OT: Automating shipments

Does anyone know how large shippers automate shipping with FedEx, USPS, UPS etc ? (or whatever you have in your country) ? These shippers provide web interfaces for individuals to generate waybills, but large shippers can't possibly be doing that. How is this done ? Does FedEx just give them standards for labels, and the shippers simply send some HTTP transaction to FedEx and get a waybill number and they they create the waybill and print it themselves ? Or do they submit the information and FedEx responds with a .pdf that contains the printable waybill ? Since these shippers have well integrated systems, I doubt they run some PC software that handles printing of waybills since this would need to integrated with their ordering system (to get the address), shipping (to get weight/size of package and then report back with wayboll number so the buyer can get their email advising the shipment has been made and provide him with the tracking number.

JF Mezei wrote 2011-12-01 18:32: > Does anyone know how large shippers automate shipping with FedEx, USPS, > UPS etc ? (or whatever you have in your country) ? > > These shippers provide web interfaces for individuals to generate > waybills, but large shippers can't possibly be doing that. > > How is this done ? > > Does FedEx just give them standards for labels, and the shippers simply > send some HTTP transaction to FedEx and get a waybill number and they > they create the waybill and print it themselves ? > > Or do they submit the information and FedEx responds with a .pdf that > contains the printable waybill ? > > > Since these shippers have well integrated systems, I doubt they run some > PC software that handles printing of waybills since this would need to > integrated with their ordering system (to get the address), shipping (to > get weight/size of package and then report back with wayboll number so > the buyer can get their email advising the shipment has been made and > provide him with the tracking number. My *guess* is that they have some API's (Web-Services, SOAP or similar) where large customers can connect with their own shipping systems and "integrate". Much like the API that eBay offers where large sellers can fully integrate eBay into their own warehouse/order system. It seems resonable that the customer can get back whatever information is needed to print the shippig label localy according to some specification. Maybe they even can supply you with label form/layouts for popular label printers (Zebra, Intermec and so on). But why not ask them ?

On Thu, 2011-12-01 at 19:21 +0100, Jan-Erik Soderholm wrote: > My *guess* is that they have some API's (Web-Services, SOAP or > similar) where large customers can connect with their own shipping > systems and "integrate". Much like the API that eBay offers where > large sellers can fully integrate eBay into their own warehouse/order > system.=20 I think that's actually Amazon, not eBay.=20 --=20 Tactical Nuclear Kittens

Single Stage to Orbit wrote 2011-12-02 00:08: > On Thu, 2011-12-01 at 19:21 +0100, Jan-Erik Soderholm wrote: > >> My *guess* is that they have some API's (Web-Services, SOAP or >> similar) where large customers can connect with their own shipping >> systems and "integrate". Much like the API that eBay offers where >> large sellers can fully integrate eBay into their own warehouse/order >> system. > > I think that's actually Amazon, not eBay. And I thing you are wrong. Generall info: http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/developers-program.html https://www.x.com/developers/ebay Specificly about the API with tools and references: https://www.x.com/developers/ebay/products/trading-api The complete WSDL defenition for the eBay SOAP API: http://developer.ebay.com/webservices/latest/ebaySvc.wsdl List of API functions: http://developer.ebay.com/DevZone/XML/docs/Reference/eBay/index.html Example of an call to the "AddItem" function incl example code: http://developer.ebay.com/DevZone/XML/docs/Reference/eBay/AddItem.html#Samples Complete PDF manual for the eBay API: http://developer.ebay.com/DevZone/XML/docs/PDF/eBayXMLAPIGuide.pdf

Jan-Erik Soderholm wrote 2011-12-02 00:28: > Single Stage to Orbit wrote 2011-12-02 00:08: >> On Thu, 2011-12-01 at 19:21 +0100, Jan-Erik Soderholm wrote: >> >>> My *guess* is that they have some API's (Web-Services, SOAP or >>> similar) where large customers can connect with their own shipping >>> systems and "integrate". Much like the API that eBay offers where >>> large sellers can fully integrate eBay into their own warehouse/order >>> system. >> >> I think that's actually Amazon, not eBay. > > And I thing you are wrong. > > > Generall info: > http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/developers-program.html > https://www.x.com/developers/ebay > > Specificly about the API with tools and references: > https://www.x.com/developers/ebay/products/trading-api > > The complete WSDL defenition for the eBay SOAP API: > http://developer.ebay.com/webservices/latest/ebaySvc.wsdl > > List of API functions: > http://developer.ebay.com/DevZone/XML/docs/Reference/eBay/index.html > > Example of an call to the "AddItem" function incl example code: > http://developer.ebay.com/DevZone/XML/docs/Reference/eBay/AddItem.html#Samples > > Complete PDF manual for the eBay API: > http://developer.ebay.com/DevZone/XML/docs/PDF/eBayXMLAPIGuide.pdf > Actualy, the "Product Overview" on page 51 of the PDF is quite good... "eBay Web Services provides programmatic access to the eBay marketplace. It enables third-party applications to build custom applications, tools, and services that leverage the eBay marketplace in new ways." I have built my own auction-listing application against a local swedish auction site (eBay owned and using a Web Services/SOAP interface built on the eBay API) using Python on OpenVMS. This tool has automaticly been creating creating aprox 2.000 auctions since Aug this year. 10-20 new auctions each evening. I enter pictures, descriptive text and other auction parameters. Then I enter how many I have and with witch interval I want them listed. Then it's just to collect the money and pack/ship... :-) I have items currently that will re-list automaticly each 3-4 days until May-2012. Best Regards Jan-Erik.

On 12/01/2011 09:32 AM, JF Mezei wrote: > Does anyone know how large shippers automate shipping with FedEx, USPS, > UPS etc ? (or whatever you have in your country) ? > > These shippers provide web interfaces for individuals to generate > waybills, but large shippers can't possibly be doing that. > > How is this done ? > > Does FedEx just give them standards for labels, and the shippers simply > send some HTTP transaction to FedEx and get a waybill number and they > they create the waybill and print it themselves ? > > Or do they submit the information and FedEx responds with a .pdf that > contains the printable waybill ? > > > Since these shippers have well integrated systems, I doubt they run some > PC software that handles printing of waybills since this would need to > integrated with their ordering system (to get the address), shipping (to > get weight/size of package and then report back with wayboll number so > the buyer can get their email advising the shipment has been made and > provide him with the tracking number. We wrote an OpenVMS interface to UPS for one of our customers a few years back. It connects to a web service and returns a image file (GIF I think) which is printed on a label printer and updates an RMS indexed file with the tracking number. It has been one of those write and forget about projects as no one ever asks any question but the customer ships about 100 or so packages a day so I know it works well. Jeff Coffield www.digitalsynergyinc.com

Jeffrey H. Coffield wrote: > We wrote an OpenVMS interface to UPS for one of our customers a few > years back. It connects to a web service and returns a image file (GIF I > think) which is printed on a label printer Cool. Always wanted to know at what level that worked. So they send back a .gif image. I would have thought a .PDF with the barcode fonts embedded to ensure proper printing.

JF Mezei wrote 2011-12-02 06:33: > Jeffrey H. Coffield wrote: > >> We wrote an OpenVMS interface to UPS for one of our customers a few >> years back. It connects to a web service and returns a image file (GIF I >> think) which is printed on a label printer > > Cool. Always wanted to know at what level that worked. So they send back > a .gif image. I would have thought a .PDF with the barcode fonts > embedded to ensure proper printing. Good it was *not* a PDF. PDF is fine for online reading and printing from tabletop client type of systems. PDF is close to worthless on VMS... It could also have been a labelprinter file with an embedded GIF, such as a ZPL file for a Zebra printer. These files are plain text files with the GIF hex-coded. See also : http://www.ups.com/content/us/en/bussol/browse/online_tools_shipping.html https://www.ups.com/upsdeveloperkit/downloadresource?loc=en_US That is as far as one comes without a login at UPS... Jan-Erik.