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/
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 results in the exclusion of 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 that are not present in ShipBob or those that lack 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. 

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."

Adding a Plugin Rule

1. Navigate to the store where you just installed your ShipBob plugin, locate the ShipBob plugin, and click the edit button on the right-hand side.
2. In the details section, scroll down the page and locate the "Add Rule" button within the "Rules" section.
3. Fill in the required details and select the "Save" button. Then, activate your rule by ticking the "Is Active" button located at the top of the page. Some popular plugin rule examples are below.

Excluding Single Item Orders by Order Item SKUs

To omit orders with single items based on order item SKUs, adhere to the steps below and designate the fields as directed below.

The instructions describe fields lacking specific input requirements, whereas fields that involve selection from dropdown lists present their options directly without additional explanation.

• Rule Name: Provide a description outlining the purpose of this rule.
• Condition: Line Item SKU
• Operator: Exists
• Condition Value: Input the items' SKUs. If you want to exclude the Kit, Bundle, and Group Item SKUs, include them. If multiple SKUs are entered, separate them with commas.
• Action: Update Order Sync Status
• Action Value: Excluded

Excluding Orders by Total Item Quantities

To exclude orders based on total order item quantities, adhere to the instructions below and configure the fields as directed below.

The instructions describe fields lacking specific input requirements, whereas fields that involve selection from dropdown lists present their options directly without additional explanation.

• Rule Name: Specify a description clarifying the purpose of this rule.
• Condition: Total Order Item Quantity
• Operator: Choose the desired operator. For instance, if you intend to exclude orders with a total quantity surpassing 10, select the "Greater than" operator.
• Condition Value: Enter the total quantity for excluding orders. In the provided example, input 10.
• Action: Update Order Sync Status
• Action Value: Excluded

Tagging Orders by Order Item SKU

To tag orders based on order item SKUs, follow the instructions below and configure the fields as specified below.

The instructions describe fields lacking specific input requirements, whereas fields that involve selection from dropdown lists present their options directly without additional explanation.

• Rule Name: Provide a description outlining the purpose of this rule.
• Condition: Line Item SKU
• Operator: Exists
• Condition Value: Enter the Kit, Bundle, and Group Item names to include them. Separate the SKUs with commas if you intend to add more than one.
• Action: Add Tag
• Action Value: Enter the keyword to be used as a tag for your orders in this field.

Multiple tags can be added to an order. If a Product SKU is part of more than one order tagging rule, those tags will be applied to all orders containing that product.

Tagging All Orders Received from a Channel

To tag all orders received from a channel, follow the instructions below and configure the fields accordingly.

The instructions describe fields lacking specific input requirements, whereas fields that involve selection from dropdown lists present their options directly without additional explanation.

• Rule Name: Provide a description explaining the purpose of this rule.
• Condition: Channel Name
• Operator: Equals
• Condition Value: Select the channel from the dropdown list.
• Action: Add Tag
• Action Value: Enter the keyword you want to use as a tag for your orders in this field.

Understanding Order States

Plugin Sync Status

• In Progress: Currently implementing plugin order rules.
• Pending: The order is in the queue for plugin transmission; stock control is applied to order items.
• Excluded: The order hasn't been sent to the plugin, either due to plugin rules or insufficient stock.
• Failed: An error occurred while attempting to send the order to the plugin.
• Synced: The order has been successfully transmitted to the plugin.

Order Sync Status

• In Progress: Ongoing application of plugin order rules.
• Pending: The order is queued for plugin transmission; stock control is applied to order items.
• Excluded: The order is not sent to the plugin due to plugin rules or insufficient stock.
• Failed: An error was encountered while attempting to send the order to the plugin.
• Synced: The order has been successfully transmitted to the plugin.
• Updated: The order update was received from the channel and successfully applied.

Resending Excluded Orders

Follow the below steps to resend the excluded orders:

1. Navigate to the "Orders" option on the left side of the screen.
2. Choose your store with the ShipBob plugin from the "Store" dropdown menu.
3. Click the "Sync Status" button to view excluded orders specifically.
4. Opt for "Excluded" and press "Add" to filter and present only the excluded orders.
5. Within the "Actions" section, utilise the "Resend" button to resend the excluded order.
6. Alternatively, select the pen icon to reveal order details, and then use the "Resend Order" button within the details for the same purpose.

Checking the Product Stock Quantities

For a comprehensive view of product stock quantities, proceed as follows:

1. Access the "Products" page by selecting "Products" from the left-side menu.
2. Choose the specific store for which you wish to review product quantities.
3. Observe the product quantities from the ShipBob Plugin under "Plugin Quantities," noting the synchronisation time under "Plugin Quantity Synced At." The "Quantity" field represents the cumulative sum of quantities received from both the ShipBob plugin and the Despatch Cloud WMS system.

Sending Excluded Orders to Another System Using Webhooks

Ensure a webhook is created exclusively for the "order.excluded" event to direct excluded orders to your intended system. Other order webhooks may send order data to ShipBob and the alternate system.

1. Navigate to the "Store" button on the left-hand screen, followed by clicking the "Edit Details" button under the "Actions" section.
2. Proceed to the "Webhooks" tab, then click the "+ Add" button to initiate a new webhook.
3. Fill in the details:
   • Event: Choose "orders.excluded" from the dropdown list.
   • Method: Select the appropriate method for the receiving API/System: [GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, PATCH].
   • Interval (minutes): Define the frequency of webhook triggers.
   • Number of Items To Be Sent: Specify the quantity of items to be transmitted.
   • URL: Enter the destination URL.
   • Order Statuses: For transfer, select the desired order status: [Unpaid, Unshipped, Partially Shipped, Shipped, Cancelled, Refunded, Unfulfillable].
   • Include Country Codes: Only receive orders for specified country codes.
   • Exclude Country Codes: Omit orders for designated country codes.
   • Include SKUs: Receive orders with specified SKUs.
   • Exclude SKUs: Exclude orders with defined SKUs.
   • Requires Authorization: Toggle on to input an authorisation header and key.
   • Enable Webhook: Activate the webhook immediately upon creation.
   • + Add New Header: Allows adding a custom header key and value.

Upon specifying all details, save and create the webhook using the "Save" button.