Shipping Integrations · Updated September 2026
Rate, label and track without leaving the ERP
UPS and FedEx over their own APIs. USPS, Canada Post and Purolator through EasyPost. DHL and GlobalPost for cross-border, GLS and FirstMile for regional lanes, SPL Group for consolidated rates, and ShipStation when you would rather label there. The rate is quoted against the carton the warehouse actually packed, and the freight and tracking land back on the order.
AIMS360 rate shops and prints labels inside the ERP, using your own carrier accounts rather than a platform's resold volume discount. You choose negotiated or published rates per carrier, and can override that for a single customer. Rating can happen at three points in the order flow, and tracking plus freight are written back to the order and invoice automatically. Carriers connect under Setup, System Settings, Shipping Integrations.
Which carriers and platforms connect to AIMS360?
Each connects with its own credentials under Setup, System Settings, Shipping Integrations. Some are direct carrier APIs, some route through EasyPost, and one is a consolidator whose rates sit alongside the rest so you can compare account to account.
| Carrier or platform | How it connects |
|---|---|
| UPS | Direct UPS API. Account number authorised with your UPS.com credentials. Rates and labels both return over the API, and no end-of-day upload is needed because AIMS360 sends the required data to UPS directly. |
| FedEx | Direct FedEx API. Current versions use the FedEx REST API with a client ID and client secret alongside your account number. |
| USPS | Through EasyPost or Endicia, depending on how your postage is set up. |
| DHL and GlobalPost | International and cross-border parcels. |
| GLS and FirstMile | Regional and first-mile carriers, useful where a regional beats the nationals on your lanes. |
| Canada Post and Purolator | Canadian domestic, through EasyPost. See Canada Post. |
| SPL Group | A consolidator account whose rates appear alongside your direct carrier rates, which is what makes account-to-account comparison possible. |
| ShipStation | Where you would rather rate and label in ShipStation. Up to five accounts can be mapped, typically one per warehouse, with tracking and freight coming back to the order. See ShipStation integration. |
Full mechanics, including the exact setup screens and what comes back on each call, are on the shipping labels and rate comparison page.
Do you see your negotiated rates or published rates?
Whichever you tell it to show, set per carrier, and overridable for individual customers. This matters more than it sounds, because a rate comparison built on published rates is comparing prices nobody actually pays.
- UPS. Choose whether AIMS360 requests your negotiated rates or UPS published rates. If you also run WorldShip, link it to your UPS.com account so the account-specific negotiated rates you see there are the same ones the API returns here.
- FedEx. Same choice, set when the FedEx integration is configured.
- EasyPost. Select either your negotiated rate or the standard published rate for the carriers running through it.
- Per customer. A shipping template can override the system default for one account, which is useful where a customer is being billed freight and you want the published rate quoted rather than exposing your contract pricing.
The distinction that gets blurred in sales demos: published rates are the carrier's list price. Negotiated rates are what you actually agreed. Neither is the same as a shipping platform's discounted rates, which are that platform's own volume deal resold to you. AIMS360 quotes against your accounts, so the comparison reflects contracts you already negotiated.
Where in the order flow does rating happen?
Three points, and which one you use changes what the rate is based on.
| Rate here | What it is based on | Use it when |
|---|---|---|
| Customer order | Estimated weight and dimensions before anything is picked | Quoting freight to a customer, or checking a lane before you commit |
| Pick ticket | What the warehouse is actually about to pack | The normal case, because the rate matches the real cartons |
| Invoice | The finished shipment | Freight needs to land on the invoice at the number that was really paid |
Rating at the pick ticket is the one that saves money, because a rate quoted against an estimate and a rate quoted against the packed carton are frequently not the same number.
Do you still need a separate shipping app?
An honest answer, given AIMS360 integrates ShipStation as well as competing with it.
Native is better when the order is the unit of work
You ship wholesale and DTC from the same stock, freight needs to sit on the invoice, retailers route on their own accounts, and you want the rate decided against the carton the warehouse actually packed. Every extra system in that chain is another place the carton count and the freight can disagree.
A shipping app is better when you need reach or a specific workflow
You need carriers AIMS360 does not connect to directly, your team already knows a packing workflow in that tool, or your 3PL works in it. AIMS360 pushes pick tickets to ShipStation and pulls tracking and freight back, so this is a supported way to work rather than a workaround.
Plenty of brands run both, usually native carriers for wholesale and a shipping app for DTC volume. What matters is that the freight and the tracking end up back on the order either way.
Wholesale and DTC shipping are not the same problem
This is where apparel brands get caught, because a generic shipping tool treats every parcel the same and a retailer's routing guide does not.
| Wholesale to a retailer | DTC to a shopper | |
|---|---|---|
| Who chooses the carrier | Often the retailer, named in their routing guide | You, on price and service level |
| Who pays | Frequently collect, on the retailer's account | You or the shopper |
| Rate shopping | Not applicable on collect freight | The main lever |
| Label | UCC-128 carton label plus the carrier label | Carrier label and packing slip |
| Paperwork | VICS bill of lading, and the ASN has to match | Tracking back to the store or marketplace |
Because both run out of one system, the same on-hand number serves both, and freight from either path lands on the same order record. Dropship sits in between: see EDI dropship and DTC fulfilment automation.
What the shipping integration does not do
Stated plainly, because finding out in month two is worse.
| Constraint | Detail |
|---|---|
| One carrier per batch | Batch label generation runs a single shipping type at a time. Mixed days mean multiple runs. |
| Only lead tracking prints | On a multi-carton shipment every carton gets its own tracking number, but only carton one's prints on the pick ticket and invoice. The rest live on the shipment record. |
| Thermal needs a local utility | PDF and PNG print from anywhere. EPL and ZPL need the Advanced Shipping Utility installed on the machine driving the printer. |
| Collect freight is not rate shopping | When a retailer pays and their routing guide names the carrier, price is not your decision. Choosing a cheaper carrier there is a compliance failure, not a saving. |
| No customs paperwork | International shipments prompt for declared value, but commercial invoices, customs forms and HS codes are not produced here. |
| Two phone numbers are mandatory | Attention phone and shipper contact phone. Missing either fails the label, and the shipper contact has to be set on the warehouse record. |
Shipping questions, answered
Which shipping carriers integrate with AIMS360?
UPS and FedEx connect over their own APIs. USPS runs through EasyPost or Endicia. DHL and GlobalPost cover international and cross-border parcels. GLS and FirstMile cover regional and first-mile lanes. Canada Post and Purolator connect through EasyPost. SPL Group is a consolidator whose rates appear alongside direct carrier rates. ShipStation connects as a platform where you would rather rate and label there, with up to five accounts mapped, typically one per warehouse.
Can I use my own negotiated carrier rates instead of published rates?
Yes, and it is set per carrier. For UPS and FedEx you choose whether AIMS360 requests your negotiated contract rates or the carrier's published list rates. EasyPost carriers offer the same choice. A shipping template can override the system default for an individual customer, which is useful when you are billing that customer freight and prefer to quote published rates rather than expose your contract pricing. Note that negotiated rates are the contracts you signed with the carrier, which is not the same thing as a shipping platform's discounted rates, which are that platform's own volume deal resold to you.
Can AIMS360 compare shipping rates across carriers?
Yes. Rates from your connected carrier accounts are returned side by side so you can compare before choosing a service. Because SPL Group consolidator rates appear in the same comparison as your direct UPS and FedEx accounts, you can also compare two of your own accounts against each other rather than only comparing service levels within one carrier. The mechanics are on the shipping labels and rate comparison page.
At what point in the order can AIMS360 rate a shipment?
Three points. From the customer order, using estimated weight and dimensions before anything is picked, which suits quoting freight to a customer. From the pick ticket, using what the warehouse is actually about to pack, which is the normal case because the rate then matches the real cartons. And from the invoice, using the finished shipment, so freight lands on the invoice at the number that was really paid.
Does AIMS360 print thermal shipping labels in ZPL or EPL?
Yes, in PDF, PNG, EPL and ZPL. PDF and PNG print from anywhere. EPL and ZPL require the Advanced Shipping Utility to be installed on the machine driving the thermal printer, so a fully browser-only setup can print PDF and PNG but not direct thermal.
Can I bill freight to my customer's own carrier account?
Yes. Third-party and collect billing to a customer's carrier account is supported, which is how most wholesale shipping to large retailers actually works. Bear in mind that when a retailer pays the freight and their routing guide names the carrier, rate shopping does not apply: selecting a cheaper carrier there is a vendor compliance failure rather than a saving.
Do I still need ShipStation if AIMS360 prints labels?
It depends on how you ship. Native carrier integration is better when the order is the unit of work: wholesale and DTC shipping from the same stock, freight sitting on the invoice, retailers routing on their own accounts, and the rate decided against the carton the warehouse actually packed. A shipping app is better when you need carriers AIMS360 does not connect to directly, your team already knows a packing workflow in that tool, or your 3PL works in it. AIMS360 pushes pick tickets to ShipStation and pulls tracking and freight back, so running both is supported rather than a workaround, and many brands do exactly that: native carriers for wholesale, a shipping app for DTC volume.
Does AIMS360 generate customs forms for international shipments?
No. International shipments prompt for declared value, but commercial invoices, customs declarations and HS codes are not produced by the shipping integration. Those need to be handled through your carrier's own tools or a customs broker.
Can AIMS360 print UCC-128 carton labels as well as carrier labels?
Yes, and they are different labels doing different jobs. The UCC-128 or GS1-128 carton label carries the SSCC that ties the carton to the EDI 856 advance ship notice for a retailer. The carrier label is what the parcel network scans. On a wholesale shipment a carton usually needs both, and because AIMS360 generates the carton hierarchy, the UCC-128 label, the ASN and the VICS bill of lading from the same shipment record, the SSCC numbers agree across all of them.
Where does tracking end up after a label is printed?
Tracking and freight are written back to the order and the invoice. For wholesale EDI shipments the tracking travels to the retailer on the 856 advance ship notice. For ecommerce orders it flows back through the relevant sales channel integration. When you rate and label in ShipStation instead, tracking and freight still come back to the AIMS360 order.
Can I run different carrier accounts for different warehouses?
Yes. Up to five ShipStation accounts can be mapped, typically one per warehouse. The shipper contact phone is also set on the warehouse record rather than globally, so each location ships under its own contact details. See multi-warehouse inventory for how stock and allocation work across locations.
What happens with tracking on a multi-carton shipment?
Every carton gets its own tracking number, but only carton one's tracking number prints on the pick ticket and the invoice. The rest are stored on the shipment record. This matters if your customer service team works from printed paperwork rather than the shipment screen.
Bring us a parcel and a zip code
The fastest way to judge a shipping integration is to rate a real box to a real address on your own carrier accounts and see whether the number matches your contract. Bring one and we will run it.
Related AIMS360 pages
- Shipping labels and rate comparison is the deep page: setup screens, what each API call returns, batch printing and multi-account rating.
- 3PL integrations covers what changes when a third party ships for you, including the 940, 943, 944, 945 and 947.
- EDI retailer integrations covers routing guides, carton labels and why collect freight is not a rate-shopping decision.
- Returns management covers the label going the other way.
- Most popular apparel software integrations shows where shipping sits alongside Shopify, QuickBooks and EDI.
Written by the AIMS360 team. Reviewed 7 September 2026. Carrier connections and setup detail reflect the AIMS360 shipping integration as of that date. Carrier APIs, service levels and rate structures are set by the carriers and change without notice.
