Shipping Solutions Professional includes an Integration Utility that allows you to link the software with your company’s accounting, order-entry or ERP system. This powerful utility allows you to import an entire order or set of orders from your accounting system into Shipping Solutions Professional to be able to produce your export documents, file your SED information electronically through AES, and fulfill your export compliance requirements.

There are three primary advantages for using the Integration Utility:

1. Dramatically reduce the time it takes to complete your export documents. By importing an entire order into Shipping Solutions Professional, a company may import 50% to 75% of the data required to complete the various export forms.
2. Eliminate redundant databases. Because you are importing an entire order into Shipping Solutions Professional, you are typically importing all the contact and product information from your accounting system. This eliminates the need to import, store and update your contact and product information in the Shipping Solutions databases. (Since most accounting systems don’t allow you to store intermediate consignee and freight forwarder information, you may still find it advantageous to use those databases in Shipping Solutions Professional.)
3. Reduce data entry errors. Because you are importing data from your accounting system, you don’t need to retype important information. No retyping means no chance of typos.

In order to import your orders into Shipping Solutions Professional, you actually need to import two sets of files: the document header and the line item information. The document header file contains all the information that applies to your entire shipment including exporter, consignee and shipping information. The line item data includes information related to each separate line item of your order. Every order can have multiple line items.

Setting Up Shipping Solutions Professional’s Integration Utility

• Select Field Delimiter—Your first choice on the Integration Utility Setup Window is to select the type of delimiter that divides your data fields: comma, tab or pipe.
• First line of data contains field names—Check this box if the first line of your data files includes titles for each of your fields. If they did, these field names will be displayed to make it easy to map the data in your files with the Shipping Solutions Professional fields.
• Locate Header File—Click this button to display a Search window that will allow you to navigate through your computer to locate the header file of your shipment. (The header file will typically include all your order information not specifically related to your products.) Once you have located it, click on the file and then click on the Open button to select it.
• Locate Details File—Click this button to display a Search window that will allow you to navigate through your computer to locate the line item details file of your shipment. (The details file will typically include the information specifically related to the line items in your shipment.) Once you have located it, click on the file and then click on the Open button to select it.
• View File—Once you have selected your header file, you can click this button to view the contents of the file.

The Integration Utility includes a screen to map the data fields in your
accounting system with the data fields in Shipping Solutions Professional.

• Field Mapping—Click on the Field Mapping button to open a mapping window that displays a table with three columns:
  • SS Pro Fields—This column lists the Shipping Solutions Professional fields that contain the header information for your order.
  • Your Fields—Use this column to select the appropriate data field in your header information file for the various Shipping Solutions Professional field. Clicking in one of these fields will bring up a drop-down menu from which you can select the field from your data file that should be imported into this particular field in Shipping Solutions Professional.
  • Linking Fields—Click on the one field from your data file that is used to link the data with your header information with the data fields in your line item file. By identifying the correct Linking Field, you are ensuring that the line items for a particular order will always stay tied to that order.
• Locate Details File—Now repeat the above steps with your line item data file to locate the data file and map the data with Shipping Solutions Professional.
• Save—By clicking on the Save button, you are saving this integration setup so that every time you run the import process, Shipping Solutions Professional will know where to go to retrieve the data and where to insert the data in Shipping Solutions. Click on the Cancel button to cancel the setup process without saving it.

(For a complete list of data fields for both the Header File and Line Item Detail File, go to the Integration File Structure page.

Run Integration Utility
Once you have set up the Integration Utility, you can now import your orders from your accounting, order-entry or ERP system by simply clicking this button. When completed, Shipping Solutions Professional will display a message stating how many documents were imported.

You can now go to the EZ Start screens to review and edit your data. Since most accounting, order-entry and ERP systems are designed for domestic orders and shipping, you will need to review each screen and enter in the remaining data such as intermediate consignees and forwarding agents; export license numbers and types (if required); and inland, ocean and/or air waybill information. However, in a typical setup, the import process will replace most of your manual data entry.

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