How to add a Spark Shipping account to ShipStation, what features are available, other need-to-know details, and troubleshooting tips.
Spark Shipping allows you to route orders, receive tracking updates, and receive inventory updates from manufacturers, warehouses, distributors, etc. where you do not hold the physical inventory.
Using Spark Shipping, orders can be sent to your vendor in any format that the vendor requires, including API, Web Service, EDI, CSV, etc.
Spark Shipping can split orders so that ShipStation and third-party vendors will receive only the items you choose. This way, the vendor does not see your ShipStation inventory and only the correct items are included in orders inside of ShipStation.
In Spark Shipping, create your ShipStation account as a Vendor, then choose which products route to ShipStation and which route to third-party vendors. If we receive an order with items for both ShipStation and a third-party vendor, Spark Shipping will split this order by sending the correct items to ShipStation and correct items to the third-party vendor.
Want to know more? Request a demo with Spark Shipping!
Connection Requirements:
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An active account with Spark Shipping.
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The ShipStation vendor username, password, and URL (provided by Spark Shipping).
Order Import Requirements:
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Include a Ship To address.
To connect your Spark Shipping account to ShipStation:
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Log in to your Spark Shipping account.
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Go to the Vendors page, or click this link to be taken directly to that page.
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Locate the ShipStation tile and click Add Vendor.
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Copy the Username, Password, and URL.
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Select the Spark Shipping tile.
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Enter the Username, Password, and URL from Spark Shipping.
After you've completed the connection steps, your store will be connected to ShipStation. You'll be taken to the store's Settings page to adjust the store-specific settings like branding, notification preferences, and product handling.
The ShipStation integration with Spark Shipping supports the following standard features:
The ShipStation integration to Spark Shipping allows for the following additional features:
|
Feature |
Description |
|---|---|
|
Configurable Time Zone |
By default, ShipStation assumes that the Spark Shipping account's server uses UTC as the timezone. If your Spark Shipping account uses a different server timezone, you can define it in the store's settings. |
Here are some common issues experienced by users, potential causes, and available troubleshooting tips.
|
Issue |
How to troubleshoot or resolve |
|---|---|
|
The Order Date in ShipStation is different than the Order Date in Spark Shipping |
What it means: This usually occurs because the Spark Shipping server is using a different timezone than the timezone set in the store's settings in ShipStation, which causes the Order Date to be thrown off when converting the timestamp based on time zone. What to do: Update the store's settings so the store is using the same timezone as the server your Spark Shipping store is hosted on. |
|
Certain orders placed late in the day are not importing into ShipStation |
What it means: Similar to the issue above, this typically occurs because the Spark Shipping server is using a different timezone than the timezone set in the store's settings in ShipStation, which causes our import process to inadvertently skip ahead. What to do: Update the store's settings so the store is using the same timezone as the server your Spark Shipping store is hosted on. |