Connecting and Managing a FedEx Account

Goflow's integration with FedEx supports:

• Rate Shopping - Compare shipping rates across carriers.
• Shipping Labels - Generate carrier-compliant labels directly in Goflow.
• Shipment Tracking - Automatically update tracking progress.

Connecting a FedEx Shipping Account

Connecting a FedEx account in Goflow involves three steps:

1. Generate Keys - Create the API keys with FedEx.
2. Create Account - Add the FedEx account in Goflow.
3. Await Certification - Wait for FedEx to approve the account.

Generating FedEx API Keys

To connect your FedEx account, you must generate API keys through the FedEx Developer Portal. This process includes creating an organization, setting up a project, and requesting access to the required APIs.

Goflow provides step-by-step guidance to help you through the process. When adding your FedEx account in Goflow, click Where do I get these? for detailed instructions.

FedEx requires two distinct sets of API keys: one for label creation and another for shipment tracking. These keys are not interchangeable and must be generated separately.

Adding a FedEx Account in Goflow

To add a FedEx account in Goflow, follow these steps:

1. Follow the general steps for adding a carrier account.
2. From the list of carriers, select FedEx.
3. Enter the Company Name exactly as it appears on your FedEx account. This is required for the certification process.
4. Enter your 9-digit FedEx Account Number.
5. Enter the API Key and API Secret. Click Where do I get these? for detailed instructions on how to generate the keys.
6. Click Save to complete the setup.

Awaiting FedEx Certification

FedEx requires all new accounts to complete a certification process to ensure the account can generate high-quality shipping labels that meet FedEx’s technical standards. Goflow will submit a full set of scanned test labels from your shipping account to FedEx.

While the account is undergoing certification, the status will be Onboarding. During this period, the account cannot yet be used to generate shipping labels. However, you can add it to store carrier accounts, and configure other FedEx settings.

Certification typically takes 2–3 business days. Once FedEx approves the account, Goflow will update the account status to Active and notify you that the account is ready for use.

Upgrading FedEx to REST API

FedEx is replacing its old connection with a newer version. All FedEx accounts using the old connection must update to the new API to keep generating labels and track shipments.

Follow these steps to upgrade your FedEx account:

1. From the left sidebar, go to Directory › Shipping Carriers, and open your FedEx account.
2. Click Upgrade Credentials.
3. Click Where do I get these? for step-by-step instructions on generating your new API keys.
4. Enter the API Key and API Secret, and click Next.
5. To enable shipment tracking, enter the tracking API keys.
6. Click Submit to finish upgrading.

Continue using your FedEx account while FedEx certifies the test shipping labels created with the new connection.

Unlike creating a new FedEx account, when upgrading there is no waiting period while FedEx certifies the test labels.

With the old connection, shipment tracking was enabled automatically. The new version requires a separate set of keys for tracking. Be sure to add the tracking keys when upgrading so shipment tracking stays enabled.

Managing a FedEx Account

For details on configuring and updating account settings, see Managing Shipping Account Settings.

Enabling Shipment Tracking

To enable shipment tracking for your FedEx account, follow these steps:

1. From the left sidebar, go to Directory › Shipping Carriers, and open the FedEx account.
2. Click Enable Tracking.
3. Enter your FedEx tracking API Key and API Secret. Click Where do I get these? for detailed instructions on how to generate the keys.
4. Click Save to activate tracking.

Enabling SmartPost

FedEx accounts do not have SmartPost (Ground Economy) enabled by default. Before activating it in Goflow, contact your FedEx representative to confirm that SmartPost is enabled on your account and to obtain your SmartPost Hub ID.

Once confirmed with FedEx, click Enable SmartPost, and select the Hub ID from the list.

Enabling Address Validation

FedEx supports two ground delivery methods, depending on the address type:

• Ground - For commercial addresses
• Home Delivery - For residential addresses

When you create a shipment, Goflow checks with FedEx to determine whether the destination address is classified as commercial or residential, based on FedEx’s internal address database. If address validation is enabled on store shipping accounts, Goflow will automatically generate either a Ground or Home Delivery shipping label based on the address type returned by FedEx.

If a Ground label is created for a residential address, FedEx will apply a Residential Delivery Surcharge.

If you want all shipments for a store to always use Home Delivery, you can disable address validation and configure your shipping policies to assign orders to Home Delivery.

You can disable address validation for third party billing shipments only. This setting is recommended for dropship stores where the channel determines the shipping method to use, and overriding the channel-instructed method may result in violating fulfillment policies.