APC

APC is a US Postal Service (USPS) Postal Qualified Wholesaler (PQW) that works closely with the USPS to help e-commerce sellers ship international parcels and mail. ShipStation's integration with APC is available for US-based accounts and allows you to create international shipping labels to anywhere in their delivery network of over 200 countries. "Pay on scan" is the default for APC, so you are only charged for labels if they’re used.

Interested in an account? Go to the APC website to sign up! For more information, contact shipstation@apc-pli.com.

Available on Platinum Plan or Higher

To connect this provider, you must be on a Platinum or higher subscription plan. If you would like to add this provider but do not see the connection tile, you will need to upgrade your subscription to the Platinum plan.

APC Requirements

Connection Requirements:

  • A US-based ShipStation account

  • An active account with APC

  • Your APC account username and password

Shipment Requirements:

  • APC requires manifests for all shipments. ShipStation submits these electronically.

Connect an APC account to ShipStation

To connect your APC account to ShipStation:

🇺🇸 🇨🇦 Your Carriers Add-On

For US- and Canada-based ShipStation accounts, certain plans will require you to enable the Your Carriers add-on before you can connect your carrier accounts. If you have not yet enabled it, you'll be prompted to do so before you can connect your accounts.

  1. Click the Add Carrier button.

    AddCarrier.png
  2. Select APC and click Connect.

    APC logo. Button that reads, Connect
  3. Enter your APC Username and Password, and choose an Account Nickname which you'll use to identify the carrier account in ShipStation.

  4. Click Connect.

Available Features for APC

ShipStation's integration with APC supports the following standard features:

APC Additional Features

The ShipStation integration with APC allows the following additional features:

Feature

Description

Automatic Manifesting

ShipStation will automatically manifest all open shipments for the previous day at 2 AM PST.

A PDF copy of the manifest will be available to download in the End of Day section of the Shipping page.

This setting can be disabled if you contact ShipStation support. If disabled, you will be responsible for manifesting your APC shipments.

Available Services, Packages, & Confirmation Types

APC International Services

  • APC Book Service DDU

  • APC Expedited DDP

  • APC Expedited DDU

  • APC Priority DDP

  • APC Priority DDP w/ Delcon

  • APC Priority DDU

  • APC Priority DDU w/ Delcon

  • APC Priority USPS PQW DDU

  • APC Standard DDU

  • APC Standard USPS PQW DDU

  • APC USPS ePacket DDU

APC Package Types

  • Package

  • Custom Packages

APC Confirmation Options

  • Standard

The carrier can be used to create domestic shipping labels.

The carrier can be used to create international shipping labels.

ShipStation will submit international customs declarations electronically to the carrier.

The carrier can be used to create domestic return labels.

ShipStation will display estimated shipping rates for the carrier based on the connected account information and shipment details.

Shipment insurance, provided by the shipment's selected carrier, can be added to the shipment in ShipStation. This insurance would be in addition to any default coverage already provided by that carrier.

Shipping labels created for this carrier will include a tracking number that can be used to view the shipment status on the carrier's tracking website. Tracking may not be available for all shipping services.

ShipStation can close the day's shipments for the carrier and submit the manifest electronically. The End of Day process may be mandatory or optional, based on the carrier and your account with them. A printable file may or may not be available when submitted electronically - see End of Day (PDF).

ShipStation can close the day's shipments for the carrier and create a printable PDF of the manifest to provide to the carrier. The End of Day process may be mandatory or optional, based on the carrier and your account with them. The file may or may not be submitted electronically - see End of Day (Electronic).

ShipStation can print the store's logo on shipping labels created for this carrier. Label branding may not be available for all services supported by this carrier.

ShipStation can print information on the label as a label message (configure in Label Document Options). The carrier may or may not support all 3 label message fields and label messages may not be available for all services supported by this carrier.

This carrier can be used to create multi-package shipments, where multiple labels are created for a single shipment and the individual packages are linked together in a single shipment record with a master tracking number.

You can connect this carrier to ShipStation multiple times using different accounts and choose which account will be used to create each shipment.

APC Integration Notes

  • APC always prints the order number in their Label Reference 1 field. You cannot override this using the Label Message 1 field in ShipStation. You can enter a custom message or field replacement into the Label Message 2 field in ShipStation and this will print in the Label Reference 2 field on APC labels.

  • To display estimated rates, contact your APC account representative and have them load your rate table into your account. Once your rate table is loaded, contact ShipStation Support to enable estimated rates.

  • If no Recipient Company Name is provided, the Recipient Name will appear twice on the label.

  • The Ship From Location's Address Line 2 will not appear in the Return Address on labels. Only Address Line 1 will be visible.

Troubleshooting Tips for APC

Here are some common issues, potential causes, and troubleshooting tips.

Issue

How to Troubleshoot or Resolve

Error: Length exceeds maximum allowed; Name XLI_ItemCode; Length Allowed: 25

When creating APC labels

What it means: This error message occurs if the SKU for any product in the order is greater than 25 characters. For manual orders, you can edit the product in the order so that the SKU is less than 25 characters. If this is a marketplace order, you will need to either:

What to do:

  • Create a manual order and ship the manual order using APC, then use the Mark as Shipped action to update the marketplace order with the tracking information.

  • Use the Rate Calculator to create an APC shipping label, then use the Mark as Shipped action to update the marketplace order with the tracking information.

Whichever option you choose, we also recommend you update your product SKU number to be less than 25 characters and prevent the error from occurring on future shipments.

The carrier can be used to create domestic shipping labels.

The carrier can be used to create international shipping labels.

ShipStation will submit international customs declarations electronically to the carrier.

The carrier can be used to create domestic return labels.

ShipStation will display estimated shipping rates for the carrier based on the connected account information and shipment details.

Shipment insurance, provided by the shipment's selected carrier, can be added to the shipment in ShipStation. This insurance would be in addition to any default coverage already provided by that carrier.

Shipping labels created for this carrier will include a tracking number that can be used to view the shipment status on the carrier's tracking website. Tracking may not be available for all shipping services.

ShipStation can close the day's shipments for the carrier and submit the manifest electronically. The End of Day process may be mandatory or optional, based on the carrier and your account with them. A printable file may or may not be available when submitted electronically - see End of Day (PDF).

ShipStation can close the day's shipments for the carrier and create a printable PDF of the manifest to provide to the carrier. The End of Day process may be mandatory or optional, based on the carrier and your account with them. The file may or may not be submitted electronically - see End of Day (Electronic).

ShipStation can print the store's logo on shipping labels created for this carrier. Label branding may not be available for all services supported by this carrier.

ShipStation can print information on the label as a label message (configure in Label Document Options). The carrier may or may not support all 3 label message fields and label messages may not be available for all services supported by this carrier.

This carrier can be used to create multi-package shipments, where multiple labels are created for a single shipment and the individual packages are linked together in a single shipment record with a master tracking number.

You can connect this carrier to ShipStation multiple times using different accounts and choose which account will be used to create each shipment.