You can further fine-tune your automation rules for more complex scenarios. Your rules will still follow the same type of logic. These rules have multiple criteria to target orders with more specific attributes and can trigger one or more actions. Additionally, these rules can rely on other automated processes that were applied prior to the automation rule.
For example, FedEx offers different services for residential and commercial delivery. ShipStation will designate an address as commercial or residential, which you can then use as your rule criteria. This allows you to create an automation rule that sets the service based on the type of address.
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In this example, the rule assigns the FedEx Home Delivery service to all orders designated residential but assigned FedEx Ground to all orders designated commercial.
Other common automation rules at this level include:
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Using tags as criteria to set the service or add an order note and alert.
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Using tags to add dry ice as a shipping option or put pre-orders on hold.
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Using tags applied by prior automation rules as criteria in later automation rules.
You can use order tags as rule criteria if the tags have been added to the order before the rule runs.
When you add tags to product or customer records, ShipStation adds the tags to the orders before any other automation applies. You can also use automation rules to apply tags to orders that meet specific criteria and then use those tags as rule criteria for rules that run later.
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Customer Tags: Add a tag to a customer record and ShipStation will automatically tag any future orders for that customer when they import.
Customer tags are often used to indicate VIP Customers or customers who've previously placed fraudulent orders. Each customer record is marketplace-specific and based on username, so you may need to combine customer records if a customer orders your products from more than one marketplace.
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Product Tags: Add a tag to a product record and ShipStation will automatically tag any future orders containing that product when they import.
Product tags are often used to indicate a specific type of product, such as fragile products, products that require shipping with dry ice, products currently offered as pre-order, or products that will be drop-shipped.
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Tags applied by other automation rules: Since automation rules run in order from top to bottom, you can use a tag applied by a previous rule to trigger the action of another rule.
Use automation rules to apply tags to orders when you need the order to meet criteria other than customer or product records, or if you need the order to meet multiple criteria.
Add a VIP tag to your most important customers and give these customers free UPS 2nd Day Air® shipping for all orders. Or, add a note to and set an alert on orders from customers with a history of fraudulent orders.
To create the VIP customer shipping rule:
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Set the first criterion to Country :: Equals :: Your account home country.
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Set the second criterion to Order Tags :: Include :: your VIP customer tag.
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Add an action and choose Set Carrier/Service/Package from the drop-down menu.
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Set the Service to UPS 2nd Day Air® (or your preferred service) and the package type to Package (or your preferred package type).
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Save the rule.
To create the Fraud History rule:
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Set the first criterion to Order Tags :: Include :: your customer fraud tag.
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Add an action and select Add an internal Note, then type in the text for the note.
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Add another action and select Create an Alert, then enter the text you want the alert to display in ShipStation and set the alert expiration.
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Save the rule.
Automatically add dry ice as a shipping option if an order contains a product you've previously tagged with a Dry Ice tag. Or, automatically put orders for pre-ordered products on hold.
To create the Dry Ice rule:
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Set the criteria to Order Tags :: Include :: your dry ice tag.
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Add an action and choose Set the Order as Containing Dry Ice.
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Add another action and choose Set the Dry Ice Weight, then set the weight for the amount of dry ice each shipment will receive.
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Save the rule.
To create the Hold Pre-orders rule:
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Set the criteria to Order Tags :: Include :: your pre-order tag.
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Add an action and choose Hold Until and set the date you wish the orders to move into Awaiting Shipment.
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Save the rule.
Why use Order Tags instead of Item Name or Item SKU criteria?
When used as criteria for automation rules, the Item Name, Item SKU, and Warehouse Location criteria options will only look at orders with a single line item. If the order has more than one product in it, the automation rule will not apply even if every product in the order matches the criteria.
With that in mind, you should only use the Item Name, Item SKU, and Warehouse Location criteria for rules that are meant to affect single item orders.
If you need the rule applied whether there are additional products in the order or not, tag the product and use the Order Tags criteria for the rule instead.
Create a series of rules to first tag an order and then use the tag from the first rule as criteria for another rule.
For example, tag an order that has more than three items in it and use that tag to trigger an email to your warehouse manager so they can review the order before shipping it.
To create the Total Quantity rule:
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Set the criterion to Total Quantity :: Is Greater Than :: 3.
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Add an action and choose Add a Tag, then select the tag you'd like to add to these orders.
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Save the rule.
To create the email rule:
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Set the criterion to Order Tags :: Include :: the tag set in the previous rule.
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Add an action and select Send an email, then type in the email address to send to and select the template from the drop-down.
Email rules require using a template. Be sure to create a template for this rule in your Template settings.
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Save the rule.
Now, ShipStation will apply the tag with the first rule and email the warehouse manager with the second rule.