Shipping module for drop-shipping

[litepockets]

OK, so with much frustration, head-scratching, and HELP. I present a module that offers multiple origin "drop-ship" shipping rates.

You MUST have Numinix's FEDEX module installed as the module in it's core is based off of it.

As this will require you to have essentially a different "ship from" address for every single product, you will also need to enter that data within the new fields that will show in the ZC Admin "new product / edit product" page. You may also (and I recommend) enter the data using easy populate. This should be fairly painless as you can run a quick query to set all products from a particular manufacturer to have the same address (because most mfr's have only one shipping origin), nonetheless, you can enter different addresses for each and every product as you wish.

This module will also calculate the correct shipping for each item in the cart (with same OR different zips) and then return the sum of all shipping rates.

Note: if you do NOT have shipping origin info for a particular product and attempt to get shipping cost you will receive an error.

Please enjoy this module, provide feedback, tweak it, whatever you like. I will submit this to the ZC team shortly and hope to have it in the downloads section shortly.

So check it out and let me know how it works for you!!

http://www.zen-cart.com/index.php?ma...oducts_id=1438

[litepockets]

Wow. So many requests for this in the past, now it's here and no interest??
Posted via Mobile Device

[ambrooks]

I installed this mod yesterday. It is working very nicely so far. Thank you.

I do wonder why you chose not to link this feature to the manufacturer feature already installed with zen cart. It seems like it would be easier to maintain.

However, you are right, with easy populate it really is quite easy to add in all the addresses.

[litepockets]

@ambrooks:

I'm glad you like it, you're very welcome. Thank Numinix as well though. As far as linking shipping origin details with the manufacturer of the product, I chose not to for a couple of reasons.

1 - The whole point of this module was to make it possible to calculate shipping charges for multiple shipping items, with the emphasis on the most flexible way to define the shipping origin (by item).

2 - For you and others, each of your manufacturers/suppliers might ship all of their products from one location. However, for others, their suppliers can each have multiple shipping locations. If the origin for an item was based on it's manufacturers address, then they would essentially have to create additional "identical" suppliers for each shipping location. This would look pretty confusing in the manufacturer filter and would prove to be less manageable I think.

However, perhaps I can add a simple check box to use the manufacturers address (such as 'Shipping from Mfr Address?'). That way you can enter one or the other. Or simply put in the getQuote function to use the manufacturer address for origin if none is defined..?

I'l look into it.. Still bummed I haven't got the green light yet from the ZC team. (Maybe I did something wrong?) This is my first mod so I don't really know.

[litepockets]

Additional Comment: Truth be told, you really don't have to enter the FULL address for the item to get correct shipping. Only the ZIP and STATE. The ADDR1 and CITY fields are there for another upcoming module :)

[ambrooks]

so, I'm confused. Based on your description this mod should calculate the rates individually for each ORIGIN, and then add everything up and display the total shipping cost.

I tested this by going to FedEx's rate calculator tool, and calculating each product separately, and then adding up the totals.

These should have been equal, right? But the value I got from FedEx's website was less what this mod produced. I've looked through all the settings, and can't find any discrepancies.

Any ideas to what could be causing this?

[litepockets]

ambrooks:

That's correct, if all of the products you are testing have an origin zip and origin state the sum should match what displays on fedex.com

Possible reasons this is not working for you:

-You may not be logged into your fedex account when getting pricing on fedex.com (published rates are different from your account rates), and this module uses your account rates.
-Your account may not be set up correctly in ZC (though I doubt it as it shouldn't work without valid account information entered in the module settings).
-The products you are testing may not have the required information to calculate shipping. Weight, Origin Address.
-If you are calculating shipping on Fedex.com using weight AND dimensions, you must have dimensions entered for the products in ZC as well..

Let me know if any of these fix the problem.

[litepockets]

Question to ZC Staff & Forum Moderators:

I submitted this module in the contributions section a couple of weeks ago and haven't heard anything back. I was just wondering if my module just hadn't been reviewed yet, or if it was rejected for some reason?

Thanks

[ambrooks]

I still can't figure this out. I tested the shipping by logging into fedex's website, as you suggested, but this lowered the price (which makes sense).

The shipping that ZC is calculating are much higher than the prices I'm getting from ZC.

Here is what I'm testing:

I have 3 products.

            |  WEIGHT  |   FEDEX   | ZENCART |
----------------------------------------------
Product A   |   2lbs   |  $ 7.42   | $ 7.89  |
Product B   |   5lbs   |  $ 7.88   | $10.30  |
Product C   |   3lbs   |  $ 8.35   | $10.77  |
----------------------------------------------
                TOTAL: |  $23.65   | $28.96  |

Result in ZC when all three products are added at once: $36.76

I tried numerous times, and triple checked every number, and I can't get rid of this discrepancy. I'mok with the FedEx->ZC discrepancy, but I cannot figure out where this extra $7.80 is coming from inside of ZC. There aren't any surcharges or anything set in the FedEx Mod settings.

Do you think this is a problem with the Numinix Mod? I couldn't find a help thread for that mod anywhere on this forum...

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[litepockets]

ambrooks,

it wouldn't be a problem with numinix's mod, it would be in the drop ship portion. I'm not quite sure why its coming up different, let alone the extra 7.80.. I will try to look into it tonight and let you know.

Other than this little idiosyncrasy how is the rest of the module working for you?