ShipStation 3PL and Dropship Manager add-ons offer the ability to share packing slip templates with one or more fulfillment providers. When merchants share packing slip templates, the fulfillment provider can print the merchant’s customized branded packing slip for each order. This way, merchants can maintain consistency in their customer's shipping experience, regardless of the provider handling the order.
3PL clients and dropship manager accounts can manage sharing permissions and remove access to templates when required. Additionally, dropship manager accounts can enable packing slip sharing when inviting one or more vendors to connect through the Dropship Manager feature.
This guide provides a step-by-step approach to sharing packing slip templates and managing sharing settings, making shipping management a hassle-free process for merchants.
3PL Clients
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Must have accepted an invitation from at least one 3PL. Integrated 3PLs are not eligible for carrier sharing.
Dropship Manager Accounts
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Must have the dropship manager add-on enabled.
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At least one vendor account connected to the dropship manager account.
To enable packing slip sharing with a Fulfillment Provider:
Enable Sharing On Dropship Vendor Invitation
Dropship manager accounts can enable the packing slip sharing feature when inviting a vendor to connect.
On the Invite Vendor pop-up, toggle the Share Packing Slip template on before clicking Send Invite.
In the Packing Slip Sharing column on the Fulfillment Provider page, you'll see the following statuses:
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Blank
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Shared
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Not Compatible: This status means the connection is not with a ShipStation 3PL add-on user. Other types of fulfillment connections currently are not supported.
3PL clients and dropship manager accounts can disable packing slip sharing at any time by toggling off Share Packing Slip Templates on the Fulfillment Provider page:
Packing slip defaults are set at the store level.
You can automatically assign your shared packing slip template to orders sent to a fulfillment provider by setting up an Automation Rule. This way, you do not need to manually assign the packing slip to each individual order.
Check Order of Automation Rules
Make sure that any automation rules about packing slips occur before automation rules related to sending orders to fulfillment providers. Learn more about how Automations are ordered in our Automation Basics help article.
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Enter a descriptive name for the rule.
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Select Only apply these actions to orders that match specific criteria. Then, click +Add Criteria.
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Select Store from the first drop-down, then Includes… . Then, select the appropriate store from the drop-down menu.
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Click + Add an Action and select Use a specific Packing Slip… from the first drop-down. Then select the appropriate packing slip template from the Use Packing Slip Template drop-down.
A packing slip must be assigned to an order prior to delegating it to the fulfillment provider. Once the order has been received by the fulfillment provider, they can print the shared packing slip from the Orders or Shipments page.
No matter which page the packing slip is printed from, ShipStation will open the print pop-up screen to choose the print method (ShipStation Connect, browser print, or download PDF).
The template field will default to “Use Store’s Default Template” on the Print Preview screen, which is the shared packing slip. This cannot be changed by the fulfillment provider.
If you have selected a default printer in your Print Setup settings, ShipStation will skip the print pop-up screen and send the packing slip directly to the default printer.