Orders sent to USPS from a host integration or a scale can fail to rate when the Ship To Contact is blank. Some USPS services reject the rate request without a contact. Add a business rule that fills the Ship To Contact from the Ship To Company for USPS.

Problem

Orders sent to USPS from a host integration or a scale (SDK) do not rate. No rate, carrier, or tracking goes back to your host or WMS for those orders, while orders on other carriers rate fine.

Cause

Some USPS services require a Ship To Contact on the rate request. When the integration sends a Ship To Company but leaves the Ship To Contact blank, the USPS rate request errors and no rate comes back, so your host or WMS gets no carrier or rate for those orders. The gap is the blank contact, not the company.

How to check: the affected orders have a Ship To Company but a blank Ship To Contact, and they only fail on USPS.

Fix

  1. Open Business Rules.
  2. Create a rule that runs before rating (a Before Shipment Rates event).
  3. Set the action to fill the Ship To Contact with the Ship To Company.
  4. Add a condition so the rule only runs when the Ship To Contact is blank.
  5. Add a condition so the rule only runs when the Carrier Name contains USPS, so it does not change other carriers.
  6. Save the rule. Re-rate an affected order, or resend it from your host.

What you should see

  • An affected USPS order rates and returns a carrier and rate to your host or WMS.
  • The processed shipment shows the Ship To Contact filled from the Ship To Company.
  • Orders on other carriers are unchanged.