and only one Carrier can be identified as such.
Shipping Method By Carrier (SOCARRIERVIA)
Navigation
Carriers > Shipment Methods for Carrier tab
Action
Associate Ship Method with Carrier
Each “official” carrier must have at least one ‘Shipping Method by Carrier’, and will likely have several, one for each “Service Type” – Ground, Next Day Air, 2 Day Air, etc.
Division Address (SYDIVADDR)
Navigation
Division Master
Action
Where Address Type is set to “Shipping Address” or “Both”, be sure that City, State/Province code, Country code and Zip/Postal code are valid as required by the given Carrier. Note, too, that Zip/Postal Code must be correct for the given State/Province.
Customer Ship-To Address (SOCADDR)
Navigation
Customers > Customer Address tab – Ship-To Addresses
Action
For any Ship-To Address, be sure that City, State/Province code, Country code and Zip/Postal code are valid as required by given Carrier. Note, too, that Zip/Postal Code must be correct for the given State/Province.
Under Customer Address tab, click on Edit (under Action column) and verify/adjust any address that has ‘As Ship to’ checked.
Processing
1. Create a Sales Order, making sure that the Customer defaults for Carrier and Default Ship Method reflect an “official” FedEx or UPS Carrier record with a corresponding Shipping Method whose description matches the Carrier’s Service Type. Go to Sales Order > Advanced section > Shipping tab. User can also set an optional value for field 'Freight Markup Percentage' (defaulted from SO Control record), used to inflate the freight charges passed along to the Customer.
NOTE To verify that required Recipient Information contains a proper address, postal code, contact name, phone number and email, go to Sales Order > Addresses button > Ship-To tab.
2. Add Sales Order Lines, which also carry Carrier and Shipping Method values from header, but which can be overridden. If overridden, be sure it is with an “offical” FedEx or UPS Line Carrier and a Ship Method whose description matches the Carrier’s Service Type. Go to Sales Order > Sales Order Line > Additional tab > Ship-To Settings. When processing the API call, the values from the SO Line will be the ones use for the rate request.
3. When the order is properly configured, go to Sales Order Entry > Sales Orders > Advanced tab > Shipping tab and note the ‘Calculate Freight Charges’ button and ‘Order Package Detail’ button.
4. Click on the ‘Calculate Freight Charge’ button. After doing so, a pop-up window will appear. If there is a problem with the data, an error message will appear in the far right of the box that describes the error for each SO Line, if no issues are encountered, the number of created packages per line will be listed. If there are issues, they can be corrected and the button 'Calculate Freight Charge’ pressed again afterwards.
5. Click on ‘Order Package Detail’ to see the individual “packages” calculated and the Freight Cost for each.
NOTE Changes can be made at any point prior to shipment and this process can be re-done to recalculate packages and Freight Costs.
6. Go to Sales Order Entry > SO Line > Additional section > Charges tab, to view Freight Cost and Freight Amount derived for that specific SO Line. The total of the package amounts for a given SO Line will be summed and set on field 'Freight Cost'. The 'Freight Amount' will be calculated using the 'Freight Markup Percentage'
If the order is set to ‘Sum Freight from Lines’, the SO total Freight Amount can be view by going to SO Entry > Advanced section > Charges tab
SEE ALSO
