Defining shipping charges

Shipping charges are the monetary amounts that you charge your customers to ship their orders.

Note: For more information on defining shipping charges, and an example, see Defining shipping data.

To define shipping charges, do the following:

  1. Before defining shipping charges in the Shipping notebook in the WebSphere Commerce Accelerator, determine a strategy for all of the shipping charges you need to create.
    • Consider the following:
      • How many shipping codes did you create? How many jurisdictions, shipping modes, and fulfillment centers are involved?
      • How many shipping charges per shipping code will you need? For example, if you  created an oversized shipping code that applies to all oversized products, and you ship products to a Canadian, American and international jurisdiction, you will have to create a charge for each jurisdiction involved. Also, if you offer three different shipping modes (Overnight, 3 day, and 5 day) you will also have to create charges based on both shipping mode and jurisdiction.
  2. Ensure that you have done the following:
    1. Defined jurisdictions.
    2. Defined shipping modes.
    3. Defined shipping codes.
  3. Open the WebSphere Commerce Accelerator.
  4. From the Store menu, select Change Shipping. The Shipping overview page displays. If you do not see this menu, then your logon ID does not have the appropriate authority to perform this task. Contact your Site Administrator.
  5. Click Shipping codes. The Shipping Codes page displays.
  6. Select the shipping code to which the shipping charge will apply. Click Charges. The Shipping Charges page displays.
  7. To define a new shipping charge, click New. The Define Charge Details page displays.
  8. In the Name field, type the name of the shipping charge.
  9. In the Description field, type a description of the new shipping charge.
  10. In the Time period section, select the time period when the charge is in effect.
  11. Define fulfillment options by selecting the check box.
  12. Click Next.
    • If you selected Define fulfillment options, the Fulfillment Options page displays.
      1. To define a new fulfillment option, click New. The Create New Fulfillment Option page displays.
        Note: Define only the fulfillment options that will apply to this charge. That is, if you have two different shipping modes (for example Overnight, and Regular) that have different charges, define only one option now, and define the other when you create a new charge.
      2. From the Fulfillment center drop down list, select the fulfillment center that will fulfill the orders.
      3. From the Jurisdiction drop down list, select the jurisdiction that the selected fulfillment center will service.
      4. From the Shipping mode drop down list, select the shipping mode that the selected fulfillment center and jurisdiction will service.
      5. In the Precedence field, type the order of precedence that this combination of fulfillment center, jurisdiction and shipping mode takes over other combinations.
      6. Click OK to save your settings and return to the Fulfillment options page.
      7. To create another fulfillment option, repeat steps a through f.
      8. When you have finished creating fulfillment options, click Next. The Define Charge Type page displays.
    • If you did not select Define fulfillment options, the Define Charge Type page displays.
  13. In the Define Charge Type page, select the type of charge:
    • By Quantity: Select By quantity to create charges based on the number of items shipped.
    • By Weight: Select By weight to create charges based on the weight of the order shipped. of items shipped. 
    • Fixed: Select Fixed to create charges that are independent of quantity or weight.
  14. In the Define Charge Type page, select the type of charge: Click Next
    • If you selected By quantity, the Define charge by quantity displays.
      • From the Currency drop down list, select the currency for the charge. For example, USD (US dollars).
      • In the Ranges table, do the following:
        • To add a range, click Add. In the Start of range field, type the number that starts the range. For example, 0 if the range is from 0 to 5 items per order.
        • To add another range repeat the step above. Once you enter a second range, the end number of the first range is automatically entered. For example, if your first range was 0 to 5, your second range would start with 6.
        • In the Charge column, type the amount to be charged for that range. For example, the amount to ship an order that contains 0 to 5 items might be $5.00. Note that this amount is in the currency you selected from the drop down list. If you want to define amounts in second currency, select a new new currency from the list.
    • If you selected by By weight, the Define Charge By Weight page displays.
      • From the Unit of measure drop down list, select the unit of measurement. For example, kilogram.
      • From the Currency drop down list, select the currency for the charge. For example, USD (US dollars).
      • In the Ranges table, do the following:
        • To add a range, click Add. In the Start of range field, type the number that starts the range. For example, 0 if the range is from 0 to 5 kilograms.
        • To add another range repeat the step above. Once you enter a second range, the end number of the first range is automatically entered. For example, if your first range was 0 to 5 kilograms, your second range would start with 6.
        • In the Charge column, type the amount to be charged for that weight range. For example, the amount to ship an order that weighs 0 to 5 kilograms might be $5.00. Note that this amount is in the currency you selected from the drop down list. If you want to define amounts in second currency, select a new new currency from the list.
    • If you selected Fixed Charge, the Define Fixed Charge displays.
      • From the Currency drop down list, select the currency for the charge. For example, USD (US dollars).
      • In the Amount field, type the amount for the fixed charge. For example, $6.00. Note that this amount is in the currency you selected from the drop down list. If you want to define amounts in second currency, select a new new currency from the list.
  15. Click Finish to save your settings and return to the Shipping Charges page. The new shipping charge displays in the list.