Audience: Retailers
Shipping Science helps retailers meet on-time delivery goals for the lowest cost. Using Shipping Science, you can:
- Configure which carriers and service levels to use when asking for delivery estimates.
- Set a carrier rank, which will be used in the event of two or more carriers providing the same level of service and cost.
To see how to set up Shipping Science, see Setting up Shipping Science.
Workflow for Shipping Science
- The retailer enables Shipping Science.
- An order comes in with a delivery date and either a specified carrier and service level, or an unspecified carrier and service level.
- Shipping Science looks at the primary trigger to determine the carrier and service level.
- If there is a secondary trigger, Shipping Science reviews the Shipping Preference spreadsheet to determine the alternate carrier and service level (for expedited shipping).
- The order is sent to the supplier with the carrier and service level specified.
Here are some guidelines on how delivery dates and triggers are used to determine the best carrier and service level on orders.
Expected vs. required vs. promise date
Expected delivery date
The expected delivery date (EDD) is submitted at the order level and indicates when the customer expects to receive the package (on or before this date). The expected date is somewhat flexible. Shipping Science will always ensure that the recommended ship method will meet the delivery date unless explicitly set to ignore the EDD.
Example using the EDD: If an expected delivery date of 2024-12-17 is provided, the customer expects the order to arrive on or before December 17, 2024. Shipping Science will recommend the cheapest ship method that will meet the EDD.
Example of ignoring the EDD: If an expected delivery date of 2024-12-17 is provided but the setting to ignore is enabled, Shipping Science will attempt to apply the cheapest overall ship method, but may lead to missed delivery times.
Required delivery date
The required delivery date is submitted at the order level and is used to express the exact date when the customer requires the package to arrive (not before or after this date). The required date is not flexible.
Example: If a required delivery date of 2024-02-14 is provided, the customer is expecting the order to arrive on February 14, 2024.
Promise date
The promise date is typically used for holidays and custom holiday programs. You can use a promise date for a major holiday, like Christmas. Setting the promise date to December 23 or 24 ensures that all shipments are optimized with a recommended shipping service level that gets the package to its destination before Christmas.
The promise date is configured in the Shipping Science settings and indicates when the order has been promised to be delivered to the customer (on or before this date). While expected or required delivery dates are still required on an order level to trigger Shipping Science, the promise date (if used) will overwrite the expected or required delivery date.
Primary and secondary triggers
The primary trigger is required by Shipping Science. Features of the primary trigger:
- Determines which orders are eligible for Shipping Science.
- Specifies either a specific carrier and service level pair or a specific service level code.
- Is used by Rithum, along with the expected or required delivery date, when determining if it should perform Shipping Science on an order.
- Offers the ability to Ignore the Expected Delivery Date (optional).
The secondary trigger is optional. Features of the secondary trigger:
- Determines which orders are eligible for expedited ship method upgrades.
- Specifies either a specific carrier and service level pair or a specific service level code.
- Is used only when expedited ship methods are marked in the Shipping Preferences spreadsheet.
- Will always respect the Expected Delivery Date.
Note: Adding a secondary trigger value may lead to increases in shipping costs as upgraded methods may be applied to orders.
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