CPS - Linking to Other Systems

Ship your products easier, faster, with fewer errors and less overhead using CPS connectivity tools. Whether you ship one package at a time or process many packages at once in a batch, CPS can automate the entire shipping process. CPS even has "hands-off", totally automatic shipping!

CPS gives you numerous choices and a variety of "real-time" connectivity options to link to today's ecommerce systems. Whether accessing a company database, processing shopping cart order files or an accounting program on a networked PC, CPS lowers operating costs and increases parcel velocity through your business. You can even combine these features with other features in CPS, like Default/Skip Schemes, and eliminate keystrokes when you are using to your data.

CPS now supports separate first and last name fields making it easier to process data from web site forms and shopping cart systems without additional processing!

Cut'N Ship is very easy to use and it practically sets itself up while you use it. Cut'N Ship comes already set up to process Google Checkout™ Buy Now buttons and HTML API orders using the Google Checkout merchant order information page. Cut'N Ship adapts to varying address formats, and works with multiple online merchant account sources simultaneously.

After the "Ship To" information is extracted by Cut'N Ship, it is automatically entered into CPS for optimized shipping. CPS automatically uses the right carrier and rate, the address is corrected, any special services can be selected, and the shipping label is printed. CPS then records the tracking number, which can be automatically put back in the tracking field in your online merchant application. A few clicks and you are done. For any package and any carrier. It couldn't be any easier!

	Extract "Ship To" information from the online system
	Clean up and correct address information
	Add weight, extra services and dimensions
	Choose the best way to ship - manually or automatically
	Print required labels and documents
	Return tracking information to the online system
	Stores shipping information for future tracking and reference
	Use order numbers for reference tracking
	Send several different types of shipment notifications

Cut'N Ship is one of the easiest ways to link CPS to an order entry system. If you can highlight the text, copy it to the clipboard and past it to Notepad, you can use Cut'N Ship, regardless of all the unnecessary data you collect. Cut'N Ship is a very powerful tool and is included in all versions of CPS.

Batch Importing and Exporting is one of the oldest and most popular ways of sending data to CPS. If you can create a file in a CPS supported file format, your data can be uploaded:

If the data you import to CPS is placed in the daily entry data base and you include all the shipping information (like the weight and method of shipping) CPS can automatically process the data and print out all the required labels without any extra steps in-between. CPS supports auto-processing of separate first and last name fields.

Hundreds of thousands of parcels are processed through CPS in just this fashion every day. In addition, all the data stored in CPS can be exported with pricing and shipping information just as easily as it can be imported for processing. This type of importing and exporting is available in all CPS packages.

Special Note: Importing using this method works with International parcels provided any necessary Commercial Invoice information is also included. This may require special programming not included with CPS. Call us at 800-231-0296 or e-mail us today if you want to know more about including commercial invoice information.

Background Importing and Exporting allows data transfers to and from an external data source while continuing to process parcels. The actual importing and exporting of data is so fast it is invisible to the shipping system operator. Background Importing and Exporting is very versatile and extremely stable. It works in a multitude of environments and is easy to set up.

If you are interested in Background Importing and Exporting you should contact one of our shipping software specialists. They will be glad to give you the necessary requirements to make this method work for you.

CPS can also send and retrieve shipping data using ODBC, Open Data Base Connectivity. Just enter the order or consignee ID number and CPS collects the appropriate external data in "real time" from your in-house systems. CPS can even look in two tables to find all the data! Once the parcel is processed, CPS can also send the shipping information back to an accounting program, or any other program you choose. The external data can be located on just about any type of system, from mainframes to client server systems to stand-alone databases on your shipping computer. All that is needed is a Level 2 compliant ODBC driver and Windows 2000 or greater and your system is ready for streamlined shipping! Support for ODBC is included with every CPS package.

Setup for ODBC is easy using the CPS External Link Setup Utility. You just choose your data table and match your data fields to CPS through an easy to use graphical interface. Once this is set up, it never needs to be changed and data entry for your shipping department becomes a snap.

ODBC is one of the better ways to link your in-house data to CPS. The use of ODBC helps to lower system maintenance and upgrade costs as your software systems change over time. To learn more about why you should consider ODBC, read the article from DataDirect Technologies² web site entitled "PRODUCT OVERVIEW - Why developers should use ODBC instead of native proprietary database interfaces" (PDF) .

"The Automator" imports parcel data, processes the parcel data automatically, prints the required labels and documentation, then exports data about the shipment without any human intervention. Talk about totally "hands-free" shipping! If you have a situation where all you want the system to do is print labels at maximum speed, this is it. This works especially well in areas where security or user errors are of the utmost concern.

If you are interested in "The Automator", please contact one of our shipping software specialists. They will be glad to give you the necessary requirements to make this method work for you. Support for this option is available for CPS Platinum users.

Now supports International parcels and commercial invoice items. CPS also supports auto-processing of separate first and last name fields.

To make life easier, many companies find the power of CPS a great addition to their existing products. Some of the interfaces have been created in cooperation and partnership with other companies and are purchased directly from Harvey Software and/or Harvey Software Business Partners. Current Harvey Software directly sold solutions include:

CPS to M.O.M. Interface
International Consolidation Module for UPS World Ease_SM

Due to the complexity of many other specialized applications, Harvey Software is also partnered with an external group of software companies that install, set up and support CPS interfaced to their business software and hardware solutions. These companies supply all that is necessary to have a seamless solution from consulting to the final solution. Their scope is much larger than that of just the shipping component as they often offer entire turnkey business solutions. They are known as Harvey Software Business Partners. When used, Harvey Software Business Partners become the first line of support but are backed by Harvey Software's Technical Support staff whenever needed. To learn more about Harvey Software Business Partners click here.

¹ Stored procedures are small stand-alone programs or routines written (usually) in SQL (Standard Query Language) and stored in a database for easy retrieval by other programs or procedures. A stored procedure contains a set of operations or queries to execute on a database server. Stored procedures should only be used if your database query is more complicated than a one or two table look-up. The stored procedure does require programming and maintenance on your part.

² The article entitled "PRODUCT OVERVIEW - Why developers should use ODBC instead of native proprietary database interfaces" is a the property of DataDirect Technologies (http://www.datadirect-technologies.com). © 2002 DataDirect Technologies, Inc. All rights reserved. DataDirect Connect is a registered trademark of DataDirect Technologies. Harvey Software is using this article by permission. This article is provided for information only. Harvey Software does not endorse the content or accuracy of this article and/or claim that any of DataDirect Technologies products will work with your data bases and/or CPS. DataDirect Technologies offers a Wire Protocol ODBC driver for every major database - Oracle, DB2, SQL Server, Sybase and Informix. (http://www.datadirect-technologies.com/products/odbc/odbcindex.asp) The successful use of DataDirect Technologies products with CPS will be your responsibility.

Google Checkout™ is a trademark of Google. All rights reserved. Use of the Google Checkout trademark does not mean or imply there is a relationship or affiliation with, sponsorship, or endorsement by Google of Harvey Software or its products. Harvey Software, Inc and Google are separate companies. The use of Google's trademarks are for instructive purposes only. Google Checkout helps you attract new customers, convert more sales and lower transaction processing costs. Google Checkout™ is a checkout process that you provide on your website to enable your customers to buy from you quickly and securely, using a single username and password. And once they make a purchase, you can use Checkout to charge their credit cards, process their orders, and receive payment in your bank account.