XML Order Submitter FAQ

Where do I start?

1. Sign up for a free Shipwire account.

You will need to create a Shipwire API user from within your general account settings.

2. Walk through the Example XML Order. The example contains three orders (ids test-485, test-486, and test-487). A Shipwire username and password will be in <Username> and <Password> tags. The type of server will be in a <Server> tag, and set to Test or Production. Each order lists the shipping information in the <AddressInfo> tag with the “type” attribute set to “ship”. Each item in the order will be listed in an <Item> tag. All other information, such as Warehouse and Shipping, is optional, since this information can be configured inside the Shipwire account (under Ship | Preferences). Please read the fulfillment request DTD for more information on which fields are optional, which are required, and what is expected in each field.

3. If you need support please send an e-mail to support+dev “at” shipwire.com.

4. Use the XML Test Harness to submit a test order directly to us. Note that it is submitting orders to:

https://api.shipwire.com/exec/FulfillmentServices.php

If you insert your Shipwire API username and password, you will see that the you are now authenticated, and able to further test the API.

5. If you only want to see the XML being received by Shipwire, use the Echo Only form. This is useful if your script appears to be producing perfect XML, but you are not getting any response from Shipwire. The most likely culprit is that you’re not posting to the OrderListXML variable. Note that it is submitting orders to:

https://api.shipwire.com/exec/FulfillmentServices.test.php

6. If possible, use the XML Code Samples to build your own script.

7. Use the DTD to check field requirements and limitations. Server should either be “Test” or “Production”, depending on whether you are sending an order for test purposes or because you intend for it to be shipped. The Warehouse field allows you to designate a specific warehouse (see the DTD for warehouse region information). Omitting the Warehouse element will tell Shipwire to choose the best warehouse for the order.

How can I confirm orders are being received correctly?

Sign up for a test account on the sandbox.
Post to your test account, 1 order, with 1 item. Confirm an XML reply of 1 order, with 1 item.
Post 1 order, with 3 items. Confirm a reply of 1 order, with 3 items.
Post 3 orders, with 1 item each. Confirm a reply of 3 orders, with a total of 3 items.
Post 3 orders, with 3 items each. Confirm a reply of 3 orders, with a total of 9 items.
Sign into your test account, and view each of the 8 orders posted above from Account History. Double-check that all fields look correct.
Contact Support and ask us to double-check each of the 8 orders posted above as well. All we need is your Shipwire email address.

What does the XML Response look like?

Here is a sample response. 3 orders were submitted:

</SubmitOrderResponse>

Will there be future upgrades? Will they be backward compatible?

As we continually add new features, we will do our best to add new attributes and tags to support additional information. Since we will not subtract from, or rearrange the existing attributes/parameters, your existing XML parsing software shouldn’t be affected by the new information.

What do I pass in the “Warehouse” Field?

You generally don’t need to identify a specific warehouse for the order in the XML you send to Shipwire. We provide this field for a very limited set of customer needs and 99.9% of customers don’t need this field as Shipwire will route the order to the warehouse that is holding inventory closest to the buyer. It is best to pass “00” in that field: “<Warehouse>00</Warehouse>”

How should my address Country and State/Province/Region information be provided?

For best results the Country address information must be provided using the proper two letter ISO Country Code. In addition when possible the proper State or Province abbreviation should be used as well.

What do I pass in the <AffiliateId> field?

If you are a Shipwire Partner building an application connection to Shipwire and you have signed up as a Shipwire Partner then we urge you to pass along your partner ID in the AffiliateID field. This will help us associate referred orders to your affiliate account. The partner ID is the numeric identifier found at the end of your Partner URL.

How do I get Developer Support?

Application developers that are integrating to Shipwire can send us an e-mail at support+dev (at) shipwire (dot) com. We will try and get your question answered quickly.