Manhattan Associates Inc. (hereafter "Manhattan") develops solutions designed to manage supply chains, inventory and omni-channel operations. Its solutions allow customers to fulfil orders from distribution centres across the world.
Manhattan deploys an External Parcel Integration (EPI) framework that allows users of the following Manhattan solutions to connect with external multi-carrier products, including Metapack's Delivery Manager:
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Warehouse Management for Open Systems (WMOS) (versions 2017, 2018 or 2019 only).
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Manhattan Active Warehouse Management (MAWM), which is their upgraded version of WMOS.
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Manhattan Active Omni (MAO), which is an OMS that allows ship from store.
What are the key features of the EPI integration?
The EPI integration provides the following key features:
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Rate Shop (optional). Sends the necessary data to Delivery Manager to determine the optimal carrier service:
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Shipping. Creates the Consignments in Delivery Manager:
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Print. Requests printing of the shipping labels in Delivery Manager for each Consignment created using the Shipping call:
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Void (optional). Requests deletion of a Consignment from Delivery Manager where you need to unpack the order or change the shipping method:
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EOD Manifesting. Marking Consignments in Delivery Manager as shipped.
In brief, the EPI takes messages from WMOS, MAWM and MAO transactions and converts them into calls to Metapack's Delivery Manager. It then decodes the responses from Delivery Manager before returning the data to the calling transaction to update the 'oLPN' and print the label(s) returned by Delivery Manager.
Note
In Manhattan, a single-parcel order is assigned an 'oLPN', which is a Manhattan-specific term for an outbound shipping carton.
If a second parcel is added to a Consignment in WMOS (it is not possible in MAWM or MAO), then a new oLPN is assigned.
How can the EPI help Manhattan's customers?
With the EPI, Manhattan’s customers have instant access to Metapack's library of almost 5,000 home delivery services from over 400 carriers. They can add these carriers and services quickly and easily with a fully compliant label library using a universal label format.
How can the EPI help Metapack's customers?
If you are a Metapack customer, then using 'pre-built' adapters such as the one described here, provides maximum flexibility, allowing you to move easily and quickly between different OMS and WMS providers.
In addition, implementation costs are reduced in that you do not need to pay for your own customised integrations.
The particular advantage of the EPI is that you can use any of Manhattan's omni-channel solutions to ensure that consignments are quickly picked and packed to fulfil consumer promises.
Before you can use the EPI, both Delivery Manager and the Manhattan solutions require some administrative setup. The steps are as follows:
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The next step depends on the Manhattan solution with which you are integrating, either:
Note
With regard to the specific MAWM/MAO/WMOS setup, the guide assumes that you either already have the required administrative privileges in Manhattan or are in touch with Manhattan's Support team (you can contact them here).