Shopping for the Best Shipping Method

Goflow Rate shopping automatically compares all shipping methods available for an order and selects the cheapest method that can deliver on time. Rate shopping is an intelligent way to assign the order shipping method.

Rate shopping determines the best method in three steps:

1. Shipping Details - Calculates the number of boxes, weights, dimensions, and package types.
2. Delivery Date - Determines the required delivery window, based on either the deliver-by date or service level.
3. Shipping Methods - Compares rates across all enabled shipping methods and shipping accounts.

Enabling Rate Shopping

To enable rate shopping for a store, follow these steps:

1. From the left sidebar, go to Directory › Stores and open a store.
2. On the Shipping card, click Manage Shipping.
3. Under Rate Shopping, switch the toggle to On.

Filtering for Rate-Shopped Orders

To find orders where rate shopping successfully selected the best shipping method, filter the Orders page by Cheapest Shipping Selected.

This is especially useful when creating pick lists, as it allows you to separate successfully rate-shopped orders from orders requiring manual review.

Inside a pick list, the quoted rate appears in the Cost column. Use the Shipping Cost filter to find orders with unexpectedly high shipping costs.

Viewing Order Rate Shopping Details

Click the View Rate Shopping Details link inside an order to see how rate shopping calculated shipping details, compared rates, and selected the best shipping method.

The Rate Shopping Details card includes two sections:

• Shipment Details - Shows the calculated boxes, estimated weights and dimensions, package types, and other shipment details that affect rate quotes.
• Shipping Rates - Lists all available methods and their rates, and explains why each option was or was not selected.

Rate shopping normally selects the method with the cheapest rate. Reasons a cheaper method may not be selected include:

• Late Delivery - The carrier promised arrival date falls after the order deliver-by date.
• Disabled Method - The shipping method is disabled for use on the store or excluded from rate shopping.
• Weekend Delivery - The method delivers on a weekend, but the destination is a business address that cannot receive weekend deliveries.

Refreshing Rate Shopping

Goflow automatically rate shops when orders are imported. It selects the cheapest shipping method that delivers on time, assuming the order ships that day.

However, if the order is not shipped that day, rates must be recalculated based on the next shipping day. After midnight, Goflow automatically shops for all open orders again, now assuming they will ship later that day. This process repeats nightly until the order is either shipped or can no longer meet the deliver-by date.

As the delivery window shrinks, the assigned shipping method may change. For example, an order may initially be assigned Ground, later require 2nd Day, and eventually need Next Day shipping to still arrive on time.

Restricting Rate Shopping Methods

Rate shopping normally considers all shipping methods enabled on the store. Methods disabled for label purchasing are automatically excluded from rate shopping.

You can further restrict which methods rate shopping may consider.

Unlike disabled methods, carriers and methods excluded from rate shopping can still manually be assigned to orders and used for label purchasing.

When a shipping policy assigns a carrier or method to an order, rate shopping is automatically restricted:

• Carrier - If the policy assigns a carrier, rate shopping considers only methods for that carrier. For example, assigning Amazon Buy Shipping limits rate shopping to shipping methods offered by Amazon only.
• Method - If the policy assigns both a carrier and method, rate shopping uses only that method and finds the best shipping account for it.

You can also use shipping policies to exclude specific carriers or methods from rate shopping. Policies can apply to all orders in a store, or only to orders that meet specific conditions. For example:

• Hazmat - Exclude USPS for hazardous materials orders. Create a condition: Product Tag: Is One of: Hazmat.
• Expedited - Exclude standard methods for orders where the customer paid for expedited shipping, even if Ground may still deliver on time. Create a condition: Shipping Charge: Is Greater Than: 25.00.

For Action, select Exclude Carrier, and choose one of the following:

• Carrier - Select a carrier and leave All Shipping Methods selected. For example, select USPS to exclude all USPS methods.
• Method - Select specific methods to exclude. For example: UPS Ground, and FedEx Ground.

Failing Rate Shopping

If Goflow cannot calculate shipping rates, or no acceptable shipping option is available, the order is marked as Rate Shopping Failed. Common reasons include:

• Missing Shipment Details - One or more order items are missing required shipping data, such as weight or dimensions.
• Late Delivery - None of the enabled shipping methods can meet the deliver-by date.
• Carrier Unavailable - A carrier could not be reached to return rates.

Rate shopping expects all enabled carriers to respond with rates. If any carrier cannot be reached, rate shopping fails and no shipping method is selected.

When rate shopping fails, the order retains its default shipping method. This is normally determined by the store fallback carrier and the order service level. For example, if the fallback carrier is UPS, a 5-7 Days order defaults to UPS Ground, while a 2-Day order defaults to UPS 2nd Day Air.

Clearing the Selected Rate

Shipping rates are based on the order shipment details, including the box weight, order warehouse, and shipping address. If any of these details change, the rate for the selected method is no longer valid.

The following updates clear the Cheapest Shipping Selected label from the order:

• Address - Changing the ship-to postal code.
• Warehouse - Changing the assigned warehouse.
• Products - Adding or removing order items.
• Listings - Remapping a listing.
• Quantity - Updating item quantities.
• Split - Splitting the order.
• Carrier - Manually changing the shipping carrier or method.
• Account - Manually changing the shipping account.