DHL eCommerce (US & CA)

ShipEngine’s integration with DHL eCommerce allows you to create domestic labels for shipments within the US and international labels for shipments from the US and Canada.

For international shipments, ShipEngine automatically generates and submits your customs documentation.

If you'd like to open a DHL eCommerce account, contact your DHL representative to request a quote and begin the DHL eCommerce certification process.

Looking for DHL eCommerce Australia?

ShipEngine offers a separate DHL eCommerce integration for Australia-based accounts. Please see our DHL eCommerce (AU) help article for details.

DHL eCommerce Requirements

Connection Requirements:

Contact your DHL account representative if you do not have any of the following information.

  • An active account with DHL eCommerce

  • Client ID

  • Client Secret

  • Sold To Account Number (optional)

  • Pickup Account Number

  • Distribution Center Name

Manifest Requirements:

  • DHL eCommerce requires a printed manifest for each day's shipments. To manifest your shipments, use ShipEngine's End of Day process.

Connect DHL eCommerce to ShipEngine

To connect your DHL eCommerce account to ShipEngine:

  1. Select the DHL eCommerce tile.

    DHL Ecommerce logo. Button that reads, Connect
  2. Fill in your DHL account information on the page that appears.

  3. Click Connect.

Available Features for DHL eCommerce Integration

DHL eCommerce Services & Package Types

The following services are available for US-based and Canada-based DHL eCommerce accounts.

US Domestic Services:

  • DHL SmartMail Parcel Ground

  • DHL SmartMail Parcel Plus Ground

  • DHL SmartMail Parcel Expedited

  • DHL SmartMail Parcel Plus Expedited

  • DHL SmartMail BPM Ground

  • DHL SmartMail BPM Expedited

  • DHL SM Marketing Parcel Expedited

  • DHL SM Marketing Parcel Ground

US Return Services:

  • DHL SmartMail Parcel Return Light

  • DHL SmartMail Return Plus

  • DHL SmartMail Parcel Return Ground

US International Services:

  • DHL Globalmail Packet IPA

  • DHL Globalmail Packet ISAL

  • DHL Globalmail Packet Standard

  • DHL GlobalMail Business IPA

  • DHL Parcel International Priority

  • DHL Parcel International Expedited - DDP

  • DHL Parcel International Expedited - DDU

  • DHL Parcel International Direct - DDP

  • DHL Parcel International Direct - DDU

  • DHL Parcel International Standard

  • DHL Packet International

  • DHL Packet Plus International

Canada International Services:

  • DHL Packet International

  • DHL Packet Plus International

  • DHL Parcel International Standard

  • DHL Parcel International Direct Priority

  • DHL Parcel International Direct Standard

Package Types (US & CA):

  • Package

Confirmation Options (US & CA):

  • Delivery

Additional Features for DHL eCommerce

ShipEngine's integration with DHL eCommerce allows for the following additional features:

Feature

Description

An End-of-Day Driver Summary Manifest is REQUIRED for both Domestic & International Shipments.

DHL eCommerce requires a printed EOD form for their drivers to collect at pickup. See our Create a Manifest documentation for instructions on how to print EOD forms in ShipEngine.

US Int'l Shipments only:

A USPS tracking number associated with a DHL-created label.

DHL eCommerce uses the USPS for the US domestic part of the journey and the local postal service in the destination country to make the final delivery. Use the DHL tracking number to track your package with USPS and through the DHL eCommerce site.

The carrier can be used to create domestic shipping labels.

The carrier can be used to create international shipping labels.

ShipEngine will submit international customs declarations electronically to the carrier.

The carrier can be used to create domestic return labels.

When an API call is made to the Rates endpoint, ShipEngine will return estimated shipping rates for the carrier based on the connected account information and shipment details.

Shipment insurance, provided by the shipment's selected carrier, can be added to the shipment in ShipEngine. This insurance would be in addition to any default coverage already provided by that carrier.

Shipping labels created for this carrier will include a tracking number that can be used to view the shipment status on the carrier's tracking website. Tracking may not be available for all shipping services.

Shipment manifests and End of Day documents are submitted electronically to the carrier by ShipEngine.

Shipment manifests and End of Day documents are generated as PDF files that can be printed along with shipping labels. Because these documents are not electronically submitted, physical copies must be provided to the carrier.

ShipEngine can print your brand logo on shipping labels from carriers that support this feature. Add your logo in the ShipEngine Dashboard.

ShipEngine can include additional information on a shipping label that is specified in the label request, if supported by the carrier.

This carrier can be used to create multi-package shipments, where multiple labels are created for a single shipment and the individual packages are linked together in a single shipment record with a master tracking number.

Notes About the DHL eCommerce Integration

  • DHL eCommerce Domestic will not display rates in ShipEngine unless the Rating API is activated.

  • DHL eCommerce supports 1 label message. You must use the "reference3" field in your label request body.

  • Labels can and will appear differently when they ship to different destinations. Because shipments go to different DHL eCommerce stations to be sorted by destination, their labels will look differently depending on the shipment destination.

  • Shipments generated through our direct DHL eCommerce must be closed out and manifested through ShipEngine. See our Create Manifests page to learn more.

Troubleshooting Tips

Here are some common issues, potential causes, and troubleshooting tips.

Issue

How to Troubleshoot or Resolve

Received a notice that says "Mail on HOLD at DHL Global Mail".

This means you have not electronically transmitted the daily manifest for your DHL shipments. You will need to create a manifest for your DHL labels and download the manifest PDF that is returned.

Please note that when the shipments are manifested, the Ship Date on the Shipments page will update to reflect the date the manifest was submitted.

Error "Failed to retrieve DHL Sort code: Service Type Code provided as input to the request does not match the USPS Product as determined by DHL GM;. Error encountered (Log ID: XXXXX)"

This means that your DHL account does not have that specific USPS service enabled by your DHL account.

To fix this, you'll need to contact your DHL representative to make sure that the service is enabled. If your DHL representative says that the service is correctly enabled, please contact our ShipEngine support team so that we can investigate the issue for you.

Duplicate Tracking Numbers

Tracking numbers created in the seller will always be unique. However, if one DHL eCommerce account (with the same pickup number) is connected to a different ShipEngine account, duplicate tracking numbers can occur.

To prevent this from happening, create a new DHL eCommerce sub-account to generate a new unique pickup number. When you connect your DHL eCommerce account to the secondary ShipEngine account, use the unique pickup number for the new sub-account. If you aren't sure how to do this, contact DHL eCommerce directly to help set up the sub-accounts (or potentially add multiple pickup numbers to one account).

The carrier can be used to create domestic shipping labels.

The carrier can be used to create international shipping labels.

ShipEngine will submit international customs declarations electronically to the carrier.

The carrier can be used to create domestic return labels.

When an API call is made to the Rates endpoint, ShipEngine will return estimated shipping rates for the carrier based on the connected account information and shipment details.

Shipment insurance, provided by the shipment's selected carrier, can be added to the shipment in ShipEngine. This insurance would be in addition to any default coverage already provided by that carrier.

Shipping labels created for this carrier will include a tracking number that can be used to view the shipment status on the carrier's tracking website. Tracking may not be available for all shipping services.

Shipment manifests and End of Day documents are submitted electronically to the carrier by ShipEngine.

Shipment manifests and End of Day documents are generated as PDF files that can be printed along with shipping labels. Because these documents are not electronically submitted, physical copies must be provided to the carrier.

ShipEngine can print your brand logo on shipping labels from carriers that support this feature. Add your logo in the ShipEngine Dashboard.

ShipEngine can include additional information on a shipping label that is specified in the label request, if supported by the carrier.

This carrier can be used to create multi-package shipments, where multiple labels are created for a single shipment and the individual packages are linked together in a single shipment record with a master tracking number.