Labels and documents

During picking, packing and shipping Boxture produces printed paperwork: carrier labels (waybills), SSCC labels, packing lists, pre-pack lists, commercial invoices and so on. There are two sources:

• Carrier labels come from the carrier, through a carrier integration.
• All other papers are generated by Boxture from paper templates that react to events in the warehouse flow, such as "pick list completed" or "shipment paperwork generated".

Both end up as papers attached to the record they belong to, and can be printed automatically.

Papers and templates

A paper template (set up under Admin › Papers, see Papers) defines:

Field	Meaning
Klass	The kind of record the template is for, for example Shipment, Parcel, Pick list, Order, Container or Tote.
Event	When to generate the paper. See Events.
Condition	Optional: only generate when the condition is true, for example only for B2B orders or only for export shipments.
Kind	PDF (a Prawn document) or Liquid (text, typically ZPL for label printers).
Use	Document or Label: decides which printer it goes to.
Purpose	A free label for the kind of paper, for example sscc_label or packlist.
Copies	How many copies to print.
Enabled	Only enabled templates are used.

Templates are account specific: a template applies to records of its account and of all accounts below it. A template set up on a parent account therefore applies to all its child accounts.

When a paper is generated it is attached to the record and printed on the printer of the user's current computer for that use (document or label printer), through the print client. See Papers for printers and computers.

Where to find generated papers

• On a pick list: the Papers tab under Others.
• On a shipment: the Papers tab under Other, which shows the papers of the shipment and of all its parcels, including the carrier label.

From the papers table you can preview, print (again) and regenerate a paper.

Events

Templates can react to the state changes of a record, and to its creation and updates. The events that matter most in the warehouse are:

Record	Event	Typical paper
Pick list	complete	Pre-pack list showing what was actually picked, from which bin location and container.
Pick list	assign	A paper pick list for the picker.
Parcel	create	A parcel label as soon as a parcel has been packed.
Shipment	paperwork_generated	SSCC labels, packing lists, commercial invoices, dangerous goods documents. Fired after a carrier label request.
Shipment	shipped	Documents that should only be printed when the shipment leaves.
Order	hold	A notice that an order was put on hold.

paperwork_generated is the usual event for shipping documents: it fires right after the label request to the carrier has been processed, so the carrier label and your own documents are produced together at the packing station.

Carrier labels

For carriers that are integrated, Boxture requests the waybill and label from the carrier. A carrier is integrated when the setting Integration method is set for it (per location if needed), together with its API endpoint and Authentication key. See Carrier integrations and Carriers and shipping methods.

When a label is requested

A label request is started:

• manually, with Label in the shipment menu or the Create label action in the shipments overview (role Admin, Warehouse associate or Shipper; the shipment must be pending or shipped);
• automatically when the order is completely packed, if Create label on pack complete is on;
• automatically when an integrated shipment is shipped and has no label yet.

What happens

1. The shipment goes to labelling and the request is sent in the background.
2. The shipment data (addresses, parcels with weight and dimensions, parcel items with customs data) is sent to the carrier.
3. On success:
   • the tracking number and return tracking number are stored on the shipment and its parcels, and the shipment's Mode becomes automatic;
   • the label is attached to the shipment as a paper with purpose waybill, as ZPL or PDF depending on what the carrier returns;
   • the shipment becomes labelled;
   • the event paperwork_generated fires for templates and e-mail notifications.
4. You get "Processed shipment ... for the carrier".

Every request and response is kept in the shipment's Carrier waybill requests tab.

When a label request fails

When the carrier rejects the request (for example an unknown postal code or missing phone number), you get an error notification with the carrier's message, for example "Error during waybill create with the carrier, verify and/or update the shipment details before trying again". The shipment returns to pending (or shipped if everything has already been shipped), and the shipment page shows the Latest carrier integration error.

To fix it:

1. Open the shipment and choose Edit.
2. Correct the address or parcel data.
3. Choose Label again (or Ship).

Labels on pack complete

With the setting Create label on pack complete, which you set per carrier, the label is requested as soon as the order is completely packed, instead of when the shipment is shipped. The label (and your paperwork_generated papers) can then be printed at the packing station and stuck on the parcel straight away.

How it works:

• Each pack checks whether the order is now completely packed. If so, the shipment goes to labelling and the label is requested.
• If the order is not completely packed yet, no label is requested. When a label is requested manually for such an order, it is refused with "Order ... is not fully packed."
• When the shipment is shipped later, no new label is requested; the shipment ends in state labelled.

TIP

Combine Create label on pack complete with Add to open shipment, so all parcels of an order are in one shipment when the label is requested.

SSCC numbers

Every parcel gets an SSCC (Serial Shipping Container Code) when it is packed, unless an SSCC is supplied while packing (for example through the API). The 18-digit number consists of:

1. the extension digit 3,
2. the account's GLN (company prefix), set on the account (see Accounts); without a GLN, seven zeros are used,
3. a sequence number from the account's own counter,
4. a check digit.

The SSCC is shown on the parcel and can be edited while the shipment can still be edited. It must be numeric and exactly 18 digits.

SSCC label template

A typical SSCC label is a Liquid template with Klass Shipment, Event paperwork_generated, Use Label and purpose sscc_label, printing one ZPL label per parcel. A shortened example:

{% for parcel in shipment.parcels %}
^XA
^CF0,40
^FO20,50^FD{{ shipment.origin.company_name }}^FS
^FO450,50^FD{{ shipment.destination.company_name }}^FS
^CFA,30
^FO20,280^FDSSCC:^FS
^FO20,320^FD{{ parcel.sscc }}^FS
^BY3,2,150
^FO20,380^BC^FD{{ parcel.sscc }}^FS
^XZ
{% endfor %}

TIP

SSCC labels identify a parcel. When the receiver expects one product per SSCC, pack each product in its own parcel.

Documents for export shipments

For export shipments, customs documents such as a commercial invoice can be set up as a PDF template on the Shipment with event paperwork_generated, using a condition that checks whether the shipment is an export. The parcel items carry the data these documents need: price and customs value with currency, HS code, country of origin, ECCN, weight, and the importer and exporter contacts of the shipment. Check and correct these on the shipment edit page before requesting the label.

Pre-pack list

A pre-pack list shows, per order on a pick list, exactly what was picked: product, container, bin location and quantity. It helps packers spot over-picks and shows where items came from. Set it up as a PDF template with Klass Pick list, Event complete and Use Document, optionally with a condition (for example only for B2B orders). It is printed the moment the picker completes the pick list and is listed in the pick list's Papers tab.