Shipping Strategies

The new and updated shipping strategy replaces the previous method of setting shipping rates per country with a more adaptable and advanced approach enabling suppliers to establish multiple strategies based on countries, products, and rates, giving them precise control over shipping expenses.

3 Key components of a Shipping Strategy

Country

Identifies the specific countries to which the strategy is intended.

Product

Establishes the products or product categories that qualify for this strategy.

Rate

Outlines the methods for calculating shipping charges, including fixed rates, price-based rates, weight-based rates, and carrier-calculated rates.


Setting Up a Shipping Strategy


  1. Creating a New Strategy

  • On your Vendor Portal, navigate to the admin panel and select "Shipping" (https://vendor.mothership.fm/shipping)
  • Click on "New Shipping Strategy"
  • Name the strategy (e.g., "Domestic Economy")
  • Specify the countries (e.g., Australia, US, or select All Countries), products/tags eligible for this strategy.

  1. Defining Product Eligibility

  • Choose between applying the strategy to all products or specific product tags.

  • Product tags allow for flexible categorization and targeting of shipping rules.

  1. Configuring Rate Calculation

Fixed Rate Strategy (formerly Flat Rate):

  • Description: Charges a consistent shipping rate for every order, regardless of destination, weight, or subtotal.
  • Use Case: Suitable for scenarios where a simple, uniform shipping cost is preferred, such as flat-rate shipping offers.

Price Based Rate Strategy:

  • Description: Calculates shipping costs based on the subtotal of line items in the order.
  • Use Case: Ideal for applying shipping rates that scale with the total cost of items purchased, accommodating variations in order value.

Weight Based Rate Strategy:

  • Description: Computes shipping charges based on the total weight of items in the order.
  • Use Case: Useful for determining shipping costs based on the physical weight of products, catering to logistics that depend on weight categories.

Per Unit Rate Strategy:

  • Description: Charges a fixed shipping rate per unit of each product ordered.
  • Use Case: Beneficial for situations where shipping costs need to reflect the quantity of items purchased, particularly effective for products with varying shipping requirements like surfboards or large items.

Carrier Calculated Rate Strategy:

  • Description: Utilizes real-time shipping rates from carriers based on factors like destination, weight, and package dimensions.
  • Use Case: Suitable for businesses that want accurate shipping rates directly from carriers like UPS, FedEx, or USPS, ensuring precise shipping costs tailored to specific orders.

After all three components have been established, please click "Save" to proceed with configuring rates/prices.

Configuring prices per rate strategy

IMPORTANT: Every strategies are required to have at least an Economy Rate.

  1. Fixed Rate - Define a fixed shipping rate per service level (Economy, Standard, or Expedited) for the entire order. Standard and Expedited level are optional.

  1. Price-Based Rate - focuses on the subtotal of line items that are assigned to this particular shipping strategy. The subtotal is calculated as the unit price of each line item multiplied by its quantity.

Example:

For instance, if an items costs $51 each, and the customer orders one, the subtotal is $51. If they order two, the subtotal becomes $102.

The shipping rate will then be calculated based on the ranges of order subtotals established on this portion:

Minimum Price: The minimum price in any range must be $0.

Maximum Price: There should be no upper bound for the price ranges.

  1. Weight-Based Rate - similar to price-based rates, you set up shipping rates based on weight ranges of the total weight of all the line items.

Example:

If the total weight of the items is 750 ounces, the system applies the shipping rate associated with the range that includes 750 ounces.

Minimum Weight: The minimum weight in any range must be 0 ounces.

Maximum Weight: There should be no upper bound for the weight ranges.

For range-based strategies (Price or Weight), each range is inclusive of its minimum value but exclusive of its maximum value. For example, a range of 0 to 100 includes 0 ounces but excludes 100.


The system enforces continuous ranges to avoid gaps where orders might not fit into any defined shipping rate category, ensuring all possible values are covered.

  1. Per Unit Rate: The shipping cost is calculated based on the number of line items in an order instead of applying a fixed rate to the entire order. This is ideal for business with a variety of product that have different shipping costs, such as heavy items (Surfboards) and light items.

Example:

This is ideal for business with a variety of product that have different shipping costs, such as heavy items and light items.


You may apply this rate calculation on a specific product tag that requires special pricing due to it's size.

Therefore for any line items that have "Surfboard" in their product tag will have a shipping rate of $50.

If there are other line items in an order which do not belong to the product tag assigned. The system will choose the next shipping strategy in the priority order set.

PRIORITIZATION NOTICE: The system implements these strategies base on prioritization. This involves assessing the highest priority strategy first and allocation it to the appropriate line items. Each line item is assigned only one strategy to maintain clarity and prevent duplication.


Therefore, kindly ensure that specific strategies (e.g., product tagging) have higher priority than general ones.

  1. Carrier-calculate Rate: The shipping costs are determined in real-time by shipping carriers (e.g., UPS, FedEx, DHL, etc.). This strategy ensures that the shipping cost reflects the actual rates charged by the carrier.

Our goal is to offer a more advanced and flexible shipping solution.

If you encounter any issues or have questions about how to use these new features, please don't hesitate to reach out.


A Note about Carrier Calculated Rates

We can configure Mothership to use carrier calculated rates if required. Please contact support for further information.


For support, please contact us at support@mothership.fm

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