Carrier Management in Locad gives you powerful control over how your orders are shipped. To enable specific carriers or create custom shipping rules, you must use a Custom Shipping Profile for carrier selection based on destination, cost, and speed, ensuring an optimal delivery experience for your customers.


TABLE OF CONTENTS

  • Introduction to Carrier Management
  • Walkthrough: Managing Your Shipping Profiles
  • FAQs


Introduction to Carrier Management

Shipping profiles are sets of rules that tell the Locad network which shipping carriers to use for your orders. You can create different rules for various destinations (shipping zones) and service levels (e.g., Standard, Express). This feature allows you to customize your shipping strategy, whether you want to automatically select the cheapest carrier or prioritize specific partners for certain routes.


Walkthrough: Managing Your Shipping Profiles

  1. Navigate to Carrier Management
    From the main dashboard, go to the Integrations section in the left-hand menu and select Carrier Management.
  2. Understand Profile Types
    The page is divided into Active Profiles and Inactive Profiles. There are two main types of profiles:

    • Public Profiles: Default templates provided by Locad. These have limited editing options.

    • Custom Profiles: Profiles you create for full control over carrier selection. To modify shipping rules, you must use a custom profile.

  3. Create or Edit a Custom Profile
    Click the Add Custom Shipping Profile button in the top-right corner to create a new one, or click Details on an existing custom profile to modify it.
    For a new Custom Shipping Profile, In the pop-up window:

    1. Give your new profile a unique Name.

    2. Select the Shipping profile that will be duplicated (usually the default Public Profile).

    3. Click Duplicate.

  4. Enable Carriers in Your Custom Profile

    Now that you have an editable custom profile, you can enable the carriers you need.

    • Click Details on your newly created custom profile.

    • Use the toggles to enable or disable specific carriers for each service level (e.g., Standard Shipping, Express Shipping).

  5. Configure Shipping Zones and Warehouses
    Inside your custom profile, you must define where you are shipping from and to.

    • Select Warehouse: Choose the Warehouse/Pickup location your orders will ship from.

    • Add Shipping Zone: Define the destination for this set of rules (e.g., United States, United Arab Emirates, Rest of the World).
      By default, a shipping zone is created for the warehouse's home country (e.g., "Shipping To: Philippines"). To ship to other countries, you would click the Add Shipping Zone button. However, this requires international shipping to be activated on your account. If the feature is disabled, you won't be able to add new zones.

  6. Set Carrier Rules and Strategy
    For each shipping zone, you can customize the carriers for different service levels (e.g., Standard Shipping, Express Shipping).

    • Selection Strategy: Choose how Locad picks a carrier:

      • Cheapest First: Locad automatically selects the most cost-effective carrier.

      • Custom: You manually enable and prioritize the carriers you want to use.

    • Carrier Selection: Use the toggles to enable or disable specific carriers (e.g., DHL, USPS) for each service level.

  7. Save and Activate
    Once you have configured your rules, click Save. Ensure the profile is in the Active Profiles section for the rules to apply to your future orders.


FAQs:

  1. What is the difference between a "Public Profile" and a "Custom Profile"?
    Ans - Public Profiles are non-editable default profile from Locad. On attempting to change carrier rules on a public profile will prompt you to create a custom one. A Custom Profile gives you complete control to define your own shipping zones, service levels, and carrier priorities.
  2. What is a "Selection Strategy"?
    Ans - This is the logic Locad uses to assign a carrier to your order. "Cheapest First" is a hands-off approach that prioritizes cost savings. "Custom" provides granular control, allowing you to manually choose which carriers are eligible for selection.
  3. Can I use different carriers for domestic and international shipping?
    Ans - Yes. By using the "Add Shipping Zone" feature, you can create one set of rules for your primary country (e.g., United States) and a completely different set of rules and carriers for another zone (e.g., "Rest of the World").
  4. What happens if I don't enable any carriers in my custom profile?
    Ans - The system requires at least one carrier to be enabled for a service level to be valid. If you try to save a profile without any active carriers, you will receive an error message prompting you to enable at least one.
  5. Why can't I add a new shipping zone for another country?
    Ans - To add shipping zones for international destinations, the "International Shipping" feature must be enabled for your account. If the main "International Shipping Enabled" toggle is off, the "Add Shipping Zone" button will be disabled. Please contact your Locad account manager to enable this feature.