USPS Single Carrier Package

This replaces the paper Manifests and Postage Statements that are currently used as billing documents and to report each day's shipments to the USPS. Instead, an electronic eVS file is generated as part of your normal end-of-day close and then sent via secure ftp to a USPS designated address. Master mailer ID numbers are assigned to eVS users and individual mailer ID numbers are assigned for to each warehouse. As a result, PSS provides eVS users with the option of closing USPS shipments individually and creating separate upload files for each warehouse or running a consolidated close for all USPS shipments at the end of the day. The daily reports users are accustomed to printing are still available, but they are for internal use only and there is no requirement to submit them to local Post Offices. By adopting the eVS system, shippers no longer have to be concerned with keeping USPS Manifests and Postage Statements up to date as well as having to deal with one Post Office refusing to accept documents that another Post Office has already approved. USPS eVS supports shipments via Express Mail, First Class Packages, Priority Mail, Parcel Select, Media Mail and Library Mail and includes special eVS shipping labels for all printers supported by PSS.

* USPS personnel are available to guide users through the application and certification processes, postage payment arrangements and assist wherever necessary.
* A certification process is required which entails the submission of an eVS test file with 100 shipments and related shipping labels. Included with the eVS option are 100 test cases and a program to generate the necessary certification file and labels. Assistance, if necessary, will be provided by PSS on a T&M basis.

Delivery Confirmation is included for all of your domestic USPS shipments. You will be able to track package progress and delivery (location, time, date, etc.) on the USPS web site. PSS will assign a USPS tracking number and print an approved bar-coded shipping label for each package.

PSS uses this interface, which includes a user-modifiable program, to allow direct access to and from your data files. Shipping information such as the consignee’s name, address, and method of shipment can be retrieved from your production system (ex. customer or order files). The same interface is used to allow you to update your production system with the PSS shipping information (ex. update your invoice with the freight charge and date shipped). There are various times throughout the processing of shipments that PSS will turn control over to the interface program. These “hooks” allow you to customize and automate the way PSS interacts with your users.
 

* A skeleton program is provided and must be customized for your application software before it can be used.

For increased speed and accuracy, PSS can interpret one scanned bar code from your document (ex. picking ticket, order form) to obtain information that would otherwise have to be entered in four different places (company #, invoice / order / pick-slip #, shipment #, and box #). This provides PSS with the information it needs to identify the shipment and proceed directly into the box processing stage. The included user-modifiable program reduces the likelihood that you will need to make any changes to your bar code.

This feature gives you the ability to automatically add a handling charge to your shipping charges. The handling charge can be set up by parcel or by order and can be overridden by the operator if needed (and if you allow it). The included user-modifiable program enables you to make even more handling charge decisions automatically when the shipment is actually being processed. For example, you can base the handling charge on the customer or order total.

This provides for the entry and maintenance of a stand-alone ship-to database that is integrated with the PSS rating & packing screens. When shipping a parcel that does not have a customer order associated with it (manual entry), this feature will save time and eliminate errors. By using “S” as an order number, PSS will bring the user into the ship-to database program. The ship-to can be cross-referenced by entering part of the name or filed as a new ship-to for future re-use.

You can monitor the employees involved with the shipping process by assigning them identifying codes. PSS will then prompt for the Picker Code to define the employee who picked the goods for a particular package or shipment.

You can monitor the employees involved with the shipping process by assigning them identifying codes. PSS will then prompt for the Packer Code to define the employee who packed the goods for a particular package or shipment.

You can monitor the employees involved with the shipping process by assigning them identifying codes. PSS will then prompt for the Shipper Code to define the employee who shipped the goods for a particular package or shipment.

This software will verify that the zip code used in a shipment is valid and that it matches the city and state entered. If PSS senses a mismatch or invalid zip code, the user will be warned and allowed to easily correct the data. Included with this option is a data base which can be used by your other software applications and which contains the cities, preferred city (if more then one) and state for more then 42,000 zip codes in the continental US, Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico.

* Must subscribe to the ZIP code maintenance service.

This allows the PSS Shipment Rating Station screen to be called by any user-written application. For example, this feature can be integrated with your packing process so that package rating and labeling can immediately follow it or it can be used by customer service to allow operators to check the status of a given order. This relieves the user of the necessity of writing a shipping inquiry screen and prevents operators from having to log off and onto PSS to check the shipping data. Included with this are the parameters for calling a subroutine that will call the PSS Rating Screen and then return control to the calling program.

This provides you with the ability to calculate the complete shipping charges for a particular shipment from any user-written application. For example, you can use this routine with your order entry process to estimate freight charges for quoting customers. Insurance, COD’s, and any other accessorial services can also be included in the rating process. You simply call the Rating Routine by using the included parameters and the rating results are returned for you to use or display. There is also a rate quoting screen provided that allows you to quote freight charges without having to implement any subroutine calling.

* No Rating Station License Required.

This software, also known as SWOG, allows users to link together shipments for different orders to the same customer on a given day. When shipments for different orders are packed in the same boxes, they are linked by both the order and carrier tracking numbers, and when either one is entered in the Rating Station a display will indicate what was shipped together. Billable freight charges can be allocated to different orders based on value or weight (if known), evenly based on the number of packages or any other business rules you choose to apply.

* Requires modifications to the Level II Interface program to verify that all shipments are to the same customer and address and to write tracking numbers, freight charges and other information back to the linked orders.