Custom shipping label and carrier app
Appfront builds apps for warehouses, shops and fulfilment companies that want to speed up packing and shipping on the shop floor. The employee scans the order on a phone or handheld, the app selects the carrier and service according to your rules, and the label comes out of the printer beside the packing station. A photo of the parcel is saved as proof, and a return label for the customer can be created at the counter. We describe the back-end carrier integration on the software page.
What is a shipping label and carrier app?
When parcels are dispatched, everything comes together at the packing station: the order, the contents, the box, the weight, the carrier and the label. Every parcel has to leave with the right carrier and service, and the label has to match the order. At the end of the day each carrier collects, and anything that isn't ready goes a day later.
In practice, an order is looked up on a PC, the carrier is chosen by feel, and the label is printed on a printer on the other side of the room. An order with two boxes gets one label. A customer who wants to send something back at the counter waits until someone in the office creates a return label. And if a customer says the parcel was incomplete, there is no record of what was inside.
We build custom software because every business is different: how many parcels, with which carriers, on which devices, and which systems you use for orders. If you already have a carrier integration, or are having one built, the app uses it to create labels and track shipments. That way the shop floor works with the same rules as the office.
Scanning and printing
Scan the order, check the contents and print the label at the packing station, without a PC.
The right carrier
Carrier and service chosen according to your rules for weight, destination and speed.
Returns at the counter
A return label for the customer bringing something back in store or at the counter.
How we build your shipping label and carrier app
We start on your shop floor: how many parcels, with which carriers, on which devices, and where things go wrong. We watch the packing process with you. Delays often sit in finding the order and walking to the printer, and that is where the app needs to make the difference.
Your parcels, carriers, devices and order system.
Scan the order and check the contents on the handheld.
Selection according to your rules, and the label at the packing station.
Return labels, collection overview, and then management.
What a shipping label and carrier app does in practice
The components below come up at almost every business that dispatches parcels. Which ones you need depends on your shop floor.
Scanning
Order and items on the handheld.
Validation
Contents against the order.
Carrier
Chosen according to your rules.
Label
Printed at the packing station.
Photo
Proof of what was inside.
Returns
Label at the counter.
Who we build a shipping label and carrier app for
The app is intended for anyone who packs and dispatches parcels every day.
Online shops
Lots of small parcels. Fast printing is the core.
Wholesalers
Multiple packages per order. Checking matters most.
Fulfilment
Many customers and carriers. The rules are what counts.
Shops
Returns at the counter. The return label is the core.
Technology and integrations
This page is about packing and shipping on the shop floor. For the back-end carrier integration, see our page on carrier integration and shipping labels; for stock, see our page on an app for multichannel stock synchronisation; and for marketplaces, see our page on a marketplace integration app. You can read about our approach under custom software development.
Why choose Appfront for your shipping label and carrier app?
A parcel with the wrong carrier or an incorrect label comes back or arrives late. That is what we build around: scanning and printing at the point of packing, the right carrier, and returns handled at the counter.
Packed faster
No walking to the PC or printer.
Fewer errors
Contents and label checked against the order.
Proof
A photo of every parcel.
Security and privacy for a shipping label and carrier app
The app holds data on orders, customers and addresses. Access is set up by role, and staff only see the orders they need to pack.
The app runs in a European data centre, with encrypted storage and daily back-ups. Customer data is used only for shipping.
Frequently asked questions about a shipping label and carrier app
Questions that webshops and warehouses ask before getting started.
It lets staff scan orders and check the contents, selects the carrier and service according to your rules, prints the label at the packing station, takes a photo as proof, handles multiple parcels, creates return labels at the counter, and shows what is ready to go for each carrier.
The software is the back-end carrier integration: labels in the right format, returns and customs, and track and trace fed back into your system. This app is for the shop floor: scanning, packing, printing and the counter.
On a phone or a handheld scanner, together with a label printer at the packing station. We will look at which devices suit your warehouse floor in the first step.
According to rules you define, for example by weight, size, destination, required speed or the customer's choice. The member of staff can override this where necessary, and the override is recorded.
The member of staff looks up the order or scans the receipt, selects what is coming back, and the app creates a return label. The customer receives the label printed or on their phone, and the return is immediately recorded in your system.
As proof of what was inside and how it was packed. If a customer says something was missing or damaged, you can pull up the photo.
Check that first. Many shipping platforms have an app or print function, and that may be enough. Custom development is worthwhile if you have your own carrier rules, if you want to check the contents, or if returns at the counter currently take too long.
Packing and shipping without walking to the PC?
Tell us how many parcels you ship, with which carriers, and how packing works today. We will show you what the app looks like.