How to Use Descartes XPS

Descartes XPS is a multi-carrier, multi-channel shipping solution. You can use our discounted shipping rate program to print shipping labels from all the major US carriers for both domestic and international shipping. You can also have multiple sales channel integrations.

Because our shipping software is web-based, you are able to process your shipments wherever you have an internet connection. For the best user experience, we recommend using the web browser Google Chrome.

Descartes XPS is able to integrate with major ecommerce platforms as well as other computer systems. Within the ship screen, you can generate shipping labels mutiple ways: one at a time through manually typing in the receiver’s address, by referencing your address book, by importing bulk addresses from a CSV file, or through a seamless ecommerce integration.

In this example, I will be shipping from a CSV upload by selecting the orders, choosing the shipping method, selecting the package type. We will input the weight and click the red shift button to print out our label.

Once this is done, the program will give me a quote for all of my shipments and I’m able to book them in all one click. Once all of the shipments have been booked, I’m able to come up here and select print ship, shipping labels and now I’m able to send all of my labels in one document to the printer.

From the history screen, you can track your shipments by clicking on the tracking number, reprint a label in case it has been lost or damaged, void the shipment, create prepaid return labels and email them. The search capabilities in the history screen are robust. You have the ability to search by name, company, phone number, email tracking number, order ID or order number.

You also have the ability to export your shipping history into a CSV file. With our address book, you are able to save the receivers that you ship to often, making it easier to ship to frequent customers. You can add all of your existing addresses through a CSV import or add new records one by one. You can also enable the autosave feature, meaning addresses you ship to will automatically be saved to your address book.

With Descartes XPS you can print using a normal document printer or any label printer as long as it prints a 4×6 and 4×8 label. We use the drivers on your computer, so setting up the printer is as easy as selecting the size of your label. Our scale reader app gives you the ability to have the weights of your packages automatically populated into the ship screen. We support just about all scales that transmit data through a USB cable. With our custom package sizes, you can say goodbye to retyping your box dimensions. Just set it up once and on the package selection screen you will see your boxes to choose from.

If you don’t have an account with UPS or FedEx for heavier packages, we may be able to make a referral to help you. Descartes XPS is able to integrate with most major ecommerce platforms. To see our list, click on the ecommerce integrations option from the Settings menu. We add new integrations all the time, so if you don’t see your platform listed, keep checking this list. Notice that we are able to do custom integrations through rest API, web hooks, or an ODBC connection.

This has been a presentation about some of our basic features, but Descartes XPS has many advanced functionalities that were not covered. Visit our YouTube channel for detailed tutorials on commonly used features including international shipping—including creating the commercial invoice—sending tracking email notifications when a shipment is booked, scheduling pickups with the different carriers, adding in your custom package sites, separating departments for billing purposes, and setting up automation rules. To learn more, please visit XPSship.com or call (800) 881-0288 to schedule a free live demo.