Shipping & Fulfillment¶

Vectis handles shipping through a carrier strategy pattern and supports simple single-shipment orders as well as multi-box warehouse fulfillment.

Carrier Strategies¶

Each shipping carrier is an extension that implements the ShippingCalculatorStrategy interface. The system ships with two built-in strategies:

Custom carriers (UPS, FedEx, local courier) are added as extensions that query live rate APIs and return structured rate quotes.

Rate Quoting¶

When a buyer reaches the shipping step at checkout, ShippingService.get_available_rates() queries all active carrier strategies for the given cart and address. Each strategy returns zero or more rate options (e.g., "Ground — $8.50", "Express — $22.00"). The buyer selects one.

Shipping Zones and Methods¶

Shipping configuration is organized into three levels:

1. Shipping Providers — represent a carrier or logistics partner (e.g., "FedEx", "In-House Delivery").
2. Shipping Zones — geographic regions a provider serves (e.g., "Domestic", "North America", "EU").
3. Shipping Methods — specific service levels within a zone (e.g., "Ground", "2-Day", "Overnight").

Each method links to a carrier strategy that computes the rate.

Fulfillment Modes¶

Vectis supports two fulfillment modes, configured per channel:

By Order (Simple)¶

The entire order ships as one unit. One tracking number, one carrier. Best for small operations or digital-heavy catalogs.

By Box (Warehouse)¶

Orders are fulfilled box-by-box. Each box:

• Is created from a box template (dimensions, weight limit) or custom dimensions.
• Has its own tracking number and optional carrier.
• Contains specific line items and quantities.

This mode supports warehouse scanning workflows where packers scan items into boxes and the system tracks per-box fulfillment.

graph TD
    O[Order] --> B1[Box 1 — FedEx Ground]
    O --> B2[Box 2 — FedEx Ground]
    O --> B3[Box 3 — Freight LTL]
    B1 --> T1[Tracking: 1Z999...]
    B2 --> T2[Tracking: 1Z888...]
    B3 --> T3[Tracking: PRO-4455]

Free Shipping via Promotions¶

Free shipping is commonly offered through the promotions system rather than manual rate overrides. Create a discount rule with:

• Condition: cart subtotal ≥ $200 (or whatever threshold you want).
• Action: Free shipping.

This keeps the free-shipping logic in one place and lets you combine it with other stackable promotions.

Box Templates¶

Box templates define reusable packaging configurations:

Templates speed up warehouse fulfillment — packers select a template and the system pre-fills dimensions.

Admin Panel¶

From Settings → Shipping in the admin:

• Providers — create and configure shipping providers.
• Zones — define geographic zones and assign them to providers.
• Methods — add service levels within zones, link to carrier strategies, set rate parameters.
• Box Templates — manage reusable packaging templates.

From the Order detail → Fulfillment tab:

• Create shipments (by-order) or pack boxes (by-box).
• Enter tracking numbers and select carriers.
• Mark fulfillments as shipped.