DHL Express is an international carrier that provides delivery to almost every country in the world.
DHL Express via ShipStation Carrier Services allows you to create DHL Express labels without the need for a personal DHL Express account and provides discounts of up to 60% off DHL Express retail postage costs.
DHL Express services are not available by default. Review the Requirements and Request Access sections below for details on how to add DHL Express to ShipStation Carrier Services.
To access DHL Express from ShipStation, you must:
Register your interest in the program. Review the Request Access to DHL Express section below.
Complete your Stamps.com account
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Not have an existing DHL Express account.
If you have a DHL Express account already connected to ShipStation, you will not be able to add DHL Express to ShipStation Carrier Services. If this is the case, simply create DHL Express labels using your existing account and the rates in your existing DHL Express contract.
Unlike other carrier options available with ShipStation Carrier Services, DHL Express from ShipStation is not enabled automatically. Instead, you must request access first. Once approved, DHL Express via ShipStation Carrier Services will be added to your ShipStation account.
To request access to DHL Express from ShipStation, follow the steps below:
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Select the DHL Express tile and click Connect.
Click the link Click here to get started and fill in the necessary fields.
Click Connect.
This GIF illustrates the process:
Note
The approval process can take up to 2 weeks when adding DHL Express to ShipStation Carrier Services. Once approved, DHL Express and Stamps.com will appear under the heading ShipStation Carrier Services in your Carriers & Fulfillment settings.
ShipStation Carrier Service's DHL Express carrier option supports the following standard features:
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Common ShipStation Features |
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Additional Features
DHL Express from ShipStation allows for the following additional features:
Feature |
Description |
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Discounted Rates |
DHL Express via ShipStation Carrier Services provides savings up to 60% off standard DHL prices. |
Prepaid postage |
All DHL Express from ShipStation shipments are prepaid and use a shared pool of funds with other carriers linked to ShipStation Carrier Services. |
Scheduled Pickups |
You can arrange a one-time pickup or recurring regular pickups with DHL Express. See the Schedule Pickup section below. |
Order DHL Express branded packaging |
You can order DHL Express branded packaging from ShipStation when using DHL Express from ShipStation. To order packaging, contact DHLservices@shipstation.com. Please include the following in your email:
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ShipStation offers the ability to schedule one-time pickups directly in ShipStation. If you ship with DHL Express regularly, you may want to schedule recurring pickups instead.
Both options are discussed below.
One-time Pickups
Go to the Shipments tab in ShipStation.
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Choose the Carrier Pickups option in the left-hand sidebar.
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Select DHL Express from the Schedule a Pickup drop-down menu.
Fill in the requested fields.
Click Schedule a Pickup.
Alternatively, you can use the DHL website scheduler. DHL will then arrange the pickup with you.
Schedule Recurring Pickups
To schedule recurring pickups, email DHLservices@shipstation.com and our team will work with DHL Express to arrange recurring pickups for you.
ShipStation's relationship with DHL Express allows you to share your discounted DHL Express rates with your customers during their checkout process.
Currently, you can sync the DHL Express rates you receive through ShipStation Carrier Services to the following selling channels:
Shopify
BigCommerce
WooCommerce
Magento
Other Platforms Coming Soon:
eBay
ChannelAdvisor
If your selling channel is not on this list, but you'd like to see support for DHL Express rates, please fill out this form to let us know!
To ensure the calculated DHL Express rates charged at checkout sync as closely as possible to the DHL Express rate you pay in ShipStation, you must first configure DHL Express correctly in your selling channel account.
Click on the section for your selling channel below to learn how to configure these rate in your store.
After you have configured your store correctly, follow the instructions in the Map DHL Express Services in ShipStation section to set ShipStation to automatically apply DHL Express to the proper orders as soon as they import.
Shopify allows you to set shipping options based on the Shipping Zone, which is a country or collection of countries where the recipient is located. Since DHL Express is an international only shipping service, you'll want to create a new shipping service in the Rest of World zone.
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Log in to Shopify and click Settings in the lower left-hand corner of the Shopify admin homepage.
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Click Shipping.
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Find Rest of World in the Shipping rates at checkout section and click Edit.
Rest of World will encompass all international shipping.
If you only want to offer DHL Express to certain countries, you can edit the country-specific Shipping Zone.
If the Shipping Zone you want to use does not exist yet, review this Shopify Shipping Zones article for more information.
You can now configure your DHL Express rates for checkout in one of two ways:
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Option 1: Set static rates manually.
This option sets static rates for a Shipping Zone based on either total order price or total order weight. You can use ShipStation's rate calculator to preview estimated rates to help you evaluate the static prices you want to offer.
Important
Using a static rate like this can result in discrepancies when you compare the actual cost of the label with what the customer pays at checkout. The benefit is it's much easier to highlight static rates in advertisements or promotions, like $50 shipping worldwide! or Free worldwide shipping for orders over $200!
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Option 2: Set calculated rates using Shopify Shipping.
This option determines a calculated rate based on destination postcode, the total weight, and your default package size. It will display that calculated rate for your customers at checkout.
A calculated rate means that your customers will be paying about the same amount for the shipping cost that you'll be paying to ship the order. This option can be helpful if you want to avoid undercharging for shipping.
Note
When using option 2...
The rates your customers will see at checkout are based on the discounted rates offered by Shopify Shipping.
When using DHL Express via ShipStation Carrier Services, the DHL Express rates offered in ShipStation should be roughly equivalent to the rates you'd get if you created the label through Shopify Shipping. However, due to differences in how certain surcharges - like fuel surcharges - are calculated, there may be a slight variation.
If you have your own account with DHL Express connected to ShipStation, the rates you see in ShipStation will be based on the connected DHL Express account, not the Shopify Shipping rates.
To set static DHL Express rates at checkout:
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Scroll down to either the Price based rates or Weight based rates section and click Add Rate.
Choose a name for the shipping option, the minimum and maximum range for the rate, and the shipping cost. You can also select if the shipping option is free or not.
Click Done to save the service.
Create additional services if you want to offer different rate options based on total price or total weight.
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Click Save when you have completed setting up all your services.
To create a calculated rate:
Whichever option you chose, your international customers will now see the DHL Express option you created as an available shipping option during check-out.
You can now configure ShipStation to automatically apply DHL Express Worldwide to these orders as soon as they import.
To manage your BigCommerce checkout rates, you'll need to install the ShipperHQ plug-in on your BigCommerce account. Once installed, you can configure DHL Express as a carrier within the plugin to make these rates available to your customers at checkout.
Important
ShipperHQ is not free. You will incur a monthly fee if you install and subscribe to this plug-in.
To install and configure the ShipperHQ plug-in, do the following:
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Go to the BigCommerce App Marketplace.
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Search for and install the ShipperHQ app.
For assistance, review the BigCommerce help article about installing ShipperHQ.
Once installed, you can then set up DHL Express as a carrier.
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Create DHL Express as a carrier in ShipperHQ.
Review ShipperHQ's help article about creating a carrier.
You will need your DHL account number, Site ID, and Password for this step. If you use DHL Express via ShipStation Carrier Services, contact carrierservices@shipstation.com to request this information.
When selecting shipping methods, only select Express Worldwide and Express Envelope, as these are the only services available in ShipStation.
Once you have completed configuring DHL Express in ShipperHQ, you're then ready to turn it on so it displays DHL Express rates to your customers at checkout.
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Go to Store Setup > Shipping.
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Set the toggle from Default to Advanced under Checkout Shipping Options.
And that's it! DHL Express should now display as a shipping option with live rates during your customer's checkout.
Note
To ensure your live rates are as accurate as possible, be sure to enter the weight and dimensions in BigCommerce for each product you plan on shipping with DHL Express.
To manage your WooCommerce checkout rates, you'll need to install the ELEX WooCommerce DHL Express plug-in. Once installed, you can configure DHL Express to show rates to your customers at checkout.
Important
The ELEX WooCommerce DHL Express plug-in is not free. You will incur a one-time fee if you install this plug-in.
To install and configure the ELEX WooCommerce DHL Express plug-in, do the following:
Go to the ELEX WooCommerce DHL Express plug-in page and purchase the plug-in.
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Download the plug-in from the ELEX API Downloads page.
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Install the plug-in to your WooCommerce account.
To install, go to
Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin. Choose the file you've just downloaded. It should be called "dhl-woocommerce-shipping".
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Click Activate Plugin once installed.
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Open the ELEX plug-in in your WooCommerce account, choose DHL Express and go to the License tab.
Enter the required license information, which can be found on the ELEX Extension API Keys page. Once done, it should say "Activated" in the License tab.
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Go to the General tab and enter a DHL Account Number, Site ID, and Password.
If you use DHL Express via ShipStation Carrier Services, contact carrierservices@shipstation.com to request this information.
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Go to the Rates and Services tab and configure how you'd like DHL Express to appear in your cart.
When enabling services, enable only Express Worldwide and Express Envelope, as other services are not available in ShipStation.
And that's it! DHL Express should now display as a shipping option with live rates during your customer's checkout.
Note
Though the ELEX plug-in offers label printing capabilities, you will not be able to print DHL Express labels with the account number provided by ShipStation. You must import your orders to ShipStation to create and print these labels.
To manage your Magento checkout rates, you'll need to install a third-party plug-in that offers the ability to display DHL Express as a shipping method on your store's checkout page.
There are two plug-in options available to display DHL Express rates in Magento. The option you choose will depend on whether you are a Magento 1 or Magento 2 user.
Magento 1: ShipStation as Shipping Method
Magento 2: MageShip
Magento Plug-ins in Pilot Stage!
These third-party plug-ins are currently in a pilot stage for DHL Express rates with ShipStation. Please email carrierservices@shipstation.com if you need assistance with viewing DHL Express rates in your Magento checkout screen.
The plug-in for Magento 1 users is called ShipStation as Shipping Method. This plug-in has a one-time purchase fee of $125, but requires no additional subscription to use.
To get started, do the following:
Purchase the ShipStation as Shipping Method plug-in from the Magento Marketplace.
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Install the plug-in module in your Magento store.
If you are unsure how to install plug-ins to your store, review the Magento help page about installing extensions.
Go to
Settings > Shipping Methods > ShipStationtab in your Magento admin site.-
Fill in the API connection details:
API URL to use: https://ssapi.shipstation.com
Username: enter your ShipStation API Key
Password: enter your ShipStation API Secret
To locate your ShipStation API Key and Secret, log into your ShipStation account and go to
Settings > Account > API Settings. Copy both key and secret and paste them into the correct fields in Magento. If no key and secret exist yet, simply click Generate API Keys to create them.
Once you have completed the above steps, the plug-in will use the ShipStation API to pull live rates into your Magento checkout page!
The plug-in for Magento 2 users is called MageShip. This plug-in is free to download and install, but requires a monthly subscription with MageShip to use.
This plug-in requires several steps taken in both your Magento account and MageShip account to configure. The following list summarizes the steps you'll take, but we recommend following the steps provided in the MageShip installation guide.
Create an account on https://mageship.io and subscribe to the MageShip plan that best suits your business needs.
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Download the MageShip extension and install in your Magento account.
Follow the installation instructions provided by MageShip to install the plug-in to your Magento account.
Configure your website URL in the MageShip account.
Enter your MageShip API Key into your Magento settings.
You do not need to take any action in ShipStation for the MageShip plug-in to start displaying DHL Express rates in your Magento checkout screen.
Once you have installed and configured the correct plug-in for your Magento store, set up Service Mapping for your DHL Express Magento orders so ShipStation will automatically apply the correct service to the orders when they import. Follow the instructions in the Map DHL Express Services in ShipStation section below.
ShipStation receives the requested shipping service information for orders that import from Shopify and BigCommerce. It is shown in the Shipping Info section of the Order Details screen and the Shipping sidebar.
Use ShipStation's Service Mapping option to auto-assign DHL Express to these orders when they import.
There are two ways to do this:
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If orders have already imported, locate an order and click Unmapped next to the Requested Shipping Service.
Set the Service to DHL Express Worldwide with Package as the package type.
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Click Save Changes.
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If orders have not yet imported, map the Requested Shipping Service in the store settings.
Go to
Settings > Selling Channels > Store Setup.Click Edit for the Shopify or BigCommerce store (whichever store you wish to map).
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In the Shipping Services tab, click the Add Service Mapping option to create the service mapping manually.
For Shopify static rates: the Requested Shipping Service will be whatever name you entered for the service in Shopify.
For Shopify calculated rates: the Requested Shipping Service is "WORLDWIDE"
For BigCommerce: the Requested Shipping service is ???
Set the Service to DHL Express Worldwide and Package as the package type.
Click Save Settings.
Once the service mapping has been set up, any Shopify or BigCommerce order for which the customer has selected DHL Express will automatically have DHL Express Worldwide configured for it in ShipStation. All you have to do is create the label and ship!
Remember the following about DHL Express from ShipStation:
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Requires Approval: You add through the DHL Express tile in Carriers & Fulfillments settings. ShipStation submits request to DHL and it can take up to 2 weeks to receive approval.
DHL Express from ShipStation will not be approved if your existing Stamps.com is on the NSA rate plan.
Existing DHL Express accounts are not eligible for ShipStation Carrier Services. Your submission to use DHL Express via ShipStation Carrier Services will likely be rejected if you have an existing DHL Express account.
DHL Express via ShipStation Carrier Services uses only the DHL Express Worldwide or DHL Express Envelope services. Currently, other DHL Express options and services are not available.
Maximum weight and dimensions: On September 1st, 2018, DHL Express updated the maximum actual weight for individual shipments to 150 pounds (70 kilograms), and the maximum length to 118 inches (300 centimeters). Packages over those maximum values will not be accepted by DHL Express. The total maximum weight for a multi-piece shipment will remain unchanged, at 2,200 pounds (1,000 kilograms).
Dimensional weight may apply to some shipments. Be sure to include shipment dimensions when getting a rate or creating a label to avoid unexpected charges.
Shipping dangerous goods: You may ship dangerous goods with DHL Express from ShipStation with the proper approvals. Contact ShipStation Support to request the paperwork and get the process started.
Should one of your DHL Express packages get lost or damaged, DHL Express via ShipStation Carrier Services includes standard liability to reimburse the shipper.
Claims must be filed by the shipper and within 30 days of the date DHL accepted the shipment. Claims are subject to DHL Express's terms and conditions.
Download and fill in the PDF form from DHL Express.
In the DHL Account Number field, either enter “I do not have one” or leave the input field blank since you do not have a DHL Express account number.
Save and submit that PDF to carrierservices@shipstation.com.
Here are some common issues, potential causes, and troubleshooting tips.
Issue |
How to troubleshoot or resolve |
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I'm getting an error that indicates DHL Express can't find the recipient address when attempting to create labels, what should I do? |
Typically these errors will be displayed in one of two ways:
Both of these errors indicate that the recipient address is not formatted properly for DHL Express shipments. Compare the address details using the DHL Compatibility Tool and correct the address where needed. |