Beyond getting your Asendia account up-and-running in Shiptheory, there are a number of extra "advanced" settings that you may want to have a look at to help get your Asendia account working the way you would like it to. Below helps to explain what these settings are and how they work.
Enable Test Mode
You can set your Asendia account to work in a Test Mode, where you can produce test shipping labels and not concur any charges from Asendia.
Note: Test Mode requires specific, separate API credentials from Asendia and not all shipping methods are guaranteed to work.
Specify Weight Conditions
In case you require your shipments to all have a specific weight or need to ensure that your shipments are always at least a certain minimum weight, you can set this here.
Automatically Update Product Weights?
International shipments outside of the EU require product information to be supplied, for customs purposes. As a part of this, Asendia requires products weights to be provided. In the case that product weight information is missing, Shpitheory can automatically update this for you.
By default, this setting is set to "off" (don't update) and Shiptheory will return an error message for you to add or update a product weight. You can read how to do this in Shiptheory, here: Updating Product Data
Note: If you enable this setting but not the 'Automatically Update Shipment Weight' setting below, this could result in receiving error messages.
Automatically Update Shipment Weight?
International shipments outside of the EU require product information to be supplied, for customs purposes. From this information, Shiptheory calculates your parcel weights and submits this alongside your general shipment information.
In the event that the calculated total parcel weight(s) is greater than the total shipment weight specified from your sales channel (e.g. Magento, Shopify...), Shiptheory can override your shipment weight with the sum total weight of your parcels to ensure that it is accepted by Asendia.
By default, this setting is set to "off" (don't update) and Shiptheory will return an error message for you to check your product weights or update the total shipment weight in Shiptheory.
Note: If you have enabled the 'Automatically Update Product Weights' setting above but not this setting, this could cause an increase in your calculated parcel weights and result in receiving error messages.
Automatically Trim Long Shipping Data
Asendia has some limits on how long some shipping data sent can be before they return an error message. Shiptheory can automatically trim any information to prevent any error messages.
By default, this setting is set to "off" (don't trim data) and Shiptheory will return an error message for you to check and update any shipment information.
Note: Turning this on could result in a loss of important shipping data and Shiptheory cannot accept responsibility for any incorrectly addressed consignments as a result.
Type of Export Goods
A short, general description of what you will be sending with Asendia. If you're not sure what to put here, you can enter "Goods".
Enter a Default Type of Package
A general description of the type of packaging you will be sending with Asendia. If you're not sure what to put here, you can enter "Box".
Customs Charges Responsibility
When booking any international shipments, depending on the destination country, shipment value and contents, there may be import charges, customs duties and/or taxes that need to be paid before the shipment can be released to the addressee. You can select who should be responsible for paying any customs or duties charges:
- DDP: The seller is responsible for all charges at the destination, including any local taxes
- DDU: The recipient is responsible for all import costs, customs duties and taxes at the destination country
Select a Default Country of Manufacture
International shipments outside of the EU require product information to be supplied, for customs purposes. If the country of manufacture information is missing for any of your products, you can select a country here to use instead.
By default, this setting is set to "off" (None) and Shiptheory will return an error message for you to add or update a product country of manufacture. You can read how to do this in Shiptheory, here: Updating Product Data
If you have any further questions, please get in contact with our support team who will be happy to help.