Connect Channel Advisor (Rithum) to ShipHero to pull in orders and products mapped to your distribution centers, and push inventory and shipment updates back automatically.
Before You Begin
- Account limitations: Connecting Channel Advisor requires ShipHero Support. You can't complete the connection yourself.
- Information to have ready: your Channel Advisor Shop Name, a CSV mapping each Channel Advisor distribution center to a ShipHero warehouse, and a list of the carriers you ship Channel Advisor orders with.
- New connection inventory: a new connection starts with zero inventory synced to Channel Advisor, so most orders will come in on backorder until you receive stock. Contact Support if you need your current inventory synced first.
For a look at supported features and what data syncs before you connect, see Overview: Channel Advisor (Rithum) in ShipHero.
Table of Contents
How to Connect Channel Advisor to ShipHero
- Log into the Dashboard and go to My Account > Stores.
- Navigate to the Store dropdown list on the right side of the screen and click on + Add a new store and select Channel Advisor from the dropdown menu.
- A pop-up window will appear. Enter your Channel Advisor Shop Name in the field and click Connect.
For 3PLs, the connection of Channel Advisor will be on the 3PL client level, and this will be connected to the 3PL warehouse.
Available Channel Advisor Settings After Connecting
Channel Advisor Distribution Center to Warehouse Mapping
You will need to provide a CSV mapping each Channel Advisor distribution center to a ShipHero warehouse. Include one row per distribution center with two columns: the Channel Advisor Distribution Center ID from your Channel Advisor account, and the ShipHero Warehouse ID it should map to. Send this CSV to ShipHero Support as part of your connection request.
Where to Find Your Warehouse ID for Channel Advisor Mapping
- Go to My Account > Warehouses.
- Select the physical warehouse you ship Channel Advisor orders from. Use the Default profile warehouse for that location, not a display-only Warehouse Profile.
- Look at the page URL in your browser's address bar. The Warehouse ID is the string of numbers at the end of the URL.
If you ship from more than one physical warehouse, repeat these steps for each one. For example, if you have a primary warehouse and a secondary warehouse, each has its own Warehouse ID, and each needs its own row on the distribution center mapping CSV.
Important
Map to the physical warehouse ID, not a Warehouse Profile ID. Warehouse Profiles are display-only and don't hold inventory, so mapping a distribution center to a profile instead of the physical warehouse can cause inventory mismatches and prevent orders from importing correctly.
See How to Use Warehouse Profiles in ShipHero for the difference between a physical warehouse and a Warehouse Profile.
Channel Advisor Carrier and Shipping Method Mapping
Carrier mapping only affects the shipment notification ShipHero sends back to Channel Advisor after a label is created. It does not control how a Channel Advisor order gets its shipping method when it imports into ShipHero; that mapping is separate and covered below.
Before Support can set up carrier mapping, gather a list of the carriers you ship Channel Advisor orders with, and, if you use multiple warehouses, which warehouses need to connect to Channel Advisor.
Channel Advisor Shipment Notification: Carrier and Method Mapping
Choose one option for how much carrier detail ShipHero sends back to Channel Advisor along with the tracking number:
| Option | What happens |
|---|---|
| Map carriers with a CSV | ShipHero sends the exact carrier and method Channel Advisor expects, based on your CSV mapping. This mapping is per ShipHero account and shop name. If more than one Channel Advisor channel connects to the same account, every channel must use the same mapping, since ShipHero can't map the same carrier differently per channel. |
| Send ShipHero's default carrier and method | ShipHero sends the carrier and method exactly as they appear in ShipHero, with no mapping required. Contact ShipHero Support and ask them to enable channel_advisor_send_default_carriers on your account. This can create manual work on the Channel Advisor side if it expects the values in a different format. |
| Send tracking number only | ShipHero sends the tracking number without a carrier or method. This is the default if you don't set up mapping or contact Support. Manual carrier changes in ShipHero, including Cheapest, won't be reflected in Channel Advisor. This is the safest option if you have multiple Channel Advisor channels connected to the same account. |
If more than one Channel Advisor channel connects to the same ShipHero account, use the CSV mapping option only if every channel can share the same mapping. Otherwise, use the default-carrier option or the tracking-number-only option.
To set up CSV mapping, send a CSV to ShipHero Support with one row per carrier class, listing the Channel Advisor Carrier Class and the ShipHero Carrier it should map to.
Channel Advisor Order Import: Shipping Method Mapping
When a Channel Advisor order imports into ShipHero, its shipping method must be mapped to a ShipHero shipping method, or the order ships with a generic, unpaid label. Set this up on the Shipping > Methods page. See How to Map Shipping Methods in ShipHero for step-by-step instructions.