Table Rate Shipping Method

Users of Agile Store Locator can implement the table rate shipping method through the “Multi-Store Addons for WooCommerce” plugin.

Through the “Shipping Costs” tab, users can create convenient shipping cost calculating “rules” that will display calculated shipping costs on the cart page or the checkout page.

Moreover, by using the “Shipping Costs” tab, you will be able to create a variety of shipping “rules”, based on distance, base cost, quantity, and priority. For example, let’s say for products that are delivered at a distance between 500 miles and 600 miles, you need to calculate a shipping fee that includes the following parameters:

1. A base cost
2. The cost per quantity
3. The cost per Kg
4. An additional % of the final cost
5. A per-quantity multiplier

By using the table rate shipping method in the “Shipping Costs” tab you will be able to create a shipping “rule” for that factor in all of the above parameters. Moreover, this rule will consistently calculate the shipping cost by accounting for the above parameters. 

The calculated shipping cost will appear on either the cart page or the checkout page for your customers to view. Therefore, the main benefit of creating shipping cost calculating “rules” is that you and your customers will both be fully aware of how much it will cost to ship a product from a particular store.

Distance Vs. Displacement #

Besides distance, the other conditions on which you can base your shipping calculations include:

1. Weight
2. Order Total
3. Displacement
4. Total Quantity

The difference between distance and displacement is the following:

1. Distance – refers to the total distance a shipment has traveled
2. Displacement – refers to the distance between the point of origin and the point of delivery

To avoid shipping rules conflicts, the condition(s) of shipping rules can only be set with either “Distance “ or “Displacement”, not both. 

What is Distance Calculation Travel Mode? #

The shipping rules for distance-based shipping calculation can be set for the following modes of travel:

1. Driving
2. Bicycling
3. Walking

Use the “Distance Calculation Travel Mode” drop-down menu in the “Shipping Costs” tab to select a travel mode.

How to Add Store Distance Rate Shipping to a Shipping Zone? #

Before you can enable Distance-Based Shipping from the Muti Store Addons for WooCommerce, you will first need to add the Store distance rate shipping method to a shipping zone.

To create a new shipping zone and add the Store distance rate shipping method to it, please follow the below steps:

1. Go to “Settings” under the WooCommerce plugin
2. Go to the “Shipping” tab
3. Click on “Add shipping zone”,
   
4. Add the “Zone Name” and “Zone Region/Address”
5. On the “Shipping methods” section, click on “Add shipping method”
   
6. Select “Store distance rate” from the drop-down menu, and make sure it is enabled in the “shipping methods” section
   
7. Click on “Save changes” and your shipping zone with the “Store distance rate” shipping method will be created

How to Use the Table Rate Shipping Feature? #

Table Rate Shipping takes into account several factors to calculate the final shipping cost. The factors that are accounted for in Multi Store Addons for WooCommerce include:

1. Base Cost: This is a starting value or minimum cost that contributes to the overall cost calculation. It represents a baseline cost before additional factors come into play.
2. Cost/Quantity: This factor represents the cost that is applied based on a product quantity. For example, users can use this field to add an extra charge if the quantity of the shipment is higher or lower than the optimum quantity
3. Kg Cost: This field is used to add the cost per kilogram of the shipment to the final shipping cost.
4. % Cost: This field is used to add a certain percentage of the final shipping cost back into the final shipping price. It works just like a VAT tax or “service charge” would work.
5. Multiply Cost/Quantity: This factor indicates that the cost is multiplied by the quantity of the products in the shipment. It suggests that as the quantity increases, the total cost will also increase proportionally. And vice versa.
6. Rule Priority: This factor determines the order in which the rules are applied during the calculation. It allows you to define different rules with specific conditions, and the rule priority ensures that the most appropriate rule is used for the given situation.

To use the “table rate shipping” feature, please follow the below steps:

1. Go to the “Multi-Store Addons for WooCommerce” plugin, and select the “Shipping Cost” tab
2. Enable “Distance-based Shipping” switch
3. Click on “Save Settings”

How to Create a New Shipping Rule? #

1. Click on “New Rule” in the “Shipping Costs” tab to add a new shipping cost rule
2. Fill in the parameters (Condition, Base Cost, Cost/Metric, etc.), for the new shipping cost rule
3. Once done, click on “Save Shipping Rules”
   

The “Store distance rate” shipping cost will be available to your customers when they select a store from either the cart page or the checkout page.

Pre-requisite to Using the Distance Rate Shipping Cost Feature #

To use the “distance rate shipping cost” feature, users will first need to enable the Distance Matrix API.

The below video demonstrates how you can get the Google Maps API Key and Server API Key to add your WP Maps account.

An additional step is to enable the Distance Matrix API which is not included in this video. You will need to enable Distance Matrix API before you can use Table Rate Shipping.

To enable the Distance Matrix API, please follow the below steps:

1. Log into your Google Cloud Console account
2. Click on the navigational menu button
3. Go to “API and Services” and select the “Library” tab
   
4. Search for “Distance Matrix API” and click on it
5. Click on “Enable” on the Distance Matrix API page
   

How to Validate the Distance Matrix API? #

The Distance Matrix API can be validated by clicking on the “Check API Request” button, to see if the API is working fine.

Video Tutorial #

The video below will provide you with a demonstration of how to use the Table Rate Shipping feature.