Magento 2 Backend Exploration: Shipments

The following article continues our exploration of the Magento 2 admin by introducing you to the shipments screen. Below, you will find out how to work with the corresponding grid and individual shipment pages. We also shed light on how to import/export shipments in Magento 2 most efficiently.

Magento 2 Shipments Screen

You will discover the shipments screen under Sales -> Shipments.

Control elements

On the shipments screen, you can find numerous control elements commonly used in the Magento 2 admin. 

There is a search field on the top left part of the screen and a dropdown with mass actions below. You can create PDF shipments or print shipping labels for multiple grid items simultaneously. 

The top right area above the shipments grid contains filters, grid view switcher, columns configuration, grid export, items per page selector, and pagination. 

Type a keyword in the search field to find shipments:

To apply mass actions, select shipments you want to manage, tick them using the first column manually or choosing Select All, Deselect All, Select All on This Page, or Deselect All on This Page from the dropdown in the first column, and select an action you want to apply from the Actions dropdown:

Now, let’s take a look at filters. The corresponding tab lets you narrow down the selection of shipments in the grid. You can specify the following parameters:

• Ship Date;
• Order Date;
• Total Quantity;
• Purchased From;
• Shipment;
• Order;
• Ship-to Name.

As you can see, filters are based on grid columns, but the shipments grid may include more elements than we’ve just mentioned. Actually, you can show/hide the following 17 columns:

• Shipment;
• Ship Date;
• Order;
• Order Date;
• Ship-to Name;
• Total Quantity;
• Order Status;
• Purchased From;
• Customer Name;
• Email;
• Customer Group;
• Billing Address;
• Shipping Address;
• Payment Method;
• Shipping Information;
• Action;
• Shipment Status.

The more columns are available – the more filters you can apply.

After changing the appearance of the Magento 2 shipments grid, you can save it as a new view:

The default Magento 2 shipments grid

Now, let’s explore how the grid with shipments looks by default. It usually consists of the following 9 columns:

• Checkboxes – select orders for mass actions;
• Shipment – you can see a shipment number here;
• Ship Date – when an order was shipped;
• Order – a corresponding order number;
• Order Date – when an order was placed; 
• Ship-to Name – a name of your customer specified in order details;
• Total Quantity – the number of shipped items;
• Action – you can view each shipment individually.

Magento 2 shipment View

Use the last column from the default grid view to see all information specified in each shipment. The data is split between the following sections:

• Order & Account Information;
• Address Information;
• Payment & Shipping Method;
• Inventory;
• Items shipped;
• Order Total.

In Order & Account Information, you can view order number, date, status, purchase point, and IP from which the order was placed. At the same time, the section displays customer name, email, and group.

Address Information contains shipping and billing addresses. You can view and edit them like in the case of invoices.

The Payment & Shipping Method section is divided into two subsections correspondingly. While the first one shows payment details, the second subsection lets you track the shipment as well as view and configure related parameters. 

The Inventory section displays the corresponding inventory source.

In Items Shipped, you can see the purchased products including their name and SKU as well as their shipped quantity.

In Order Total, you can submit comments and notify customers about them or enable/disable their visibility on the frontend.

How to create a Magento 2 shipment

All shipment records of all invoices that have been prepared for shipping are listed in she Shipments grid. But how to create them? You can generate a shipment record when an order is invoiced, or later.

Note that Magento supports both partial and complete order shipment. However, additional options may be included depending on Inventory Management, Magento Shipping, or third-party extensions. 

To create a shipment in Magento 2, follow these steps:

1. Go to Admin -> Sales -> Orders.
2. Find and open an order in the grid.
3. If it has been paid and invoiced, click Ship.
4. Complete each shipment section.

For further information, follow this link: Creating a Shipment.

How to cancel a Magento 2 shipment

Follow the steps below to cancel a shipment:

1. Go to Admin -> Sales -> Orders.
2. Find and open an order in the grid.
3. In the left panel, open the Shipments tab.
4. Click Cancel Shipment: this button appears only when the shipment can be canceled.
5. Click OK when prompted to confirm.

This will change the status of the shipment to Canceled.

For further information, follow this link: Canceling a Shipment.

How to import shipments to Magento 2

You can import shipments to Magento 2 using the Improved Import & Export extension. Unlike the default data transfer solution, the module supports numerous file formats and connection points, lets you apply mapping presets, and automates data synchronization with the help of schedules. We will describe its benefits in a separate section below. Now, let’s figure out how to import shipments to Magento 2.

Go to System->Improved Import/Export->Import Jobs and hit the “Add New Job” button.

In General Settings, enable the job, specify its title, choose the manual run frequency, select a language (locale), and enable/disable the following features depending on your business needs:

• Generate Unique Url if Duplicate;
• Re-Index after Import; 
• Send email from new tracks.

In Import Settings, enable/disable API depending on your needs, choose Orders in the Entity dropdown (the extension will import shipments to Magento 2 as a part of your orders file), and select a platform to apply a mapping preset.

In Import Behavior, select Add/Update from the dropdown, choose a validation strategy, specify the maximum possible number of errors, and type separators.

In Import Source, select CSV as your import file type (or choose another standard if your data file is not CSV). Next, specify your import source. You can import a data file from a server, Dropbox account, URL, or upload it directly. In the case of Dropbox, specify a file path, access token, and remote images directory. 

And don’t forget to validate the data file with shipments. If it contains attributes that are not supported by Magento 2, you can apply mapping. 

To start importing shipments to Magento 2, hit “Save & Run” in the top right corner of the screen. For further information about shipment import in Magento 2, follow the link below and contact our support:

Get Improved Import & Export Magento 2 Extension

How to Export shipments From Magento 2

To export shipments from Magento 2, we also recommend using the Improved Import & Export Magento 2 extension. This module not only automates the default shipment export process but also lets you eliminate manual data files modification. Let’s imagine that you need to provide an external system with shipments on a daily basis. Follow these steps to achieve your goal:

Go to System->Improved Import/Export->Export Jobs and hit the “Add New Job” button.

In General Settings, enable the job, type its title, and select a frequency (every day at 3:00am). Choose a local file language and divide additional attributes if necessary. 

In Export Settings, select Order from the Entity dropdown and enable Consecutive Export.

In Export Behavior, select a format of your export file (your external system should support this format) and choose order entities that should be provided to the external platform – shipments.

In Export source, specify where your shipments should be transferred to. You can select FTP, SFTP, or a data file as a destination. Check the connection before going any further.

Next, you can map attributes and add filters to provide the external system with the exact data it needs.

To start the export process, hit “Save & Run” in the top right corner of the screen. For further information about shipment export in Magento 2, follow the link below and contact our support:

Get Improved Import & Export Magento 2 Extension

Improved Import & Export Features

Now, let’s pay a little bit more attention to the features of the Improved Import & Export extension that simplify the transfer of shipments. The tool is designed to turn your Magento 2 admin into a central hub where you control all integrations; therefore, it is much more potent than any import/export solution currently available on the market. Even the default transfer tools of Magento 2 Commerce don’t offer anything similar. 

The extension provides several ways of moving shipment data to and from your e-commerce website, including a direct connection between two systems. As an admin, you can manage all integrations right in the backend interface. And as it was mentioned above, the plugin allows automating all shipment import and export processes in Magento 2. Let’s start the exploration with this feature.

Automated Import & Export Processes

The Improved Import & Export Magento 2 extension offers two different ways of automated shipment data import and export: schedules and event-based triggers. The principle behind both mechanisms is described below. You only have to configure your import/export job, and the extension does everything for you. Let’s see how schedules work.

Schedules

With the Improved Import & Export Magento 2 extension, you can use the default cron syntax to create export schedules moving Magento 2 shipments to a remote platform. The module provides the ability to specify any custom intervals so that you can create a schedule suitable for your specific business needs. At the same time, you can select one of the predefined intervals which are also fully customizable. And don’t forget about the opportunity to create import and export profiles which have no schedules. If you only need to move data once, there is no need to schedule the profile.

Another cool feature related to schedules is the ability to launch every profile manually. For instance, you need to transfer shipments to an external system every day at 6 PM, but no orders have been placed yet. If the first order has been placed after 6 PM, you can easily move it to an eternal system manually transferring all the related shipments.

Events

Event-based triggers represent the second way of automating data transfers in Magento 2. The Improved Import & Export extension enables real-time updates based on them. Create and configure a trigger specifying conditions to synchronize two systems right after a certain action takes place. For further information, check this article: How to Run Magento 2 Import or Export After Specific System Event or Process.

Advanced Mapping Features

The following chapter discusses another important aspect of the Improved Import & Export Magento 2 extension – the ability to solve problems caused by different attribute standards. Our module provides several exclusive mapping features that dramatically simplify the way you import and export shipments in Magento 2

Mapping Presets

The Improved Import & Export Magento 2 extension offers a very straightforward way of matching external attributes to ones used internally. You get a series of mapping presets – predefined mapping schemes that provide the ability to implement attribute matching in a few clicks. After creating and configuring a new job, choose a suitable preset in the mapping section of your new profile. Next, the Improved Import & Export Magento 2 extension will do all the work for you.

Instead of figuring out what third-party attributes are utilized in your shipment file, you let our module analyze the input data and match all third-party designations to the internal ones. Any manual interactions with data files are eliminated. Here is how everything happens in the admin:

Matching Interface

If there is no preset suitable for your integration or you want to make an import/export file suitable for third-party requirements manually, utilize the matching interface of the Improved Import & Export Magento 2 extension. It lets you map attributes by yourself in the admin. Select an entity, choose a system attribute and specify the corresponding external one in front of it as shown below:

In the grid above, there is also the third column – “Default Value” –  where you can specify hardcoded (default) values, which are attribute values automatically provided to every item related to the attribute. It is handy when, for instance, you import products from multiple store views to a single one.

Filters

Now when you know how to apply mapping and use hardcoded (default) values, we’d like to describe another feature that lets you export Magento 2 shipments to a remote system – filters. Follow these steps to master the tool:

• Click the ‘Add Filter’ button;
• Select an entity;
• Select a system attribute that will be used as a basis of a new filter;
• Specify parameters applied for filtering;
• Repeat the previous steps to create more filters.

Note that parameters applied for filtering vary, depending on the chosen attribute. Everything is simple and intuitive:

Attribute Values Mapping

Besides, the Improved Import & Export Magento 2 extension provides the ability to match attribute values. Since incorrect values may prevent import processes or may not be accepted by third-party systems, it is essential to replace all unsupported designations with the proper ones. As you might have already guessed, the default Magento tools don’t let you do that.

As for our plugin, it offers an interface similar to the one we’ve just described above. Choose a third-party designation and specify a corresponding internal one in front of it. Repeat matching until no external values are left. For further information, read this article: Attribute Values Mapping.

Attribute Values Editing

The Improved Import & Export Magento 2 module lets you not only map attribute values but also edit them in bulk via the following rules:

• Add a prefix to multiple attribute values;
• Add a suffix to multiple attribute values;
• Split multiple attribute values;
• Merge multiple attribute values.

Note that the module provides the ability to create various conditions to increase the efficiency of editing. For further information, check this article: How to Modify Attribute Values During Import and Export in Magento 2.

Category Mapping

Another feature of the Improved Import & Export Magento 2 extension that simplifies the way you import data from any source is category mapping. It is especially useful when you transfer data from third-party catalogs that have a unique structure. The module provides the ability to match external product categories to ones used internally as follows:

And you can create new categories on the fly. Both features are described here: Category Mapping.

Attributes On The Fly

Another feature that dramatically simplifies import processes is the ability to create attributes on the fly. If an update file doesn’t include all the required data, our module allows using the following general form to specify all parameters used to get all missing attributes automatically:

Attribute|attribute_property_name:attribute_property_value|…

The procedure is described in more detail here: Product attributes import.

Extended Connectivity Options

As mentioned above, the Improved Import & Export Magento 2 extension allows extending the default opportunities related to data transfers. Our module offers a bunch of extended connectivity options described below.

Multiple File Standards

The Improved Import & Export Magento 2 extension lets you import and export shipments and other data with the help of the default CSV format as well as XML, JSON, ODS, and Excel. Thus, the necessity to convert files of these standards into CSV and vice versa is completely eliminated!

Multiple File Sources

And the vital improvement that enables extended shipment file import/export in Magento 2 is support for multiple sources:

• FTP/SFTP. Transfer data files using a local or remote server.
• Dropbox. Use a Dropbox account to establish a connection between the two systems. Alternatively, you can rely on Box, OneDrive, Google Drive, iCloud, and Amazon Drive.
• URL. A direct URL can be used to import a data file as well.

In case an update file is compressed, the Improved Import & Export Magento 2 extension will extract it automatically!

Alternative Ways of Import & Export

The alternative ways of import and export, which are not represented in Magento 2, include data transfers via API and intermediary services.

The Improved Import & Export extension provides the ability to leverage REST other APIs (SOAP and GraphQL) to import and export shipments between Magento 2 and any external systems.

As for the intermediary services, they are Google Sheets, Office 365 Excel, and Zoho Sheet. The following image shows how to use Google Sheets to move data to Magento 2:

Another important feature is support for WSDL and WADL.

The video below displays other details of our extension:

Final Words

Managing shipments in the Magento 2 admin is an easy task. However, it becomes more complicated when you need to synchronize the data between your e-commerce store and external platforms. But the Improved Import & Export Magento 2 extension is here to save your time and effort. The module will not only enable multiple integrations but also automate them. For further information regarding the Magento 2 shipments import and export, follow the link below and contact our support:

Get Improved Import & Export Magento 2 Extension