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Set up and configure Shipment Completion

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Malene Tidemann
Updated

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Introduction - What is Shipment Completion?

Shipment Completion is a functionality that can complete parcels into the same shipment if a similar shipment already exists in Outbox. This functionality can be attractive if the freight costs of multiple parcels within one shipment are cheaper than multiple shipments.

Shipment Completion is activated by default, and the first time it is used, you will be prompted with a dialog box asking you if you want to complete a shipment with another shipment in the outbox. You will also get the option to check "Remember my answer for all products of this subcarrier (don't ask again)".

 

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Note: Not all carriers support Shipment Completion.

 

 

Activate and configure Shipment Completion

Shipment completion is activated by default with default settings if supported by the carrier, but you can manually add the setup item to change how it is configured. 

  1. Go to Setup in nShift On-premises. On the desired Carrier / Subcarrier / Product level right-click in the pane to the right of the setup tree and choose New > Shipment Completion. If the Shipment Completion setup item was added by nShift during the configuration of your carrier, locate it and double-click to open it. 

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  2. Choose when shipment completion should be applied. 

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  3. Click the Equality requirements button if you need to add or remove any of the equality requirements. These requirements determine whether two shipments should be completed or not.

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  4. Click OK to save.

     

Manual Completion and troubleshooting

Manual completion can be used to complete specific shipments without running automatic completion. It is also useful for troubleshooting. If automatic Shipment Completion is not working, you can do a manual completion to investigate why it is not working.

  1. Open the Shipment Completion settings and check Manual completion (from outbox) and Allow completion of equal shipment numbers. 

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  2. Go to Outbox. Mark the shipments you want to complete, right-click, and choose Complete selected shipments.

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  3. Click Validate to check for any errors preventing completion. Any errors will be stated in the Error column. If the status is green you can click Complete to finish the completion. 

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Troubleshooting

Note: Some Carriers do not allow shipment completion at all. 

 

Shipment Completion - Setup Item Settings

The settings within the Shipment Completion - Setup Item are the primary drivers of merging behavior. Incorrect settings are a major reason for shipments not merging.

Equality Requirements (Data Matching)

Beyond the general settings, "Equality Requirements" determine if data fields within shipments must match for a merge to happen. Common examples are:

  • Address Mismatch: The receiver address details (name, street, postcode, city, state, and country) must be identical across shipments for merging.
  • Other Fields: You can enable additional fields like "Order number" or "Reference" as mandatory for matching. If these values differ, the merge will be blocked.

Shipment-Related Blocks

Certain data on a shipment will prevent merging, regardless of the setup or data matching:

  • Dangerous Goods: Shipments containing dangerous goods cannot be merged.
  • Carrier Validation: If a new shipment causes a violation of carrier validation rules (like exceeding total weight).
  • Placement: The placement of the shipment (Inbox, Outbox, AutoPrint, Draft) can also prevent merging.
  • Shipment Booking: If shipment booking is handled directly by the carrier, merging may be prevented. (UPS, FedEx, GLS)
  • Bulk Split Members: Shipments involved in a bulk split cannot merge with other shipments.
  • Container Members: Shipments belonging to a container cannot merge with others.
  • Insurance: Shipments with "IF" insurance cannot be merged.
  • Invoice/COD: If these are set, only the first shipment in the merged group can have a value. Subsequent shipments must have these fields blank.
  • Line Limits: Merging cannot exceed the defined limits for the total lines in a shipment.
  • Pickup date: If the packages have different pickup dates, they will not be merged.
  • Service Equality: If the addon services applied to a shipment do not match, then the shipments are not allowed to be merged.

Troubleshooting Steps

  1. Review Settings: Confirm your "Shipment Completion" and "Equality Requirements" settings.
  2. Check Shipment Data: Verify addresses and required fields are identical between shipments.
  3. Use Logs: Enable the log to track what specific field is preventing completion.
  4. Contact Support: If the issue persists, contact support.

 

Shipment completion using Commands

In versions earlier than 16.127 it was possible to complete shipments using commands even if the carrier did not officially support shipment completion. This could allow carrier validation to be bypassed in cases where customers had special approval from the carrier.

From version 16.127 shipment completion using commands is only allowed when explicitly supported by the carrier. Customers using special approval setups should review their integrations and processes to ensure compatibility with the new behavior.

 

Enable Shipment Completion Log

Shipment completion log

 

 

 

 

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