Configuring Grouped Shipping Strategies Using Shipping Routes

SHOPLINE's Shipping Routes is a powerful tool that enables you to create customized shipping profiles for different product groups, accommodating a wide range of logistical needs. For example, you can assign cold chain logistics for frozen goods and standard shipping for regular items, offering your customers flexible shipping options at checkout. Additionally, Shipping Routes can optimize your multi-warehouse operations by prioritizing local warehouses and automatically redirecting orders to alternative locations when necessary.

This guide provides detailed instructions on how to configure this feature, explains its matching logic, and addresses common questions to help you create more customized shipping solutions for your store.

Creating Shipping Strategies

A shipping strategy enables you to create specific shipping rates for different product groups. During checkout, the system automatically matches the most suitable shipping method based on the products in the cart and the product groups defined in your shipping strategies.

1. From your SHOPLINE admin panel, go to Settings > Shipping and Delivery.
2. In the Shipping strategies section under Shipping routes, click Add strategy.
   
3. Configure your strategy:

• • Shipping strategy name/description: Provide a clear and descriptive name and add any relevant details for your strategy. This information will be displayed to customers at checkout.
    
    
  • Please review your location inventory carefully. If it's not available, this strategy won't be used: Enable this option to verify the inventory availability at the shipping location. If the product stock is insufficient, this strategy will not be applied.
    
  • Also match standard shipping as an additional option: Enable this option to include standard shipping as an additional shipping option.
    
  • Products in use: Click Add product to select the products to which this strategy will apply.
  • Shipping zones and fees: Set up the shipping zones and corresponding shipping fees for this strategy.
    
    

4. Enable the strategy and click Add to save your changes.
   

Understanding and Adjusting the Strategy Match Order

Shipping strategies are matched in the order they are created, with earlier strategies taking precedence. Standard shipping is always positioned last as a fallback option. To modify the matching order, follow these steps:

1. From your SHOPLINE admin panel, go to Settings > Shipping and Delivery.
2. In the Shipping route settings section under Shipping routes, click Set now.
   
   
3. In the Match order section, drag and drop the strategies to rearrange their order.
   
   
4. Click Update to save your changes.

Adjusting the Strategy Display Order

The display order of your shipping strategies determines how shipping options are presented to customers at checkout. You can easily rearrange this order to meet your specific needs:

1. From your SHOPLINE admin panel, go to Settings > Shipping and Delivery.
2. In the Shipping route settings section under Shipping routes, click Set now.
   
   
3. In the Display order section, drag and drop the strategies to rearrange their order.
   
   
4. Click Update to save your changes.

Managing Shipping Strategies

Updating a Shipping Strategy

You can modify existing shipping strategies, but those created by third-party apps cannot be edited here.

1. From your SHOPLINE admin panel, go to Settings > Shipping and Delivery.
2. In the Shipping strategies section, locate the strategy you want to modify and click Edit.
   
   
3. After making the necessary changes, click Update.

Deleting a Shipping Strategy

You can delete existing shipping strategies, but those created by third-party apps cannot be deleted here.

1. From your SHOPLINE admin panel, go to Settings > Shipping and Delivery.
2. In the Shipping strategies section, locate the strategy you want to delete and click Edit.
   
   
3. Scroll down to the bottom of the settings page, then click the Delete strategy button.
   
   
4. In the pop-up window, click Delete to confirm the deletion.
   
   

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What's the difference between shipping fees, local delivery, in-store pickup, and shipping strategies?
   

   Feature	Use Cases
   Shipping Fees	Shipping fees are typically used for standard delivery services, such as courier or home delivery. You can customize shipping fees for specific product groups. For products not included in a custom group, a general shipping fee can be applied.   When checkout items belong to different groups, the system will automatically calculate and combine the shipping fees for each group.
   Local delivery	Suitable for in-city deliveries handled by the merchant. You need to enable local delivery for specific locations and configure delivery areas and fee rules.    If a product is in stock at a location supporting local delivery and the shipping address is within the configured delivery area, the customer can choose local delivery at checkout.
   In-store pickup	Suitable for scenarios where the merchant doesn't offer delivery, and customers need to pick up their orders in-store. You need to enable in-store pickup for specific locations and set expected pickup times.   If a product is in stock at a location supporting in-store pickup and the shipping address meets the requirements, the customer can choose in-store pickup at checkout.
   Shipping strategies	Use shipping strategies when general shipping fee configurations don't meet your specific needs. Shipping strategies allow you to assign different shipping methods and fees to various product groups.    The configuration of shipping strategies is similar to custom shipping fees, but their use cases differ significantly.    The system will match product groups according to the shipping route matching order and assign shipping methods and fees for each group.    In the shipping route, the general shipping fees and custom groups in the shipping fee configuration are treated as a shipping strategy named "Standard shipping."

   
   
   
2. How to prioritize shipping from the US warehouse and fall back to the Singapore warehouse when stock is insufficient?

To implement this business scenario, you’ll need to contact SHOPLINE customer support to enable the whitelist feature for shipping routes and locations. Below is an example configuration assuming you have two physical warehouses: one in the Eastern US and the other in Singapore.

• • Eastern US Warehouse: Primarily for stocking best-selling items to meet customer demand for fast delivery while managing inventory cycles.
  • Singapore Warehouse: Serves as the main warehouse with the most complete inventory.

Configuration Steps:

1. 1. Set Up Locations: Go to Settings > Location to add two locations, then name them Eastern US Warehouse and Singapore Warehouse to represent the physical warehouses.
   2. Allocate Inventory: In Products > Product details page, allocate inventory quantities for each product to both the Eastern US Warehouse and Singapore Warehouse.
   3. Configure Shipping Fees: Go to Settings > Shipping and Delivery > Shipping fees. Add a group to configure shipping methods and fees specifically for the Singapore Warehouse. (You can achieve this setting even without creating a separate group.)
   4. Configure Shipping Strategies: Go to Settings > Shipping and Delivery > Shipping strategies > Add strategy and create a shipping strategy for the Eastern US Warehouse. Add a group to configure shipping methods and fees specifically for it, and check the box Please review your location inventory carefully. If it's not available, this strategy won't be used.
   5. Adjust the Route Matching Order: In Settings > Shipping and Delivery > Shipping route settings > Match order, ensure the Eastern US Warehouse has a higher priority than Standard Shipping.
   6. Adjust the Display Order: In Settings > Shipping and Delivery > Shipping route settings > Display order, configure the display priority based on your business strategy. For example, if you want to prioritize displaying product groups from the Eastern US Warehouse, configure it as "Eastern US Warehouse > Standard Shipping".
   7. In Settings > Shipping and Delivery > Shipping route settings > Display order, configure the display priority based on your business strategy. For example, you can prioritize displaying product groups from the Eastern US Warehouse over Standard Shipping.
   8. Verify the Configuration: Test the checkout page to ensure the configuration works as expected.

Shipping Fee Example:

Suppose Product A has the following shipping strategies and shipping fee plans:

• • Shipping strategy: Eastern US Warehouse
    • Shipping locations: a, b
    • Shipping method: Same-day delivery
  • Standard shipping fee
    • Shipping locations: c
    • Shipping method: Standard shipping

3. Can I configure Oneship within my shipping strategies?

Yes, you can. You have the flexibility to assign specific carriers, including Oneship, to each individual shipping strategy. 

4. Will shipping routes conflict with Amazon Buy with Prime (BWP)?

No, shipping routes are compatible with Amazon Buy with Prime (BWP). However, shipping strategies created through third-party plugins cannot be edited or deleted in the SHOPLINE Admin. You can disable the BWP strategy in the app and adjust the matching and display order of the BWP strategy as needed.