Dropship Shipping Module Core

[lhungil]

Background
Awhile back I had a client who needed the ability to handle drop shipments of products primarily via Freight Carriers. I evaluated most of the modules and module combinations which were available at the time. There were a few which came very close to doing what the client needed - but I could find no combination at the time which fulfilled all the requirements.

Intent
Many great shipping modules exist, and at least two have easier to use interfaces then the one's I've built. But if there is enough interest I would be willing (after some code cleanup and inline documentation) to release the core portions of this module. The core would not include the actual shipping modules - just the core for handling drop shipping and freight accessorials.

Features

• Extensible for use with multiple shipping methods.
• Built in logging capabilities (debug).
• Support for drop shipping by MFG.
• Support for drop shipping by product.
• Support for shipping multiple products per order with different shipment origins.
• Support for weight, height, length, depth, and class.
• Support for freight accessorials (residential delivery, lift gates, etc).
• Customized modules / templates for address entry, display, editing, and account creation.
• Customized admin modules / templates for products, manufacturers, and drop shipment origin locations.
• Logging shipping accessorials into the order history when an order is placed.

Future
If there is enough interest and I release the Dropship Shipping Module Core, I may release a UPS module built as a reference implementation (XML based, but without any "repackaging" capability built in). I've built a handful of modules on top of the core for various freight carriers, but at this point would not be releasing them to the public.

[Limitless]

Was CEON's Advanced Shipper module one you had evaluated before building this?


I am currently running his module and find that it does most of what your does, with the exception of 'Dimensional Weight' shipping which causes me great expense/pain when things go out UPS.

[lhungil]

Was CEON's Advanced Shipper module one you had evaluated before building this?

Yes the CEON Advanced Shipper module was ONE of the many I evaluated. Conor's module is very robust, fairly easy to use, and handles most normal requirements for drop shipments. However at the time of evaluation it did not support: signature request, insurance requests, dimensions and weight, freight class, and freight accessorials.

This core module handles dimensions, weights, freight class, and leadtime. It needs to be extended by a subclass (shipping module) for additional functionality and to actually query the shipping provider (UPS Ground, UPS Freight, FedEx, YRC, etc). The shipping modules need to handle insurance, signature requests, and any freight accessorials.

[Limitless]

Gotcha.

Signature/Insurance would be nice, although some of my suppliers add it already to the shipping quote.