ShipStation can select the lowest-cost shipping service for your shipments with our Shipping Strategies feature. With Shipping Strategies, you pre-define which services you'd like ShipStation to compare, and when you select that strategy for a shipment (or group of shipments), ShipStation automatically applies the service with the lowest rate.
Here are a few examples of different service strategies you could create:
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Compare different carrier services that all deliver within 2-3 days
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Compare different overnight or 1-day services
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Compare different economy services
Once you've defined which services belong in each strategy, you either select the strategy when you configure a shipment manually or create an Automation Rule to do it for you. Once a Shipping Strategy is applied to a shipment, ShipStation compares the rates of each service defined in the strategy, then assigns the service with the lowest cost to the selected shipments.
To start using Shipping Strategies, you'll first create a strategy (or multiple strategies) in your ShipStation Shipping Settings. You can then select the strategy from the Service menu when configuring a shipment or create an Automation Rule to do it for you. Review the sections below to learn how to create and use Shipping Strategies.
Feature Available to High-Volume Plans
The Shipping Strategies feature is available for US- and Canada-based accounts on a High Volume plan only.
This feature is currently in Beta. If you have feedback about using Shipping Strategies, we'd love to hear it! Please contact your account manager and let them know.
To create a lowest-cost shipping strategy:
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Go to Shipping and select Shipping Strategies.
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Click the Create a Strategy button.
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Name the strategy.
This name will be what appears in the drop-down menu in the Configure Shipment Widget.
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Select the services that you want the strategy to compare against each other.
The services you define here are the set of services ShipStation compares when you select this strategy for a shipment.
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Click Save Strategy to finish.
Create as many different strategies as you need. Be sure to give them descriptive names so you and your shipping staff can easily identify which strategy is best for a shipment.
Once you have created a strategy, it will appear at the top of the Services menu drop-down. When you select a strategy, ShipStation will compare the services you defined for that strategy and apply the lowest rate to the shipment. The "winning" service will appear in the rate section of the shipment widget.
You can manually apply a strategy to any shipment either individually or in bulk. Or, you can automate this selection with an Automation Rule.
You apply a strategy the same way you apply a service. Select an order and click the Service drop-down menu. The strategies appear at the top, and the rest of the available services below. Choose your desired strategy.
To apply the same strategy to multiple shipments, select the desired orders and choose a strategy from the Configure Shipment Widget or the Bulk Actions menu.
ShipStation will apply the chosen strategy to all selected orders.
Shipping Strategies can also be applied via Automation Rules. When you create an automation rule, select Set Shipping Strategy from the Action Type drop-down menu, then select the strategy you want the rule to apply.
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Shipping Strategies is currently only available to US- and Canada-based accounts on a High Volume plan.
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Shipping Strategies is not available in ShipStation Legacy.
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While a feature is in its beta phase, you may experience some unexpected behavior. For assistance using this feature, please contact our support team. If you have any feedback about how to improve this feature, please let your account manager know.
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Shipping Strategies does not compare different package types - only services.
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You can view the strategy, carrier, and service selected for a shipment in the Orders Grid. Make sure you have enabled those columns in your Orders grid view.