Setting up a ParcelForce Integration – StoreFeeder

Setting up a ParcelForce Integration

This page will help you set up an integration for ParcelForce within StoreFeeder

A direct integration with ParcelForce allows you to create labels, both integrated and thermal, for orders shipped with ParcelForce services as well as produce your end of day manifest all within StoreFeeder.

You need to have an existing Parcelforce Worldwide (PFW) account and contract number in order to use this service. Contact the ParcelForce Worldwide General Customer Enquiry team on 08448 00 44 66 to sign up and obtain the required information.

Once you have this information, you will need to ask your PFW account manager to contact the PFW Customer Solutions team in order for your Expresslink account details to be set up. You will need to provide the following information to ParcelForce:

Customer Name
Customer Contact Name
Customer Contact Phone Number
Customer Contact E-Mail Address
Contract Number
Account Number
The PFW Services to be used
That you wish to use the integration via Expresslink through StoreFeeder

If you have more than one ParcelForce account, these will need to be entered as separate integrations.

If you find that you're struggling to understand some of the terminology used, check out the StoreFeeder Terminology Knowledge Base by clicking here.

Integrating StoreFeeder with ParcelForce as one of your couriers is a simple process. Just follow the instructions below and you should be up and running in no time.

Step by Step Guide

Step 1.

You will first need to add a ParcelForce integration to your StoreFeeder account if you do not already have one.

If you need to add it as a new integration follow the first 3 steps in this guide. If not, you're better off starting this guide from 'Step 4'.

Please do not be tempted to update an existing integration, this can have serious negative consequences for example leaving you unable to manifest. We will shortly be removing the ability to update an existing integration.

First, sign into StoreFeeder using your login details. You will then be brought to the 'Dashboard. Look to the top right of this page and you will see a 'Settings' option with a cog next to it; click that.

Step 2.

You will now see the 'Integration Manager' page and a list of all of your channels.

To create an integration with ParcelForce, look to the top right of the Integration Manager page and click the green button marked "+ New Integration".

Step 3.

You will then be greeted by the following screens where you will need to pick the circled options.

You will then be asked to input a name for the integration. Once you have finished, click the '+Add Integration' to proceed.

You will now see the 'Integration Details' page for this channel. In the 'Integration Profile Section' you can edit your Profile Name, and select which Company Identity you're creating this integration for.

Step 4.

Now you need to set up the integration. First select the 'Company Identity' you will be using ParcelForce with.

Next you will need to enter your ExpressLink Test user details for your account. These will have all been supplied to you when you signed up to your ParcelForce account.

There is also a field titled 'Default Email Address', this should be an e-mail address that can be contacted if ever a customer does not provide one on an order.

Your company's customer service e-mail address is usually a good idea so that they can be alerted if there is an issue with a customers order where the customer would otherwise be non-contactable.

Once you are happy with the definition, click the 'Save' button at the bottom of the page.

Step 5.

ParcelForce require you to produce test labels for the services you are using. You will now need to contact StoreFeeder's Support in order to have your ParcelForce Integration set to its test mode and complete the setup.

You can get in touch with our friendly support team here.

Step 6.

Now your integration is set to "test" you need to set up shipping methods for all the services you intend to use with parcelforce. There is a guide on setting up shipping methods here.

Step 7.

You need to create 1 label for each service you intend to you to use, so you need to create an order for each shipping method you set up above and assign one your shipping methods to each order. Then you need to despatch them - you can use your regular despatch process to do this.

You should get all your labels out for these orders and these are then send to parcelforce to check over.

After a few days parcelforce will email you back with a new set of parcelforce credentials.

Step 8.

Add the new credentials to your parcelforce integration and then you will need to contact the support team again to set your integration back to the live mode.

Congratulations! You have successfully set up a ParcelForce integration with StoreFeeder.

If you have now set up all of your courier integrations you will now need to create shipping methods, regions and rules for orders. Instructions on how to do so can be found on this helpful article here.

Other settings on the page

Manifest Template

Template Type - Choose to manifest by Order Number or Order Line.

Export method - Choose to export your ParcelForce courier labels by CSV, XML, or DF file types.

Transfer Method - For ParcelForce integrations, be sure to choose 'Manual'

CSV Export Template

For ParcelForce integrations, check 'Default Export Method'.
The 'Export Delimiter' is what separates the data. By default it set to a comma, which is the most commonly used delimiter. You may change this if you wish.
Check 'Export Headers' to make sure the column information is exported along with your data.

A default CSV Export Template is created for ParcelForce when you create the integration.

If this definition does not match the one you require, then you can add or remove fields from the template.

You can remove individual lines by clicking the 'Delete' button on the line you would like to delete.

If you want to delete the whole template, click the red 'Delete Entire Template' button.

To add new lines to the export definition, click the 'Add New' button. A new line will be created.

The 'Token' selected represents the information that will be pulled from StoreFeeder. The 'Field Alias' is the header name and the 'Display Order' will determine the order the columns appear in the spreadsheet.

Once the column information is complete, click 'Add New' to add a new line.