How To Get Data From Shopping Platform For Creation of Shipping Label

The operations of eCommerce retailers depend heavily on shipping management software. Without such software, the retailers would be forced to rely on manual and tedious order fulfillment processes.

Shipping software can help retailers create shipping labels for packages that contain all the necessary information needed to ship products and track packages.

The article that follows will answer all your questions about creating shipping labels.

The Meaning of Shipping Label

A shipping label contains all of the necessary information needed to ship a product from a warehouse to a customer's home. It is part of order fulfillment, which begins with the packaging. The logistics department uses the label to track parcels as they progress through the stages of order fulfillment and are delivered to the end customer.

The shipping label contains a barcode that the carrier uses to provide real-time updates on the shipping status. This type of barcode technology is commonly used for physical-to-digital conversion in order to manage the data without retailers having to take care of it.

Each carrier has a shipping label template, which is specially designed for its staff and machines to capture data. If the service providers cannot read that data, the packages will not reach the correct destinations, which results in loss of customer trust and eventually brand reputation.

To process orders accurately, the shipping software providers should use templates only.

Data That is in Shipping Label

A shipping label includes specific information regarding the weight and size of a package. For example, it could include:

Name, address, and origin of the sender
The contents of the package
Special instructions for care and handling during transportation
Customer name, address, postal code, country, shipping street address, state and city, e-mail address, and phone number
Product dimensions, weight, and size
Tracking ID, barcode, etc.

Shipping labels include information on shipping methods such as Express, Standard, etc. They help ensure that carriers can ship products at the right pace as chosen by customers. A shipping label's most important feature is its uniqueness.

The other information included on a shipping label is a Maxicode that the machine can read in any direction, a routing code that helps route the package in a sorting section, and a billing option that allows knowing whether the order is prepaid.

How Shipping Software Can Automatically Get Data From Shopping Platforms

Retailers use shipping software to generate shipping labels for each of their products. The software allows them to print all types of shipping labels used by carrier services.

To create shipping labels for the packages, the shipping software needs to connect with carrier services, online stores, and marketplaces. Such a connection can be established with integration between the shipping software and eCommerce platforms where retailers have built their online stores.

For shipping software, API2Cart offers seamless shopping cart integration development services. With a unified API provided by API2Cart, the shipping software can be integrated with different shopping platforms at once. The list of platforms includes Shopify, PrestaShop Magento, WooCommerce and many others. All you need to do is to connect with API2Cart, and it will connect your software with all marketplaces and platforms you need.

The API2Cart API methods listed below allow you to access the data from shopping platforms and create shipping labels:

The order.info method returns all the information associated with an order, including the order ID, billing and shipping addresses, the status of that order, and other related information.
The customer.info method returns all of the customer details—including customer name, phone number, and shipping address—for use in creating a shipping label.
The order.shipment.list method provides information about shipments, including orders status and tracking number/ID.

Moreover, using API2Cart API methods, your software also will be able to:

Import orders from multiple platforms
Add shipment statuses to the orders
Upload product data

To start using API2Cart, create your free account and choose the shopping platforms that you want to connect with. Once you select your subscription plan and partner with API2Cart, your shipping software will be integrated with all the platforms you choose.

To know more about how API2Cart works, contact one of its managers for a free consultation call.