An updated version of ShipStore has been rolled out to your test site and is ready for testing on your end. These updates consist primarily of carrier patches for tracking and hazmat support, as well as support for the new Merchant app.

 

What was updated?

Your SHIPSTORE test environment with the changes mentioned below. Included in these changes is a slightly modified flow to batch processing as well as the ability to now email the results to a desired address.

 

Full list of Updates:

  • General updates:
    • Reconciliation and reports (NEW) - Our newest feature in SHIPSTORE, the Reconciliation module allows users to import invoice files for supported carriers into their SHIPSTORE system and run reports on the imported information, including reconciling against the rates quoted in SS. If you would like to take advantage of this new module, please reach out to our support team @ support@shipstoresoftware.com to get started.
    • Reporting role - By popular demand, we have added a role to the system for Reporting. This will allow admins to designate certain users to only have access to the Reports section within the system.
    • Rateshop performance improvements - Rateshops have now been updated to process in a multithreaded fashion, meaning the system will now rate as many services as it can at a time, rather than one by one. This exponentially improves performance on any rateshops with more than 4 services, returning rates in a manner of time similar to a single service.
    • Tracking performance improvements - Tracking logic has also seen a performance improvement as a result of the latest code. We will be continuing to improve the performance of this process over the next month as demand for this feature has increased.
    • Corrected some display issues for captioned user fields on the shipping screen, primarily around user prompts.
    • Corrected an issue causing the contact form to not function properly for Firefox users
    • Added Return Tracking Number to search fields in Shipping History
    • Optimized token logic with carriers to lower the number of tokens SS requests in a given day
    • Streamlined handling of PDF labels internally to resolve an issue with some non-carrier labels not printing
    • Patches to reports screen for handling of fields on Origin address and Packages
    • Added Flat Rate Legal Envelope and Padded Envelop as packaging types
    • Misc updates targeted at improving logging and error handling
    • Patches for Visible/Maersk handling for territories
    • Patches for UPS handling for terms of sale
    • Patch to Shipment w Return Labels process to allow return carrier to be different than outbound carrier
    • Patch to email logic for Address Book records to properly load email when address is selected
    • Patch to printable document handling for Order Entry page
    • Added logic to prevent USPS FCI labels for Visible from repeating on next label
    • Misc updates to fields available for business rules
    • Patch for FedEx accessorial logic for multibox shipments
    • Added support for new Merchant app
    • Added Hazmat Remarks field
    • Add support for LTL commodity dimensions
    • Added support for packing user fields
    • Added support for AfterShip web hook
    • Updated ShipStore tracking link to allow tracking numbers to be supplied instead of an ID. Format: {ShipStore URL}/Track?trackingNumber={tracking number}
  • Merchant app - new version
    • Improved connection handling - the new version has been reworked to optimize connections to the ShipStore server, ensuring more reliable performance out of the app even in the case of poor network performance. The connections should also remain active if the computer is locked, preventing the need to re-login to the app.
    • Station Setup functions - The app will now detect if your station has been set up in ShipStore, and if not, will be prompted to set up the station in the app before you are logged in.
    • Updated UI - The UI itself has been updated to a newer framework, allowing for more functionality in the app in the near future 
    • Updated installer - The installer for the Merchant app has also been updated to a MSI format. This will allow IT admins to install the app for all users on a PC, and even automate the installation.
    • Updated Task Tray functions - We've updated the task tray icon for the app to now support right-clicking to perform a desired task (i.e. closing the app or updating settings)
    • Support for dev/test sites
  • Carrier updates:
    • USPS
      • Added support for Hazmat Type and Return Receipt fields
    • FedEx
      • Updated logic to pull FedEx tracking number for SmartPost/Ground Economy (was USPS tracking number)
      • Updated support for SmartPost/Ground Economy multibox shipments
    • EasyPost
      • Added support for FedEx services through EP
      • Improved error handling
    • OnTrac
      • Added support for East services
      • Added support for tracking shipments using West services
    • Stamps.com
      • Added support for Return Receipts
      • Patch for pulling surcharge rates
      • Patch for pulling transit times
    • The Logistics Store
      • Added tracking support (USPS and LTL)
      • Improved error handling
      • Added support for Billed Weight and Zone fields
      • Added support for test API
    • UPS
      • Added support for up to 4 reference fields.
      • Patch for LTL terms logic
      • Added support for Hazmat Remarks
      • Updated LTL tracking link
      • Patch for LTL tracking through API
      • Added support for SurePost transit times

What will the update affect?

The updates above affect the following enterprise systems:

  • ShipStore v4 web portal

What do I need to do?

You may go into your test site at any time to try out the new updates to the system to ensure there are no adverse effects. If you run into any issues along the way, please reach out to our support team so we can address the issues.

Once you have verified the updates are good to go, you may apply the update to your production environment at any time. Keep in mind though that this update will require an update to the database schema (attached), so we recommend applying this update either before or after the working day to minimize disruptions. If your SS solution is hosted on ARE provided servers, you can ignore the steps below, as these will be handled by the ARE team once approval is given.

To apply the update to the production files on the production app server:

  1. Backup/ZIP your current production site, found at “/Sites/Prod/” on the root of your data drive
  2. Copy the files found in the “/ARE/Site Builds/Prod/” folder to the folder above (both folders found on the root of the data drive)
  3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 for the following folders:
    1. /ARE/Extras/CarrierPlugins -> /SHIPSTOREv4 Extras/CarrierPlugins
    2. /ARE/Extras/SDKPlugins -> /SHIPSTOREv4 Extras/SDKPlugins
  4. Once the files are copied, connect to the SHIPSTOREv4_Prod DB via SSMS on the desired server as a SQL admin and run the following SQL script: Enterprise update 2023Q3.sql

Once applied, the web portal update may require the users to refresh (F5 or Ctrl+Shift+R) their Ship screen to pull in the changes if they are not seeing them when they log in after the update. As always, we can perform this update for you as well, just let us know if/when you would like us to perform the update. 

 

What if I have problems after applying the updates?

If the issues encountered are minor in nature, please reach out to us via email (support@shipstoresoftware.com) or phone (816-781-5100). So that we may work with you to correct these issues. If for any these updates are impacting shipping heavily, you can revert the update by:

 

  1. Deleting the existing production folder found in step 1 above
  2. Extract the backup you made in step 1 above to restore the old application
  3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 for the folders found in step 3 above
  4. Run the following script on the SHIPSTOREv4_Prod DB to revert the schema changes from step 4 above: Enterprise update 2023Q3_DOWN.sql