How to Set up Shipping Automation Rules
Overview
The shipping process always consumes a lot of time, as every small detail needs to be verified properly. Overlooking this could ruin the post-purchase experience of customers and result in order returns. With AfterShip Shipping, you can set automation rules to speed up the shipping process and prevent manual errors.
Set automation rules in AfterShip Shipping
- Go to Settings in your AfterShip Shipping admin.
- Select Automation rules > Add rule.
- Now give your rule a name and choose any of the following options as per your needs:
a. Apply actions to every order (that is imported)
b. Apply actions to orders that meet certain conditions
Scenario 1: When you choose the first option
In this case, you will see Action section in which you get different action options like Add additional package weight, Select carrier / service / package, Set package size, Set total package weight, and Set ship from location.
- Select the action from the dropdown.
- Once an action is selected, you will see different fields, depending on which action option you've chosen. Add value to those fields based on your requirement.
- If you select multiple action options, the automation rule will work when all of them are met.
Scenario 2: When you opt for the second option
In this case, you have to take care of two things:
- Define the conditions in the second field according to your requirements. Available conditions are:
- If you select Meet all conditions option, it is an AND statement, meaning the automation rule will work when all the defined conditions are met.
- If you select Meet any condition option, it is an OR statement, meaning your automation rule will be triggered as soon as at least 1 condition is met.
- Set your preferred actions in the third field to ensure your automation rule produces expected results. Available actions are:
- Click Save to finish the procedure.
What would happen in the case of multiple rules with contradicting conditions?
All rules are prioritized based on their ranking (order in which they are positioned). It means if two or more rules contradict each other, the rule present at the top of your list will be applied.
Therefore, please arrange your rules based on how to want them to be prioritized and make sure that your defined conditions for them vary.
Conditions
All conditions are case insensitive. Conditions available for order import are:
Condition | How to fill | How to use |
|---|---|---|
Ship to address - city | Input the city in the text box, each on a new line. You can set "is" or "is not" | Apply to the orders that shipping address city matches the value. |
Ship to address - country/region | Select the country/region from the list. You can set "is" or "is not" | Apply to the orders that shipping address country/region matches the value. |
Ship to address - postal code | Input the postal code in the text box, each on a new line. You can set "is" or "is not" | Apply to the orders that shipping address postal code matches the value. |
Store | Shopify stores only. Please find the store URL from the store connection and without ".myshopify.com" | Apply to the orders imported from the specific shopify store. |
Requested service type | Shopify stores only. Must be the same value during checkout page of | Apply to the orders that matches the checkout shipping method. |
No. of items | Input the positive integer. | Apply to the orders that total number meets the condition. |
Order item SKU | Input the item SKU, must be the same value of product SKU in eCommerce platform. | If the operator is "is", apply to the orders that include any item that SKU matches; if the operator is "is not", apply to the orders that all item SKU doesn't match. |
Order total | Input the positive number. | Apply to the orders that order total amounts meet the condition. If the order currency is different from the condition currency, will always treat don't match the condition. |
Package weight | Input the positive number. | Apply to the orders that order package weight meets the condition. If the package weight unit is different from the condition weight unit, AfterShip Shipping will do the auto conversion and check if the condition matches. |
Shipping paid | Input the positive number. | Apply to the orders that paid shipping fee meets the condition. If the order currency is different from the condition currency, will always treat don't match the condition. |
Custom fields | Input the "Custom field key" and "Custom field value" | Apply to the orders that custom fields key and value pairs matches. Only applicable to orders imported from Commerce API. Only applicable to enterprise plan. |
Actions
Actions available for order import are:
Action | How to fill | How to use |
|---|---|---|
Set carrier/service | Choose type as "Set carrier account and service" | Orders will be auto updated to the selected carrier account and service. |
Set package | Set the package type for shipping. It's recommended to always set the package type to speed up the shipping process. | Orders will be auto updated to the selected package type. |
Set package size | Set the package size for shipping. It's recommended to setup different package size according to SKU conditions. Alternatively, you can skip this action and set the default package size for all shipments in Settings - Shipping. | Orders will be auto updated to the pre-set package size. |
Set package weight | Set the package size for shipping. If not set, the package weight will be auto calculated as the total weight of all items. Alternatively, you can skip this action and set the default package size for all shipments in Settings - Shipping. | Orders will be auto updated to the pre-set package weight. |
Add additional package weight | Add the additional package weight for shipping. | Orders will be auto updated to add the additional weight. Note that if you Set package weight = 1lb and Add additional package weight = 0.5lb, the package weight result will be 1.5lb; but if you Add additional package weight = 0.5lb and Set package weight = 1lb, the package weight result will be 1lb. |
Set ship from location | Set the ship from location for shipping. If not set, will use the default shipping location. | Orders will be auto updated to the pre-set ship from location. |
Set service option | Set the service option to be used. Allowed value is one of the following: | Orders will be auto used the input service option. You can set multiple options in one action and join them by ",", e.g. set the value as |
Set service option: If conflicted options are set, only the first one will take place. For example, if you set signature,indirect_signature in one action, the rule can be saved with no problem, but when order is imported and applied the rules, only "signature" will be set to the order.Best practices
Use TikTok Shipping for TikTok Shop orders: When using AfterShip Shipping with TikTok Shop, we recommend setting up a shipping automation rule to automatically assign TikTok Shipping when orders are imported from TikTok Shop. This ensures:
Example rule configuration
- Set a Condition
Field: Store
Operator: is
Value: TikTok Shop store address
- Apply Action
Action: Set carrier/service
Type: Set carrier account and service
Service: TikTok Shipping Standard Shipping
With this setup, AfterShip Shipping automatically applies TikTok Shipping to all orders imported from the selected TikTok Shop store, eliminating the need for manual carrier selection.
Additional considerations
It's recommended to set all needed actions in one rule to speed up the order fulfillment process. Refer to the example as below snapshot.
API-based automation rules
If you are creating shipping labels using APIs instead of the AfterShip UI, you can configure automation rules using the rule-based label API. For API-based setups, refer to this guide.
If you have any further questions, feel free to contact our support team via live chat or email us at [email protected].
Updated on: 06/02/2026