JTL-Shipping opens up new horizons: Current developments and advantages of the shipping platform

Today we have some great news for you: attentive roadmap readers will know that we have been working on a comprehensive shipping platform for JTL-Shipping for some time now. In this developer diary, we would like to give you an update on the great progress we have made here and what benefits you can expect.

Optimization and flexibility for your mail order business

The new shipping platform is a real all-rounder. It automates the transfer of relevant data from JTL-Wawi to logistics providers and enables their smooth processing within the connected modules JTL-ShippingLabels and JTL-Track&Trace. This ensures optimized shipping processes and also creates new opportunities for your trade.

The advantages of the new shipping platform at a glance

• Normalized addresses: In future, it will be possible to transfer normalized addresses – i.e. addresses whose spelling has been standardized – to JTL-Wawi. This is particularly helpful when country-specific information is required, such as staircases in Austria. The shipping platform ensures that different requirements per logistics provider can be served worldwide. You also have the option of manually editing addresses in the sales order and can see at any time how they will actually be printed on the shipping label.
• Flexible shipping methods: In JTL-Shipping, you can create setups for each shipping method that are filled individually for each order during shipping. These setups are loaded from the shipping platform. This has the advantage that when a template is updated – e.g. because a new product or a new service is available – it is displayed in JTL-Wawi in the new version without the need to update JTL-Wawi. This means that you can view, configure and use these new templates regardless of the version of your ERP. New integrations can also be made available regardless of the version.
• Partnerships: System openness plays a central role in the development of our solutions. We want to give our partners the opportunity not only to use JTL software, but also to further develop it for their purposes. An open integration developed by us makes it possible for partners to automatically display and use shipping data and labels from the logistics provider via the shipping platform in your JTL-Wawi.

The further development of JTL-ShippingLabels

In order to be able to realize a smooth data exchange with the shipping platform, we also had to develop JTL-ShippingLabels from scratch. However, we never saw this as just work, but above all as an opportunity to enable new valuable functions that make your everyday work easier!

An important new feature is based on the integration we have developed: Using this, JTL partners can easily integrate logistics service providers into the system, similar to how they develop extensions for our shop system JTL-Shop and offer them in the JTL-Extension Store. This allows us to significantly expand the number of logistics providers connected to our system and gives you an even greater choice of shipping options. The current advantages of JTL-ShippingLabels will be retained. So you benefit from a perfect symbiosis of proven functions and new possibilities!

The GLS ShipIT interface will already be integrated at the launch of the shipping platform. This is the most modern GLS interface, which is also used outside Germany and already supports Europe-wide senders. Further integrations are currently under development. At the same time, we are exploring which partners can provide us with further support.

Update-independent integration of the shipping platform in JTL-Wawi

A decisive advantage of the shipping platform is its seamless integration into JTL-Wawi. At the same time, it will be possible to use new functions and services of a logistics provider independently of JTL-Wawi updates. This makes collaboration with logistics partners and the use of new services easier than ever before.

What happens next?

We are currently in the closed beta phase, in which the shipping platform is being tested by selected pilot customers. The release for all customers is expected to take place in 2024. We are already looking forward to the day when we can make our new solution available to you!