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Background
Selling items that ship via freight online can be a complicated configuration. Fortunately UltraCart integrates with Freightquote.com to provide the lowest cost rate calculation across a wide range of customers. This tutorial will walk you through the process of setting up Freightquote.com for a complex environment such as selling ladders online.
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First you'll need to visit http://www.freightquote.com and apply for an account. Visit their website and click the "Signup and Start Shipping" link GET FREE QUOTES" button shown in the picture below.
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This will send an email to the proper personnel ( fqconnect@freightquote.com ) at Freightquote.com to issue your API credentials. . (UPDATE: 03/07/2023 - A merchant stated that they were unable to locate the page above containing the "I would like to sign up" button. The merchant stated that they contacted Freightquote.com support to request the API credentials, and then they recieved the API credentials from fqsupport@freightquote.com)
Once you receive your API credentials you will need to configure them within UltraCart under:
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Main Menu → Configuration → Shipping → Shipper Specific Options |
On the Shipper Specific Options page there is a section for Freightquote.com as shown below.
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In this screen there are three fields to configure:
Field | Description | Required |
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Username | The Freightquote.com API username. | Yes |
Password | The Freightquote.com API password. | Yes |
Preferred Carriers | The name(s) of the carriers that you prefer to ship with (one per line). If this field is configured UltraCart will choose the cheapest method from the carriers on this list. | No |
Setting up Shipping Methods
The next step in the configuration process is to setup the LTL shipping method associated with Freightquote.com. First navigate to the shipping methods section:
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Click on the new method button as shown below.
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First navigate to the packages section:
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Click on the New Package button as shown below.
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An explanation of each of the configuration fields is provided in the table below.
Field | Description |
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Name | A descriptive name of the package. This will display on the packing solution and in other configuration screens. |
Outside (L x W x H) | The outside dimensions of the pallet with contents on it. This is what UltraCart will provide to Freightquote.com in API requests. The 36 x 36 is the dimensions of the pallet. The 108" is the length of the ladder strapped to the pallet. |
Inside (L x W x H) | The inside dimensions of the packing area that UltraCart will use. Often this is the same as the outside dimensions, but you might want to add 6" to the height to compensate for the height of the pallet for instance. |
Fill Capacity | Always keep this at 100% |
Weight | The weight of the pallet without anything on it. |
Maximum Packed Weight | The amount of product that can be packed onto the pallet by weight. |
Cost | If you want to pass along the cost of the pallet to the customer you can configure that here. |
Used with shipping methods | Select Freightquote.com: LTL as the shipping method this package is used with. |
Click Save. You will want to repeat this process for as many different packages as you need. In this example we have configured packages ranging from 36" to 300". Notice that there is a "Copy" button beside each package. This makes it incredibly fast to replicate the configuration of one pallet and adjust only the one dimension and description.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Question: "When I view the packing solution for one of my freightquote.com shipments I see that is shows the kit item shipped as two pallets. When I look at each pallet I see only one of the pallets showing a shopping cost. Is this correct?
Answer: With LTL freight calculations we tell them about all the pallets at once and they give a single price for the entire shipment. The sum of the quotes for individual pallets does not equal the quote for multiple pallets so we insert the returned cost withion on of the listed packagres/pallets sections of the packing solution.