Linnworks and Royal Mail have partnered with a direct integration to help retailers automate the shipping processing of their tracked and untracked mail parcels.
As the Royal Mail phase out Despatch Express over the coming weeks online retailers using Linnworks Anywhere can continue to work directly with Royal Mail’s services, and to process and label their packages without needing to use additional software (such as either Royal Mail’s Despatch Express or Despatch Manager Online).
Sellers can now pass the details of their orders directly to the Royal Mail for processing and use Linnworks’ label printing capabilities, avoiding the manual entry necessary with other methods. As well as the time savings this also removes any cut and paste errors which inevitably occur with manual processes.
Once configured, with no additional software required apart from Linnworks and the appropriate printer drivers, a single click in the system will contact the Royal Mail to verify online sellers have selected the correct method for their order. It will print the appropriate shipping label and add tracking information to the order for updating the status on the channel when the order is marked as processed. It’s worth noting that adding tracking numbers to eBay and Amazon, although not compulsory, does massively reduce the “Where’s my item” questions as well as enabling eBay and Amazon support to track a parcel and see proof of deliveries.
As part of this launch, Linnworks have also reached agreements to offer quick and easy solutions for purchasing the appropriate labels – please see Linnworks Stationery or Priory Direct for more details. Prices start from £35.95 per 1,000 labels.
There’s full documentation available on the Linnworks website for setting up the Royal Mail integration. Alternatively for a small one off fee (£80 to £120 plus VAT) Linn Systems is offering a comprehensive setup service including their staff obtaining the necessary account details, configuring Linnworks integration, and a 30 minute support session to configure client’s label printers to work with the Direct Integration. To request this service, sellers need to contact [email protected] with the registered email address and OBA Login.
If you’re still using Despatch Express you will need to consider alternatives such as Despatch Manager Online. However automation is much preferable if possible as it’ll save you hours producing labels and update your online order status and email tracking numbers to customers, so speak to your multichannel solution provider about a direct Royal Mail integration.
