Fulfilling customer orders takes a lot of precision, from the pricing you offer to customers to the tracking itself; keeping information properly updated across all boards might be complicated. Many tools can help you manage this process. One of which is ShipStation, so if you're used to it and want to integrate it with your CRM, follow these steps.
Preparing ShipStation
To integrate ShipStation, you must have at least one “Ship From” location. If you haven't created one before, log in to your account, then click the gear icon to access your settings.
Use the left-side menu to switch to Ship From Locations within the Shipping options.
Click Add New Location.
Fill out the required details and save.
Navigate to the Packages tab and ensure the Package type is selected.
Navigate to the API Settings tab in the Account section and click Generate API Key.
Select the key expiration frame the click Generate.
Copy your API keys and paste them somewhere you can have quick access to them for the next step, once you've noted them down, click Done.
Lastly, verify the currency you selected inside your business profile matches the one you selected when creating your ShipStation account.
Integrating ShipStation
Navigate to the Integrations tab of the Integration section inside your account Settings. In there, navigate to the ShipStation icon and click View App.
This will show you the app's details. Click Install to start the connection.
Enter your previously copied API keys.
Check the boxes next to each step of the setup list, then click Connect.
Adding Shipping Options
Once you've finished the connection, you can configure shipping options to enable live rates by clicking “+Add Shipping Option” under the API keys.
Add the shipping details, which will be:
- Shipping Option Name: For identification inside the CRM.
- Services: Use this dropdown menu to define the Mail Carriers included in this option.
- Fallback Value: This is the value that will be shown to customers if the live shipping rates can't be retrieved.
Once the details are filled, click “Create” to save it.
Your configured shipping methods will now display in the checkout process. You can verify this by visiting any of your stores' checkout pages, adding a product to your cart, and proceeding to the shipping step. If configured correctly, you'll see your newly configured Shipping Options.
Using this integration, your orders will automatically sync to your ShipStation Dashboard. This sync will let you generate and print labels, mark orders as shipped, and manage fulfillment directly in ShipStation while the tracking numbers sync back to the Platform and are shared with customers via branded notifications.