First post. And may be kind of long winded. First let me introduce myself. My name is Patrick and we ship around 2000pcs a month all parcels. I decided to take the tools that shipstation provided and add some custom tweaks. This will be done in multiple posts, will keep adding to the thread. These tweaks will be of use to folks who:
-Have congestion at the print centers
-Have user key input errors
-Have standardized boxes
-Want to reduce processing time
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STEP ONE
As you all know it takes about 15 seconds to create a label assuming you already use your parcel size shortcuts. If you do not use the shortcuts you need to set them up now. The short cuts are basically mapping a bx size to a hotkey. IE pressing control and G at the same time. Use the below guide to create all the hotkeys you need for box sizes that are high freqency. We like to call ours the actual box size like:
6 X 4 X 4
10 X 10 X 10
Or if a common item that ships in own box we call the hotkey by the product name like:
Small pot
Large pot
The guide is here:
http://help.shipstation.com/customer/portal/articles/1813204-how-do-i-add-box-dimensions-to-shipstation-
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STEP TWO
The next step you need to do is to get a barcode scanner. I recommend doing this whether your facility uses barcodes or not. This will allow you to avoid all user key stroke errors for the order number and avoid costly midships. You can easily have shipstation assign a UPC to the order by following this step:
http://help.shipstation.com/customer/portal/articles/990562-how-can-i-add-a-barcode-to-my-packing-slips-
Acquire a USB scanner. We use a wasp scanner. It is a simple plug and play USB scanner.
http://www.staples.ca/en/Wasp-WCS3900-CCD-Barcode-Scanner-With-USB-Cable/product_1013961_2-CA_1_20001
After you have done this step, you may now use the CONTROL/SHIFT/S hotkey. This hotkey will open a window on the shipstation interface, then just scan the order and the order will populate. Enter your box hotkey from step one print your label.
You have now eliminated misships due to key stroke errors. And decreased your time to process orders likely by around 15-20 seconds for direct time per parcel.
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STEP THREE
-Have congestion at the print centers
-Have user key input errors
-Have standardized boxes
-Want to reduce processing time
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
STEP ONE
As you all know it takes about 15 seconds to create a label assuming you already use your parcel size shortcuts. If you do not use the shortcuts you need to set them up now. The short cuts are basically mapping a bx size to a hotkey. IE pressing control and G at the same time. Use the below guide to create all the hotkeys you need for box sizes that are high freqency. We like to call ours the actual box size like:
6 X 4 X 4
10 X 10 X 10
Or if a common item that ships in own box we call the hotkey by the product name like:
Small pot
Large pot
The guide is here:
http://help.shipstation.com/customer/portal/articles/1813204-how-do-i-add-box-dimensions-to-shipstation-
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
STEP TWO
The next step you need to do is to get a barcode scanner. I recommend doing this whether your facility uses barcodes or not. This will allow you to avoid all user key stroke errors for the order number and avoid costly midships. You can easily have shipstation assign a UPC to the order by following this step:
http://help.shipstation.com/customer/portal/articles/990562-how-can-i-add-a-barcode-to-my-packing-slips-
Acquire a USB scanner. We use a wasp scanner. It is a simple plug and play USB scanner.
http://www.staples.ca/en/Wasp-WCS3900-CCD-Barcode-Scanner-With-USB-Cable/product_1013961_2-CA_1_20001
After you have done this step, you may now use the CONTROL/SHIFT/S hotkey. This hotkey will open a window on the shipstation interface, then just scan the order and the order will populate. Enter your box hotkey from step one print your label.
You have now eliminated misships due to key stroke errors. And decreased your time to process orders likely by around 15-20 seconds for direct time per parcel.
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STEP THREE