Service levels
Service levels define how fast an order is delivered to the recipient. Which service level you choose changes which carrier is selected, but can also change the way your pick and pack process is managed, and how pickups are organised.
While different carriers might call their service levels different things, Shippit categorises them into one of these levels:
| Service level | Expected delivery |
|---|---|
| Standard | One to four business days |
| Express | Next business day |
| Priority | Same day |
| On demand | Within three hours |
Which service levels you choose to offer your customers can change the way you set up your custom integration. This section contains a high level description of the main service levels, and some best practices and considerations for offering each.
For a comprehensive list of which carriers provide which services, see the carrier matrix on the Shippit website.
Standard
Deliveries with a standard service level can have a varied transit time, but most standard deliveries are within one to four business days. Standard services normally travel by road or rail and aren’t recommended for time-crucial deliveries, as it is considered the slowest option. However, standard service is usually the most cost effective option, and most deliveries ship with a standard service level.
To declare an order as standard in your order endpoint call, set courier_type to standard.
| Carrier | Reference string |
|---|---|
| Allied Express | AlliedExpressOvernight |
| Aramex | AramexAuNz |
| CityLink | CityLink |
| CouriersPlease | CouriersPlease |
| DHL | DhlEcommerce |
DhlEcommerceAsia | |
| Australia Post | Eparcel |
| Fastway | Fastway |
| FlashExpress | FlashExpress |
| FourPX | FourPXStandard |
| Gdex | Gdex |
| Hunter Express | HunterExpress |
| Janio | Janio |
| JNT | Jnt |
| Kerry | KerryStandard |
| Lyne | LyneConnect |
LynePlus | |
| New Zealand Couriers | NewZealandCouriers |
| New Zealand Post | NewZealandPost |
| NinjaVan | NinjaVanStandard |
| PBT Courier | PbtCourier |
| Pgeon | Pgeon |
| Pickupp | Pickupp |
| POS Malaysia | PosMalaysia |
| Qxpress | Qxpress |
| Seko | SekoStandard |
| Singapore Post | SingPost |
| Skybox | Skybox |
| Smart Routing International | SmartRoutingInternational |
| StarTrack | StarTrack |
| Teleport | Teleport |
| TNT | Tnt |
| Toll | Toll |
| Toll | TollPriority |
Express
Deliveries with an express service level are expected to be delivered the next business day after the order is placed. For example, if an order is placed on a Wednesday, it is scheduled for delivery on Thursday, but an order placed on a Friday is scheduled for delivery on Monday. Express deliveries are sometimes also called next day delivery.
To declare an order as express in your order endpoint call, set courier_type to express.
| Carrier | Reference string |
|---|---|
| Aramex | AramexExpress |
| Capital Transport | CapitalTransport |
| CouriersPlease | CouriersPleaseExpress |
| DHL | DhlExpress |
| Direct Couriers | DirectCouriers |
| Direct Freight Express | DirectFreightExpress |
| Australia Post | EparcelExpress |
| Kerry | KerryExpress |
| New Zealand Post | NewZealandPostExpress |
| NinjaVan | NinjaVanExpress |
| PBT Courier | PbtCourierExpress |
| Seko | SekoExpress |
| Singapore Post | SingPostExpress |
| StarTrack | StarTrackPremium |
| TNT | TntOvernightExpress |
Priority
Deliveries with a priority service level have a specific day and time that delivery is expected within. Priority orders can fall into one of these categories:
- Priority same day guarantees delivery before close of business on the day of booking, and must be booked before 2 PM.
- Priority now is similar to the on demand service level, with delivery expected within two to four hours after booking.
- Priority time slot is for items that can be delivered within a three hour window, on a specified date. This is useful for when the recipient wants to nominate a time when they are available for delivery.
To declare an order as priority in your order endpoint call, set courier_type to priority.
| Carrier | Reference string |
|---|---|
| Allied Express | AlliedExpressSameday |
| Bonds | Bonds |
| DoorDash | DoorDash |
| Qxpress | QxpressSameday |
On demand
Deliveries with an on demand service level are for urgent deliveries. On demand orders are automatically booked by Shippit for an ASAP pick-up, respecting store opening and service hours, for delivery within three hours of booking.
Important: While Australia Post offers an on demand service, it is categorised as Priority, rather than on demand. This is because Australia Post OnDemand are not typically delivered within 3 hours, meaning they use a different workflow to most on demand carriers. For more information about the Australia Post On Demand service, see the Get to know your carrier article on the Shippit help centre.
To declare an order as on demand in your order endpoint call, set courier_type to on_demand.
For on demand orders, you might also need to pass the pickup_at, dropoff_at, and dropoff_deadline_at parameters to your order:
pickup_atis the earliest time that the parcel can be picked updropoff_atis the beginning time of the delivery windowdropoff_deadline_atis the end time of the delivery window
For an example of an own fleet order using these parameters, see the code examples section.
| Carrier | Reference string |
|---|---|
| DoorDash | DoorDashOndemand |
| Australia Post | EparcelOndemand |
| Grab | GrabExpress |
| Lalamove | LalamoveOndemand |
| Pandago | PandagoOndemand |
| Uber | UberOndemand |
| Yello | YelloOndemand |
Integrating same day service levels
Priority and on demand orders are fulfilled on the same day as they’re ordered. These services are generally provided by carriers as a point-to-point service, rather than hub-and-spoke, which means that a single driver picks up a single order, and delivers it to a single recipient. You can use the Shippit APIs to designate delivery windows for priority orders, and provide those windows as options for your customers during checkout.
Priority services tend to be quite restrictive on pickup and delivery times, and carriers often set strict time windows for when the last booking can be made for that same day. Because of these time constraints, priority bookings are accelerated through the Shippit order workflow. Orders with these service levels are immediately booked with the carrier.
Integrating priority services in your workflow can be challenging, because you need to make sure that dispatch locations are ready for pickups as soon as the booking is sent through. As a rule, you want to make sure that you only allow priority bookings when you are sure you have the stock at the dispatch location. One way you can do this is to make sure that everything can be fulfilled from one location. Alternatively, you could limit your priority delivery options to stock that you are certain your main location can fulfil. In this case, if a customer adds stock that you might not be able to fulfil, you need to remove priority as a service option.
To keep priority shipping costs manageable, you might want to restrict priority shipping to within a local distance of your dispatching location. Pricing with priority carriers changes depending on their zone coverage, which can vary from carrier to carrier.