Willsoor – shipping automation and Magento 2 development
- Magento 2
- Autoshipping
- InPost
- DPD
- Shipping automation
Key facts about the project
- 1 month
- Time to deliver the development project.
- InPost + DPD
- For InPost we used the official module and the integration features it provides. For DPD we built a dedicated API integration.
- 1 action – scanning the code
- Once the order code is scanned, creating the shipment is handled automatically inside Magento.
Project scope
- analysis of the picking and shipment-creation process
- design of the autoshipping mechanism
- a shared shipping-logic layer built in Magento
- use of the InPost integration
- a dedicated DPD API integration
- cash-on-delivery handling – COD
- data validation and error handling
- functional tests and process scenarios
Technology
- Magento 2
- InPost – official module and the integration features it provides
- DPD API
Growing the store meant fixing the way shipments were created
Willsoor sells men's and women's clothing and ships across Poland. The store was at a stage of growth where improving the operational back office mattered more and more.
Creating shipments took manual steps and work inside the carriers' panels. Every order cost the team time.
Some of the functionality had worked in Magento 1. Moving to Magento 2 meant it had to be rebuilt and improved. The goal was to simplify and automate shipment creation so that it matched how the warehouse actually works.
How the project came about
Magento 1
The functionality had worked in the previous version of the platform
Part of the functionality around shipping had worked in Magento 1.
Magento 2
The process had to be rebuilt and improved
After the move to Magento 2 the functionality had to be rebuilt and improved, and creating a shipment still meant manual work and switching between systems.
Development project
Shipping automated within 1 month
The development project covering the autoshipping mechanism was delivered within one month.
What had to change in the way shipments were created
- 01
Manual steps on every order
Creating a shipment took manual work, which cost time on every order fulfilled.
- 02
Switching between systems
The process was spread between Magento and the carriers' systems. The team had to move between them instead of working in one place.
- 03
Room for error in manual handling
A manual way of working carried a higher risk of mistakes while the shipping process ran.
- 04
A ceiling on the volume that could be handled
Handling shipments by hand limited how many orders could be fulfilled. One of the project's business goals was to make a higher volume possible without growing the team.
- 05
Rebuilding and improving functionality after the move to Magento 2
Some of the functionality had worked in Magento 1. After the move to Magento 2 it had to be rebuilt and improved.
From looking at how the team works to an automated process in Magento
The work started with an analysis of how the team actually operates: how orders are picked, when the label is generated and which exceptions come up, cash on delivery among them. That analysis is what the shared process layer in Magento was designed against.
Growing a store on Magento 2?
Let's talk about the scope of changes- 01
Analysis of picking and shipping
We went through how picking runs, when the label is generated and which exceptions occur in the process. Cash on delivery – COD – was one of them.
- 02
A shared process layer in Magento
Instead of leaving a separate process per carrier, we built one shared process layer in Magento. Once the order number is scanned, the mechanism recognises the shipping method, verifies the payment type and generates the right label.
- 03
InPost and DPD integrations
For InPost we used the official module and the integration features it provides. For DPD we built a dedicated API integration.
- 04
Data validation and handling the exchange
The shared layer analyses the shipping method and the payment type, builds the right data structure for the carrier, talks to the API and handles responses and errors. Data validation and readable messages were part of the delivery.
- 05
Testing the process
We ran functional tests and process scenarios around label generation and exception handling, COD among them. We also verified the exchange with the carriers' systems and that the mechanism stays stable after module updates.
One shipping logic for InPost and DPD
The autoshipping mechanism sits on a shared intermediate layer in Magento. The layer analyses the shipping method and the payment type, builds the data structure a carrier requires, talks to the API and handles responses and errors.
Magento 2 – autoshipping
Shared shipping-logic layer
Inside the layer
- analysis of the shipping method
- analysis of the payment type
- building the right data structure for the carrier
- communication with the API
- handling responses and errors
- InPostofficial module and the integration features it provides
- DPDdedicated API integration
Shipping automation – the process before and after the build
The same moment in handling an order, before the change and after it. The difference is not that there is less work — it is that the work stopped being manual.
Before
- labels generated by hand
- switching between systems
- more clicks
- more room for mistakes
After
- 01scan the order
- 02recognise the carrier
- 03check the payment
- 04generate the shipment number and the label automatically
Carriers integrated
- InPost
- The official module and the integration features it offers.
- DPD
- A dedicated integration with the carrier's API, built in this project.
Scanning the order code starts the shipment
The autoshipping mechanism is part of the picking process. While packing, the operator scans the order code in Magento and everything after that runs automatically.
What follows the scan
- 01Once the order is placed, the picking list is printed.
- 02While packing, the operator scans the order code in the Magento panel.
- 03The system recognises the carrier automatically.
- 04The system checks the payment method, cash on delivery included.
- 05The system generates the shipment number and the label.
Parcel lockers and a shorter form
For parcel lockers, size A, B or C can be picked and the chosen size set as the default. The form also submits itself once the expected number of characters is recognised, which cut the operational time to a minimum.
What exactly was automated
Automatic carrier recognition
Once the order code is scanned, the mechanism recognises the shipping method from the data on the order and starts the matching process.
Payment handling, cash on delivery included
As part of the automatic process the system verifies the payment type. Cash-on-delivery orders – COD – are covered as well.
Automatic shipment number and label generation
Once the order data is recognised, the system generates the shipment number and the label. That replaced generating labels by hand and moving between systems.
Parcel-locker size handling
For parcel-locker shipments, size A, B or C can be picked and the chosen size set as the default.
The form submits itself
The form submits automatically once the expected number of characters is recognised, which cut the operational time to a minimum.
Less manual work on shipments and room for more orders
Creating a shipment is simpler and shorter. The team no longer switches between systems or retypes data.
1 action instead of severalScanning the order code replaced switching between Magento and the carriers' systems.
Visit Willsoor (opens in a new tab)- One process inside Magento
- Shipment creation is centralised in Magento, behind one entry point for both carriers.
- More volume without growing the team
- Autoshipping made it possible to handle a higher order volume without adding people.
- Ready for further carriers
- Central shipping logic means another carrier can be added later without rebuilding the whole process.
Other confirmed effects
- time saved on every order
- shorter fulfilment time
- less room for error
- more orders handled in the same time
This case matters in projects where Magento is meant to improve operations
- 01Magento 2 development
Developing an existing Magento 2 store
The Willsoor project was about developing a live Magento 2 store by rebuilding and improving functionality that had worked in Magento 1.
- 02Let's talk about developing your store
Automating repeated shipping work
The project shows how a manual shipment-creation process can be replaced by one started with a scan of the order code and handled automatically inside Magento.
- 03See our Magento 2 services
Connecting Magento to carriers
The project used the official InPost module and its integration features and added a dedicated DPD API integration, bringing both carriers together behind one shipping-logic layer.
Questions about the Willsoor project
The scope delivered, how autoshipping works and the integrations used in the project.
An autoshipping mechanism was built in Magento 2 and tied into the picking process. Once the order code is scanned, the system recognises the carrier, checks the payment method and generates the shipment number and the label.
Once the order is placed, the picking list is printed. While packing, the operator scans the order code in the Magento panel. The system recognises the carrier automatically, checks the payment method — cash on delivery included — and generates the shipment number and the label.
The project covered InPost and DPD. For InPost we used the official module and the integration features it provides; for DPD we built a dedicated API integration.
Yes. The mechanism verifies the payment type and covers cash on delivery – COD.
For parcel lockers, size A, B or C can be picked and the chosen size set as the default.
The development project took one month. We run similar work as part of Magento 2 development.
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