Setting Up Multiple Shipping Accounts for a Single Carrier

ShipHero's 'warehouse profiles' feature allows you to connect multiple shipping accounts from the same carrier (e.g., two FedEx accounts) to streamline your operations. This article will show you why and how to set this up.  

Why use Multiple Accounts with the Same Carrier? 

At first glance, having two or more accounts with the same shipping carrier might seem inefficient. Why complicate things when one account could handle it all? However, for many businesses—especially those with multiple locations or complex operations—using separate accounts with the same carrier isn't just common, it's a smart strategy.

Here are some common reasons businesses choose to have multiple accounts with the same shipping carrier:

• Multiple Locations: Each warehouse or branch office might have its own account for localized management.
• Varying Rates & Services: Accessing different discounted rates or specialized services based on specific shipping needs.
• Departmental Billing: Allocating shipping costs to different departments or cost centers for budgeting.
• Client-Specific Billing: Managing separate billing for individual clients, common for fulfillment services.
• Automation & Integration: Optimizing shipping workflows and choosing the best account automatically via software.

How to Connect Multiple Accounts to the Same Carrier

 To connect multiple shipping accounts to a single carrier, follow the steps below:

Step 1: Create a New Warehouse Profile

This profile will be used to connect the additional carrier account and assign specific orders to use this carrier account when shipping. Please follow the steps below to create a new warehouse profile.

1. Go to the My Account>Warehouses page.
2. Click Add A Warehouse.
3. Select Create A New Profile and name it to be easily identifiable.
4. Select the physical warehouse that this new profile and its associated carrier account will be used for.
5. Complete all required profile details, such as the invoice address, return label address, invoice logo, and contact email.)
6. Select Save.

Step 2: Connect the Additional Carrier Account

Using the profile you just created, you will now connect it to the additional carrier account. Please follow the steps below to connect the account.

1. Go to the Shipping>Carriers page.
2. Click Connect Carrier and select the Carrier from the list
3. From the dropdowns, select the new warehouse profile you just created and the physical warehouse this carrier account will be linked to.
4. Enter the specific Carrier Account details (e.g., account number, API keys, credentials) as prompted by the system. 
5. Hit Connect. 

Step 3: Assign the New Profile to Orders

Now that you've created your new warehouse profile and connected your additional carrier account, the final step is to tell ShipHero which orders should use this new setup. There are several flexible ways to assign this new profile to your orders:

Update the Profile at the Store Level: 

If you want all the orders from a connected sales channel to ship with a particular shipping carrier account, assign the new warehouse profile. To do this:

1. Go to My Account>Stores,
2. Clicking the hyperlinked Profile next to teh store name.
3. Selecting the Profile from the drop down and hit Save.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Applying a new profile at the store level only affects future orders imported from that store. For existing orders, you will need to update them manually (see sections below).

Manually Update the Profile on an Order

There are two ways to manually update the profile on an order .

1. On the order details page: In the Details section on the right, select the desired Store Profile from the dropdown and hit Update Details to save changes.
2. From the Manage Orders page: Go to the Orders>Manage Orders page, filter for and select the orders you need to update. Hit the Bulk Edit button and select the Profile from the dropdown. Then select Save.

Assign a Profile via Automation Rules:

Alternately, you can set up an automation rule to assign that new profile to orders matching specific criteria you define. To do this:

1. Go to the Orders>Automation Rules page.
2. Select Create New Rule.
3. Chose the Triggers to set the criteria and the Action: Set Profile; then, select your profile from teh dropdown.
4. Name your rule and hit Create.

NOTE: Automation rules will only apply to new orders that meet your criteria. For detailed information on setting up automation rules, refer to our article: How to Use Automation Rules.