Frequently Asked Questions

ConnectShip, a shipping software solutions provider, is a wholly owned, independent business unit of UPS. The company provides a full line of shipping software for mid-sized companies and global enterprises. Our core business is providing shipping functionality into enterprise-class business applications. ConnectShip pioneered express parcel shipping automation in the 1980's (as TanData Corporation).

The company specializes in multi-carrier compliance and the engineering of full-featured shipping applications with powerful integration technology to power the shipping functionality of enterprise resource planning and supply chain management systems.

• Medium to large-volume shippers; more than 100 - 40,000 packages/day.
• National and international companies and organizations, warehouses, distribution centers, e-commerce businesses, solution providers of enterprise management systems, warehouse management systems, supply chain management systems, third party logistics providers (3PL), and commercial customers of UPS.
• Fortune 100 clients include Dell, Microsoft, GE, General Mills, Target, Costco, Walgreen's, Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase, Cardinal Health, Pfizer, State Farm Insurance, 3M, Motorola, and others. ConnectShip serves 19 of the Fortune 100 companies, 6 of which are in the top 25.
• Major brands using ConnectShip shipping software to power their shipping processes include Dow Corning, Buck Knives, Swiss Army, Toro, Gorilla Glue, Tommy Bahamas, The Men's Warehouse, Abercrombie & Fitch, Kohl's, L'Occitane, Stuart Weitzman, WebMD, Nutrisystems, Bausch & Lomb, Banta Books, National Geographic, Home Shopping Network, Wine.com, Porsche, and the Dallas Cowboys.

ConnectShip will have been in business 30 years in August 2010; 9 years under the name ConnectShip. The company started as TanData in 1980. UPS purchased selected assets of the company in 2001 to form ConnectShip, Inc.

ConnectShip is a wholly-owned, independent business unit of United Parcel Service (UPS), and is managed locally in Tulsa, OK, by two directors. ConnectShip maintains an independent relationship with the parent company; information obtained from other carriers during the compliance process is not shared with UPS; UPS does not share other multi-carrier shipping vendor information with ConnectShip.

ConnectShip is a multi-carrier solution so we have strong relationships with all of the major carriers, LTL carriers, regional and miscellaneous carriers. UPS purchased ConnectShip (via assets of TanData) in order to be able to offer a multi-carrier solution to their valued customers. We provide all rates and fees associated with all carriers, including UPS, for rate comparison purposes.

The core business of ConnectShip is the development and enhancement of shipping software that supports multiple carriers to optimize shipping functionality throughout the enterprise on a global scale. Customers obtain licenses for software and shipper and carrier components. Licenses are sold by our reseller partners and Independant Software Vendors, through our Solutions Support Department, and via UPS Customer Solutions. Software license update subscriptions are sold annually. Patches, updates and maintenance are all included with the license and the yearly subscriptions; no additional or hidden costs are involved. Patches are issued for any identified software bugs and to provide carrier updates for compliance and rate changes.

The ConnectShip product line consist of the following products known collectively as ConnectShip™ Solutions:

• ConnectShip™ Toolkit - an API and set of development tools (software developer kit or SDK) for incorporating shipping functionality at any point in order processing into new or existing business applications.
• ConnectShip™ Warehouse - a client-server multi-carrier shipping management application that provides an enterprise-wide, centrally-managed solution.
• ConnectShip™ ChainLink - a suite of browser-based applications that support shipping throughout the enterprise.
• ConnectShip™ Merchant - A electronic routing guide for e-commerce and order management systems.
• ConnectShip™ Advisor - Sold exclusively through UPS Customer Solutions, this is a rating application designed to assist with carrier and service section decisions based on rates, fees, time-in-transit which can be integrated with order management, ERP, and other process systems.

Progistics is the name of the patented technology developed by ConnectShip (as TanData Corporation) to enable corporate-wide visibility into transportation management. Progistics API is a flexible set of tools for developing customer shipping functionality and applications on which to build an integrated enterprise solution.

ConnectShip holds US Patents No. 5,485,369, 5,631,827, 7,254,624, 7,610,364 and 7,506,803.

ConnectShip can and should be compared only to software providers that offer a comparable comprehensive suite of shipping software in terms of:

• multiple-carrier compliance and services supported by each (including origin countries supported)
• scalability of the enterprise solution
• availability of software development tools for customization and integration
• technical support and comprehensive training
• all-inclusive licensing and subscription pricing
• high package volume capability
• financial stability of the software company

Companies that provide only client or "packaged" software, or service as a software, do not compete with our solution. In order for solutions to be considered to be comparable with ConnectShip, they must provide:

• an API that allows for rating multiple carriers for comparison
• central management of multiple locations
• client-server and browser-based options
• easy integration with enterprise resource planning system (such as SAP, Oracle, etc.)
• support for industry standard interfaces XML, .NET, or COM
• VB scripting to incorporate specific business rules
• formal training on all systems
• support for all major parcel and LTL carriers and be UPS Ready globally certified
• compatibility with a wide variety of devices for printing labels, manifests, BOL, international documentation, and for RFID scanning
• reporting capabilities and facilitate end-of-day close out

To determine which shipping solution is best for your unique business, speak to a Solutions Support representative about your existing and planned shipping needs. Consider the following factors:

• plans for expansion into markets in other countries or other vertical
• increased or decreased package volume (including returns)
• integration with enterprise resource planning, warehouse management, or supply chain management systems
• number of distribution centers, warehouses, locations that need to be connected to and managed remotely to process shipments
• labor costs of the employees who do manual processes such as rate comparisons, order processing, warehouse and shipping procedures, returned shipment handling

Our solution is not one-size-fits-all. A representative from ConnectShip can help you evaluate your needs in a consultative, fact-finding session.

Please contact our Solutions Support Department if you would like to learn more about the ConnectShip products.

ConnectShip makes trial licenses available for the evaluation of any of our products. Contact our Solutions Support Department to discuss your business needs and request a license.

Contact the ConnectShip Channel Manager who issued you the trial license to discuss the needs of your company and determine the best solution.

Annually, in October to be ready for carrier rate changes that occur after the first of the year.

For a complete list of supported carriers, services, and shipping origin countries, open the Carriers link.

For a complete list of supported carriers, services, and shipping origin countries, open the Carriers link.

ConnectShip has the functionality to support any destination that is served by the carrier.

Yes, ConnectShip provides the client interface for FSMS. We also support FedEx Smart Post.

ConnectShip supports the major carriers, the most common and widely used services and many services that are specific to a particular carrier or country. Review the Carriers page, which lists all of the carriers and services we support by country and by carrier. If you do not see the type of service or the carrier that you need, contact our Solutions Support Department to discuss your specific needs. We support shipments from more than 50 origin countries.

Note: When comparing vendors or researching a solution, be aware that it is not feasible for any shipping software provider to support all of the world's carriers and/or all of the services due to the large number of small parcel, LTL and freight carriers and their available services. Make sure that the vendor you select supports the carrier and carrier services that your business requires or is willing to become compliant with that carrier and/or service.

• Integrate the shipping system across all platforms to provide better visibility throughout the order pipeline
• Access to new markets with built-in international carrier compliance
• Use one system to manage all workstations, locations, and distribution points
• Accommodate just-in-time shipments to manage lower inventory levels
• Make strategic decisions based on real-time data
• Make decisions at order entry stage where business rules and carriers can be specified
• Determine where efficiencies can be gained in the order-to-cash process
• Compare carrier services and rates worldwide, based on your specific business rules
• Use current rates to bill customers to recover shipping costs and up-charge for shipping
• Use technology to automate systems to reduce number of employees required to perform manual tasks and to improve performance
• Reduce instances of human error