A shipping product is the accounting record for a shipping charge on an order. The shipping method sets the price, so the shipping product does not have its own price. Orders & Inventory still needs a shipping product for each shipping charge so revenue posts to the right business unit. This article shows you how to create, find, and manage shipping products, and how to choose the default Orders & Inventory uses when nothing more specific is set.
Prerequisites
- You need administrator access to Orders & Inventory setup.
- At least one business unit must exist before you create a shipping product.
Where to Find It
Go to Orders & Inventory › Setup › Shipping › Products to see every shipping product in your Rhythm account. Select Create Shipping Product, or select a row’s edit or clone icon, to open the product form.
The Settings
The shipping product form keeps only the details Orders & Inventory needs: a name, an identifier, a business unit, and an active or inactive status. You can store notes and custom field values on a shipping product, but this form does not include controls for them.
| Setting | Options | Default | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business Unit | Any business unit in your account | Your current working business unit | Sets which business unit receives the shipping revenue. You choose this when you create or clone a product; after you save an existing product, its business unit is locked |
| Name | Any text | Empty | The name staff see in the product list and anywhere the product is chosen |
| ID | Suggested from the name, editable on create only | Generated from the name, prefixed with your business unit’s identifier | The permanent identifier. You cannot change it after you save the product |
| Status | Active / Inactive | Active | Controls whether the product is available to choose as a zone’s default, a method’s default, or your account’s default shipping product |
When you clone a product, Rhythm copies its name and settings but gives the copy a new identifier.
Choosing the Default Shipping Product
The Manage Shipping Products page shows a banner with your current default shipping product and a (change) link. If no default is set, the banner invites you to configure one. Every shipping charge posts to this default product unless a shipping zone or shipping method names a different one (see Configure Shipping Zones).
- On Manage Shipping Products, select (change), or select Click here to configure one if no default is set.
- Choose a product from Product. Only active products are offered.
- Save.
Result
The banner shows the new default immediately.
Warning
Creating a shipping product is not enough on its own. Until you set it, or another product, as the account's default, order processing can fail when a shipping charge needs a default and none is set.
Dependencies and Precedence
- You cannot delete the default shipping product. Choose a different default first, then delete the product you no longer need.
- Deleting a product a shipping zone or method still names is not blocked the same way. The delete is allowed, so the zone or method keeps pointing to a product that no longer exists. Before you delete a product, check whether any zone or shipping method still refers to it.
- Marking a product inactive keeps it out of every selector. An inactive product cannot be newly chosen as the default, or as a zone’s or method’s override, in Configure Shipping Zones. It remains valid anywhere it is already in use, so existing orders and any zone or method that already named it are unaffected.
- A shipping product only records the charge; it does not start shipping on its own. If shipping is turned off for a bulk product, adding a shipping-related line to its order only adds a charge against a shipping product. It does not create a shipment or move the order into the shipping workflow.
Change Impact and How to Revert
Marking a product Inactive is reversible at any time and does not disturb anything already using the product. Deleting a product cannot be undone from this page.
Permissions
Creating, editing, cloning, and deleting shipping products all require administrator access to Orders & Inventory. Changing the account’s default shipping product also requires administrator access. See Orders & Inventory Staff Access Policies for what each ready-made access level grants.
Validation and Errors
| Message contains | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Form Errors: a value for Business Unit, Name, or ID | A required field is empty | Fill in the field |
| A record already exists with this name | The ID you typed matches an existing shipping product | Choose a different identifier |
| Unable to save Shipping Product | The save failed server validation, or the identifier was already in use | Correct the field named in the message and save again |
| Unable to delete Shipping Product | The product is still your account’s default, or another server-side rule refused the delete | Choose a different default first, or check the message for the reason |
A new shipping product’s identifier is checked against existing products about half a second after you stop typing it. This check only warns you; it does not stop you from submitting a duplicate. The save can still be refused when you submit.