What is a Shipping Plan?
A Shipping Plan, also known as a Purchase Order, tells us what products, the quantities, and which shipping method you will use when sending inventory to our ShipHero facilities. Creating a shipping plan is the first step before sending ShipHero Fulfillment your products.
Why is the Shipping Plan Needed?
A shipping plan is needed to properly receive inventory and ensure your products are ready for your customers' orders. Creating a shipping plan allows our inbound teams to be properly staffed to receive your products efficiently, preserve the integrity of your products, and reduce the amount of lost, or rejected inventory.
Any products sent to our warehouses without a shipping plan will incur additional fees and are not subject to our receiving timelines.
How to Create a Shipping Plan
There are two ways to start your Shipping Plan in our SFAPP:
a. Upload a box manifest to import your SKUs and quantities via CSV file.
b. Create a shipping plan to manually select your SKUs and quantities.
Depending on the method you use will determine how you continue through the process; in this article, we cover how to manually create your shipping plans within SFAPP based on the size of your shipment (Small Parcel vs. Freight/LTL) and how you plan to send them to our facilities for processing.
For more information on how to use a Box Manifest please visit HERE.
Please remember that you cannot edit an existing shipping plan; if a change is to be made, you must cancel the shipping plan and create a new one. If you have issues with canceling please reach out to support HERE.
If you are uncertain about the units or SKUs you are sending, you can leave your Shipping Plan as a "Draft" until you confirm before shipping it to our facilities.
How to Create a Shipping Plan for Small Shipments. (Small Parcel)
What does ShipHero consider a Small (Parcel) Shipment?
A shipping plan is considered a small parcel shipment when there are fewer than 20 boxes; all shipping plans over 20 boxes will need to be palletized and scheduled for delivery through our freight team. It's typically easier to choose this option when sending in a smaller shipping plan (Small Parcel).
Creating a Shipping Plan for a Small Parcel Shipment.
- Select the ShipHero Fulfillment location where you are sending your products to.
- Add the products and total quantities included in this shipment.
- Tell us how the products will be packed. Select Small Parcel and decide on one of the options below.
- Specify which products will be in each box; SKU and quantity. In this step, you can also print product barcodes as needed.
- If applicable, add a note for the warehouse or vendor order number.
- Select the shipment option Small parcel.
- Print the packing slips and shipping labels, and apply them to the shipment.
- Send us your goods!
This video walks you through step by step.
How to Create a Shipping Plan for Large Shipments. (LTL, FTL, Containers, and Palletized Goods)
What does ShipHero consider a larger shipment?
Larger shipments include LTL (Less Than Load), FTL (Full Truckload), Containers, and Palletized Shipments. Please review our freight guidelines before shipping your goods.
Creating a Shipping Plan for Large Shipments. (LTL, FTL, Containers, and Palletized Goods)
- Select the ShipHero Fulfillment location where you are sending your products to.
- Add the products and total quantities included in this shipment.
- Tell us how the products will be packed. Select Pallets and decide on one of the options below.
- Create pallet tags for your shipment. Please tell us how many pallets are you sending and if they are floor-loaded.
- Print your pallet tags and apply them to the outside of your pallets so they are visible for our teams to process.
- Please partner with our Freight Team to schedule a delivery at our facilities.
Important notes:
- All shipping plans must include box labels, packing slips, and pallet tags to identify what is inside each shipment you're sending. You can print these during the final steps of creating your shipping plan. Below are some Do's and Don't's of how these should be applied to your shipments.
- All products must be barcoded. If needed, you can print barcodes while creating your shipping plan.
- When sending multiple SKUs within a box, SKUs must be separated by dividers within the box or divided by SKU into separate poly bags to remain compliant.
Additional Resources:
