UPS Shipping Labels

SCP integrates with UPS for creating shipping labels. Conveniently, you can create UPS shipments directly from within the adminstrator application for orders and transfers, eliminating the need to copy and paste addresses, tracking numbers, or other information. When creating each label, you can select from pre-defined package definitions that you have set up, eliminating the need to enter weights and dimensions each time. The labels can be saved in PDF format and stored with the orders and transfers. You can print them out using any ink jet or laser printer, or with a thermal printer.

Here is a summary of the topics discussed in this doc:

How to Set Up the Connection with UPS

First, to connect your system to your UPS account, follow the steps here: How To Connect With UPS.

UPS Settings for Creating Shipping Labels

In addition to the connection settings described above, there are several other system settings you'll want to configure to enable the UPS Shipping Labels feature, and for it to run smoothly. Navigate to the Settings -> UPS Settings screen to view system settings related to UPS and shipping labels, under the Rating and Shipment Settings section:

• You'll need to turn on the feature with the "Enable UPS Shipments/Labels?" setting.

• You'll need to enter values for the Shipper address in the setting fields that follow. The Shipper settings correspond to the company that holds the UPS account.

• Several other fields on this screen define defaults that determine how the shipping label form will be prepopulated, so it can very useful to set those to sensible defaults.

Next, on the Settings -> Shipping Settings screen, be sure to populate the system's "Default From Address" fields:

These fields are used when creating labels, to indicate the address the shipment is coming from, when shipping an order.

Creating a UPS Label for an Order

After an order is placed by a customer, the most common workflow is to manage the order from the Customer Service Dashboard, and the specific order's customer service form. Find the order on the Customer Service Dashboard and click into it to see the customer service form:

Under the "Shipments" section of the customer service form, click the plus icon to add a new outbound shipment. Optionally, you can select the appropriate Shipping Method, but leave the Tracking Number blank. (When you create the UPS label, the system will populate the tracking number for you.)

This creates an internal shipment record in the system. After creating the shipment record, if you have enabled UPS Shipping labels, you'll see a plus icon under the Labels column, which opens up the Create UPS Shipment form:

The form should be fairly self-explanatory and familiar if you have used UPS before. The form picks up the order's delivery address and the default "Ship From" address you defined in the above steps.

When you are ready to create the label, click the blue Add UPS Shipment button.

If it was successful, the "Tracking Number" column under the Shipments section will be populated with the new label's tracking number:

The label itself will be visible under the "Labels" column. The plus icon will be replaced by a link to the PDF for the label. You can simply click the link to open the label in another browser tab, and print from the browser to whichever printer you choose.

If you found you made a mistake and wish to create another label, you can simply empty out the Tracking Number for the shipment, and click the refresh icon in the upper right of the Shipments section. This will bring back the plus icon, and you can use it to reveal the Create UPS Shipment form and create another label.

How To Set Up Package Definitions for UPS Labels

To help make creating UPS labels faster and less prone to errors, it's a great idea to set up Package Definitions. These package definitions will populate the drop down menu in the Create UPS Shipment form. Selecting a package definition alleviates the need to manually type in the weight and dimensions each time you create a label.

Create new package definitions from the Inventory and Shipping -> Package Definitions screen:

You can use the Quick Add Form initially to create a stub package definition record:

• Name: This name is what will appear in the drop down selection menu on the Create UPS Shipment form. Many people choose to repeat the dimensions for the name, but you can also put anything descriptive here.

• Code: This is a unique code the system uses to identify the package definition. You may leave this blank when you create a package definition - if you do, the system will create a code from the name

After creating the stub record, you'll see the record listed at the top of the grid. You can then set the necessary dimensions and weight fields from there:

• Overall Weight, Length, Width, and Height: Put the package's weight and dimensions here.

• Note: Quantity Floor, Quantity Ceiling, and Packaging Weight - these fields are not necessary for the UPS label feature.

Creating a UPS Label for a Transfer

The process for creating a UPS label for an internal transfer is similar. You can create a label from either the Transfers grid screen, or the Unit Tracking Dashboard. Make sure you have configured the dashboard to display the "Shipments" column. If a label has not been created already, there will be a plus icon under that column:

Clicking the icon pops open the Create UPS Shipment form. In the form, the "to" and "from" addresses are populated with the Transfer's to and from addresses:

The process works similarly to the order process described above. After creating a UPS shipment, the plus icon under the Shipments column will be replaced with a link to the new label, which you can print from a new browser tab or window.

Creating a UPS Label for a Unit

A common workflow for rental units is to create a return label that is packaged with the unit, for customers to use to return the unit to you. To support this, you can generate UPS labels for each unit in the system. As with transfers, you can create a label for a unit from either the Units grid screen, or the Unit Tracking Dashboard. Make sure you have configured the dashboard to display the "Shipment" column for the units. If a label has not been created already, there will be a plus icon under that column:

The process works the same as with transfers and orders. The resulting labels are associated with the unit and appear in the Shipments column. You can click the label icon to view the label in a new browser window, and print it from there.

Printing UPS Labels in Bulk

As described above, when a UPS label is created, an icon for it appears on the screen, which you can click in order to view and print it. In addition to this, for convenience if you are dealing with lots of shipments, you can also print multiple UPS labels at once.

• Visit the Shipment Packages screen under Inventory and Shipping -> Shipment Packages.

• Optionally, apply a filter on that screen to limit the records to labels that have not yet been printed. After clicking the filter icon, select the "Is Label Printed" field and choose "false":

  

• Use the checkboxes on the left to select one or more labels to print.

• Under the "Actions" menu, select Print Labels:

• Note, as soon as you select Print Labels, the records' Is Label Printed values will be set to true, regardless of if you actually print them at this point.

• The selected labels will show up, one per page, in a new browser window, where you can use the system's print function to print them.