FedEx Integration in Odoo 9

FedEx is well known for its overnight shipping services and especially for inventing a system that could track packages and provide real-time updates on package location. In Odoo, we can create delivery orders based on each order to the customers, but the shipment order creation and the shipping has to be done manually through some of the shipping service providers like FedEx, UPS etc.

The module ‘bt_shipping_fedex’ integrates FedEx services into Odoo and enables users to create and manage shipment orders.

Inventory > Configuration > FedEx Configuration .

The Module adds a configuration menu for FedEx parameters. FedEx credentials like key, password etc can be configured here. These credentials can be obtained while registering the user as a shipper in www.fedex.com. A screen shot of the configuration window is shown below.

 

The user has to enter the details like "Account Number", "Key", "Password" and "Meter Number". Parameters "Weight Unit" and the "Dimension Unit" are the units in which the weight and dimensions are represented. The valid Combinations are "LB-IN" and "KG-CM". This depends on the localization settings of each country. "Is Test" is used to indicate if we are using the FedEx API in test environment. This is only applicable to FedEx Freight shipment. For normal shipment, we have to apply for a test account.

After the configurations are done, we can start shipping using FedEx shipment service.

In Inventory > Delivery Orders, the module adds a new field called "Shipping Type". This field is used to select the shipment method used to ship the particular order. A screenshot is shown below:

 

Select ‘FedEx’ as shipping method. When FedEx is selected, a new tab labeled "Shipping info" will appear. Other shipment parameters like service type, package type, drop off type, payment type etc can be specified here.

"Shipping Info" is the general information about the shipment. In this section we can specify whether the shipment address is a residential address or not . For each shipment, the weight of package is a required parameter. If the pack is not assigned with any weight, the value in the field "Package Weight" will be considered as the package weight.

In the"FedEx" section we define the shipment properties of this particular shipment. The user can select "Service Type", "Packaging Type", "Dropoff Type" and "Payment Type". FedEx provides various shipment types from which the user can make selections based on his/her requirements.

The third section is "Pack Details". Here we define the dimensional parameters of the package being send by FedEx. "Length", "Width", "Height", "Physical Packaging" and "Group Package Count" of the package. The Length, Width and Height is the dimensional parameter of the package.

 

 Once all the required data is filled, we can request quote for the shipment from FedEx web services. This can be done by pressing the button "Generate Quote". When this button is pressed, a request will be sent to the FedEx web service server and the quote will be returned as the result. The response will contain pricing details of shipment. The quote obtained from the FedEx will be displayed in the section "Ship Rate Details". A screen shot is shown below:

 

 Opening the record in form view will let you see the rate details. A screenshot is shown below:

 

User can accept or reject the quote. The quote can be accepted by pressing the button "Accept Shipment". On accepting the quote a shipping label will be generated. The label will be available as attachment to the delivery order. A screenshot is shown below: -

 

Shipping Label Sample

Tracking number will be available with the quote as shown in the below screen

 

‘Shipment Tracking Number’ will let you track the the shipment details from FedEx web site.