Blog, WooCommerce Shipping

Automate WooCommerce Shipping with UPS Pickups, Manifests & End-of-Day Forms

Posted on by Sunita SG
woocommerce ups pickup
10
Oct

Efficient shipping is vital for WooCommerce merchants to keep orders on time and customers satisfied. Manually scheduling pickups, generating manifests, and completing end-of-day forms can be time-consuming and error-prone.

Automating these processes ensures smoother workflows and fewer mistakes. UPS can help WooCommerce stores handle pickups, create manifests, and complete end-of-day forms directly from the dashboard, letting store owners focus on their business while maintaining fast, reliable shipping.

In This Guide

What Are UPS Pickups, Manifests & End-of-Day Forms?

For WooCommerce merchants, preparing shipments efficiently is crucial to ensure smooth delivery. Pickups, manifests, and end-of-day (EOD) forms help organize and finalize orders before handing them over to the carrier. Using UPS as a shipping option, these steps can be automated to save time and reduce errors.

UPS Pickups

UPS Pickup is when UPS collects your prepared shipments directly from your WooCommerce store or warehouse instead of you dropping them off. Scheduling a pickup ensures the driver arrives at a designated time or window to collect all packages you’ve packed and marked for that pickup.

UPS Manifests

A manifest is a document or list that details shipments being handed over to UPS. It typically includes shipment IDs, addresses, weights, the number of packages, and other metadata.

Required?

  • Yes, for certain shipments like international packages or dangerous goods.
  • No, for standard domestic shipments when using electronic shipment tools (like UPS Online Tools or WooCommerce UPS plugins).

UPS End-of-Day (EOD) Forms / Processes

The End-of-Day process is a UPS procedure for finalizing the day’s shipments and transmitting shipment data (often via a manifest). EOD ensures UPS has accurate shipment data for scanning, scheduling, delivery, billing, and record-keeping.

These processes help ensure that everything is properly documented and synced. They reduce mistakes and prevent issues with missing or lost packages.

Challenges of Managing WooCommerce Orders Manually with UPS 

Handling WooCommerce shipments manually with UPS store can be time-consuming and prone to errors, especially as your order volume grows. Some key challenges store owners typically face:

  • Time-Consuming Processes: Manually booking UPS pickups, entering shipment details, and generating labels for each order takes a significant amount of time. For stores processing hundreds of orders daily, this can quickly become overwhelming.
  • Human Errors: Manual data entry increases the risk of mistakes, such as incorrect addresses or ZIP codes, wrong package weights or dimensions, and missed shipments.
  • Inefficient Tracking Management: Manually updating tracking information in WooCommerce or sending tracking emails to customers can be tedious, leading to increased support queries.
  • Complexity with Multiple Shipments: When orders contain multiple packages or use different UPS services (e.g., Ground, Express), manually managing each shipment and ensuring the correct labels are printed becomes more complicated.
  • Difficulty in Handling Pickups and Reports: Scheduling UPS pickups and managing manifests or End-of-Day forms manually can be error-prone. It could delay deliveries or cause reconciliation issues.
  • Limited Scalability: Manual shipping becomes hard to scale as order volumes grow, consuming more time and leaving less focus for other priorities.

However, to address these challenges, UPS shipping processes, including scheduling UPS pickups in WooCommerce, should be automated.

How to Schedule Pickups in WooCommerce with UPS

To manage UPS pickups effortlessly, install and activate the WooCommerce UPS Shipping Plugin with Print Label.

Note:

With the plugin, you can:

  • Enable the pickup option in the settings and set your warehouse’s start and closing times.
enable ups pickup
  • Choose the pickup type based on your business needs, such as Daily Pickup for shipments collected every day.
pickup type
  • Request UPS pickups for selected orders directly from the WooCommerce dashboard using the bulk actions dropdown.
request ups pickup
  • After you have successfully scheduled pickup, the following notification will appear at the top of your WooCommerce store page. 
pickup request number

Apart from that, you will also receive the confirmation email containing the Pickup Request Number (PRN). 

Using these features, you can automate your UPS pickup process, save time, reduce manual errors, and ensure smooth daily operations for your WooCommerce store.

Real-World Scenario: WooCommerce Store Using UPS Automation

A WooCommerce store selling gourmet coffee across the U.S. was struggling to manage UPS shipping efficiently.

Challenges:

  • Manually scheduling UPS pickups and tracking shipments was time-consuming.
  • End-of-day processes and manifests were challenging to manage, particularly for orders with special handling or hazardous goods.
  • Manual handling of shipping labels and confirmations increased the risk of errors and delayed fulfillment.

Solution:

The store integrated the WooCommerce UPS Shipping Plugin with Print Label, which allowed them to:

  • Schedule pickups directly from the WooCommerce dashboard, reducing manual coordination.
  • Generate manifests for shipments that require them, such as international packages.
  • Automate End-of-Day processes, transmitting shipment data to UPS efficiently.
  • Print UPS shipping labels directly from WooCommerce and send tracking updates automatically to customers, improving transparency.

The store reduced manual effort, minimized errors, and ensured all pickups and End-of-Day processes were handled smoothly. Fulfillment became faster and more reliable, even as order volumes grew.

Tips for Optimizing WooCommerce Shipping Workflow with UPS

To get the most out of UPS automation in your WooCommerce store, you can follow these tips:

  • Use Correct Pickup Types: Select the pickup type that matches your business needs, such as Daily Pickup for frequent shipments. This ensures UPS arrives according to your store’s schedule.
  • Automate End-of-Day Processes: Transmit shipment data automatically to UPS at the end of the day. This reduces errors, ensures accurate billing, and keeps tracking information up to date.
  • Keep Warehouse Timings Updated: Set your warehouse opening and closing times accurately in the plugin so UPS drivers know when to pick up shipments.
  • Batch Orders for Pickup: Group multiple orders together for a single pickup whenever possible. This saves time and streamlines operations.
  • Monitor Tracking and Notifications: Use the plugin to automatically send tracking updates to customers. This reduces support queries and improves customer satisfaction.
  • Review Dangerous Goods Handling: For items requiring special handling, ensure manifests and pickup types are configured correctly to comply with UPS regulations.

With all these tips in place, make sure to automate your WooCommerce shipping flow with the WooCommerce UPS Shipping Plugin with Print Label.

To learn more about the plugin, watch this video.

Conclusion

Managing UPS shipments manually in a WooCommerce store can be time-consuming and error-prone. Automating pickups, manifests, and End-of-Day processes streamlines your workflow and ensures timely deliveries. By following best practices and handling special shipments properly, store owners can save time and provide a better customer experience.

For further assistance or support with UPS shipping automation in WooCommerce, you can reach out to PluginHive Support.

FAQs

  1. Can I schedule pickups for multiple orders at once?

Yes, with the WooCommerce UPS Shipping Plugin, you can request pickups for multiple orders directly from your WooCommerce dashboard using bulk actions.

  1. Can I print UPS labels in bulk from WooCommerce?

Yes. You can generate and print multiple UPS labels in bulk, saving time on large order volumes. Here’s a step-by-step guide: Generate UPS Shipping Labels in Bulk.

  1. Do I need to print labels before scheduling a pickup?

Yes. The UPS driver needs the packages prepared with labels before pickup, so ensure shipping labels are generated before scheduling.

  1. Is automation compatible with WooCommerce stores using multiple UPS services?

Yes. You can manage Ground, Express, or other UPS services simultaneously, ensuring the right labels, pickups, and manifests are created for each shipment type. Check out this guide for more info: UPS Services in WooCommerce.

Sunita SG
Sunita SG

Technical writer at PluginHive. Passionate to write about e-commerce.