FedEx offers multiple service levels, each with specific guidelines. For example, when shipping with FedEx Express, the label must reflect the physical date the package is handed off to the carrier. If you need to generate labels with a future pickup date, there are several settings available in ShipHero to adjust the ship date on your label. These include:
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FedEx Account Settings
- Carrier Cut-Off Time
- Label Date
- Order Setting: Label Date
What is FedEx Express? FedEx Express is the original, time-definite air shipping service from FedEx, offering fast delivery for domestic and international packages and freight. It uses a global air-cargo network to provide expedited services such as same-day, overnight, 2-day, and 3-day delivery, making it the leading subsidiary of FedEx Corporation and the world's largest express transportation company. For more information on these services, visit FedEx.com
FedEx Account Settings to Set a Future Label Ship Date
This setting will work account-wide for the profile the FedEx Account is connected to. If you have multiple FedEx profiles in your account, you will need to set the advance date for each one. This only applies to FedEx Express shipments and is not required for FedEx Ground or SmartPost.
Carrier Cut-Off Time:
The cut-off time determines the shipping date printed on the label. Once the Cut-Off Time is reached, the labels will be generated for the following day. The carrier's Cut-Off Time generally coincides with your carrier pickup times; labels generated after pickup don't ship that day, so you'll want the label to reflect the next shipping day accordingly.
Label Date:
Use the Label Date account setting when you need to extend the ship date on the label further than the default functionality of the Carrier Cut-Off Time. Be sure to change this setting back at the end of the day to prevent labels from being created with the wrong date on following days.
- Click the Pencil Icon on the carrier connection to open the account's settings page.
- Select the number of days from the dropdown for which you are generating labels in advance.
- To Exclude Saturdays check the setting box.
- Hit Save.
IMPORTANT: Please note the Exclude Saturdays setting and the automatic exclusion of Sundays and US Holidays when calculating the ship date.
Example Use Case:
If it were Thursday and you set Label Date to two days, the advance date would be Saturday. If you checked the box Exclude Saturdays, the advance date would be Monday.
Order Setting to Set a Future Label Ship Date
A future label date can also be set when shipping an order. Please note that for the Label Date setting to show, a FedEx service must already be selected as the shipping method.
- Open the order on the shipping platform or Packing App.
- Click the button with the three dots and then select View Order Details from the menu options.
- Adjust the Label date and hit Save.
Recommended Practices
Recommendation 1: Presetting the future label date before order processing.
Set up an automation rule to notify your operations team when an order with a FedEx Express shipping method comes in. They can then take the necessary action to change the date on an order as needed and ensure the packer's process remains unchanged.
NOTE: You will only be able to open the order on the shipping page to change the label date setting if an order is Ready to Ship: "Yes," Pickable: "Yes" and a FedEx shipping method is assigned to the order.
Recommendation 2: Setting the label date during the packing process
Another option is to use automation rules to add a packer note to orders that are assigned the FedEx Express method and have the packer double check the label date before printing the label.
NOTE: This option is not recommended for stations using an adaptive packing setup or that do not have access to use a mouse.