Shipping codes

Shipping information can be defined at the store level. Attributes such as shipping mode, shipping code and ship jurisdiction can be defined at the store relationship level also. In most cases, products are shipped from a fulfillment center, a separate agency that is responsible for warehousing the store's goods.

For a WebSphere Commerce store to ship orders, the following must be defined in the database:

• A shipping mode: The combination of a shipping carrier (a company that provides shipping services from a fulfillment center to a customer), and the shipping service offered by that carrier. Examples of shipping modes are ABC Shipping Company, Overnight service and ABC Shipping Company, Express delivery.
• A shipping arrangement: An arrangement between the store and a fulfillment center indicating that the fulfillment center will ship goods for a particular store using specified shipping modes. Certain conditions can be placed on the shipping arrangements; for example, goods will only be shipped to specified jurisdictions.
• A shipping charge: A charge for delivering orders to customers. A shipping charge can be calculated in several possible ways. Here are typical examples of how shipping charges can be calculated:
  • Charged per order. For example: You charge $5 for each order. If John Smith places an order for 5 books, and Jane Smith places an order for one book, both orders are charged $5 for shipping.
  • Charged per item. For example: You charge $1 for each item in the order. If a customer orders ten books, the shipping charge is $10.
  • Charged as a percentage of the cost of the order. For example: You set your shipping charge as 5% of the total cost of each order. A $100 purchase incurs $5 in shipping charges to make the total a $105 purchase.
  • Charged based on weight. For example: You charge $2 for deliveries less than 10 kilograms, $5 for deliveries 10 kilograms or more and less than 25 kilograms, and $10 for deliveries 25 kilograms or more.
  • Charged based on quantity ordered. For example: You charge $3 to deliver 1-5 CDs, $5 to ship 6-15 CDs, and $10 to ship more than 15 CDs.
  Other variables affecting the shipping charge are the shipping mode, the location to which the goods are shipped, and the fulfillment center that ships the goods. You can also combine the shipping charges; for example, for orders with multiple types of order items, you may charge by weight for some items and by quantity for others.

When an OrderItem object is associated with a shipping charge CalculationCode object, information in the SHPJCRULE database table is used to determine which CalculationRule object should be used to calculate the shipping charge based on the shipping address, the shipping mode, and the fulfillment center of the OrderItem object.

Shipping jurisdictions and shipping jurisdiction groups support the calculation of shipping charges.

You can create your shipping charges, and all of the associated information, using the Shipping notebook in WebSphere Commerce Accelerator.