Earlier this week we took part in a webinar with the guys and girls over at Brightpearl. We explored the various ways you can automate your shipping and label production with Brightpearl and Shiptheory.
***"We have issues printing labels, when the label is printing from a Citizen label printer but label is being printed over two labels - so we are not able to use. How do we correct this?"***
This will depend on your label printer. If you are using a Citizen DPD (or Interlink) label printer such as the Citizen CL-S531, the label's are 4" x 4", you should be good for printing DPD and Interlink labels.
If you are trying to print larger carrier labels like Royal Mail, UPS, Fedex and a host of other labels, you'll need to find a larger label/printer or use our integrated label feature.
If you are finding that even your 4" x 4" are printing over 2 labels, check your printer settings are set to default paper size of the label you're using.
***"Can other carriers such as Interlink Express be integrated/ added to our list of carriers on Shiptheory?"***
Interlink Express is already supported,. You can enable Interlink by logging into Shiptheory and then navigating to https://shiptheory.com/couriers .
As a side note, if you need a carrier we don't have on our list, just let us know, we are happy to add any carrier to Shiptheory that people need.
***"Is there a function to include customer instructions automatically on labels printed via shiptheory?"***
Yes. In Brightpearl's case you'll need to tell us which field in Brightpearl you save your customer instructions in (A custom order field).
You can do this from the Brightpearl settings within Shiptheory. At the bottom of this page on the left, you'll see a small cog icon, click this to reveal some of the advanced settings. Under the advanced settings you'll find the option to specify 'Instructions Custom Field' Here you should put the name of the Brightpearl custom field. These traditionally start PCF_SOMETHING. Eg. PCF_INSTRUCTIONS
Make sure you hit save when you're done. Now any new shipments that are pulled down by Shiptheory for orders in Brightpearl that have instructions will get sent to the carrier (for carriers that support instructions/notes).
***"We would like to use integrated labels, but often have multiple packets per order, is this possible?"***
Yes and no... Unfortunately at present Brightpearl's API does not support us sending multiple labels back to the goods out note.
As an alternative, you can use Shiptheory's Integrated label's template builder which does support multiple integrated labels.
***"Can we send the customer a goods out note with a tracking link?"***
You can send the customer an email from Brightpearl once the tracking number has come back from Shiptheory into Brightpearl and onto the goods out note.
You may need to create a template for your email, more information on creating templates in Brightpearl can be found here.
"Can you change required fields on orders so telephone numbers are not required?"
If a carrier has a mandatory requirement for a telephone number we cannot override that requirement.
However, if you would like the telephone number to come from an alternative address field (ie. take the telephone number from the mobile field instead), let us know we have the ability to customise the data that is sent on an account by account basis.
"We had trouble with Royal Mail integration and were advised by RM that Shiptheory doesn't respond. Has this been resolved? this was re: API Key"
The short answer is yes, Shiptheory does support Royal Mail. The longer answer, Shiptheory supports 2 of Royal Mail's APIs.
The Royal Mail DMO Shipping API (SAPI). And Royal Mail's newly acquired (October 2015) NetDespatch API.
At present you will only be able to use the latter. If you already have API details for your Royal Mail DMO, you can get using it. However, you most likely wont be given API details by Royal Mail if you don't already have them. You'll need to contact us and we can request API access on your behalf.
We are currently waiting to receive a new partner agreement from Royal Mail that should remove the current hurdles and confusion here.
"How do you put that order barcode on a Brightpearl packing note."
You can add barcodes via the Brightpearl template manager. More information and a guide on how to do it can be found here.
"Where does the weight come from for the parcels"
The weight comes from the Brightpearl Goods out Note's weight field.
It is the sum weight of the product weights contained in the goods out note. However if you wish you can override the weight in Brightpearl by updating the goods out note manually. You can also update this weight on the Shiptheory side.
***"We have printers per work station, and each staff member prints labels as they pack each item, would this still be OK?"***
Yes. You can assign each user a different printer and they can all work simultaneously without interfering with other printers/computers.
"On Madcap we had a weight default per shipping method, are you saying that no longer works?"
You can specify a default weight per carrier in the advanced settings on any carrier's edit page in Shiptheory.
From a carrier edit page, at the bottom you'll see a small cog. Click the cog to see advanced settings, including the option for a default weight. Note the default weight is per carrier and not delivery service.
"Could you go back to the integrated label page so I can look at what data I can include as we currently looking at bespoke pickslips"
You can see the fields and an example of a integrated shipping label.
However you may find it easier to create a custom picking note in Brightpearl instead, documentation for Brightpearl's custom templates can be found here.
"Is telephone support available for Shiptheory? Nothing worse than having something break down and then having to wait ages for support via email."
We have 3 routes to support, backed by a ticketing system with a solid SLA.
We have in app chat, so you can chat to us live. All the guys you chat with are real people and work directly for us, no third party answering services. Our live chat is manned constantly during office hours and support desk is available 24/7.
You can request a call back through either of those methods for phone support.
In the event of an outage or fault, you can track the status on our Twitter and our status page.
***"Are there plans to support any of the parcel brokers who are normally far cheaper for parcels outside the EU than the couriers themselves?"***
We traditionally add 1-2 carriers per month, and work on a request/vote process.
If you need a specific carrier quickly, let us know and we'd be happy to look at bumping the request to the front of our development queue. As for specific carriers and pricing, this will depend on the weight, type of goods and destinations inside the EU as to the best carrier for you. If you have a carrier in mind, just let us know. The next carrier we will be adding is DPD Polska (due end of July).
***"Can you help us set up the templates for Parcelforce as they will not proceed with our test account until we can prove that our zebra label printer prints the labels without fault?"***
Of course, if you contact us over at support, we'd be happy to create some tests for you and liaise with Parcelforce for you.
***"Have you added Parcelforce local yet?"***
Yes. However you may have a separate Parcelforce account you wish to use for local deliveries, which you can achieve with shipping rules. We will be adding multiple instance support of carriers (so you can have 2 of the same carrier with different account details, connected to your Shiptheory account) on the 22nd of July 2016 (just over a week away).
***"Will labels manually created in Shiptheory still be available to print through MyDPD directly? Are all labels on shiptheory still available through ship@ease? Regardless of whether they are manually created in Shiptheory or automated from Brightpearl?"***
Yes all shipments created by Shiptheory are available to print, edit and delete in the MyDPD portal/site (Ship@Ease Web) as well as in Shiptheory. If you are using Ship@Ease Complete instead of Ship@Ease Web, then you will not see the shipments there as Ship@Ease Complete is not tied to the DPD API.
"Usually UPS asks for box dimensions, can these be added in?"
You can specify your regular dimensions in the UPS settings section in Shiptheory.
UPS dimensions are generally ignored unless you go over the following:
- Packages over 165 inches (419 cm) in length and girth combined.
- Packages over 108 inches (270 cm) in length.
***"What's the cost of using shiptheory with brightpearl?"***
Our pricing is split into tiers, you can find full pricing information here
Have another question?
If you have a question that was not answered here, please get in touch - We'd love to hear from you.
