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Shipping Agent Mapping

Business Central uses Shipping Agents and Shipping Agent Services to represent carriers and their services. ECShip uses nShift carrier codes and service codes. This page explains how to map between the two systems so that shipments are automatically configured with the correct nShift carrier when created from source documents.

Why Map Shipping Agents?

When a Sales Order or Warehouse Shipment has a Shipping Agent assigned, ECShip uses the mapping to automatically set the correct nShift carrier and service on the shipping document. Without mapping, users must manually select the carrier on each shipment.

Mapping Shipping Agents to Carriers

ECShip adds a Map To Carrier Code field to the standard Business Central Shipping Agents page.

  1. Search for Shipping Agents in Business Central
  2. For each shipping agent, set the Map To Carrier Code FMD field to the corresponding nShift carrier code
Field Description
Code Standard Business Central shipping agent code
Name Shipping agent name
Map To Carrier Code FMD The nShift carrier code this agent maps to (lookup from ECShip Carriers)

Note: If the Business Central shipping agent code is identical to the nShift carrier code (e.g., both are FEDEX), mapping is not strictly required but is recommended for clarity.

Mapping Shipping Agent Services to Carrier Services

ECShip also adds mapping fields to the Shipping Agent Services page.

  1. Open a Shipping Agent and navigate to its services
  2. For each service, set the Map To Carrier Service FMD field
Field Description
Code Standard Business Central shipping agent service code
Description Service description
Map To Carrier Code FMD Inherited from the parent Shipping Agent (read-only)
Map To Carrier Service FMD The nShift carrier service code this service maps to

How Mapping Works in Practice

When a shipment is created from a source document:

  1. ECShip reads the Shipping Agent Code and Shipping Agent Service Code from the source document
  2. It looks up the Map To Carrier Code on the Shipping Agent
  3. It looks up the Map To Carrier Service on the Shipping Agent Service
  4. Both values are set on the ECShip shipping document automatically

If no mapping is configured, the carrier fields on the shipping document are left blank and must be filled manually.

Freight Payer Scenarios

Mapping works together with Carrier Account Numbers to handle freight payment automatically.

Sender Pays (Default)

No special configuration needed. The sender's carrier account number from ECShip Setup is used.

Consignee Pays

When the customer/consignee pays the freight:

  1. Set up a Carrier Account Number for the customer with the customer's freight account number
  2. Optionally set a Shipment Method Filter (e.g., FCA) to trigger this only for specific shipment methods
  3. Add the RPAY addon (or carrier equivalent) to the carrier service
  4. Set the consignee's carrier account number as the addon parameter value

When a shipment is created for that customer with the matching shipment method:

  • Payer Account No. Type is automatically set to Customer
  • Payer Account No. is filled with the configured account number

Third-Party Pays

When a third party pays the freight:

  1. Set up the third party's carrier account number in the Carrier Account Numbers page
  2. Add the OPAY addon (or carrier equivalent) to the carrier service
  3. Set the third party's account number as the addon parameter value

Example

A company ships via Posti and has some FCA customers who pay their own freight:

  1. Shipping Agents: Map shipping agent POSTI → Carrier Code POSTI
  2. Shipping Agent Services: Map service EXPRESS → Carrier Service PO2102
  3. Carrier Account Numbers: Add customer 20005 with Carrier Account No. 987654 and Shipment Method Filter FCA
  4. Sales Order: Create for customer 20005 with Shipment Method = FCA
  5. Result: ECShip document is created with carrier POSTI, service PO2102, and the customer set as freight payer with account 987654

Next Steps