Fulfillment Methods (Shipping & Delivery)

Fulfillment Method feature is now live for all customers!

Do you offer multiple fulfillment methods like shipping or delivery? You can now allow users to specify how they want to receive their items:

• Pickup: this is the default/original fulfillment method and is where items are collected from your location(s). Pickup is enabled by default but can be disabled. 
• Delivery: this is an optional method is where items are delivered to local users. You may offer this service yourself, use bike/EV/etc. delivery services, etc.
• Shipping: UPS, FedEx, Postal Services, etc. While similar to delivery, fulfillment methods of this type change some of the settings/display/etc. (e.g. "Deliver to" vs "Ship to", and not displaying the fulfillment location in most circumstances). 

Configuring Fulfillment Methods

You can set up and configure one or multiple additional fulfillment methods at:

Settings > Loans & Reservations > Fulfillment Methods

By default, you will have just one Fulfillment Method, Pickup:

You can edit the Pickup fulfillment method to optionally add a description, or you can click "Add New" to add an addition or different fulfillment method:

• Name: the name of the fulfillment method which will be displayed to users. For example, "FedEx", "Canada Post", "EV Delivery", etc.
• Type: while both Shipping and Delivery are mostly treated the same, there are a few differences in how they are displayed and the wording to users (e.g. "Delivery to" vs "Ship to") so selecting the correct option is important:
  • Delivery: use this type for local delivery, courier, etc. options
  • Shipping: use this for typically longer distance shipping options like the local postal service, DHL, FedEx, UPS, etc.
• Description: This is a description of the fulfillment method that will be displayed to users. You will want to warn users of additional costs, special instructions, etc.
• Email: this is an extra/additional email address that will receive all reservation related emails for reservations using this shipping method. For example, you can add an email address for the Delivery service so they are notified of new reservations and changes to the reservation
• Display account field: often shipping and delivery services will allow people to set up accounts and have an account number that you can use to bill the user's account (very common for shipping) rather than your own.
• Require the account field: you can also require the account field if it is displayed

Additional Fields for Multiple Locations

For organizations working with multiple locations, you can specify which locations offer the fulfillment method at creation time. Of only some of your locations offer shipping or delivery (or use different delivery services) you can just enabled the fulfillment method at some locations. You can also default the open hours to match each locations hours, or you can configure/change them later.

Note: After the Fulfillment Method is created you must enable/disable it on a per location basis by editing each location.

Pickup 

In-person pickup is the default fulfillment method and is where people will collect and return items to your location(s). The workflow for this process is the same as it was outlined in Reserving Items.

Shipping & Delivery

When starting a reservation using a delivery fulfillment method, users will be able to specify where they want items delivered, including to their primary, secondary, or a new address.

If you enable the Account option, you can require that field to be field out before selecting dates and a time slot.

For organizations using the same delivery service for multiple locations, users may be able to select which location items should be delivered from. Whether they can select this option will depend on if they start from an item that is "floating" (can be transferred to different locations), start from an item that has to be delivered from a specific location (no option will be displayed), or start a reservation from the top navigation bar (option will be displayed).

Fulfillment Method Time Slots

Time slots (and hours) can be configured for each fulfillment method (and for each fulfillment method for each location in multiple location myTurn sites), since Delivery options may only be offered at certain hours, for example after your in-person/pick up hours close. You can configure time slots at:

Settings > Loans & Reservations > Time Slots

and then select the Fulfillment Method from the dropdown toward the top of the page:

If you have multiple locations, you will be able to edit the time slots for all locations for each fulfillment method.

Fulfillment Method Costs (coming soon)

Currently you can't set costs for fulfillment methods directly, but this will be a feature in a future release.

Reports

As of mid-December 2021, the Fulfillment Method is only displayed on the List Reservation page. In an upcoming release, we will be adding the ability to filter List Reservations based on Fulfillment Method and add additional reporting on fulfillment methods.