This guide will show you how to link DHL to Smart Boxing. To learn how to link other carriers, go here.
To display live rates at checkout, you must have Carrier-Calculated Rates enabled on your Shopify account. Learn more here.
General Setup and Package Selection
1) Click Shipping on the main menu.
2) Click the Create shipping method button.
3) Click Select beside DHL.
4) Add a Title for your shipping method – e.g. ‘DHL’
5) Select who has Visibility of live rates calculated by this Shipping Method. You can choose Everyone or just those with Administrator access to your store.
When Visibility is set to Administrators only, your Shipping Method will only be visible at checkout by using a Customer Name that includes ‘Intuitive’.
6) Select which Packages you would like to include in the Shipping Method. By selecting multiple packages, Smart Boxing will have more options for choosing the most efficient packaging for an order.
Packages that are Inactive will be identified in the Shipping Method. Inactive Packages cannot be selected, and are ignored during rate calculations. To include Packages in rate calculations, edit the Package to set the status to Active.
Delivery Services
1) Select the carrier Services that you would like to have offered to customers at checkout – e.g. Express Worldwide, Express Domestic, etc.
Only Services that are selected will be included in the live rate shipping calculation, if available.
DHL Express offers these Delivery Services:
International
International Services are for shipments with an origin and destination address in different countries.
- Express Worldwide – guaranteed 1-6 day end-of-day, delivery to over 220 countries.
Within Europe
International Services are for shipments with an origin and destination address in different countries.
Domestic Services are for shipments with an origin and destination address within the same country in Europe.
- Economy Select – for less time-sensitive international deliveries within Europe.
- Express Domestic – guaranteed next-day end-of-day delivery, maximum weight 70 kg per parcel.
- Express Domestic 12:00 – guaranteed next-day noon delivery, maximum weight 70 kg per parcel, maximum 10 parcels.
- Express Worldwide – guaranteed next-day end-of-day international delivery within Europe.
Within Australia
International Services are for shipments with an origin and destination address in different countries.
Domestic Services are for shipments with an origin and destination address within Australia.
- Express Domestic – guaranteed next-day end-of-day delivery, maximum weight 70 kg per parcel.
- Express Domestic 12:00 – guaranteed next-day noon delivery, maximum weight 70 kg per parcel, maximum 10 parcels.
- Express Domestic 9:00 – guaranteed next-day 9:00 AM delivery, maximum weight 30 kg per parcel, maximum 10 parcels.
- Express Easy – time-sensitive international deliveries; cash or credit card payments only.
Add Carrier Account Details
If you have an account with DHL, you can link it to Smart Boxing to have your DHL shipping rates displayed at checkout. If you already have your Account Number, skip ahead to Step #3.
A DHL account is not required to use Smart Boxing. If you do not have an account number, leave the Account Details blank. Returned shipping rates will be based on DHL retail rates.
If you do not have a DHL account or if you do not have your account credentials:
1) Go to the DHL website.
2) Click Login My DHL+ on the main menu to log in to your account or, select an account type on the page – e.g. ‘Business’, then fill out the form to create your account.
3) Obtain your account credentials from your DHL account, then copy and paste your Account Number into Smart Boxing.
4) Click the Save button.
5) If desired, click Show optional settings to access additional carrier features, or make adjustments to the final shipping costs. To learn more about Optional Settings, go here.
Be sure to save your settings again if you make changes to your Optional Settings.
Restrictions
Each carrier has restrictions that may limit your shipping capabilities or prevent you from making certain shipments. Here are some restrictions to be aware of when using DHL.
- Originating address – Not all DHL services are available in every country. To see which services are available in your country, visit your regional DHL website or go here to select your country.
- Restrictions by country – each country you ship to may have its own trade and import restrictions. Not all DHL delivery services are available to all countries. To learn more about restrictions to specific countries, go here.
- Prohibited items – certain goods, including items considered to be illegal or dangerous, may not be shipped by DHL under any circumstances. To learn more about restricted items, go here.
- Controlled items – items such as tobacco and vaping products, plants and animals, and certain dangerous goods may be shipped if they meet certain criteria. Other items such as pharmaceuticals may be shipped by DHL under strict regulations in some areas and prohibited in others. To learn more about restricted items, go here.
- Packaging restrictions – some products can only be shipped if they comply with certain packaging standards. To learn more about DHL packaging requirements or for guidance on packaging your items, go here.
- International restrictions – customs and international laws may limit what you ship, how you ship it, and how it can be returned to you. You may also require additional information – e.g. Harmonization codes – documentation and fees to complete your shipment. To learn more about shipping internationally with DHL, go here.
- Size & weight restrictions – standard items can weigh up to 70 kg (154 lbs), and all sides (length, width and height) must not exceed 120 cm (47 inches). Surcharges will be applied to items that exceed 70 kg (154 lbs); individual palleted packages cannot exceed 300 kg (661 lbs) and the total shipment weight cannot exceed 3000 kg (6614 lbs). Palleted items cannot exceed a Length x Width of 120 cm (47 inches) or a height of 160 cm (63 inches). Certain delivery services may have size limitations. For more information, review DHL’s Packaging Advice.
For more information about DHL restrictions, please visit DHL or contact your local DHL representative.
Troubleshooting
Live rates from DHL may not be appearing at checkout, or they may not be displayed as expected.
You may be able to determine why rates aren’t being displayed correctly by reviewing the rate calculation Activity.
1) Click Activity on the main menu.
2) Select ‘Unsuccessful requests only‘ from the Filter by request status drop-down list. This will display only Activities where rates were not returned.
4) Click View beside any ‘unsuccessful’ Activity.
5) In the Details section, click View log beside Warnings and errors, if available.
Warnings & errors are not displayed as a result of missing information, such as missing customer address information – or an invalid request – e.g. Visibility is turned off, Carrier-Calculated Rates are not enabled.
6) Review the warnings for DHL Shipping Services.
Here are some of the common reasons why some or all of your DHL live rates may not be appearing at checkout.
Setup & Testing Mode
While you are in Setup & Testing mode, live rates will only appear at checkout when the customer name contains ‘Intuitive’. To make your rates available in a live setting, you will need to activate your account and begin your 14-Day FREE Trial.
Visibility Settings
If your DHL rates are not appearing in a live setting, it may be because Visibility is set to Administrators only. This could be General Visibility or your DHL Shipping Method. To learn how to adjust Visibility settings, go here.
Carrier-Calculated Rates
Shopify’s Carrier-Calculated Rates feature must be enabled on your Shopify account in order to use any third-party shipping rate calculator app, including Smart Boxing. To learn how to enable Carrier Calculated rates, go here.
Account Credentials
Double-check to make sure that you’ve entered the correct Account Number, and that there are no spaces or extra/ missing characters.
Packages
Rates may not appear if suitable Package sizes are not available. For example, when the appropriate package size is set to Inactive, the next largest size package will be used. If the larger package exceeds DHL size limitations, a rate will not be generated.
When no Package is available, Smart Boxing will attempt to create a custom package using the dimensions of the product(s) in the cart. Similarly, if the custom package exceeds DHL size limitations, a rate will not be generated.
Check to make sure that Packages in your DHL Shipping Method are suitable for products you’re shipping with DHL and that they do not exceed the size limitations.
Services
Some DHL services may not be available due to restrictions, such as size & weight or customer address. If some DHL rates are being generated, but others are not – or, if rates from another Carrier Shipping Method (e.g. UPS) are being generated, but rates from DHL are not – it is most likely due to service restrictions.
Be sure to check that the selected services are compatible with the shipping address. For example, if the customer address is domestic- i.e. it is within the same country as the origin address – and only International services have been selected, rates may not be displayed.
If some rates were returned at checkout, but others were not, check for Warnings & Errors in the Activity Details.
Product Dimensions
Smart Boxing requires all Products to have dimensions assigned to them. Package dimensions are sent to DHL to calculate the dimensional weight of the order. When Product dimensions are missing, the packing process fails, and package information cannot be sent to DHL.
Syncing
When you first begin using Smart Boxing in Setup & Testing mode, be sure to sync your Product catalog with to ensure that all of your products are available in the system. Products that have not been synced with Smart Boxing will not have dimensions. When Product dimensions are missing, the packing process fails, and package information cannot be sent to DHL .
Once you have activated Smart Boxing, products will be synced automatically. Be sure to add dimensions to each new product you add to Smart Boxing.
Multiple Package Blending
Smart Boxing lets you decide how to manage package blending. You can choose either Flexible or Strict.
Flexible blending means an attempt will be made to blend costs based on services. The lowest cost for each package will be blended together if packages do not have matching services.
Strict blending means costs will be blended only if all packages have matching services. No costs will be returned if packages do not have matching services.
Cost Adjustments
If rates are returning but appear to be either too high or too low, cost adjustments may have been applied to the Shipping Method in the Optional Settings section. Check the Cost adjustment section of your DHL Shipping Method’s Optional Settings.
Contact Us
If DHL rates are not being displayed as expected and you are unable to resolve the issue, please contact us. We’re here to help!