PostNL

PostNL is a mail service from the Netherlands that provides shipping and delivery both domestically and internationally. The carrier ships letterbox packets and parcels up to 30 kg.

You can offer your customers a home delivery by adding a PostNL shipping method to your store. Another option is to add delivery through service points via the Sendcloud app. You can add both delivery options at once, providing customers with a better shopping experience.

Adding PostNL to your Ecwid store

When you create the PostNL shipping method to your Ecwid store, you can set up conditional free rates, flat or custom rates.

To add PostNL shipping method to your Ecwid store:

1. From your Ecwid admin, go to Shipping & Pickup.
2. In the Shipping block, click + Add Shipping.
3. Choose Set Up PostNL. If your store is located outside of the Netherlands, click View all carriers dropdown and choose PostNL in the list.
4. Choose what rates to set up: free or conditionally free shipping, flat rates, or custom rates based on weight or order amount.
5. Set up the shipping method.
   (optional) Shipping name at checkout. Enter the name for the delivery method that customers will see at checkout.
   Shipping rates. For custom rates: Specify what customers should pay for an order of a certain weight by adding weight ranges and respective rates:
   

   

   Learn more about setting up custom rates based on subtotal or weight.
   For flat rates: Specify rates for shipping that will be applied to all orders.
   For free shipping: You can set up free shipping for all orders or limit free shipping availability by order subtotal.
6. (optional) Limit availability by order subtotal. Specify the order subtotal before discounts. The delivery method won’t be available at checkout for orders below that amount.
7. (optional) Show approximate delivery date at checkout. Turn this on to display the approximate delivery date next to delivery options at the checkout.
8. Set shipping region. Select the shipping zone for PostNL. Customers who live outside the shipping area won’t see PostNL at checkout.
9. Click Save & Finish.

All done. Now customers will see the PostNL shipping method at checkout:

Adding delivery through service points (via app)

PostNL delivers not only door-to-door but offers hundreds of pick-up service points. With that option enabled, your customers can choose a convenient pack station on the map at the checkout, and pick up the parcel when it’s delivered.

To set up a service point picker at your checkout, you need to connect your store to the Sendcloud app.

To add PostNL service points to your store’s checkout:

1. In the Ecwid App Market, find the Sendcloud app and click Install.
2. Choose to log in to an existing Sendcloud account or to create a new account:
   

   

3. A new tab will open where you can enter your Sendcloud credentials or create a new Sendcloud account.
4. After you finish creating a new account, go back to your Ecwid admin. You may need to refresh the page to connect your Ecwid store to your Sendcloud account.
5. To activate PostNL service points in your Ecwid store, you should first enable PostNL in your Sendcloud account. To do so, in your Sendcloud account, go to Settings → Carriers & Pricing and enable the carrier:
   

   

6. After enabling the PostNL shipping method in your Sendcloud account, go to Settings → Integrations and click the Edit button to change the shipping settings of your shop.
7. Tick the Service Point checkbox and choose carriers for which you want to activate this delivery option. In our case, it will be PostNL. At the checkout, your customers will see all service points from all the carriers you enable on this step. If you want to offer only PostNL packstations, uncheck other carriers.
8. Go to your Ecwid admin and open Shipping & Pickup, then choose Sendcloud: the shipping software for e-commerce. The Sendcloud app will open, where you can set up two options for a service point delivery — simple shipping method and advanced shipping method:
   

   

9. Select which shipping method you want to synchronize with the Sendcloud app. Orders fulfilled by the selected shipping methods will be shown in your Sendcloud account.
10. Enable either a simple shipping method, or an advanced shipping method.
    Enabling a simple shipping method will create a new shipping option at checkout and will be available for customers from all countries you specify in Additional settings on this page. Enter a flat rate for the shipping method. Enter an appropriate name, e.g., Service Point Delivery, so your customers could understand how their order will be delivered.
    Enabling an advanced shipping method will allow you to use one of the existing shipping methods as service point delivery. It will be available to customers and countries that you specified in the selected shipping method.
11. Click Save.
12. Select shipping region. If you deliver with PostNL to pickpoints, you should select all cities in the Netherlands with PostNL pickpoints. You can check the service points map on the PostNL site.
13. (optional) Add shipping markup if you need to cover additional handling expenses such as packing or insurance.
14. (optional) Specify the order subtotal before discounts. The delivery method won’t be available at checkout for orders below that amount.

Once your shop is connected to Sendcloud, and you enable the simple shipping method or the advanced shipping method with delivery options that use pickpoints, your customers will see the service point map at the checkout.

After a customer places an order, the order’s information will appear in your Ecwid admin and your Sendcloud account in the Incoming orders. Once the order status is changed in your Ecwid store, it will be automatically changed in your Sendcloud account.