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Frequently Asked Questions

What products does The OnShip Group offer?​

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  • OnShip PC is a comprehensive entry-level solution designed for shippers who require processing shipments at a single site with one workstation. It offers all the functionalities of the OnShip Parcel Server at an attractive entry-level price point.

  • OnShip Server is installed on your server, offering all the software features of PC Plus, along with the addition of unlimited users and workstations.

  • OnShip Elite Cloud offers a shipping solution for parcels. It includes connectors for e-commerce and marketplaces, along with host integrations.

  • OnShip Pro Cloud encompasses the functionalities of OnShip Elite, with added capabilities for processing LTL, TL, and custom freight shipments. These LTL and TL transactions benefit from OnShip's discounted National Rates.

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How is OnShip premise software different than other shipping software solutions?

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  • OnShip Software is full-featured shipping software

  • The software is extremely flexible and designed to take into account almost every type of business rule or requirement a shipper could imagine

  • Full-featured and simple to use puts OnShip ahead of other shipping software

  • There are very few extra added cost items to purchase with OnShip

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Why would I want to purchase OnShip when I can get a carrier-provided system for No Charge?

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  • A carrier-provided system only ships that carrier's parcels

  • You would need three separate lines if you were shipping UPS, FedEx and USPS parcels

  • Your shippers would have to be trained to operate all the different carriers software systems 

  • With OnShip, one software application can ship all your parcel carriers and LTL shipments

  • You may be able to use fewer people in your shipping operation

  • Now you can use OnShip's powerful rate shopping feature to take advantage of shipping using the least cost carrier and using your customer's required delivery date.

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How does OnShip get installed?

 

   OnShip PC Plus:

 

  • OnShip PC Puls is installed on a PC for single user applications

  • The PC requires a network connection and internet access

  • With an active network connection, OnShip PC Plus can import addresses, data files or even be mapped to your open order database

  • With an active internet connection, Dealer support staff can log-in to the software remotely with End User approval

 

   Server Installation:

 

  • If loaded onto a server, OnShip will support as many users and transactions as the server is able to handle

  • OnShip may be loaded on a physical server along with other server applications or may be loaded on its own server, or run in a virtual server environment

  • OnShip at the workstation is a “Thick Client” which means all that is needed on the shipping PC is an installation of .Net Framework 4.5 or higher and to be on the network

  • An End User current on their annual maintenance may download the latest build as it is made available


How quickly can OnShip be installed and operational?

 

  • Typically, you can be shipping anywhere from 3-5 days to a few weeks depending on the carriers selected and the amount of additional work requested (Business rules, Host Integration) and change orders required.

  • Downloading and installing OnShip the 1st time takes less than 15 minutes

  • Getting the main parcel carriers activated and ready requires contacting the carrier’s website and requesting a username and password for activating the End Users account with the carrier

  • OnShip tech support will be working with you to configure how OnShip will work for you under varying conditions and situations

  • After OnShip tech support has finished the setups, performed the integration required, trained users, and the carriers have provided the necessary credentials, OnShip is ready for production shipping


What types of integration does OnShip support?

 

  • OnShip has an internal database where ship-to addresses can be uploaded, or addresses can be entered ad-hoc and stored for future look-up

  • Open orders may be downloaded from a Host Order Entry System and imported into OnShip in a file format such as a flat file, CSV file, or OnShip can be mapped to an Excel spreadsheet using either of MS Excels formats

  • Optionally, Host System information may be mapped between the Open Order database fields and the OnShip database fields for real-time data exchange

  • OnShip can connect to an API if the Host application supports it

  • Non-order shipments may be shipped by using the built-in address book


What type of rate shopping does OnShip support?

 

  • OnShip may be configured to rate shop in a number of different ways

  • All rates of all carriers active in the software

  • All rates of a custom rate shop group that has a custom set of carrier/services i.e. "Ground" or "Next Day"

  • Rate shop by least cost only

  • Rate shop by the end-user required “In-Hand Date” and then display or automatically select the least cost


What carriers does OnShip currently support?

 

  • UPS Ground, Air, and International services via the UPS API

  • FedEx Ground, Air, and International services via the FedEx API

  • Postal by using Stamps.com or Endicia via the Stamps.com or Endicia API

  • LTL transactions utilizing OnShip’s National Rates

  • DHL eCommerce via the DHL API

  • Regional carriers via their respective API

  • OnShip makes new carriers standard and available with each update

 

How does LTL freight shipping work?

 

  • The shipper can rate shop all of the available LTL carriers, see their rates, and print them off as a reference for help in quoting their customers

  • The user can rate shop across all the available LTL carriers, select the carrier they want from the displayed list and OnShip will submit the pick-up request (where available by carrier) and fetch the Bill of Lading (BOL) specific for the LTL carrier selected

  • Outbound rated LTL shipping, Inbound rated LTL shipping and Drop-Ship rated LTL transactions are all standard features in OnShip

  • OnShip has an internal table for storing the Bill of Lading (BOL) item description information


How does International Shipping Work?

 

  • OnShip has a built-in commodity table

  • Commodities may be uploaded or entered on the fly for processing via the available parcel carriers

  • Many host systems do not have all the international information needed to process an international transaction

  • Having this information in the commodity table allows for faster, more accurate processing


How does OnShip handle package dimensions?

 

  • OnShip has a built-in configurable Box Dimension table

  • Box sizes frequently used may be added to this table and looked up during parcel processing

  • By selecting the tape measure icon on the screen, you may easily key in the 3 dimensions by touch
    or     mouse input

  • OnShip offers an affordable Bluetooth connected tape measure to quickly capture package dimensions


How does OnShip handle “Blind Shipping”?

 

  • OnShip has a “Ship From” table allowing the different address to be selected to appear on the shipping label

  • The address may be selected manually by the shipper or may be automated with a business rule


How does OnShip handle “Batch Addresses?

 

  • OnShip can process groups or waves of orders or ship-to addresses for batch processing

  • Provided what is being shipped to each address is the same weight, size, and using the same carrier and service, the wave or batch can be automatically processed

  • Alternatively, if the batch process Carrier/Service levels and weight/dims are different, OnShip is able to auto-process these transactions as well, however, the shipper now is responsible for making sure the correct label is affixed to the correct package  *Additional charges may apply 

 

How does OnShip handle Address validation?

 

  • OnShip includes Address Validation at no additional charge

  • OnShip will Standardize and Validate the shipping address

  • Addresses stored in the address book will be evaluated each time used and Standardized and Validated if the last time was older than 30 days.

  • Standardization removes any invalid characters and moves all text to uppercase

  • Validation will verify and correct the address

  • Commercial – Residential validation will occur to set the indicator in OnShip correctly

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