# ShipBob
#### **Overview**
This document explores the installation and utilisation of the ShipBob plugin. ShipBob is a logistics and fulfilment solution crafted to improve and simplify business order fulfilment procedures. It supports effective inventory management, order processing, and shipping, assisting companies in effortlessly delivering products to customers. The platform enables businesses to optimise their supply chain operations, ensuring the punctual and precise fulfilment of orders.
#### **Acquiring Shipbob Access Credentials**
To acquire the token from ShipBob, proceed through the following steps:
1. Visit the ShipBob portal using the provided URL and log in to your account: [https://web.shipbob.com/](https://web.shipbob.com/)
2. Navigate to the "Integrations" option on the left-hand menu and select the "API Tokens" button.
3. Select the "Generate New Token" option, and provide a name for the token and a descriptive explanation. These can be arbitrary, but it is advisable to choose something informative. For instance, you may designate the token name as "Channels Plugin" to facilitate later identification of its purpose.
4. Copy and securely store the generated token, as you must paste it on the Channels setup page.
#### **Installing the ShipBob Plugin**
To integrate the ShipBob with your Channels store, please follow these steps:
1. Access your account and go to the left side of the screen. Click the "Stores" button.
2. If you already have a store, click "View Store" on the right side of the screen to access it directly.
3. Or, click the "Stores" button from the left-hand side of the screen to edit an existing store and click the edit button on the right side. If you need to create a new store, click "+ ADD" above, name it, and use the edit button to make changes.
4. Click the "Plugins" tab.
5. Click "+ ADD" in the Plugins section to begin the installation.
6. A window will appear in the centre of the screen. Choose "ShipBob" from the available channels list.
7. Provide the required information:
- **Add ShipBob Plugin:**
- **Plugin Name:** Input a suitable name in the designated field. Select a meaningful name to you, possibly aligning with your store's name, for clarity in future order references.
- **API Token: **Input the API key acquired from the ShipBob platform.
- **ShipBob Channel Management:**
- **Push Order Channel:** Designate a ShipBob channel to redirect your orders.
- **Order Management:**
- **Exclude Unfulfillable Orders:** Enabling this feature excludes orders destined for ShipBob based on stock availability. When activated, it evaluates the stock levels of products within an order. If any product within bundles, kits, or grouped products requires more stock, ShipBob withholds the order from being processed. This functionality also prevents accepting orders not present in ShipBob or those lacking sufficient stock. For Bundle, Group, or Kit products, the system disassembles them into individual products, assessing stock levels per product. If any single product lacks adequate stock, the entire order is held back from being dispatched to ShipBob.
- **Deduct Stock via Orders:** Adjusts the ShipBob stock levels dynamically as orders are processed.
- **Stock Management:**
- **Add Products to ShipBob:**
- Activate this function to synchronise your store products with ShipBob. Enabling it creates your store products within the ShipBob system.
- For example, suppose you intend to retrieve products from a sales channel like TikTok and transfer the product data to ShipBob. In that case, you must initially activate the product download option from the sales channel. Subsequently, enable the "Add Products to ShipBob" option to ensure the products are first added to Channels. At this point, the system transmits the product data to ShipBob. Follow these steps precisely to ensure the products are generated in ShipBob.
- **Download Products:** Use this feature to fetch product information from the ShipBob plugin and generate corresponding Store products. It also retrieves product quantities from ShipBob every 3 minutes, updating the plugin quantities accordingly.
- **Auto Sync Stock:** This functionality ensures that stock levels across all channels under the store linked to this plugin are regularly updated with quantities received from the ShipBob plugin every 3 minutes.
8. Once all fields are populated, finalise by selecting "Save" at the bottom right.
9. Activate the connection from the top of the screen using the "Is Active" button.
Congratulations! You've successfully set up ShipBob on Channels. Please visit [**this page**](https://channels-documentation.despatchcloud.app/books/plugin-setup-guides/page/plugin-features) to learn more about utilising ShipBob to the fullest.
**Caution:** After creating and saving the plugin, please allow 3 to 5 minutes for activation and data transfer to commence during the first use. Once the initial setup is complete, it is advisable to enable additional settings, such as "Push Order Channel."
[](https://documentation.despatchcloud.com/uploads/images/webp/Channels/Channels_KB_ShipBob01.webp)