Implementing product codes and business rules
At this stage the customer has selected a delivery option. The data that is required to prepare a parcel should now be available (generally speaking: delivery date, shipping product, delivery option, customer contact and address details). It is now possible to determine the shipping product code and apply the necessary business rules required for transmission of the shipments’ data to PostNL.
Each shipping product has its own product code(s) and (additional) business rules. Please consult the Products page for more information on product codes, business rules and validations.
For example
A customer has selected a delivery date for an evening delivery. In a previous step we have confirmed (via an API call) evening delivery is available for the specified address and desired delivery date.
As a next step we choose a shippng product that is suitable for an evening delivery. For this example we will implement a Standard Shipment with product code “3085”.
Applying the additional business rules for evening deliveries we, for example, find an additional product option code is required in the confirmation to PostNL. This is (“characteristic 118, option 006”).
All required shipping data is transmitted to PostNL by sending a confirmation using a PostNL API.
Business rules Evening Delivery:
- Evening delivery is allowed on specified address and delivery date. This is confirmed via a call to the DeliveryDate and Timeframe API's.
- Product code is required and is suitable for evening deliveries.
- Product option code characteristic 118, option 006 is required.
- Receiver Address fields required
- Company name or last name
- Street
- House number
- Postcode
- City
- The receiver’s contact mobile phone number or email address is required.
Create shipping labels and send a confirmation
Creating a shipping label and confirming the shipments’ data to the carrier needs to happen fast and reliably. Choosing the right API solution helps streamline your order processing.
PostNL offers state-of-the-art API's that can be combined or used independently to fit your unique order processing needs.
| Shipping (all-in-one) | Barcode | Labelling | Confirming |
|---|---|---|---|
| Create barcode Create label Send confirmation (Yes/No) Create Easy Return | Create barcode | Create label Send confirmation (Yes/No) | Send confirmation |
| Looking for an API that meets all order processing needs? This API combines the functionality of the Barcode, Labelling, Confirming and Easy Return Service API's in one single API call. Documentation | Creating unique Track & Trace codes has never been easier by having the Barcode API generate and manage these for you. The output of this API can be saved in your order management system and is input for the Labelling and/or Confirming API's. Documentation | Our reliable Labelling API ensures your order always contains a fitting shipping label. Helping you save time and costs. The Labelling API automates manual tasks, allows you to quickly add new shipping products to your portfolio and avoid costly label implementations. It allows confirmation to be sent along with creating a label (via Boolean Yes/No). Documentation | Easily confirm your order by transmitting your shipment data to PostNL via the Confirming API. If your order preparation process requires confirmation to be send after label creation, you may choose to create the label first (via the Labelling API) and send the confirmation later (via the Confirming API). Documentation |