Multi-Vendor Support

[BradScott]

The question still remains: HOW do you calculate the shipping costs per vendor? If you go through enough of the work to be capable of doing that, then you have already completed the most difficult part of MVS.

Thanks for replying Craig -- you are really helping me think this through.

My first quick fix might be to simply to select the zip code of the vendor with the most weight in packages. Once I pull all the product id's in from the cookies, I can use this query (with my sql setting the product id's where I have (15, 19) in this example):

SELECT zen_subcontractors.subcontractors_id, zen_subcontractors.zip, sum(products_weight) AS fltTotalWeight
FROM zen_products
LEFT JOIN zen_subcontractors ON zen_products.default_subcontractor=zen_subcontractors.subcontractors_id
WHERE zen_products.products_id IN (15, 19) AND zen_subcontractors.zip IS NOT NULL
GROUP BY zen_subcontractors.zip
ORDER BY sum(products_weight) DESC

If I get no results, use the standard store zip code, else use the first zip code returned. A second part of this quick fix might be to add a flat fee for each extra vendor, say $6 (configurable), since we know the first pound of a new shipment always has the overhead.

Now, if I have all the vendor shipping zips, and I know the shipping method per carrier (assume all shippers use ground, next day, etc -- comparable service levels), then it doesn't seem so hard to calc shipping costs for each vendor/carrier (as in for each vendor, calc shipping ...). Add them up, and I've got a total shipping cost.

Now, getting the carrier/vendor/shipping cost per vendor all to display (with the products grouped) and reported (invoices etc.) seems more challenging to me. Not impossible, but far more complex, because it touches so much more of the interface. Maybe you can just point me to the spots that need updating, but I would guess there are many.

My point is really that if I start with my quick fixes, it will cover a lot of the cases (all cases where there is only one product in the basket), and I'm much more likely to do it. Not anywhere near perfect, but it would prevent the worst cases. Right now I could ship to the same zip I'm in and calculate a low rate, when in reality the products are shipped across the country.

So, please continue with my reality check ... I'm sure it is easy to overlook something.

Thx!

[blucollarguy]

The tricky part at this juncture in your "quick fix" will likely be "looping" through each vendor to get each quote. This is where the need to modify each shipping module comes in. Each module needs a "ship from" address in order to generate a quote, so the module needs to be called, executed, data collected, individually for each vendor, before you can add up a total shipping cost.

Simply using a "flat rate" add on after getting a basic quote is probably the only REAL "quick fix" that can be done. If you go through the work to be able to loop through each vendor, obtain each quote, then you will have effectively written MVS for Zen. Displaying choices to the customer isn't as big a deal once the vendor loop has been done, and adding things up, altering invoices, packing slips, order views, are all time consuming, but not that difficult once the vendor loop is worked out.

You definitely have a good grasp one what is involved, and that's a good start. When I started for osC, I really didn't have any clue just how much needed to be done to implement this idea.

I can only help so much with which files will need to be worked with though, as my knowledge of Zen and it's core are pretty limited.

Craig

[BradScott]

The tricky part at this juncture in your "quick fix" will likely be "looping" through each vendor to get each quote. This is where the need to modify each shipping module comes in. Each module needs a "ship from" address in order to generate a quote, so the module needs to be called, executed, data collected, individually for each vendor, before you can add up a total shipping cost.

Well, I'll start with step 1 (pick the "best" zip code and add a flat rate for each additional vendor).

Then I'll see if I get to step two (looping through each vendor). That doesn't scare me, since going to each vendor is just a call to their rating and validation engine (that's where the name rave comes from in the cgi call, if you were ever wondering). I used to work for UPS with the guys who wrote RAVE.

My real goal would be to have every order contain one to n shipments, where each shipment can be tracked separately. One vendor might have multiple shipments, and multiple vendors clearly have multiple shipments. But, that's not gonna happen any time soon.

Thanks for all the help.

[blucollarguy]

Thanks for all the help.

Your welcome and good luck.

Craig