Configuring Delivery Manager for use with the EPI

You first need to use Delivery Manager to set up your default warehouse, carrier configurations and carrier 'service groups'.

Note

If you are new to Delivery Manager, you can find out more about it here.

You need to work through the following before using the Manhattan EPI:

Configure your Default Warehouse.
Because a Delivery Manager setup needs to use 'Ship' or 'Ship and Hold' for every warehouse when integrating with the Manhattan EPI (refer to the table below), ensure that the system property consignment.mark.as.printed is set to TRUE for every warehouse (refer to How do I Print and Manifest separately?).
Select your Carriers and Services.
Configure your Carrier Services.

Note

As part of this configuration, ensure that the carrier service Web cutoffs are set up, to allow sufficient time between ordering and despatch.
Set up the Carrier Costs.
Activate your Carrier Services.
Create your Carrier 'Service Groups'.

Note

A 'service group' is a collection of services (e.g. 'Next Day'), and a service is an individual carrier service belonging to a group (e.g. 'Royal Mail 1st Class' within 'Next Day').

If you are going to be using Rate Shopping in the EPI, you also need to set up a carrier 'service group' that can be used for this. Manhattan will set up the necessary system code on their side.

Once you have completed the above, ensure that you can create and allocate consignments, and create the labels for them, using the Shipping API calls listed in the following table.

Note

Because the EPI needs to be supplied with all the data required to create shipping labels for individual parcels (as opposed to just top-level consignments), you need to set the consignmentLevelDetailsFlag to false in every Delivery Manager Consignment (refer to the Properties needed to Call or Create a Consignment).

Table 1. The Metapack Delivery Manager methods used to fulfil orders in the Manhatton EPI

Manhattan Method	Equivalent Metapack Method	Input	Output
Rate Shop (optional)	`findDeliveryOptionsWithBookingCode`	Shipping location, Consignment data, Shipping method (e.g. via booking code).	Available carrier services.
Ship, Ship and Hold	`createAndAllocateConsignmentsWithBookingCode` Or `createAndAllocateConsignmentsWithBookingCode (Return)` `appendParcelsToConsignment` (except in MAO/MAWM) `createPaperworkForCarton`	Shipping location, Consignment data, Shipping method (e.g. via booking code). The `appendParcelsToConsignment` call in WMOS allows you to support multi-parcel shipping, provided that the carrier integrations in Delivery Manager correspond to the carrier list in Manhattan.	Label, Customs documentation, Carrier, Carrier Service, Carrier Tracking Data, Carrier Tracking URL. Because Delivery Manager is unable to consolidate an outbound and return label in a single API request, separate API calls are required for each type of label.
Print	`createPaperworkForCarton`	Metapack consignment reference ('DMC' code), Carton ID.	Labels, Customs documentation.
Ship and Release	`markConsignmentsAsReadyToManifest`	Metapack consignment reference ('DMC' code).	Consignment available for carrier manifesting.
End of Day	`createManifest`	Shipping Location, Carrier	Consignment marked as shipped. Data transferred to Carrier.
Void (optional)	`deallocate, deleteParcelFromConsignmentWithCartonId, deleteConsignment`	Metapack consignment reference ('DMC' code). Carton ID.	Parcel deleted from Consignment, Consignment deleted from Delivery Manager. You can only void the parcel if the Consignment has not been manifested.

Note

The Cartonisation (parent-child) capability in Delivery Manager is not supported by Manhattan.