Integration with InPost by ShipX - subscription

An extension for Store Builder and Multi-Vendor that brings the whole InPost shipping routine into the store: the customer picks a parcel locker on a map while buying, and the merchant creates shipments, downloads labels and books a courier without leaving the admin panel.

InPost parcel lockers are an everyday habit in Poland, yet the work around the shipments usually happens next to the store: in a separate carrier panel, in a spreadsheet of tracking numbers, in addresses retyped from an e-mail. Every one of those handovers costs time and invites a mistake. The Integration with InPost by ShipX add-on closes that loop. The chosen locker is stored with the order, shipments are created straight from the order list, and the state of a parcel on the carrier side can change the order status in the store on its own.

Key Features

• Parcel locker selection on a map in the checkout, stored with the order, with no locker code retyped by the store team.
• Two map engines to choose from, Furgonetka.Map and the native InPost Geowidget v5, configured separately for each shipping method.
• Shipment creation in the InPost system for many selected orders in one operation, with parcel size and weight open to correction.
• A PDF sending label and a tracking number saved as a CS-Cart shipment, visible to the customer in their account.
• Courier collection booked on a finished shipment, without signing in to the carrier panel.
• Order statuses driven by InPost notifications, following mapping rules the merchant defines.

A Closer Look

Deployment starts with a single form. In the add-on settings you enter the sender data that will be printed on the labels: company name, address, phone number, office hours and the sending parcel locker. It is filled in once, because every later shipment picks those values up on its own. In Multi-Vendor the administrator can also let vendors keep their own set in their profile, so each of them ships from their own address and returns travel back where they belong.

Screenshot 1

The InPost credentials live on the shipping method rather than in one global setting, so a store can work on several accounts at the same time. Next to the production fields sits a full set of sandbox credentials and a test mode switch. That is a comfortable way to begin, because the entire route from picking a point to printing a label can be rehearsed on the InPost sandbox before the first real parcel appears. The same place holds the label format, matched to the printer used in the warehouse.

Screenshot 2

The point map is served either by Furgonetka.Map or by the native InPost Geowidget in its fifth version, and the engine is chosen separately for each shipping method. The default setting recognises it from the key you enter. That freedom has a very practical side: when one map provider changes its access rules, as happened when Furgonetka introduced domain verification, entering the key of the other one keeps point selection working.

Screenshot 3

Here is the same mechanism seen from the customer side. Once parcel locker delivery is chosen, a map opens with the points, an address search and the card of the selected machine, complete with a photo and its opening hours. The buyer never moves to the carrier website and never copies a locker code, so the order ends exactly where it began.

Screenshot 4

After the map is closed the chosen locker stays in view together with its name, address and code. The customer knows where the parcel will go before confirming the order, and the store receives an unambiguous pickup point the moment that order is placed. The most common message of the "which locker should I ship to" kind disappears along the way.

Screenshot 5

A shipping day begins in the order list. You tick the orders travelling with InPost and start shipment preparation for the whole batch with one command from the bulk action menu. At a few dozen orders a day, the difference against opening each of them one by one is measured in hours of work.

Screenshot 6

Before the data travels to the carrier, the add-on lays it out for review. You see the weight calculated from the products, the parcel size with its dimensions, the sending and the pickup point, and the cash on delivery and insurance amounts. The defaults come from the shipping method configuration, yet each of them can be corrected for a single parcel, which saves the day when one order differs from the rest.

Screenshot 7

Once the shipment exists, its number returns to the order and becomes a link leading straight to InPost tracking. Next to it sit the code of the chosen locker and the courier booking command, useful in stores that rely on collection. The number is saved at the same time as a CS-Cart shipment, so the customer finds it in their account and in the notification e-mail, and support answers a question about a parcel without opening the carrier panel.

Screenshot 8

The label is taken with one click next to the order in the list, on the order page or next to the shipment, and it arrives as a ready to print PDF file with the barcode and the details of both parties. You set the format on the shipping method, so the document leaves the printer exactly as the warehouse expects it.

Screenshot 9

The last piece is the automation that works with nobody involved. InPost notifications about a change of shipment state are translated into order statuses following rules the merchant writes: dispatch from a locker, delivery or a return to sender can move the order the way your store handles it. The customer is informed at the right moment, and the statuses in the panel match what is really happening to the parcel.

Screenshot 10

The Integration with InPost by ShipX add-on gathers shipment handling in one place: from the map in the checkout, through dispatch and the label, to the order status changed by the carrier. The store stops copying data between two systems, and the team wins back the time that used to vanish in the courier panel.

How to Start

1. Install the add-on from the add-on list in the admin panel. Installation creates the required tables, adds two shipping methods, one for parcel lockers and one for courier delivery, and sets up privileges. Both methods start with sandbox data, so nothing is sent to production InPost right away.
2. On the shipping method enter the ShipX access credentials and at least one map key, a Furgonetka map API key or an InPost Geowidget v5 token, and leave test mode on for now.
3. Fill in the sender data in the add-on settings, at least the fields marked as required.
4. Set up a cron job that downloads the list of pickup points, download the shipment status dictionary with the command in the panel menu and map InPost shipment states to your order statuses.
5. Place a test order with a parcel locker chosen on the map, create a shipment for it and download the label. Once everything works, turn test mode off and enter the production credentials.

What's New in Version 1.1.5.3

• InPost Geowidget v5 added as an alternative parcel point map, selectable per shipping method.
• Automatic map engine detection: enter the map key and the add-on picks the engine, the Furgonetka map for a Furgonetka API key and the v5 map for a Geowidget v5 token. Furgonetka and Geowidget v5 stay available as manual overrides.
• The Furgonetka map now requires an API key, because Furgonetka introduced domain verification, and the map configuration shows a hint that at least one key is required.
• Fixed double weight conversion in the shipment creation form, where weights below 1 kg were divided by 1000 again. Weight is now taken from the CS-Cart localization settings. Stores that worked around this bug by inflating product weights must restore the correct weights before the update.
• A log data format switch (Human, Devel) in the logger settings.
• Fixed the admin panel hanging for up to 90 seconds when the SoftSolid license server was unreachable.

Requirements

• CS-Cart or Multi-Vendor from the 4.x branch. Operation has been verified on 4.14.1, 4.17.1 and 4.20.1.
• PHP 7.x or newer, with the cURL extension.
• An InPost ShipX account with an API token and an organisation identifier, with separate credentials for the production and the sandbox environment.
• A map key: a Furgonetka map API key or an InPost Geowidget v5 token. Without either of them the map opens empty.
• Access to cron jobs, which is how the pickup point list is refreshed.
• A store address reachable from the internet, if order statuses are to change based on InPost notifications.

FAQ

Do I need a map key?

Yes, at least one: a Furgonetka map API key or an InPost Geowidget v5 token, entered on the shipping method. Without a key the map opens but shows no points. Remember that a sandbox token will not work in production.

Can I test the integration without sending real parcels?

Yes. Every shipping method has sandbox credentials and a test mode switch. In the test environment you can walk through the whole route from choosing a point to downloading a label, and no real parcel is created.

Does it work with Multi-Vendor?

Yes. Once the matching option is enabled, every vendor can enter their own sender data and sending parcel locker in their profile, InPost credentials are set on each shipping method, including methods belonging to a vendor, and a vendor handles shipments in their own panel, limited to their own orders.

Are shipping rates taken from the InPost price list?

No. Both shipping methods use manual rate calculation, so the rates are set in the store.

Why can shipment creation fail?

Usually for one of three reasons: a missing phone number in the order, which InPost requires for parcel locker deliveries, incomplete sender data, or a weight of zero across all products in the order.

Does it handle international shipments?

No. The add-on covers domestic InPost shipments. International services were not part of this integration.

Documentation and Support

Questions about the add-on, its configuration or your store? Write to us at office@cs-cart.com.pl or visit cs-cart.pl.

Feel free to contact us and purchase the add-on!