With NRGship and FileMaker Pro you have two options for shipping and choosing between them often depends on what makes sense for your workflow.
Integrated shipping is our preferred method and it allows you to utilize the full capabilites of NRGship across your organization on the desktop or iOS. We often suggest that things start during order entry with address validation. This ensures that the recipient information is correct before the order ever hits your shipping department, and allows you to have a clean address in your backend CRM for future use. From your order, it’s easy to add simple rating functionality based on the content of your order so that you can charge your customer based on the estimate, or provide expedited service options based on a certain delivery date. Once the order has shipped, cost information can be returned back to the order along with the tracking number. The tracking number then provides visibility right on the order without having to check the carrier software or website. With integrated shipping you can seamlessly utilize the power of your shipping carriers without ever leaving your own database.
Keyed shipping most closely resembles the process you would have using carrier software integrated with FileMaker. You would key in an order number and the data would appear in the shipment. The shipping staff then adds packages, validates the address, runs rates and produces the shipping label. After shipment, the cost information is returned back to your order so that you have visibility across your organization. Since NRGship is built with FileMaker Pro, you can leverage it’s functionality to provide far more complex shipping than you could with the carrier software alone.
NRGship is a Carrier Certfied provider that powers hundreds of businesses who ship UPS, FedEx and USPS with FileMaker Pro without the need to setup external services or perform complex API coding. Contact our sales staff to setup a time for a demo of NRGship and see how it can improve your entire business.
This pair of demos is a FAIL: I still don’t understand what NRG means by distinguishing “Integrated ship” vs. “Keyed shipping.” The principal difference seems to be whether the script in question is called from our file or your file; other than the the functionality appears identical. I say “appear” b/c these 2 don’t show any underpinnings or “how” or “why” info WHATSOEVER. Nor do they even attempt to answer the question posed in the headline. Frustrating.
Hi David, They are truly similar, but it depends on what workflow makes the most sense.
Integrated Shipping is what we like to do – giving access to all ship functionality up front – validation, rating, etc – before an order gets to the shipping department. I like to call this PUSH shipping – the order is PUSHED from the source out to NRG.
Keyed Shipping is akin to what the shipping department is used to when using carrier software or other solutions. It’s a separate process outside of the source where you’re working IN the NRG screens directly to PULL the order.