A carrier method or service is the mechanism by which one of your orders actually ships, such as USPS First-Class Package Service or UPS Ground. In Shipvine Logistics, a shipping method or profile is a suite of underlying carrier methods that the system rate shops between, choosing the best method that's available for a given set of parameters. For example, our "Domestic Deferred" shipping method will choose the cheapest carrier method that's available, but our "Domestic Three Day (TNT G)" shipping method will find the cheapest carrier method that's guaranteed to get the parcel to its destination within three business days—using ground shipping on the East Coast when possible to save money over air-based methods.
There's two kinds of shipping methods: automation-enabled shipping methods, and exceptional shipping methods. Most of the time, you'll use the automation-enabled shipping methods, which are common services that Shipvine can use to get your order out quickly. The exceptional shipping methods are for the weird, complicated orders, such as orders that might need to be loaded on a consolidator's truck for shipping to a department store.
Automation-Enabled Shipping Methods
Automation-enabled shipping methods are those which Shipvine can use to quickly get an order out. We're directly integrated with these carriers and can get packages out the door super fast! Recommended shipping methods are in bold text .
| Code | Name | Description | Underlying Carrier Methods |
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| DOMESTIC-DEFERRED | Domestic Deferred | This is the "sane default" shipping method for e-commerce orders. It provides the cheapest possible delivery without a guaranteed delivery date to destinations within the United States. This shipping method may be used for United States military (APO/FPO) and embassy (DPO) addresses as well as PO boxes. |
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| DOM-DEFERRED-PLUS | Domestic Deferred Plus | This is like "Domestic Deferred", except it removes the hybrid services like UPS SurePost and FedEx SmartPost. The delivery date still isn't guaranteed, though, it's just a little bit faster, particularly for packages over a pound. |
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| DOMESTIC-GROUND | Domestic Ground | Use this when you want us to ship something economically, but you don't want it to go via the USPS. For example, shipping a wholesale order to a business. The delivery date is guaranteed within the carrier's defined time-in-transit schedule. |
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| DOMESTIC-MAIL | Domestic Mail | Just the opposite of the above: use this when you want to force something to ship via the USPS, and only directly via the USPS. For example, you might have a customer that insists on receiving on US mail at his address instead of FedEx or UPS. |
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| DOMESTIC-THREE-DAY | Domestic Three Day | This provides guaranteed delivery within three business days to destinations within the United States, using air-based shipping methods only. You can't use this for PO boxes or military addresses; you'll need a shipping method that includes USPS options for that. |
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| DOM-3D-TNT-G | Domestic Three Day (TNT G) | The mysterious "TNT G" stands for "time-in-transit, guaranteed". It provides guaranteed delivery within three business days to destinations within the United States, but it's smart enough to use ground-based shipping—for example, using FedEx Ground to a city near to Shipvine—if it'll get the parcel there in time. You can't use this for PO boxes or military addresses; you'll need a shipping method that includes USPS options for that. |
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| DOM-3D-TNT-NG | Domestic Three Day (TNT NG) | The mysterious "TNT NG" stands for "time-in-transit, not guaranteed". It'll use the cheapest service that will probably get the parcel there within three business days. Because it includes non-guaranteed services from the USPS, it's possible that the parcel might not make it there in time. This shipping method is kept around for backwards compatibility, and Shipvine recommends using DOM-DEFERRED-PLUS instead. |
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| DOMESTIC-TWO-DAY | Domestic Two Day | This provides guaranteed delivery within two business days to destinations within the United States, using air-based shipping methods only. You can't use this for PO boxes or military addresses; you'll need a shipping method that includes USPS options for that. |
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| DOM-2D-TNT-G | Domestic Two Day (TNT G) | The mysterious "TNT G" stands for "time-in-transit, guaranteed". It provides guaranteed delivery within two business days to destinations within the United States, but it's smart enough to use ground-based shipping—for example, using FedEx Ground to a city near to Shipvine—if it'll get the parcel there in time. You can't use this for PO boxes or military addresses; you'll need a shipping method that includes USPS options for that. |
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| DOMESTIC-ONE-DAY | Domestic One Day | This provides guaranteed delivery within one business day to destinations within the United States, using air-based shipping methods only. You can't use this for PO boxes or military addresses; you'll need a shipping method that includes USPS options for that. |
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| DOM-1D-TNT-G | Domestic One Day (TNT G) | The mysterious "TNT G" stands for "time-in-transit, guaranteed". It provides guaranteed delivery within one business day to destinations within the United States, but it's smart enough to use ground-based shipping—for example, using FedEx Ground to a city near to Shipvine—if it'll get the parcel there in time. You can't use this for PO boxes or military addresses; you'll need a shipping method that includes USPS options for that. |
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| DOMESTIC-ONE-PLUS | Domestic One Day Plus | This provides guaranteed delivery within one business day to destinations within the United States, with a preference for morning delivery, usually by 10:30 a.m. to most locations. |
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| INTL-DEFERRED | International Deferred | This provides delivery without a guaranteed delivery date to most countries around the world, using a UPU-based carrier method (i.e., international mail). Delivery may take up to 60 business days, but averages 2-4 weeks. A tracking number is provided, but its visibility varies on the destination postal service. |
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| INTL-DEFERRED-NC | International Deferred (Non-Consolidated) | This provides delivery without a guaranteed delivery date to most countries around the world, using a UPU-based carrier method (i.e., international mail). Delivery may take up to 60 business days, but averages 2-4 weeks. A tracking number is provided, but its visibility varies on the destination postal service. The difference between this and "International Deferred" is it removes carrier methods that use a consolidator, such as DHL Global Mail. That can speed things up and remove a layer of indirection on the tracking, but it costs more. |
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| INTL-DEFERRED-PLUS | International Deferred Plus | This provides delivery without a guaranteed delivery date to most countries around the world, using a UPU-based carrier method (i.e., international mail). Unlike "International Deferred", the delivery time frame is typically within about 10 business days and includes a tracking number. |
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| INTL-ECONOMY | International Economy | This provides delivery to most countries around the world within about 5 business days, using a private carrier like FedEx or UPS. |
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| INTL-PRIORITY | International Priority | This provides delivery to most countries around the world within 2-3 business days, using a private carrier like FedEx or UPS. |
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| INTL-GROUND | International Ground | This provides ground-based transportation to a foreign country, using a private carrier like FedEx or UPS. |
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| FEDEX-GROUND | FedEx Ground or Home Delivery | This is a direct mapping to FedEx Ground or FedEx Home Delivery for merchants who don't want us to do any kind of rate shopping on the fulfillment request. |
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| UPS-GROUND | UPS Ground | This is a direct mapping to UPS Ground for merchants who don't want us to do any kind of rate shopping on the fulfillment request. |
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| UPS-THREE-DAY-SELECT | UPS Three Day Select | This is a direct mapping to UPS Three Day Select for merchants who don't want us to do any kind of rate shopping on the fulfillment request. |
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| UPS-SECOND-DAY-AIR | UPS Second Day Air | This is a direct mapping to UPS Second Day Air for merchants who don't want us to do any kind of rate shopping on the fulfillment request. |
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| UPS-ONE-DAY | UPS Next Day Air Saver | This is a direct mapping to UPS Next Day Air Saver for merchants who don't want us to do any kind of rate shopping on the fulfillment request. |
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| UPS-NEXT-DAY-AIR | UPS Next Day Air | This is a direct mapping to UPS Next Day Air for merchants who don't want us to do any kind of rate shopping on the fulfillment request. |
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Exceptional Shipping Methods
Automation isn't available for all shipping methods. For example, some fulfillment requests will have weird, special requirements, such as large shipments to department stores that need everything to be "just so" and will be processed by a consolidator. Requests that use these shipping methods require manual processing may take several business days to be fulfilled. Usually, we'll be going back and forth with you via a support ticket about the fulfillment request so we can understand what the requirements are for the particular fulfillment request.
| Code | Name | Description | Example Scenarios |
|---|---|---|---|
| DOMESTIC-ROUTING | Domestic Routing | This indicates that manual processing is required to ship a fulfillment request to destinations within the United States. After Shipvine has packaged up the order, the fulfillment request will transition to a "Routing Ready" state where you can view the box dimensions, weight, and contents. You may relay this information to your supplier and orchestrate a pickup. We'll add the PRO number or other tracking after the pickup takes place. |
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| INTL-ROUTING | International Routing | This indicates that manual processing is required to ship a fulfillment request to destinations outside of the United States. After Shipvine has packaged up the order, the fulfillment request will transition to a "Routing Ready" state where you can view the box dimensions, weight, and contents. You may relay this information to your supplier and orchestrate a pickup. We'll add the PRO number or other tracking after the pickup takes place. |
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| PICKUP | Internal Pickup or Internal Transfer | Indicates an internal pickup or an internal transfer to another Shipvine merchant. Shipvine does not allow public customer pickup at its warehouse—they will be turned away! However, you may use this method if you need to clear out some of your inventory and someone from your company will be picking it up from our location. |
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Custom Shipping Methods
If none of the above shipping methods exactly match what you want, Shipvine can configure a shipping method that's customized just for you. Just open a support ticket and let us know what kind of services you'd like to be in the shipping method, and what kinds of business rules you'd like us to apply.