Processing and Shipping an Order

When editing an order within WooCommerce, a new accordion tab labelled DHL will appear. This is where we’ll be working for this guide.

Shipping Settings Section

• Ship From Address allows you to choose from which of your locations (if you have setup multiple locations) this order will ship from.
• Package Type allows you to choose different packaging options for this order. For small items or documents, ‘DHL Envelope’ will suffice. For larger items, the recommended option is ‘Own Packaging’.
• Reason for Shipment – in most cases, the appropriate option would be ‘Permanent’.
• Shipping Contents – general description of the products you are shipping.
• Incoterms – or International Commercial Terms – is a set of rules defined on a global scale. Click here for a more detailed explanation of Incoterms. The recommended setting for most shippers will be ‘DAP – Delivered at Place’.

Packaging

You will see product fields populated with the items that your customer has purchased. The fields will be populated with the Product Name, HS Tariff Number, Country of Manufacture, Quantity ordered, Price, Weight, Length, Width, and Height. Adding additional products to be shipped will be covered in another section.

• Click on ‘Create Package(s)’ to automatically generate the number of packages required to ship your order. Package generation takes into consideration the dimensions and the weight of the items being shipped.
• The page will refresh and you will see a notification telling you that the packages have been generated successfully. Adding additional packages will be covered in another section.
• Click on ‘Confirm Package Size(s)’ to send the package information to DHL. DHL receives that information and sends back available shipping methods, shipping costs, and estimated delivery dates.

Shipping Service & Insurance

• Shipping insurance can be set by default in the Settings panel or it can be overridden on a per-order basis by toggling ‘Enable insurance for …’
• Read through the table of available shipping methods; to select a method, click the radio button beside the method you’d like to choose.
• Choose the expected shipping date by selecting a shipping date under ‘Choose Shipping Date’.
• Click on ‘Create Shipment’ to generate your DHL shipping label.

Now that the shipment has been created, you can print the shipping label and commercial invoice (if required).

Your order has been fulfilled and is ready to ship with DHL!

Adding Products to a Shipment

There are two ways you can add products to an order that already exists.

Add Products via WooCommerce

Adding a product to the order through the WooCommerce interface means, in short, the customer will also be billed for the added product(s). When the order is updated, the newly added products are saved with the rest of the order.

• When managing an order, you’ll see a list of items already in the order. Below that, click on the button ‘Add item(s)’, then click on ‘Add product(s)’.
• In the dialog that pops up, type in the name of the product you’d like to add. Click on the product you’d like to add, then click the ‘Add’  button.
• Your list of products is now updated. Click ‘Save’ to save the list of items. Now, in the sidebar on your right-hand side, click on ‘Update’.
• The page will refresh, and now you can continue processing your order as outlined in ‘Processing and Shipping an Order’ above.

Add Products to the Shipment ONLY

You can add items to a shipment without charging for them. This would be useful if you’re sending a complimentary brochure or a sample pack at no charge. The items you add directly to the shipment will not change the total cost of the order.

• When managing an order, scroll down to the DHL section and under the products table, click ‘Add New Item’.
• You’ll have a new, empty field which you can complete. You will have to manually complete all of the information relating to this added product.
• Once you have manually added the item(s), click ‘Create Package(s)’.
• You can continue processing the customer order as outlined in ‘Processing and Shipping an Order’ above.

Manually Adding Packages to a Shipment

Adding a package (box) can be useful in at least a couple of common scenarios:

• If you have many items shipping out in one heavy package, you can divide up the weight by adding a package. Your back (and your driver) will thank you!
• If you have a one-off box size in your shop you’d like to use, you can take its dimensions and use it as a one-time package for an order.