Shipping cost calculations
Summarize
Summary of Shipping cost calculations
This framework integrates shipping cost calculations into Sourcing and Purchasing Automation, enabling approvals on the full value of purchases including shipping estimates. Shipping costs can be estimated by both the ShoppingHub administrator and the buyer, ensuring accurate and policy-compliant purchase approval processes.
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Key Features
- ShoppingHub administrator shipping estimates: Administrators can set a default system-wide shipping estimate as a percentage using the
snshop.default.shipping.estimatesystem property. This applies when no other shipping data is available. - Shipping estimate inclusion in approvals: Via the
snshop.shipping.estimate.inclusionsystem property, administrators control whether shipping estimates are included in purchase request approvals. When enabled, shipping estimates from the cart line or checkout are included in the purchase line and total request amount. Otherwise, shipping is excluded from approval calculations and checkout. - Buyer-configured estimates: Buyers can specify shipping estimates at supplier and product levels:
- Supplier level: A default shipping percentage for all products from a supplier, set in the supplier record’s Purchasing Automation tab.
- Product level: A default shipping percentage specific to a supplier product, which takes priority over supplier-level or system defaults.
- Shipping cost calculation logic: For goods, the system uses a prioritization logic to calculate estimated shipping costs in the cart line table. For services, shipping cost is always shown as zero.
Key Outcomes
- Organizations can enforce consistent shipping cost policies and thresholds by setting default estimates at system, supplier, or product levels.
- Approvals reflect more accurate total purchase values by optionally including shipping estimates, supporting better budget control.
- Buyers have flexibility to provide more precise shipping estimates per supplier or product, improving cost transparency.
- Shipping cost estimates are clearly presented in purchasing workflows, with explicit handling for goods versus services.
- Note that shipping estimates are only included in purchase request approvals and not in purchase orders, maintaining clear financial tracking.
A framework to integrate shipping cost calculations into Sourcing and Purchasing Automation is implemented such that approvals can be done on the full value of purchases.
Shipping estimates can be provided by both the ShoppingHub administrator and the buyer.
Shipping estimates from ShoppingHub administrator
A ShoppingHub administrator can set a default system-wide shipping estimate as a percentage. This can then be applied to all purchases that require shipping, when no other shipping estimates or data exist. This is enabled through a system property sn_shop.default.shipping.estimate. Organizations that have a policy around an acceptable threshold shipping cost might want to enter the threshold in the sn_shop.default.shipping.estimate.
A ShoppingHub administrator can also configure shipping estimates to be included in purchase requests for the approval process. This is enabled through a system property sn_shop.shipping.estimate.inclusion, which is included in purchase request approvals. If this inclusion is marked as true, the shipping estimate from the cart line or checkout is included as a field in the purchase line and in the total amount in the purchase request, while the estimate in cost allocation is not considered. However, if this inclusion is marked as false, not only would shipping be excluded in the purchase request approval process, but also not calculated at checkout, even if data is included at the product, supplier, or system levels.
Shipping estimates from buyer
- Supplier:
Set a standard percentage estimate for shipping costs from a specific supplier. This estimate is then applied to all the orders that require shipping from that supplier, which do not have any estimate at the product level. In the Purchasing Automation tab of the supplier record, enter a shipping estimate value in decimal in the Default shipping estimate for products from this supplier (calculated as percentage of negotiated unit price) field.
- Product:
Set a default shipping estimate for a supplier product record. This is then prioritized in estimating the shipping cost of a purchase over any supplier level estimate or default shipping estimate. In the Purchasing Automation tab of the supplier product record, enter a shipping estimate value in decimal in the Default shipping estimate for this supplier product (calculated as percentage of negotiated unit price) field.