Shipping carriers integrations

Every seller can do most of the administrative tasks related to sending parcels directly in the BaseLinker system. To do this, you only need to enable and configure the connection with the selected carrier account.

BaseLinker has an exceptionally rich library of integrations with carriers and brokers. Currently, the system has nearly 50 carrier integrations! This number is constantly growing, and we connect another API at customers’ requests.

Most of the carrier integration services available in the BaseLinker system enable:

Parcel shipping – individually, in bulk, and using automatic actions,
Printing of shipping labels,
Generating a shipping manifest,
Automatic forwarding of the tracking number to Allegro and other marketplace platforms, as well as to the online store,
Sending a tracking number to the customer along with a tracking link.

BaseLinker connects to the carrier or broker system via the API. We strive to ensure that all functionalities made available in the API of a given carrier are also included in our integration. However, it should be noted that individual integrations differ.

The functionalities available in a given module depend on whether they are available in the API of the selected carrier or broker.

Connecting a carrier or broker account

To connect a carrier account, follow these steps:

In the BaseLinker system in the Integration section, select the green ‘Add integration’ button
In the Carriers section, select the appropriate carrier
On the Connect Accounts screen, enter the required data
Select the “Save” button
Ready – carrier module will be visible on the diagram with preview of connected integration and integration table 🙂

In case of connection errors, please pay attention to::

The entered data is correct. For example, Poczta Polska requires a password change once a month.
The data format is correct. It’s worth checking if you accidentally entered spaces at the beginning or end of the data being given.
if all required data been provided. For example, for some integrations you need a login and password to access the API, not just the login and password for the carrier panel.

From the perspective of the BaseLinker system, it is important to get access data to the account. All questions regarding, for example, an offer or contract with a carrier or broker, should be directed to the carrier’s Customer Service.

For most of the integrations, you will be asked to provide the following information:

Account name. It can be any name that identifies the account in the BaseLinker system. This is important if several accounts have been created in the module.
Access data. Depending on the carrier, only the login and password for the carrier panel or a special login and password for access to the API are required for integration. For example, for the Poczta Polska module, all you need to do is enter your login and password into the E-mail sender. On the other hand, in the case of the Inpost Courier module, you need to obtain the account API token. For this purpose, please contact your trade supervisor.
Parcel sender’s details. This is, for example, the name of the company, contact person, address, zip code, city, country, telephone number, e-mail address, account number to be downloaded, place of costs, etc.

This data may not always be completed in the carrier module settings. For example, in the Inpost Carrier module, the sender’s data is completed on InPost side based on the entered token and the organization ID. To change this data (eg if you want to see the trade name on the labels, not the company name), you should contact InPost directly.

Information on the weight of the package. This issue is discussed in the Shipping Weight section.

In selected plug-ins you can additionally specify in the settings:

printout type
additional information on the consignment note/shipping label, useful eg for a warehouse – reference number
pickup hours (in case the integration allows the courier to be ordered)

Several carrier or broker accounts can be connected in the settings of a given module. You can also connect the same account several times (giving access data for one account)! This option can be helpful, for example when:

The seller has several parcel collection addresses (eg he sends parcels from various warehouses). It is then worth to connect two accounts – eg warehouse A and warehouse B – providing the same sender data, but entering a different pickup addresses.
The seller has several separate bank accounts for COD payments
If only two types of shipments are sent with a fixed package weight, e.g. 5 kg and 10 kg

Services available in the carrier’s API

The functionalities available in a given module depend on whether they are available in the API of the selected carrier or broker. Options active for a given carrier module are displayed in green in the Integration Settings table:

Labels – an option available for all modules.
Reports – an option available for selected modules. The manifest can also be created separately in the Printouts and exports section.
Shipment status – option available for selected modules. Useful, among others in the construction of automatic actions. It should be noted that BaseLinker updates the shipment status every 4 hours. However, the system have no influence on when a given shipment will be marked as delivered in the carrier system.
Shipping – an option available for all modules.
Cancellation – the option is available for selected modules.
Ordering courier – option available for selected modules

The appearance of the module

Most of the integration includes the following sections:

1. Created parcels

Here you can see a list of shipments:

In the case of Poczta Polska integration in the system, shipment packages are also visible.

The BaseLinker system also allows you to monitor the status of sent parcels.

2. Pickup order

Some carriers enable the order pickup directly via the API. In this case, the section “Pickup order” is available in the module of the given integration. If the carrier does not provide this option, the pickup should be ordered directly from the carrier’s account.

In the case of some carriers, shipments given by the API are not visible in the carrier system (in the user’s panel).

However, some carriers allow you to change the default settings. In order for the parcels created by the API to be visible in the courier system, please contact its support in order to enable the functionality of showing shipments created by the API.

Shipments are always visible directly in the BaseLinker system (in the “Created parcels” section).

Automatic pickup ordering

For courier integrations where ordering a courier through BaseLinker is possible (green Ordering courier icon on the list of connected integrations), the functionality of automatic pickup ordering is available. You can find the automation settings in the settings of the courier integration.

The automations are triggered daily at the time specified by you, according to the configuration.

Detailed information about this functionality and instructions for its configuration can be found in our article Automatic pickup ordering.

3. Accounts in the courier system (API connection)

A list of connected courier or broker accounts is displayed here. These can be different accounts, or the same account connected several times.

4. Default settings of shipment and printouts

Here you can find settings common to all connected accounts in a given integration.

5. Size and weight templates

Here you will create a size and weight template (fields to be completed in the template depend on the options available in the API of a given carrier). The template should be created for each integration separately.

Package weight

Package weight can be determined in several places:

1) Maximum package weight (module settings). Some integrations allow you to specify the maximum package weight for the entire carrier or broker account. For example, in the settings of the module Inpost Kurier, the field “Block max. Package weight” is available. This is an additional security for the seller – the package will not be sent if the value of this field is greater than 0, and the weight of the parcel will be greater than this value (in kilograms).

2) Fixed package weight (module settings). In the Inpost Kurier settings, the “Fixed package weight” field is available. If the value of this field is greater than 0, each parcel will be sent with such a package weight, regardless of the settings on the form. This parameter can be set, for example, when the carrier offers a fixed fee for a package regardless of the weight (in kilograms) or when the weight of the package is not assigned to the product.

3) Package weight on the order card. The weight in orders is the same as saved with the product in the warehouse at the time of listing the offer based on this product or linking the offer with this product.

For more information, see article Linking offers to warehouse products

Package size

When sending a package, the seller must also specify the size of the package or specify its dimensions. The size is given for the entire order. You can do this when creating a package from the order card.

You can divide orders by size between statuses, and then select all orders in such status and create shipments in a suitably selected size from the list of orders in bulk.

In addition, it is also possible to set an automatic action, which will create the package with the appropriate size depending on the set condition, e.g. depending on the name, ID, SKU, attribute, quantity of products in the order.

Such action can also be triggered by an personal event (a button, a shortcut, scanning a barcode). For example, the seller may create the following own event: “Parcel box A”, “Parcel box B”, “Parcel box C” with a barcode assigned. Then, scanning the code of the event “Paczkomat A” will add a shipment with an A size.

Not every carrier allows you to choose the size of the shipment. For example, the Furgonetka broker determines the size of the parcel lockers based on the dimensions of the package sent.

Type of delivery

In majority of marketplace modules, orders are downloaded with information on the method of shipment (in the case of the Allegro and eBay platforms – together with the FOD). The eMag is an exception here. This platform does not return the shipping method, therefore the type of shipment should be set in the eMAG section → eMAG Accounts → Settings → Orders → Shipping method.

Cash on delivery (COD)

Information about whether the customer chose a payment on delivery can be found on the order card (checkbox “Cash on delivery”). In addition, there is additional option on the order list Advanced search → Cash on delivery (Any) / Cash on delivery / Payment in advance, which allows you to filter out this type of shipment.

When constructing automatic actions related to COD’s, it should be noted that BaseLinker at first receives an order and then the payment information. Additionally, in the case of the Allegro and eBay platforms, information on the method of shipment is collected along with the FOD.

Therefore, in automatic actions there are 3 different events:

order downloaded – only the order information was downloaded – without information on the payment status, and in the case of Allegro / eBay platforms also without information on the type of shipment,
a delivery option form has been downloaded (Allegro / eBay) – downloaded, among others information on the type of shipment (applies only to Allegro / eBay platforms).
the order has been paid for.

It is a good practice to use automatic actions to transfer from the total pool of new (unpaid) orders to a separate status:

orders paid (event “the order has been paid”)
cash on delivery orders from Allegro / eBay (event “delivery form downloaded (Allegro / eBay)” with condition “Cash on delivery” in Shipments group)
cash on delivery orders from other marketplace platforms and online stores (the event “picked up the order” with the condition “Cash on delivery” in Shipments group).

In this way, only new, unpaid, not marked as COD orders will remain in the total pool.

Allegro promotional items

It is enough to display the word “Allegro” in the shipping method, and the system will automatically recognize the Allegro promotional parcel.

Allegro Poczta Polska (Allegro Polish Post)

Poczta Polska generates a separate account in the Elektroniczny Nadawca service for Allegro shipments. Therefore, two accounts should be connected to the BaseLinker system – an account for regular shipments and an account for Allegro shipments.

When sending an ‘Allegro …’ type package, you must select a Poczta Polska account from the drop-down list on the ‘Account name’ order card. You can also create an automatic action that will create a shipment using the appropriate courier connection depending on the method of shipping in the order.