S
selfcancelsignal
Guest
I suppose.
Smart pickups
- Thread starter Cementups
- Start date
UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)
Well-Known Member
Have you suggested that option to him?
Cementups
Box Monkey
Okay... I'm not a UPS employee. I'm a customer, one that's putting forth the effort to integrate shipping into my internal workflow applications. I'm using the Shipping API and the Pickup API. I ran across this forum while searching for a solution as to why I couldn't trigger a Smart Pickup. I was compelled to join to share what I have learned...
I'd be willing to bet that the mentioned business is using the API. I ran into the same problem. The Shipping API does not provide any means to schedule a pickup - that's what the Pickup API is for. BUT, the Pickup API has provisions to schedule only on-call pickups. It can not trigger a Smart Pickup. Since this capability is absent, the pickup drops off your board.
A workaround for this is to have your customer use UPS Internet Shipping to schedule a Smart Pickup each day they have a shipment.
From what I've been able to learn, the decision to not support triggering of a Smart Pickup was made by the business to prevent third-party software from triggering it. Such software, apparently, uses the same API that I use. I don't pretend to understand the reasoning behind this - perhaps it would expose some form of vulnerability to abuse.
As a Smart Pickup customer, I'm paying for the pickup whether I use it or not. So, at least for me, it boils down to communicating with the driver to come by, which is accomplished most easily by triggering the Smart Pickup.
With all that said, perhaps the API for triggering a Smart Pickup should be available for customers that have it enabled on their account.
I'd be willing to bet that the mentioned business is using the API. I ran into the same problem. The Shipping API does not provide any means to schedule a pickup - that's what the Pickup API is for. BUT, the Pickup API has provisions to schedule only on-call pickups. It can not trigger a Smart Pickup. Since this capability is absent, the pickup drops off your board.
A workaround for this is to have your customer use UPS Internet Shipping to schedule a Smart Pickup each day they have a shipment.
From what I've been able to learn, the decision to not support triggering of a Smart Pickup was made by the business to prevent third-party software from triggering it. Such software, apparently, uses the same API that I use. I don't pretend to understand the reasoning behind this - perhaps it would expose some form of vulnerability to abuse.
As a Smart Pickup customer, I'm paying for the pickup whether I use it or not. So, at least for me, it boils down to communicating with the driver to come by, which is accomplished most easily by triggering the Smart Pickup.
With all that said, perhaps the API for triggering a Smart Pickup should be available for customers that have it enabled on their account.
By The Book
Well-Known Member
So what your saying is a customer who's p/up account is enabled as a smart p/up can be inconvenienced if they have a shipment within 59 minutes of their scheduled pick up time. Sometimes these new services that UPS offers are more of a benefit to UPS than the customers. I think that if you are still paying the same rates as a daily, and not for just the days we come by, the customer is being stolen from.
onewithedd
Well-Known Member
Sales people??? Do they still exist?? My larger pick up accounts hear more from the FedEx salespeople trying to convert them over than our own people.That's not his job. that's the salespersons job
UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)
Well-Known Member
You are confused as to your terminology.
Pickup customers have to sign up for the Smart Pickup. They must have a computer and be using our software in order to qualify. They are then assigned a cutoff time and if they do not process a shipment up to one hour before their cutoff the pickup will drop out of our DIADs. The weekly charge is 50% of that for a regular daily pickup.
You are talking about scheduling a special pickup. Same concept but a separate service. You pay $10 for the privilege of having us stop by and pickup your package. I believe the charge for an additional pickup is waived if you schedule another one within the same week-----I am not sure about that so don't quote me on it.
It sounds as though you would be better served to switch your account to the Smart Pickup.
UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)
Well-Known Member
The charge for a Smart Pickup is 50% that of a regular daily.
He has his terminology mixed up.
Catatonic
Nine Lives
The developer must know certain keys that are not published to the public in order to initiate a Smart Pickup transaction. The Pickup API is used for Smart Pickups.
UPS made that decision based on the complexity of the Smart Pickup on UPS operational systems and driver communications. UPS saw it more of a Enterprise level tool for a large customer with many locations.
Cracker Barrel uses it, for instance.
Talk to your Sales Rep and see if he/she can get you the instructions on how to implement Smart Pickup using the Pickup API. It is a lot of work and coordination on the customer side as well as UPS.
I will forward your request to the people who had responsibility for the PICKUP API when I retired.
PS _ I was one of those people before I retired and the players may have changed but I will ask them to get it to the right person.
Catatonic
Nine Lives
Totally wrong on all accounts (pun intended).
The customer can schedule an OCP easily from the same API if the cut-off time is passed ... using WorldShip or the Pickup API or ups.com.
Smart pickups are usually free or at least half the price of a normal Daily Pickup.
All this is on ups.com if you cared to investigate.
You should at least have some facts straight before telling a customer wrong information.
It always better to say nothing than make stuff up.
But it's so much fun.
Catatonic
Nine Lives
I sent you a Conversation message ... please provide the info requested and I will forward your request to someone that can help facilitate and make a decision.
No, that's not what I'm saying at all. I understand that if it's within an hour of the pickup time that an OCP must be requested. I'm talking about shipments made throughout the day, none of which trigger the Smart Pickup (nor should they), and there's no way to use the Pickup API to trigger it.
No, sir, I don't believe I'm confused at all. I am a Smart Pickup customer, and have been using it for years - pretty much since it became available - using the online shipping interface. The biggest advantage Smart Pickup provides is a savings of time and fuel realized by the drivers. However, this alone was not enough incentive to get eligible companies to change their business processes, so UPS offers a discount for participating. Of course, not all customers would be suited to this. Among those would be the occasional shipper (once or twice a month?), and those that ship something everyday.
Clearly the API exists to do this, after all, UPS's own web site allows one to select a Smart Pickup, and WorldShip can do it - a testimony that it exists and is accessible from outside UPS's internal network. There's a way to do this - it's just kept close to their chest.
Ah, HA! I'll do exactly that tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it. I've worked on enterprise class systems in previous lives, Lowes, Cingular, First Data, a little bit for Home Depot, and a few others. I understand how systems of this magnitude can get really complicated. There's a huge momentum for large systems to grow incrementally. I found it difficult at best to convince the "business" that what they wanted could not be done within the existing structure. There were several occasions where we had to go back and re-architect certain subsystems. One was a result of a big-xxx merger. The back-end billing systems between the two companies were totally incongruent as were the front-end POS systems. Nothing common between them. A nightmare, but a fun one.
Thank you all for your kind advice.
By The Book
Well-Known Member
@Monkey Butt, I didn't care to check my facts on the smart p/up. I do know it is convenient to the customer, but not all the time. I've had many times when I go in for a delivery after they've dropped out and saw a package there. This was within the +\- 15 minutes that the account's p/up time was set for. My point is that not all of these new services and ways we do business are in the best interests of the customer. Orion is another example. Thank you for being able to assist this customer so they can better manage their business.
UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)
Well-Known Member
I have converted 4 of my daily pickups to Smart Pickups. Each of them were occasional shippers and appreciate the savings.
The Walmart Vision Center was changed to a Smart Pickup and they still can't grasp the concept. They get mad at me when they don't process anything, which means I don't stop, yet have prepaids going out. They have called in concerns saying that I missed their pickup.
The Walmart Vision Center was changed to a Smart Pickup and they still can't grasp the concept. They get mad at me when they don't process anything, which means I don't stop, yet have prepaids going out. They have called in concerns saying that I missed their pickup.
By The Book
Well-Known Member
It's not a one size fits all...that's for sure. Maybe the Walmart accounts shouldn't be smart p/up accounts. We are probably there later for a ground pickup each day. Not just your Walmart that this is an issue with.
Didn't you date a employee from there??
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