Shipping troubleshooting
Shipping troubleshooting
What the common shipping messages mean and what to do about each one.
Shipping explains every problem where it happens, in a colored box with the reason and a Fix: line. Red stops the label, amber is a warning, and gray is information. This page covers the ones you are most likely to meet.
Plex
A Plex data source is not granted
A read that Plex refuses shows the data source's number and asks for it to be granted. Open Shipping setup → Overview and press Check Plex access to see every data source at once. For each one marked Denied, ask your Plex administrator to grant that data source to the DataMagik integration user for your PCN. Then check again. See Plex data sources to grant.
"Plex cut the result … off at its row limit, so it is incomplete."
Each Plex data source returns a limited number of rows. When the shipper's containers or the list of open shippers come back cut off, shipping stops, rather than ship, weigh or list less than is really there. Split the shipper into smaller ones, or ask your Plex administrator to raise that data source's row limit. When another read is cut off, you see a warning that some rows are missing.
A shipper is not in the list
By shipper lists open shippers due today or in the 30 days before, and shippers shipped today. An older open shipper, or one due later, is not listed. Type or scan its number into Quick scan and it opens.
If the list says Plex did not return the list. Quick scan still works., the Plex read failed. The message above the list says which one. Use Quick scan meanwhile, and press Refresh to try again.
If a scan says Nothing open in Plex matches "…", check the label. Scanning a container finds its shipper only when Shipper_From_Container_Get (230933) is granted.
A label is marked "Not in Plex"
The label was bought, but some or all of what it writes to Plex did not get there. The tracking, freight or package tracking may be missing on the Plex shipper. The label's messages say why, for example Plex did not record the tracking number: ….
Fix the cause, then press Send to Plex on the label. It writes only the steps Plex did not take, and says what was written and what was not. If the site's Plex dry run is still on, nothing is sent until you turn it off.
If Plex already shows the shipper as shipped, tracking and freight cannot be changed. Record them in Plex by hand, or reopen the shipper first.
"Plex dry run is on for this site: nothing is written back to Plex."
This is expected while you set up. Labels are bought and printed but Plex is not changed. When a test shipment has shown the writes you expect in the Transaction log, turn dry run off on the wizard's Go live step or under Sites and buildings.
Carrier accounts
"The carrier account's API key was rejected, so nothing was bought."
ShipEngine refused the API key in the account's credential. The key is wrong, was revoked or regenerated, or belongs to another ShipEngine account. Copy the current key from ShipEngine (API Management), save it in the credential under Credentials, and try again.
A sandbox key on a live account, or a live key on a test account
A sandbox key starts TEST_. Shipping refuses a key that does not match the account's Sandbox (test labels) switch:
- this account is marked live, but its ShipEngine key is a sandbox key (TEST_…): labels would be samples that cannot ship
- this account is marked sandbox, but its ShipEngine key is a LIVE key (sandbox keys start TEST_): labels would be really billed
Point the account at the credential holding the right key. To go live, keep your test account and add a live one on the wizard's Go live step. See Getting started with the setup wizard.
"No live carrier account is set up." or "No sandbox carrier account is set up."
The shipment's profile buys live labels and there is no active live account at this site, or it buys test labels and there is no test account. Add the account under Carrier accounts, or check which profile the shipment gets under Why this profile.
Buying and printing
The label printer cannot print this label
Before a ZPL label is bought, the printer is checked, so you never pay for a label that cannot print. Nothing was bought.
- … is offline. The print agent reports the printer offline. Bring it back online, pick another printer, or choose a PDF label, then buy again.
- … cannot print ZPL labels. The printer is not set up as a ZPL label printer. Pick a label printer or a PDF label.
If the page says No printers are reported for this company., check the print agent is running and its printers are registered. See Printers.
"Outcome unknown: check the carrier account"
A purchase started, and the carrier never said whether it bought a label. The carrier may have charged you for a label that is not recorded here, so DataMagik will not buy another for this shipper until you check.
- Open your ShipEngine account, go to Labels and look for this shipment.
- If a label was bought there, void it there.
- On the workstation, press Release on the label row and confirm.
- Buy the label again.
"This shipment already has a label. Void it before buying another."
A shipper can have one active label. Void the one in the label list first. If a purchase is still running, wait a few seconds and refresh the label list.
The service is not linked to a carrier service
Plex names a service that has no carrier service mapped yet. If your profile lets people pick the service, choose one in Service for this shipment. Otherwise a shipping admin maps it under Shipping setup → Carrier services.
"Container type … has no dimensions, so its boxes cannot be rated."
Carriers rate by size. Enter the type's Length, Width and Height in the packaging panel and press Save dimensions, or add them on the wizard's Packaging step.
Billing
Freight terms with no policy
Freight terms "…" have no freight terms policy, so nothing says whether a carrier label may be bought on them. Add a row for the term under Shipping setup → Freight terms and billing. When the orders on one shipper have different freight terms and one has no row, the label is stopped until you add it.
The freight terms say the customer pays, but it would be billed to you
Plex has no carrier account for this customer, ship-to, carrier and freight terms. Set the account up in Plex on the ship-to address. If you mean to ship these on your own account, relax the check. See Who pays: freight terms and billing.