What is booking?
Booking a shipment means registering all the required details with your chosen carrier’s system. This digital registration creates an official record of your shipment, assigns tracking numbers, and generates the necessary shipping documents like labels and customs forms. Once a shipment is booked and the package enters the carrier’s network, delivery personnel can scan the parcel and it will be registered correctly in their system, enabling accurate tracking and delivery.Required booking data
To successfully book a shipment, you need to provide several categories of information:Sender information
Details about where the package is being sent from, including:- Company name and VAT registration numbers
- Address
- Contact information
This information is stored on the Smart Send accountand used for all bookings on a Team
Receiver information
Details about the person/company that should receive the parcel:- Recipient name
- Delivery address
- Contact information
Delivery parties
Additional parties involved in the shipping process:- Pickup points: Designated locations where packages can be collected
- Third-party recipients: Alternative pickup locations, authorized recipients or importer
- Return addresses: Where packages should be sent if delivery fails
Shipping method and addons
How the package should be delivered:- Service type: Standard, express, economy delivery options, …
- Delivery preferences: Specific time windows, locations it can be left unattended, …
- Additional services: Insurance, signature confirmation, age verification, …
- Special handling: Fragile items, hazardous materials, temperature-controlled, …
Physical package details
Information about the actual parcel:- Weight: Package weight in kilograms or pounds
- Dimensions: Length, width, height measurements
- Package type: Box, envelope, tube, or custom packaging
- Content description: Information about the individual items inside the parcel
Customs information (international shipments)
For cross-border shipments:- Item descriptions: Detailed content information
- Value declarations: Monetary value of contents
- Harmonized codes: Product classification codes
- Country of origin: Where items were manufactured
Not all data is always required. The specific information needed depends on the carrier, shipping method, destination, and package contents. Smart Send automatically determines what data is required for each booking.
What happens after booking?
Once you successfully book a shipment, several things occur automatically:Tracking number assignment
Each package receives a unique tracking number that allows you and your customers to monitor the shipment’s progress through the carrier’s network.Document generation
The system creates all necessary shipping documents:- Shipping labels: Address labels with barcodes for package identification
- Customs documents: Required forms for international shipments
- Waybills: Shipping manifests for carrier processing
- …
Carrier notification
The carrier is notified of the new shipment and can begin processing it for pickup and delivery.Benefits of Smart Send booking
Smart Send simplifies the booking process by handling the complexity for you:Centralized management
All booking logic is maintained centrally in our system, so you don’t need to constantly update plugins or modify your webshop system when carriers change their requirements.Automatic data validation
Our system validates all booking data before submission to carriers, reducing errors and failed bookings.Multi-carrier support
Book shipments with different carriers using the same interface and data structure, making it easy to compare rates and services.Integration flexibility
Whether you’re using our Shopify app, WooCommerce plugin, or REST API, the booking process works consistently across all platforms.Getting started with booking
To start booking shipments, you need:- Carrier connections: Set up your carrier accounts in Smart Send
- Sender information: Configure your business details
- Integration: Connect your webshop or use our web interface