Thread: Implementing Real Time Shipping

Hello,

I've been tasked with implementing real time UPS shipping for our site. We have around 10,000 items and most of them are very small and very light (it's jewelry, mostly earrings and other small items).

Can anyone direct me to a guide or information on how to dig into this project? What information do I need? Exact weight (I say exact because my suporvisor seems to think we should be able to "guestimate" on some items)? Exact dimensions of each item (most of which come in a small bag less than 1"x1")?

Really, at this point I understand the concept of real time shipping, but I'm a little befuddled when it comes to accurately implementing it. Where can I go for details on how to do this?

The first thing you will want to do is review the User's Guide for RTShipping setup.

An important setting for you may be the AppConfig: RTShipping.DefaultItemWeight which is used when a product doesn't have a shipping weight established. This is for the typical weight of the packaged item ready to ship, not the item itself.

The package dimensions are only necessary if you have a product using: *Is Ship Separately: YES , otherwise the rates only consider the product weights.

I imagine you will be using a few specific box sizes to ship the small items, but certainly not 1" x 1". You would want something that is small enough to not get misplaced easily, yet not so large that it costs more than necessary.

As far as 'exact' weights and dimensions, discuss this with the UPS rep as to where the cost breaks are and what would be most efficient.

Thanks. So I take it this isn't something I'll be able to do without the help of a UPS rep?

You'll probably end up talking to them to figure out the dimensions of boxes you're going to use, get your account info (if you don't already have it), etc., but setting everything up in the software isn't that bad, you shouldn't end up needing much help there.