You can create an Automation Rule to automatically assign a carrier and service based on the products in an order.
This is useful when certain products need to be shipped using a particular carrier or service because of their size, weight, handling requirements or other shipping restrictions.
For example, we'll create a rule that assigns a specific carrier and service whenever an order contains the SKU BULKY-001.
⚠️ Important: Once an Automation Rule has run against an order, the changes cannot be undone through Automation.
We recommend creating new Automatic rules as Inactive, then using Dry run to check which orders will match before making the rule Active.
Create the rule
Go to Settings > Automation and click New Rule.
Enter a Title that describes what the rule does.
For example:
Assign bulky goods carrier
Select Automatic as the rule type.
Leave Active turned off while you set up and test the rule.
Set the Trigger
Click Add Condition Group and set:
Product.SKU
Equals
BULKY-001
This will match orders containing the SKU BULKY-001.
Tip: SKU is usually the simplest way to target a specific product because it identifies the product directly rather than relying on its title.
Assign the carrier and service
Click Add Action and select:
Assign Carrier and Service
Select the carrier and service you want to use for BULKY-001.
The options available depend on the carriers and services connected to ReadyToShip.
If Order options are available, tick Override for any options you want the rule to change, then configure the required setting.
Note: Order options that are not overridden will use the defaults configured for the carrier account.
Save and test the rule
Click Save, then use Dry run to check which orders match.
Check that orders containing BULKY-001 are identified correctly.
If the correct orders are returned, set the rule to Active.
ReadyToShip will now automatically assign the selected carrier and service when an imported order contains BULKY-001.
Other ways to use this rule
You can also create product-based rules using Product Title or conditions that match a group of SKUs.
This can be useful when several products require the same carrier or service, or when products containing a particular word in their title need specific shipping settings.
Dangerous Goods
You can also use a product-based rule to automatically configure Dangerous Goods options for particular products.
Create a rule that matches the SKU of a Dangerous Goods product, then use Assign Carrier and Service to select the required carrier and service.
Under Order options, tick Override for each Dangerous Goods option you need to set, then enable or enter the required information.
The Dangerous Goods options available will depend on the carrier and service selected.
⚠️ Important: You must tick Override for each Dangerous Goods option you want the rule to set. Options that are not overridden will use the defaults configured for the carrier account.
Check the priority of your rules
Product-specific shipping rules may need to run before broader carrier and service rules.
If BULKY-001 must always use a particular carrier and service, place this rule above any broader shipping rules that could change the assigned service.
You can also enable Stop after this rule if no further rules should be applied when this rule matches.
See Set the priority of Automation Rules for more information about rule order and Stop after this rule.