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Direct Freight Shipping Setup

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Important: This article assumes a good knowledge of Microsoft Excel and Maropost Commerce shipping (including zones, rates and options).

Before you Begin

You will need:

Spreadsheet of your shipping rates from Direct Freight.
Maropost Commerce rates import file (available here).
Microsoft Excel (or similar spreadsheet program that you’re familiar with).

Rates File Part 1

The rates provided by Direct Freight need to be transposed into a format that can be imported into Maropost Commerce. To build the rates file:

Open the rate spreadsheet provided by Direct Freight. It should look similar to the example below.

Tip: If Direct Freight provided a PDF file of your rates, you can use a converter such as SmallPDF to convert it to a spreadsheet.
Using the sort and filter options in Excel to filter out all rows that have the keyword PALLET in the Type column.

Tip: Ensure that the FromZone column is the same for every row, and represents where you will be sending orders from using the Direct Freight zone file.
You will notice that the Direct Freight rate file includes some suburb specific rates. Filter out the CityTo column to only include cells with values and insert a new column.
Create a new column to the right of column E and call it ToZone CityTo concat.
Join the ToZone and CityTo cells with the concatenate function (remember to add a space in the middle).
Apply the formula through the entire column. Copy this entire column, as you now need it for the zone file.

The rates file still needs some changes, but at this point it’s easiest to set up the zone file and import it into Maropost Commerce.

Zone File

Download and open the Direct Freight zone file.
Paste the column you copied earlier, into column N of the Direct Freight zone file.
In the adjacent column, enter “y” in the second row, and replicate it for all rows in the column.
If your zone file has no data in column I, enter zonecode suburb into cell I1, and =CONCAT(TRIM(C2)," ",TRIM(G2)) into cell I2. Copy this code down the column for every row in the spreadsheet.
You will need to look for all locations in the zone file that have a suburb specific rate. Use the function =vlookup(I2,N:O,2,0) in column K.

N/A indicates rows that don’t have a suburb specific rate while all others with ‘y’ are those that have a suburb specific rate. We will need this while creating zone codes for suburbs that have specific pricing.
To find the final zone codes enter the function =if(isna(K2),B2,concat(trim(I2)," ",trim(J2))) into the column next to the suburb specific rate.
Copy the values from this column (not the formula), and replace the data in columns B and C with it.
Delete everything from column I onward and save your file as a CSV (comma separated values). Your final zone file will look like this.
Upload the shipping zones using the steps in this article.

You can now go back to the rates file to complete and import it.

Rates File Part 2

Open your the Direct Freight rates file. Except for the filter on the “Type” column, remove all other filters.
Insert a new column to the right of column F and call it finalzone.
Enter the function =if(isblank(E2),C2,F2) into each row of this column, and then copy the values from this column.
Open the Maropost Commerce rates file, and transpose the data from the Direct Freight rate file into the Maropost Commerce rates file using the table below:

Direct Freight column Maropost Commerce rates column
Courier Name Courier Name
finalzone Zone Code
finalzone Zone Name
MinimumCharge Minimum Charge
BasicCharge 1st Parcel
Rate Per kg
Save the Maropost Commerce rates file.

The Maropost Commerce rates file can now be uploaded into a rates table in your control panel.

Create a Shipping Rates Table

To create a shipping rates table via import in Maropost Commerce, follow the steps in this article.

Create a Shipping Option

So that customers can select Direct Freight in checkout, you need to create a shipping option. Follow the steps in this article to create a shipping option.

Direct Freight Shipping Labels

To set up the Direct Freight labels:

In your Maropost Commerce control panel navigate to the Addons menu.
In the Shipping section locate Direct Freight and click the Install button.
Fill in the Shipping Carrier Label Setup Form and Maropost Commerce staff will set up the shipping labels for you for free.