amazon transparency

[twaibel]

Amazon has recently introduced their "Transparency" to better track inventory and to ensure its authenticity. We carry dozens of transparency enabled products which for merchant fulfilled orders require us to scan and upload transparency codes to Amazon that are scanned off the product. Currently this upload process is manual. We'd like for ShipStation to add a feature through the Amazon API that allows a scanned transparency code to be uploaded to the order and transmitted to Amazon when tracking information is transmitted. More on Amazon's Transparency program here: https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/help/202008510

[ben21]

We also need this, please.  It's been many years and as a brand owner, we need to get this going.  

[Multus]

we have asked for this for 5 years!  why has this not been added yet!

[CaraAdmin]

Hello @Multus!

Thank you for your post. Although this feature is not currently on our roadmap, I have brought it up as a feature request to developers. Please keep sharing your ideas. 

Happy Shipping!

-Cara

[Multus]

@CaraAdmin 

How is this feature not on your roadmap? We have been requesting it since 2019. Are ShipStation executives so disconnected from the actual shipping process that they do not realize how important this is? A large number of Amazon customers may be forced to leave. There is no way for us to ship Amazon Transparency orders using ShipStation, as we have to add the Transparency code at the time of purchasing the label. Even if we could add the code after we ship the item, we would still have to log into Amazon Seller Central and manually do this for every order, which defeats the purpose of using ShipStation. At the very least, we should be able to add a Transparency code to a custom label section for the order so it can propagate to the Transparency section in Amazon. Ideally, we could simply scan the code, and it would automatically integrate into ShipStation. However, at this point, most users would be happy just to have the ability to use ShipStation when shipping these orders.

[Multus]

Dear Cara,

I hope you're doing well. I wanted to bring to your attention an important update regarding our fulfillment process with Amazon orders that require Transparency codes. To ensure compliance with Amazon's policies and avoid any non-compliance issues, it's crucial that we integrate Transparency code submission into our shipment confirmations.

Could you please forward this information to your development team? Below are the details on how ShipStation can implement Transparency codes using Amazon's Selling Partner API (SP-API).

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Implementing Transparency Codes in ShipStation

Overview:

Amazon requires sellers to submit Transparency codes for products enrolled in their Transparency program. These unique codes must be submitted when confirming shipments to verify the authenticity of the products sold. Failure to provide these codes can result in non-compliance notices and affect our seller account health.

Solution:

ShipStation can integrate the submission of Transparency codes by utilizing the confirmShipment operation in Amazon's Orders API. This allows the inclusion of Transparency codes when confirming shipments, ensuring they are correctly associated with each order item.

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Technical Implementation Details:

1. Use the confirmShipment Operation:

The confirmShipment operation updates the shipment confirmation status for a specified order and allows the inclusion of Transparency codes for each item.

• API Endpoint:

  POST /orders/v0/orders/{orderId}/shipmentConfirmation

2. Construct the Request Payload:

Include the packageDetail, marketplaceId, and optionally the codCollectionMethod in the request body.

• Sample Request Body:

  { "packageDetail": { "packageReferenceId": "1", "shipDate": "2023-10-18T15:30:00Z", "carrierCode": "UPS", "trackingNumber": "1Z9999999999999999", "orderItems": [ { "orderItemId": "ORDER_ITEM_ID_1", "quantity": 1, "transparencyCodes": [ "TRANSPARENCY_CODE_1" ] }, { "orderItemId": "ORDER_ITEM_ID_2", "quantity": 2, "transparencyCodes": [ "TRANSPARENCY_CODE_2", "TRANSPARENCY_CODE_3" ] } ] }, "marketplaceId": "ATVPDKIKX0DER" }

  Field Descriptions:

  • packageDetail:

    • packageReferenceId: Unique identifier for the package.
    • shipDate: Shipment date in ISO 8601 format.
    • carrierCode: Code representing the carrier (e.g., "UPS", "FEDEX").
    • trackingNumber: Tracking number provided by the carrier.
    • orderItems: List of items in the shipment.
      • orderItemId: Unique identifier for the order item.
      • quantity: Number of units shipped.
      • transparencyCodes: Array of Transparency codes corresponding to each unit.

  • marketplaceId: Identifier for the marketplace where the order was placed.

3. Integration Steps:

• a. Retrieve Order Items Requiring Transparency Codes:

  Ensure that the system identifies which order items require Transparency codes based on product information.

• b. Collect Transparency Codes:

  Collect the required Transparency codes for each unit of the order items before shipment confirmation.

• c. Update Shipment Confirmation Process:

  Modify the shipment confirmation API call to include the transparencyCodes field for each order item.

• d. Handle API Authentication:

  Use AWS Signature Version 4 to authenticate requests to Amazon's SP-API.

• e. Implement Error Handling:

  Capture and handle errors returned by the API, such as invalid codes or mismatches between quantities and codes.

4. Sample Implementation Code:

Here's an example in Python using the requests library:

import requests import json import datetime # Replace with actual values access_token = 'YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN' order_id = '123-1234567-1234567' marketplace_id = 'ATVPDKIKX0DER' endpoint = f"https://sellingpartnerapi-na.amazon.com/orders/v0/orders/{order_id}/shipmentConfirmation" headers = { "Content-Type": "application/json", "x-amz-access-token": access_token, # Include other required authentication headers } payload = { "packageDetail": { "packageReferenceId": "1", "shipDate": datetime.datetime.utcnow().isoformat() + 'Z', "carrierCode": "UPS", "trackingNumber": "1Z9999999999999999", "orderItems": [ { "orderItemId": "ORDER_ITEM_ID_1", "quantity": 1, "transparencyCodes": [ "TRANSPARENCY_CODE_1" ] }, { "orderItemId": "ORDER_ITEM_ID_2", "quantity": 2, "transparencyCodes": [ "TRANSPARENCY_CODE_2", "TRANSPARENCY_CODE_3" ] } ] }, "marketplaceId": marketplace_id } response = requests.post(endpoint, headers=headers, data=json.dumps(payload)) if response.status_code == 204: print("Shipment confirmed successfully.") else: print(f"Error: {response.status_code}") print(response.text)

5. Additional Considerations:

• Carrier Codes: Use valid carrier codes as specified by Amazon. If a carrier is not listed, use "Other" and provide the carrier name.

• Partial Shipments: For shipments split into multiple packages, ensure each package's shipment confirmation includes the appropriate Transparency codes.

• API Rate Limits: Be aware of Amazon's API rate limits to avoid throttling.

• Testing: Test the integration thoroughly in a sandbox environment before deploying to production.

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Benefits of Implementation:

• Compliance: Ensures we meet Amazon's requirements, avoiding potential account issues.

• Efficiency: Streamlines the shipping workflow by automating Transparency code submission.

• Accuracy: Reduces the risk of human error in manual code entry.

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Resources for Reference:

• Amazon Orders API Documentation:

  Orders API v0 Reference

• Amazon Selling Partner API Developer Guide:

  SP-API Documentation

• Amazon Transparency Program Overview:

  Transparency Program

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Next Steps:

Please let me know if the development team needs any further information or assistance with this integration. Implementing this feature will help us maintain compliance with Amazon's policies and improve our overall operational efficiency.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

[CaraAdmin]

Hello @Multus!

Thank you for your post in the community and for all the great information you provided! I’m excited to share that this feature has recently been added to our roadmap! While we don’t have a specific launch date just yet, it’s in the works, and we’ll be sure to update the community as soon as we have more details. Stay tuned for updates!

Happy Shipping! 

-Cara