Set Up and Run Rate Shopping

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Use this article when you need to set up Rate Shopping in InfoPlus or run rate shopping on orders. This article covers all three ways to run rate shopping: using a trigger, running it manually from the app, and using it at the Ship Station. It does not cover looking up a rate for a one-off inquiry. For that, see Look Up Parcel Rates.

Before You Begin

Before you set up Rate Shopping, make sure you have the following in place:

• Parcel Accounts: Your parcel accounts must be created and configured for the carriers you want to compare. See Create a Parcel Account.
• Pre-Cartonization: InfoPlus requires orders to be pre-cartonized before rate shopping to get accurate weight and dimension data. See how to Automatically Pre-Cartonize Orders.
• Carrier on the Order: The carrier assigned to an order must be set to a Rate Shop carrier for rate shopping to run.

Setup: Create and Configure a Rate Shop Carrier

Complete this setup before using any of the three rate shopping methods below. This configuration applies to all three methods.

Step 1: Create a Rate Shop Carrier

1. Go to the Carrier table. 
2. Click Create New.
3. Select Rate Shop in the Carrier Company field.
4. In the Name field enter a descriptive name like Cheapest - UPS or Fastest - FedEX

Step 2: Configure Rate Shop Options

1. On the Rate Shop tab, select the Rule: Choose Cheapest or Fastest.
   • Cheapest: Selects the lowest-cost service from the options you configure. Do not include UPS 1st Day Air. Air carriers will never return as the cheapest option.
   • Fastest: Selects the service with the quickest delivery time.
2. If needed, select a Script in the Script field: If you need custom logic for how Rate Shop selects a carrier service, you can add a script here. See Rate Shopping Fastest and Cheapest Example Script (link).
3. Click Add under Parcel Accounts and select the accounts you want to include in the rate comparison. These are accounts you have already configured in the Parcel Accounts table and the Carriers table.
   1. Manifest Partner ID values must be unique for each parcel account when rate shopping. Duplicate Manifest Partner IDs may cause errors or missing rates. Do not include unsupported non-parcel carriers or duplicate entries.
   2. Click Ok when desired accounts are selected.
4. Click Add under Carriers to select the specific carrier services to include. Click OK when desired carriers are selected.
5. Click Save.

The Three Ways to Run Rate Shopping

Method 1: Run Rate Shopping Automatically via Triggers

A Rate Shop Trigger Action automatically runs rate shopping when orders are created or updated in Infoplus. Any order that meets the trigger's Smart Filter criteria will be rate shopped without manual action.

This method requires a trigger to already be configured in your system. If you have not set up triggers yet, see the triggers documentation before using this method.

To use this method:

• The carrier on the order must be set to one of your Rate Shop carriers at the time the order is created.
• Add a Pre-Cartonization trigger action before the Rate Shop trigger action in your trigger sequence.
• If the carrier is not configured for Rate Shop, or if any issues occur during the automated process, an alert will appear in the Alert table with details.

Method 2: Run Rate Shopping Manually from the App

Use this method when you want to manually trigger rate shopping on one or more orders from the desktop app.

Option A: From the Order table

1. Go to the Order table.
2. Select the order or orders you want to rate shop.
3. Click Actions → Rate Shop Orders.
4. Click Submit to run rate shopping on the selected orders.

Option B: Using Quick Actions

1. Go to the Rate Shop Orders process.
2. Select your orders and then click Next.
3. Click Submit to run rate shopping on the selected orders.

** RECOMMENDED METHOD **

Method 3: Run Rate Shopping at the Ship Station

Rate shopping at the Ship Station is the recommended method. The Ship Station is the source of truth for confirmed rates at the point of shipment. Rates shown here reflect actual carrier responses, not estimates.

Enable Rate Shopping at the Ship Station

Rate shopping at the Ship Station is controlled by the Allow Rate Shopping field on the Ship Station Criteria tab of the Warehouse table.

The carrier on the order must be a Rate Shop carrier for rate shopping to function at the Ship Station.

• True: Users can rate shop at the Ship Station if the order has a Rate Shop carrier.
• False: Users cannot rate shop at the Ship Station, even if the order has a Rate Shop carrier.

Which Orders Can Be Rate Shopped at the Ship Station?

Rate shopping at the Ship Station works for three order types:

• Orders cartonized through fulfillment
• Orders packed at the Pack Station
• Orders packed at the Ship Station

Rate Shopping Cartonized Orders

• Weight Check Packed Orders = False: Upon selecting the order at the Ship Station, rate shopping runs automatically and results display. Click Produce Labels to generate the label.
• Weight Check Packed Orders = True: You must verify the weight before rate shopping runs. If the weight you enter differs from the cartonized weight, your entered weight is used for the rate shop request.

Rate Shopping Orders Packed at Pack Station

Follow the same process as for cartonized orders above.

Additional Ship Station Settings

• If Weight Check Packed Orders and/or Show User Weight Exceptions are set to True, rate shopping will not run until all weights are entered and weight exceptions are acknowledged.
• Weight checks apply only to orders cartonized or packed at the Pack Station. Weight exceptions appear even for orders packed at the Ship Station.
• For users with Label Print Mode set to One per Carton: orders packed at the Ship Station will not be rate shopped until all cartons are packed.
• If a user attempts to rate shop at Ship Station with a Rate Shop carrier but Allow Rate Shopping is set to False, they will receive an error.

What You Should See

After rate shopping runs successfully:

• The order is updated with the carrier service selected by the Rate Shop rule (Cheapest or Fastest).
• At the Ship Station, rate shop results display on screen before label generation. You select Produce Labels to confirm and generate the label.
• For trigger-based and manual methods, check the order record to confirm the carrier has been updated. If rate shopping encounters an error, an alert appears in the Alert table.

Troubleshooting

If rate shopping does not run on an order: 

Why this happens: The carrier on the order is not set to a Rate Shop carrier, or the order has not been pre-cartonized.

How to fix it:

• Confirm the order's carrier is set to one of your Rate Shop carriers.
• Confirm pre-cartonization has run before rate shopping. Check your trigger sequence order if using triggers.

If rate shopping returns no rates or missing rates:

Why this happens: Duplicate Manifest Partner IDs in your parcel accounts, or an unsupported carrier type is included in the Rate Shop configuration.

How to fix it:

• Review your Rate Shop carrier configuration and confirm all Manifest Partner ID values are unique.
• Remove any unsupported non-parcel carriers or duplicate entries from the parcel account list.

If a user gets an error at the Ship Station:

Why this happens: The Ship Station Criteria Allow Rate Shopping field is set to False, or the order does not have a Rate Shop carrier assigned.

How to fix it:

• Check the Allow Rate Shopping field on the Warehouse table under Ship Station Criteria.
• Confirm the order's carrier is set to a Rate Shop carrier.

Next Steps

• Need to automate pre-cartonization before rate shopping runs? See how to Automatically Pre-Cartonize Orders.
• Need to set up the parcel accounts used in your rate shop? See Create a Parcel Account.
• Want to add custom logic to how Rate Shop selects a carrier? See Rate Shopping Fastest and Cheapest Example Script.
• Ready to set up triggers for your fulfillment workflow? See how to Create and Manage Triggers.