PostNL for WooCommerce

WooCommerce PostNL is a premium shipping method that calculates worldwide and Netherlands (NL) domestic shipping for customer orders, using their rates. This plugin uses PostNL prices and services for 2018.

Note: This product is no longer for sale at WooCommerce.com. Documentation is not being updated. Issues with the product are not covered by our support.

Installation

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Download the .zip file from your WooCommerce account.
Go to: WordPress Admin > Plugins > Add New and Upload Plugin with the file you downloaded with Choose File.
Install Now and Activate the extension.

More information at: Install and Activate Plugins/Extensions.

Setup and Configuration

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Go to: WooCommerce > Settings > Shipping.
Select the Shipping Zone you want to add the method to, and click the Add shipping method + button on the right.
Select PostNL from the dropdown and click Add shipping method:
Select the shipping method you wish to configure from the shipping zone (PostNL in this case).
Configure the settings:
- Enable/Disable– Choose whether to enable the shipping method or not.
- Method Title – Name the shipping method. This will be visibile by customers.
- Method Availability – This setting lets you narrow down the countries which can get quotes. Leave set to All Countries to have it available for all customers.
- Debug Mode – Enable debug mode to show debugging information on your cart/checkout.
- Rates and Services – These settings control the services and rates you offer customers.
  - Parcel Packing Method – See below.
  - Offer Rates – Choose to return all rates (user will get the choice) or just return a single rate.
  - Services – Here you can rename, and re-order, PostNL shipping rates.
Save changes.

Parcel Packing Method

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The plugin and built in box-packer require that your non-virtual products have weights and dimensions set. More at: Adding Dimensions and Weights to Products for Shipping.

There are two packing methods with PostNL, and each affects the parcels you send:

Per Item — Each physical item in your cart is sent individually. Quotes for all items are combined for the final cost.
Pack into Boxes — Items are packed into pre-defined boxes and sent for a quote. We recommend this option. See Box-Packing below for more information on this.

Box-Packing

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The box packer included with this shipping method allows you group items into packages with height, width, length and max-weight provided by PostNL. The packing is mainly volume based, but also considers item size.

The box packer is volume based. This provide good results in most cases, but will never be as accurate as a real person packing a box (see BIN Packing Problem). It is important you understand that packing results are as accurate as they can be and any anomalies should be accepted.

How the calculation works

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The packer does the following:

Finds boxes which fit the items being packed (uses H x W x D).
Packs all fitting items into boxes (using volume).
The largest box which fits 100% of items is used *or* use the highest % packed box, and then pass unpacked items back (and repeat the process)
Unpackable items are packed alone, using the item dimensions.
All packed boxes are returned.

Usage

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Customers can get quotes, after inputting their address, from two places:

Cart page – using the shipping calculator
Checkout page – filling in the shipping and billing forms

Rates can be selected by customers as usual.

Troubleshooting

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No rates returned/no rates available

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Enable debug mode (WooCommerce > Settings > Shipping > PostNL) to see debugging information on the cart page. This will often reveal the problem.
Check your products have sizes and weights set – without this the calculation cannot be performed.