Shipping integration means your e-commerce site talks directly to your carrier's system: when an order is ready, a shipment record is created automatically, a label is printed, the tracking number is passed to the order and the customer, and delivery status updates flow back to your site as they change. With a few orders a day you can do all this by hand; as order volume grows, every manual step means a delay and a chance for error. In this article we explain the parts of the integration and the practical steps that improve the delivery experience.
What does shipping integration automate?
A well-built integration runs the following steps without manual intervention:
- Shipment record. When an order moves to "preparing," the recipient's name, address, phone number and parcel details are sent to the carrier.
- Label and barcode. Labels in the format the carrier accepts are printed in the warehouse with one click or in bulk.
- Tracking number. The number returned by the carrier is written to the order and sent to the customer by email or SMS.
- Status updates. Events like "shipped," "out for delivery" and "delivered" flow back to your site and the order status updates itself.
- Collection and reconciliation. For cash-on-delivery shipments, reconciling the amounts collected with the carrier becomes easier.
If you sell through several channels, labels and tracking numbers also need to be reported back to the marketplaces; we covered this in our article on marketplace sync.
Address data: where most problems begin
A large share of undeliverable shipments trace back to incorrect or incomplete addresses. Designing the address fields correctly at checkout directly improves the shipping process:
- Province and district should be picked from a list, not typed as free text.
- The phone number format should be validated; if the courier can't reach the customer, delivery is delayed.
- Building and apartment numbers can be requested separately, or at least prompted.
- Business addresses should have fields for the company name and the person receiving the parcel.
One carrier or several?
Working with a single carrier keeps operations simple. Working with several gives you options by region, parcel size or customer preference. In a multi-carrier setup, these decisions need to be made up front:
| Decision | Options |
|---|---|
| Who picks the carrier? | The customer / the system by rule / the warehouse |
| What is the rule based on? | Region, volumetric weight, cart total, product type |
| How is the fee shown? | Flat, calculated by volumetric weight, free above a threshold |
| Return shipments | Same carrier / one contracted carrier |
| In-store pickup | Yes / no, which branches |
Whatever the rule, the shipping fee and estimated delivery time the customer sees at checkout must be clear.
Customer notifications: silence is the worst experience
The question customers ask most after ordering is "where is my order?" If that question reaches you by phone or message, your notification setup has gaps. The minimum notifications we recommend:
- Order received: Summary, payment details, estimated ship date.
- Shipped: Carrier, tracking number and a clickable tracking link.
- Delivered: A thank-you, a link to return and exchange information, and an optional review invitation.
- Delay: For stock- or operations-related delays, the customer should be informed before they have to ask.
Because notifications use personal data, their content and sending permissions should also be reviewed under KVKK (Türkiye's Personal Data Protection Law). Transactional notifications (orders, shipping) and commercial messages (campaigns) should be kept separate.
Small touches that improve the delivery experience
- Have an order tracking page on your own site, so customers can see the status without going to the carrier's website.
- Put a short note in the parcel explaining the return procedure; for the return process, see our returns and withdrawal guide.
- State a realistic handling time. Promising "same-day shipping" and sending the next day brings more complaints than shipping later but on the promised day.
- Explain in advance what to do about damaged deliveries (a damage report, photos, a contact channel).
How we do it at Globya
In our e-commerce projects, we treat shipping as a single flow from the address form to the delivery notification. The IMFLEXI platform comes with ready options for Yurtiçi, MNG, Aras, UPS, KolayGelsin and in-store pickup; tracking numbers and status updates are handled automatically. If you work with a carrier or logistics company that isn't on the list, and it has an API (the gateway systems use to exchange data), we build the connection as part of our integration service. Our general approach to the transport side is on the logistics and transportation page.
Frequently asked questions
Do we need an agreement with the carrier for shipping integration?
Yes. The integration is the technical side of your corporate agreement with the carrier. Once you get your customer number and integration credentials from the carrier, the connection is set up.
Can volumetric weight be calculated automatically?
If product dimensions and weights are entered correctly in the system, an estimated volumetric weight can be calculated for the cart. If that information is missing, the product data needs to be completed first.
Does the tracking number go to the marketplace automatically too?
Yes, if marketplace integration is also in place; the tracking information is reported back to whichever channel the order came from.
Is it hard to add an in-store pickup option?
No. The pickup point is defined like a shipping option; the customer gets a notification when the order is ready and collects it from the specified branch.
The Globya assistant is online 24/7; it answers right away and passes your question to the team if needed.