How to Create Automation Rules for 3PL Clients

From a 3PL account, you choose which client accounts a new Automation Rule belongs to before you build it. Select one client to use every option that client supports, or select several clients to create the same rule in each of them at once.

Before You Begin

You must be signed in to a 3PL account. Only the client accounts you are permitted to manage appear in the Clients selector. Client accounts create their own rules the same way they always have, without a Clients selector.

Table of Contents

• How to Create an Automation Rule for One 3PL Client
• How to Create an Automation Rule for Several 3PL Clients
• Automation Rule Options That Require a Single Client
• How ShipHero Validates a Multi-Client Automation Rule

How to Create an Automation Rule for One 3PL Client

Creating a rule for a single client gives you access to every trigger and action that client's account supports, including records that belong only to that client.

1. Go to Orders > Automation Rules from your 3PL account.
2. Select Add Automation Rule.
3. In the Clients selector, select the one client this rule belongs to. Triggers and actions stay unavailable until you select a client.
4. Enter a rule name.
5. Select your triggers. ShipHero loads that client's vendors, warehouses, lists, statuses, and shipping settings.
6. Select your actions.
7. Select Save. The new rule appears in the rule list with the client's name in the Client Name column.

How to Create an Automation Rule for Several 3PL Clients

When you select more than one client, ShipHero creates a separate copy of the rule in each selected client account. Each copy is owned by that client and can be edited independently afterward.

1. Go to Orders > Automation Rules from your 3PL account.
2. Select Add Automation Rule.
3. In the Clients selector, select every client that should receive the rule.
4. Enter a rule name. Every client receives a rule with this name.
5. Select your triggers and actions. Options that point to a single client's records are disabled. See Automation Rule Options That Require a Single Client.
6. Select Create. ShipHero returns you to the Automation Rules list and shows a confirmation message.
7. Review the new rules for each client. New rules are active as soon as they are created.

Automation Rule Options That Require a Single Client

Some triggers and actions reference a record that exists in only one client account, so ShipHero cannot apply them to several clients at once. The options below are available only when exactly one client is selected.

To build a rule that uses one of these options for several clients, create it separately for each client, or create it for one client and then copy it. See How to Duplicate Automation Rules in ShipHero for which values can be copied between clients.

How ShipHero Validates a Multi-Client Automation Rule

ShipHero checks the full request against every selected client before it creates anything. If one client cannot support the rule, no rules are created for any client. This prevents a partial rollout where some clients get the rule and others do not.

ShipHero validates on the server as well as in the browser, so an unavailable client-specific value cannot be submitted even if the option was not disabled in the form.

When you see an error, either remove the client that cannot support the rule and save again, or remove the unsupported value and add it back later for that one client.