Auto-Rate Shopping Settings

Auto-Rate Shopping Settings

What is it?

Auto-rate shopping finds the cheapest shipping method before an order gets to the packing station. So when your packer is ready, the label prints instantly. No waiting around.

You now control it per customer and per order. It used to be one on/off switch for your whole Packiyo account, and only our engineers could flip it. Now it's in your hands.

😎 Why it's cool: Running a 3PL? Turn it on for one client and leave it off for another. Need one special order to behave differently? Override it on that order alone.

Turn it on for a customer

  1. Go to Settings > Shipping > Auto-Rate Shopping. You'll find it right beside Customs and Return Label.
  2. Choose On and click Save.

Alert
Heads up: A customer with nothing set is Off.

Let a 3PL's clients follow the 3PL

If you're a 3PL, you'll see On / Off for your own account. Each of your clients also gets a third choice: Inherit. That's where every client starts.
  1. On the same page, pick the client under Select Account.
  2. Leave it on Inherit to follow your 3PL setting, or choose On or Off for that client only.


Quote
Quick example: Your 3PL is set to On and a client is on Inherit. That client's orders auto-rate shop, because you do.

Override it on a single order

  1. Open the order and click Edit.
  2. In Order Settings, scroll below the last checkbox to find Auto-rate shopping.
  3. Pick an option:
    1. Inherit from customer: follows the customer setting. The brackets tell you what the order will actually do, like Inherit from customer (On).
    2. On or Off: overrides the customer setting for this order only.


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Good news for clients: Your own users can see what an order will do even if they can't open the customer-level setting. Click the info icon for a quick explanation.

Everything gets logged

Every change is written to the order's log, with who made it and what changed. For example: Auto-rate shopping changed from "Inherit" to "On".


Let an automation decide

The automation builder has two new actions:
  1. Turn on auto-rate shopping
  2. Turn off auto-rate shopping
To set one up:
  1. Go to Automations > Create.
  2. Choose your customers and the event, for example Order is marked ready to ship.
  3. Under Select the action, choose one of the two new actions, then save.


See it on a bulk ship batch

If any order in a bulk ship batch auto-rate shops, the batch's progress page adds a Pre-calculated shipping method column. It reads Not set until a rate has been worked out.

If no order in the batch auto-rate shops, the column stays hidden.



Good to know

  1. No "back to Inherit" automation. Automations can only turn auto-rate shopping on or off. To make an order follow its customer again, set it to Inherit by hand on the order.
  2. Automations can't check this setting first. They can change it, but can't use it as a condition. Most orders inherit, so we can't read an Inherit order as simply on or off.
  3. Using our Public API? It now answers only API access tokens. A signed-in browser session on its own is refused. We don't know of any integration relying on a session, but if yours does, switch to a token. The mobile app and everything above are unaffected.

Need a hand?

Stuck or not sure which setting fits your setup? Send us an email to support@packiyo.com and we'll sort it out together.