FileMaker Shipping

Ship Connect now supports GLS

GLS is a west coast regional carrier that provides parcel delivery services in California, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Utah. Regional carriers can reduce shipping costs 10 to 40% over working solely with major carriers.

In Ship Connect, you can now rate, ship and track packages with GLS alongside other major carriers. Our API integration with GLS includes support for carrier features like email notifications, signature options and COD.

Ship Connect: GLS

If you’re interested in hearing more about how NRG can connect your FileMaker database, ERP or ecommerce system with providers like GLS, please contact our sales department.

AndyKnas2023-07-06T16:12:02+00:00January 27th, 2023|FileMaker Shipping, General, Mac Shipping, Press Releases|

NRGship Holiday 2022 Giveaway

To celebrate NRG Software being selected as a 2022 UPS Ready® Premier Partner, we’re giving away some UPS Be Unstoppable Gear. The giveaway signup ends on 12/21/22 at 11:59pm and the winners will be notified on 12/22/22. Seven winners will be chosen at random from all entries.

Prizes are as follows:
UPS Yeti Mug
UPS Coffee Mug
UPS Water Bottle
UPS Cap (Black)
UPS Cap (Brown)
UPS T-Shirt (Grey)
UPS T-Shirt (Black)

AndyKnas2023-03-07T22:57:50+00:00December 12th, 2022|FileMaker Shipping, General, Mac Shipping, Press Releases|

NRG selected as a 2022 UPS Ready® Premier Partner

Recently NRG Software was recognized for our outstanding performance as a UPS Ready® partner. UPS® Premier Partners are selected based on performance, collaboration, integrations, adoption, responsiveness to key initatives and support of UPS sales & services.

Over the past year we’ve implemented new features like support for UPS Premier shipments and InsureShield™ Shipping Insurance with plans to support local deliveries thru Roadie in the new year.

If you’re looking for a shipping solution that doesn’t tie you to the rigidity of carrier or other third party solutions, we’d like to share more about how we’re working with UPS to help businesses improve their shipping processes.

To celebrate this accomplishment, we’re giving away some UPS Be Unstoppable Gear. The giveaway signup ends on 12/21/22 at 11:59pm and the winners will be notified on 12/22/22.

If you’re interested in learning more about NRGship solutions, please contact our sales department.

AndyKnas2023-03-07T22:56:43+00:00December 8th, 2022|FileMaker Shipping, Mac Shipping, Press Releases|

Utilize UPS® Premier with NRGship Pro

A recent update to NRGship Pro for UPS adds support for UPS® Preimier service options. UPS Premier upgrades small packages with advanced sensor technology that ensures a priority lane in their network with highly specialized handling with enhanced visibility and control along the way. While targeted to healthcare, UPS Premier is also a great option for high-value shipments with greater visibility needs. There are three levels of UPS Premier – Silver, Gold and Platinum. Premier Silver utilizes shipping labels with embedded RFID sensors and NRGship Pro for UPS can provide the proper output using Intermec PC43d thermal printers.

UPS ship labels with RFID for UPS Premier

If you’re interested in learning more about NRGship Pro for UPS, please contact our sales department.

AndyKnas2023-04-01T21:03:06+00:00September 2nd, 2022|FileMaker Shipping, Mac Shipping, Press Releases|

Join us at AutoEnter Live 2022

NRG Software will be a sponsor at the AutoEnter Live: a 2-day virtual conference for the Claris Community on July 19 & 20. This event is free to attend and is being hosted by Proof+Geist and Soliant Consulting. Register for free on the AutoEnter Live website.

As a long-time sponsor of FileMaker DevCon, we’re excited to connect with the Claris developer community again. Drop by our virtual booth to hear about best-practices for shipping with FileMaker Pro, including how to use our carrier-certified NRGship solutions, Claris Connect or integrations with other web services. You’ll see how you can have shipping labels created right from your database in under 10 minutes to simplify your workflow and reduce shipping errors. While you’re there, don’t forget to signup to win some UPS unstoppable gear.

AndyKnas2023-03-07T23:05:49+00:00July 11th, 2022|FileMaker Shipping, FileMaker Tips, General, Press Releases|

Using ShipStation makes sense for some FileMaker users

We’re all about using the best tools for the job. While we use FileMaker for most of our day-to-day development needs, we also dabble with other technologies like MySQL, MS SQL Server, Xojo and PHP. The same can be said for enabling shipping functionality for our customers. ShipStation has a workflow where Orders from multiple soures are turned into shipments during the fulfillment process. This is very similar to how NRGship is can be integrated with other FileMaker databases, but there are instances where sending order data from FileMaker to ShipStation, or pulling order data from ShipStation to FileMaker make sense.

NRG’s multi-carrier Ship Connect supports over a dozen parcel and freight carriers across the US, Canada and Australia and can be integrated to your FileMaker database so you have labels printing in about 10 minutes. In addition, Ship Connect has integrations to many of the top ecommerce providers like Shopify, Big Commerce, Magento and Amazon so you can download orders directly into NRG. For most FileMaker users, NRGship is the most cost-effective option to add shipping functionality to your database.

Where ShipStation makes sense is if you have multiple sales channels and need to manage inventory between them. For example, ShipStation could be used to download orders from Amazon, WalMart and other sources but also take in internal order data from FileMaker Pro. Building out all of the API integrations into your FileMaker system and then maintaining them is a monumental task – no in-house developer wants to be taking on that development and maintenance, nor do they want to pay an outside developer to code and fix future problems at an hourly rate. Note also that ShipStation does not allow shipping FROM FileMaker. ShipStation is simply an order manager that allows you to fulfill orders thru the ShipStation interface – whereas NRGship offers a full feature set for address validation, rating, shipping, pickup requests and tracking in FileMaker.

Send Orders to ShipStation from FileMaker Pro

We recently did a project where the customer was already using ShipStation and didn’t want to spend the monies to upgrade their FileMaker application nor integrate their FileMaker system with multiple channels due to overall cost. With our 20+ years of experience building solutions that simplify workflow, we took an alternate approach to create a simple replacement for an existing NRGship integration which would push order data to ShipStation and pull back tracking data after shipment. We started by adding a Ship button script that calls the ShipStation API with order data so it’s in queue for fulfillment. We then built additional scripts to get order status along with associated shipments so that the user can invoke a refresh on the order, otherwise a scheduled server-side process updates records so that FileMaker shows the proper order status to internal staff. One caveat was that in order to create an Order in ShipStation, we had to add additional scripts to capture ID values from ShipStation for Carriers, Services and Stores so that we could populate the correct values when creating orders.

Sample: FileMaker Scripts for ShipStation Orders

Downloading Orders to FileMaker Pro from ShipStation

Another project we did pulls order data from ShipStation for fulfillment. This customer didn’t like the actual shipping workflow in ShipStation, but did like utilizing all of the eCommerce integrations that were built-in. To start, they had bene downloading CSV order data and importing into their order system as a manual process. For this customer we built a server-side script which periodically downloads any new orders from ShipStation and creates records in their FileMaker order entry system. Orders are then shipped thru NRGship for more finite control. After shipment, we then update the ShipStation order status and provide tracking data. ShipStation then facilities updating the eCommerce system to reflect the order status with no additional development effort.

If you’re interested in hearing more about how NRG can connect your FileMaker database with services like ShipStation, please contact our sales department.

AndyKnas2023-06-01T19:33:14+00:00September 16th, 2021|Case Studies, FileMaker Shipping|

NRGship Pro for FedEx adds additional return options

NRG Software is excited to announced that NRGship Pro for FedEx now supports two additional return label options in additon to the existing print & return option.

The first option is FedEx Call Tags. When you submit a call tag request, a FedEx driver will be dispatched to pickup the package and provide a printed label for the package. With this option your customer does not have to have access to the internet or a printer as FedEx will provide the shipping label.

The second option is an Email Return Label. With email returns, your customer will receive an email with a link where they can print a label for the package. In addition, they can take the package to a FedEx shipping location like FedEx Office or Walgreens and show a barcode in the email and the location can print out the shipping label for them.

Please contact NRG Software if you need assistance in upgrading your application or integrating return labels with FileMaker Pro.

AndyKnas2023-02-24T21:38:08+00:00September 1st, 2021|FileMaker Shipping, Mac Shipping|

Updating FileMaker data with Zebra mobile devices

We were recently working on a project where we needed to verify order fulfillment and staging prior to pickup by the shipping carriers.

In most instances, we’d use FileMaker Go on an iPod Touch or iPad for mobile users, but this project required that we scan barcodes quickly for optimum performance.

As a proof of concept, we created a simple FileMaker Web Direct interface so that staff could scan boxes as they were packed, and before they were put onto a pallet. The Zebra TC20 is an Android 8.1 device that accesses Web Direct with it’s Chrome browser thru a wireless connection. The TC20 is ruggedized and features a built-in barode scanner which is perfect for use in a warehouse environment.

In the video below, you can see how this streamlined interface works. The user can choose from two scanning modes – one to verify packing and the other to mark which pallet the package is on awaiting pickup. We used just a single field for barcode scanning to reduce the overall complexity.

https://youtu.be/lfgdhZsKabc

One option we considered was using FileMaker Go on an iPod Touch or iPad. We decided not to go this route for a variety of reasons:

Scanning with a Zebra handheld is significantly faster than using a handheld barcode scanner or iOS camera
Scanning barcodes is trickier with multiple appearing on the package. We wanted to reduce the chance of false-scans using the camera on the mobile device
External barcode scanners on iOS can be clunky to use. With the Zebra it’s one device to manage.
Using the the iPod Touch or iPad would require a ruggedized case
There’s greater chance of loss of device with an iPod Touch or iPad with seasonal staff
Using a iPod Touch sled like the Linea Pro adds considerable cost and requires the use of custom plugins along with the iOS App SDK.

Another alternative to using Web Direct is building a native web app that communicates with the FileMaker backend using the Data API to update order status.

Please contact our Sales Department for further information if you’d like help creating a mobile warehouse solution.

AndyKnas2023-10-31T00:22:05+00:00July 27th, 2021|FileMaker Shipping, FileMaker Tips, General, Tools & Tips|

Let’s look at a Claris Connect flow for Shopify Shipping

One of the features Claris touts is the ability to create UPS labels thru their Claris Connect product. While appropriate for some basic use cases, their workflow for performing shipping has some serious limitations. Let’s talk about the Claris Connect flow in this graphic.

The process of creating an order in FileMaker from Shopify makes sense if you have inventory already in FileMaker and would like to make sure you have proper quantities available, or you have need to have all orders inside FileMaker. However, if you were using Shopify and were doing basic shipping, it’s likely that you would already be using intergrated shipping inside of Shopify instead of some alternate solution like Claris Connect.

The remainder of the flow shown is incorrect. In order to create a label you need to know the weight of the box and package dimensions. Most often the ecommerce system will determine shipping rates based on product weight, but it doesn’t include things like packaging and dimensions which can increase cost. If you create a label with the wrong weight you’re going to incur additional surcharges down the line, after the customer has been charged for shipping.. Next, you would not create a label and then send an alert to order processing, as you’d process an order before shipping. Lastly, Claris Connect doesn’t have the ability to update a Shopify order which is criticial to completing order fulfillment.

There are also a number of deficiencies in Claris Connect and it’s connectors, for example:

UPS shipping in Claris Connect supports single packages only
UPS shipping in Claris Connect doesn’t support alternate origins for drop and blind shipping
UPS shipping in Claris Connect doesn’t allows for passing of a recipient phone number (for delivery issues)
UPS shipping in Claris Connect doesn’t support any special services like signature required, insured value or Carbon Neutral indicators
UPS shipping in Claris Connect only returns published rates
UPS shipping in Claris Connect requires package dimensions
UPS shipping in Claris Connect doesn’t support international documentation
UPS shipping in Claris Connect doesn’t support third-party billing
UPS shipping in Claris Connect doesn’t support QuantumView Notifications
Claris Connect cannot update the order status or track number in Shopify after shipment

NRGship UPS for FileMaker is the only carrier-certified solution that provides the complete suite of UPS shipping functionality including address validation, rating, shipping, tracking and pickup requests from FileMaker Pro with compatability with hardware your shipping department has like thermal printers and digital scales. We also offer solutions for FedEx, USPS and multi-carrier.

This is how we’d envision the correct flow with shipping from Shopify using FileMaker Pro:

FileMaker Pro connects to Shopify via API and downloads new orders [fmEcommerce Link (Shopify Edition) is a great option if you don’t want to code your own]
Orders are created in your FileMaker System
Pick slips are printed or displayed on an iPad for new orders
Picked orders are packaged
Shipping labels are created using NRGship integrated to the order system
After shipment, order status and tracking is updated in the order system and Shopify via API

NRG Software has performed numerous integrations with Shopify and other ecommerce solutions specific to workflow. NRGship itself has built-in Shopify integration so that you can seamlessly download orders into NRGship and perform order fulfillment. Please contact us if you’d like to discuss seamless order fulfillment from FileMaker Pro.

AndyKnas2023-03-07T23:09:13+00:00July 13th, 2021|FileMaker Shipping|

NRGship is Compatible with FileMaker Pro v19.3

NRG Software is excited to announced that current builds of all NRGship solutions are compatible with the Claris FileMaker Pro v19.3 release that has been optimized for Apple silicon computers. Internal testing has not uncovered any issues. As with any upgrade, we suggest customers test their integration before upgrading production systems. Customers using NRG Ship Connect should email sales@nrgsoft.com for upgrade information.

More information on upgrading NRGship for FileMaker can be found here.

AndyKnas2023-05-20T03:04:43+00:00June 24th, 2021|FileMaker Shipping, General|

Send Orders to ShipStation from FileMaker Pro

Downloading Orders to FileMaker Pro from ShipStation

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