Purolator Shipping Interface Setup

The purpose of the Purolator Shipping Interface is to send information about a mail order that has been shipped via a Purolator shipping method in PrismCore to a computer running the Purolator software, and to receive a Purolator tracking numbers, if applicable, in return. The interface is run as a service in WPServer. Unlike many services in WPServer, the Purolator Shipping Interface does NOT use FTP. Instead, Purolator and PrismCore share information using a shared directory.
When this service is running, PrismCore periodically creates an export file that contains basic information about the mail order shipment (e.g. MO receipt number, customer's account number, shipping address information, total weight, transaction total, shipping charge, date, etc) and puts it in a designated shared directory. This file is picked up from the directory by the Purolator software. This enables the user to print a Purolator shipping label with all the appropriate information on it. The Purolator program, if applicable, then creates a file with the receipt number and Purolator tracking number, which it puts in the directory. From there it is imported by WPServer into PrismCore.
The user needs to contact Purolator Customer Support for assistance in setting up the Purolator software in their store.
They also need to send their Purolator rep the import/export formats for the interface files going between PrismCore and Purolator:
Formats
The Purolator export file contains the following fields. Each field is enclosed in double quotes (") and is delimited with a comma.
'MAILORDER', Mail Order Number
'FILLER', Unused
'CUSTOMER', Customer Account Number
'SHIPNAME1', Customer Name
'SHIPNAME2', Customer Name
'SHIPADDRESS1', Customer Address
'SHIPADDRESS2', Customer Address
'SHIPCITY', Customer City
'SHIPSTATE', Customer State
'SHIPZIP', Customer Zip Code
'SHIPCOUNTRY', Customer Country
'SHIPPHONE', Customer Phone
'SHIPMETHOD', Shipping Code Description
'SHIPWEIGHT', Total Shipping Weight
'SHIPTOTAL', Transaction Total
'FILLER', Unused
'Y', Always Y
'SHIPCOMMENT', Shipping Comment
'EMAIL', Always EMAIL
'EMAILYN', Y/N if email included
'EMAILADDRESS', Customer Email Address
'NUMBEROFSHIPMENT',Number of Items in Shipment
'TODAY', Current Date MM/DD/YYYY
'FILLER', Unused
'FILLER', Unused
'FILLER' Unused
The Purolator import file contains the following fields. Each field is enclosed in double quotes (") and is delimited with a comma.
'MAILORDER', Mail Order Number
'TRACKNUMBER', Purolator Tracking Number
'SECNUM', Unused
'FILLER', Unused
'METHOD', Shipping Method
'WEIGHT' Total Shipping Weight

A shared directory for the interface files to reside in must be set up on either the PrismCore server or the Purolator PC. If the directory is set up on the PrismCore server, the Purolator PC must be able to map to that directory. If it is set up on the Purolator machine, the PrismCore server needs to map to the directory on the Purolator machine.
In WPAdmin, access Mail Order General Parameters and check the Shipping Software Interface check box for whichever locations are needing the interface.
In WPAdmin, access the Shipping Codes module. Now that you have enabled the Shipping Software Interface field, a new Shipping Software field appears in each shipping code record. For the Purolator shipping codes, select 'Purolator Interface' from the combo box. For non-Purolator shipping codes, select 'No Interface'.
The Purolator interface is a standard WPServer interface. Purolator interface lines have to be added to your WPConsole by programming. Call PrismCore Support when you are ready for this step. Once Purolator lines have been added to WPServer, you will need to configure that service. You can use our suggestions of file names for the import and export files, or some other name, if desired.
Set the interval at which the service is to run (e.g. every 5 minutes). We don't have any recommendation as to how often to run it. This may need to be coordinated with Purolator to see how often they want to pick our files and give us theirs.
Purolator Export Path The fully qualified directory name where the export file will be created (this is the shared directory mentioned above). The path can be a mapped drive or UNC name.
Purolator Export File Name The file name that will be created or appended to (e.g. EXPORT.TXT).
Purolator Import Path The fully qualified directory name where the import file is located (this is the shared directory mentioned above). The path can be a mapped drive or UNC name.
Purolator Import File Name The name of the file to be imported (e.g. IMPORT.TXT).
Check the Activate Service checkbox, and OK the dialog.
At this point, each time the service runs, an EXPORT.TXT file will be created and put in the shared directory. If Purolator has put an IMPORT.TXT file in that directory, it will be imported into PrismCore.