An enterprise can set up multiple shipping/delivery/pick-up methods and apply various fees for those different methods. (Note - it is not currently possible to apply taxes to shipping methods fees) . Users can also set a shipping ‘category’ for each method (ie: refrigerated, frozen…). Categories that appear to the user are pre-established by the local OFN instance (so contact them if you need another category).
Users can also tag these methods to different users (the enterprise needs to be a hub-type to do tagging).
But - how can an enterprise effectively pack orders for different shipping methods? Which reports are best?
Use the order confirmations
Both the customer and the shop (whatever email is listed on the enterprise profile under ‘notifications’) get notifications about each order. These notifications show the shipping/delivery method. These can be printed and used to pack orders for each delivery/shipping location. But for larger shops with many orders - this might not be efficient.
Run a report and print it off as a CSV (Excel) file. Modify it and print it as you wish. Shipping method shows in several OFN reports:
Pack by Customer Report - does not show the shipping method. (However, it does show whether or not a temperature-controlled shipping method applies. So - this report might be useful to you in separating orders that require temperature controlled shipping versus those that do not.). But as it currently stands the pack by customer report does not help you pack orders for different shipping methods.
Order Cycle - Pack by Customer report - shows the shipping method. It also has a field that indicates whether or not delivery is needed for the order. You can download this report, and sort it by the shipping method field, remove any columns you don’t need, and print this. It has address details for any orders being delivered, so you can also pass it to a driver if needed. (Wouldn’t it be ever so nice if those addresss could be exported into the drivers mapping program on their cell phone? Maybe the can?)
Delivery report - this report is very useful to whoever is doing deliveries or staffing your pick-up spot once your orders are packed. You can download reports for a combination of delivery methods. The report gives the address, contact info - inluding phone, whether the goods need to be delivered via refrigeration, how payment is/will be made, and the balance outstanding or credit owing on the account.
To pack orders effectively for different shipping methods, you can use the Order Cycle - Pack by Customer report. This report shows the shipping method for each order and can be sorted by that field. You can then remove any unnecessary columns and print the report to use as a packing list. This report also includes address details for any orders that need to be delivered, so you can pass it to a delivery driver if needed.
You can also use the Delivery report to get a list of orders that need to be delivered and view the delivery details, including the shipping method, contact information, and payment information. This report can also be filtered by delivery method, so you can get a list of orders that need to be delivered using a specific shipping method.
It is also a good idea to communicate with your customers about their preferred shipping method and any specific requirements they may have, such as the need for temperature-controlled shipping. This will help you ensure that orders are packed and shipped in the most efficient and effective way.