Shipping Settings
During onboarding, you must define your shipping groups in advance so that you can then create your offers. This is so that your items can be assigned to the appropriate shipping costs, shipping types (e.g. package, forwarding agent), destination countries and transport times.
How do I set up the shipping settings in the Seller Portal?
You can find the shipping settings in the Seller Portal under:
Settings > Shipping settings
How do I create shipping groups?
In the Seller Portal, go to your Shipping settings and select either Package delivery or Hauler delivery.
Please note:
Offers can only be created after at least one shipping group has been added.
Creating a shipping group for individual sales channels
- First, under “Select sales channel”, select the sales channel for which the shipping group should be created.
- You can create a new shipping group by clicking on the “Add shipping group” > “Shipping group for (your sales channel)” button.
Note
In the case of orders with hauler delivery, the customer’s telephone number is automatically requested during the order process. On the Kaufland.cz and Kaufland.sk sales channels, the customer’s telephone number is requested for every order – regardless of the shipping method.
Name of the shipping group
It is important that you assign a unique name to the shipping group. The name must be identical to the name in the offer file in the “shipping group” column of the respective offer or selected if the offer data is managed manually. This is the only way to ensure that the shipping settings saved for the offer take effect and that the correct shipping costs are displayed for your offers. The same applies when listing offers via the Marketplace Seller API.
Time for same-day shipping
Here, you set the time by which orders must be received to ensure that they can be transferred to the selected shipping service provider on the same day.
Region
You can use the regions to specify the countries to which you would like to deliver. The following obligations apply: The shipping group(s) for the Kaufland.de online marketplace must contain Germany. Similarly, Kaufland.cz must contain the Czech Republic and for Kaufland.sk, Slovakia must be included as a region – otherwise it is not possible to save them.
Shipping costs
Set the shipping costs displayed for the first item in an order and additional costs for each additional item within the same order. The shipping costs must be displayed in the national currency of the respective sales channel – for example, for Kaufland.cz in Czech crowns. Please enter 0 in cases where the shipping costs for deliveries are free.
Additional costs
If the customer orders more than one item from you, you can set additional shipping costs for additional items.
Delivery time
The calculation of the delivery time displayed for the offer comprises the processing time (in the offer data) and the transport time (in the shipping settings). Please note that only working days count towards the delivery time (Saturday does not count as a working day). Public holidays are also excluded from the delivery time. For more information on handling national holidays, see the Service Performance section.
Maximum shipping costs
Here, you can cap the cost of shipping and set a maximum amount per order.
Shipping free from
Here, you can set a free shipping limit.
Types of address
Choose between shipping to a specific street address or to a pick-up station, which may differ depending on the sales channel selected.
+Add another region
If you would like to add more shipping regions with different shipping costs, select +Add more regions.
Save your shipping group with “Save shipping group”.
Creating a uniform shipping group
A uniform shipping group is a global shipping group that can be reused for all sales channels.
The advantages of a uniform shipping group:
- Multiple sales channels and shipping regions can be assigned to a shipping group.
- Multiple uniform shipping groups can be created.
- You are free to choose how many sales channels you assign to a shipping group.
- You can define shipping costs, regions and delivery options for all your sales channels in one central location.
Example:
A uniform shipping group for the Kaufland.de marketplace called ‘Versand DE_AT’ includes the delivery regions Germany and Austria. All other delivery regions are not included in this shipping group. This shipping group is automatically created by the system for the Kaufland.at sales channel (if activated) and can be used immediately.
In the Seller Portal, go to your Shipping settings and select either “Package delivery” or “Hauler delivery”. Then select “Add shipping group” > “Uniform shipping group” in the top-right corner.
Which settings differ between “uniform shipping groups” and individual shipping groups for each sales channel?
- Shipping costs: Enter the shipping costs in your preferred currency and the system will automatically convert them into the local currency of the marketplace country.
- Delivery regions: You specify the service provider, the transport time, and the type of address to which you want to deliver. If you have activated “Individual rates” in the upper area under “Calculation type”, you can make additional settings:
- Remove delivery region: You have two options for removing delivery regions.
- When creating or editing in the edit window, you can remove regions as needed by clicking on the trash can icon in the top right corner.
- In the shipping group overview, click on the three dots to the right of “Edit uniform shipping group” and select “Delete shipping group”. Make sure that you are in the same sales channel from which you want to remove the shipping group. Change the sales channel on the left under “Select sales channel”.
Example:
If you remove the Czech Republic delivery region from a uniform shipping group, the shipping group will no longer be available for your Kaufland.cz sales channel. The Czech Republic can then no longer be selected as a delivery country for this shipping group on other sales channels.
- Apply to all sales channels: Once it has been saved, the shipping group is created and available for all selected sales channels with the specified settings. When changing sales channels under “Select sales channel”, the shipping groups for each sales channel are displayed.
- Automatic scalability: If you add a new sales channel to your sales account and the region is already part of a shipping group, this shipping group will automatically be applied to your new sales channel.
Smart Delivery Time Automation
The Smart Delivery Time Automation feature optimises the delivery windows for your offers by analysing your shipping performance to date and providing the optimal delivery time. It takes into account not only late but also early deliveries in order to provide the best combination between reliability and speed.
Your benefits with an optimal delivery window:
- Enhance customer satisfaction: thanks to shorter and more specific delivery times for customers
- Increase your conversion rate: Having fast shipping options makes your products more attractive. Providing faster delivery times may contribute to increased sales for you.
- Optimisation with no extra effort: You don’t need to adjust the delivery windows for your offers one by one any more. This feature also recognises seasonal fluctuations and optimises the delivery times accordingly.
How do I activate Smart Delivery Time Automation?
- You can find the Smart Delivery Time Automation tool in your Seller Portal’s shipping settings in the Delivery times tab.
- Check the box next to “Optimise my transport times automatically” to turn it on. As soon as the feature is activated, the algorithm will analyse the delivery times for your offers within a few minutes and update them as necessary.
- If you experience supply shortages, you can pause automation for seven days at any time by clicking on “Pause Now”. Alternatively, you can fully deactivate the feature by flipping the switch back to grey.
Delivery to a Packstation/Paketshop
The following must be taken into account when shipping to Packstations and/or Paketshops:
- For deliveries to pick-up stations, we support the following shipping service providers:
In Germany: DHL
In the Czech Republic & Slovakia: Packeta
- For Kaufland.cz & Kaufland.sk only: If you request order receipts via the Seller API, please ensure that you check the “Delivery” attribute with the order units.
You can find further information here: API description.
- You have to divide your offers among the shipping groups according to the product dimensions. This process is used to show your customers suitable Packstations/Paketshops/pick-up points, as they only accept limited package sizes.
- You have to activate the settings for shipping to Packstations and/or Paketshops with DHL or pick-up points with Packeta in the shipping groups.
- Deliveries to pick-up stations are currently only supported for customers who have an item in their shopping cart.
There are three different shipping options available to you, depending on the size of the package.
You have the choice between the following package categories:
- Packages that can be delivered to Packeta Z-BOXes and pick-up points or DHL Packstations.
- Packages that can be delivered to Packeta pick-up points and DHL outlets.
- Packages that can only be delivered to a street address.
Example 1:
If you sell products with different sizes (e.g. electronics), you would divide your products like this, for example:
- Shipping group 1 for packages with a size of up to 75 x 60 x 40 cm that can be delivered to DHL Packstations and DHL outlets
- Shipping group 2 for packages with a girth of up to 360 cm (see table below) that can be delivered to DHL outlets
- Shipping group 3 for packages that cannot be delivered to Packstations (only delivery to a street address is possible)
Example 2:
If you sell products of the same or similar size (e.g. mobile phone cases), you would divide your products like this:
- You only need to create one shipping group if you only need one package measurement.
Shipping with DHL
Sellers operating on the German Kaufland.de online marketplace can have their orders delivered to DHL Packstations and outlets. There are two different shipping options available to these sellers, depending on the size of the package. Packages can be sent to a DHL Packstation or a DHL outlet.
The following maximum dimensions and weights apply to package deliveries to DHL Packstations and DHL outlets:
| DHL Packstation | DHL outlet | |
| Size of package | 75 x 60 x 40 cm | Girth* up to 360 cm The longest side must not exceed 200cm |
| Weight of package | 31.5 kg | 31.5 kg |
*The girth is the sum of length, 2 x width and 2 x height of a package ((height + width) x 2 + length = girth dimension).
For more information and restrictions on the delivery of packages to DHL Packstations and DHL outlets, please visit the DHL website:
Shipping with Packeta for Kaufland.cz & Kaufland.sk
Sellers operating on the Kaufland.cz and Kaufland.sk online marketplaces can have their orders delivered by Packeta to pick-up points and Z-BOXes in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
The following maximum dimensions and weights apply to package deliveries to Z-BOXes and pick-up points:
| Z-BOXes and pick-up points | Pick-up points | |
| Size of package | 45 x 36 x 61 cm | Length + width + height ≤ 150 cm The longest side must not exceed 120cm |
| Weight of package | 5 kg | 10 kg |
You then assign the corresponding offers to the appropriate shipping groups based on the package dimensions. You need to allocate your offers according to the package size so that you can offer your customers the correct shipping options.
FAQ
How do I provide my shipping costs?
Your shipping costs can be defined in your shipping settings.
Thereby you create a shipping group that afterwards has to be allocated to your offers.
In case you want to charge the same shipping costs for all of your offers, you can mark the shipping group as default, ensuring that it will automatically be allocated to all of your offers.
What do I have to do to mark an item as being delivered by hauler delivery?
For hauler delivery, please create a separate shipping group in your shipping settings.
By allocating that hauler delivery shipping group to your offers, customers will be asked for their phone number when placing the order.
Which shipping service providers are currently supported on Kaufland Global Marketplace’s automated shipping tracking?
If you include a tracking link and the name of a shipping service provider when you mark a shipment as sent, Kaufland sends this information to your marketplace customers in an e-mail. This system automatically creates a link to track the shipment.
The following shipping service providers are currently supported: List of shipping service providers
My on-time delivery rate is already good. Can I still benefit from Smart Delivery Time Automation?
My on-time delivery rate is already good. Can I still benefit from Smart Delivery Time Automation?
Yes. The feature can still identify areas with optimisation potential, even with an on-time delivery rate, and adjust your shipping settings accordingly. Any future adjustments will be automatically made by the feature. You don’t need to do anything else.
Will my current shipping settings be completely overwritten by the Smart Delivery Time Automation feature?
The feature only adjusts delivery windows where it identifies potential for optimisation. If this does not apply, the original handling and delivery times will not be changed.
Are there consequences if the Smart Delivery Time Automation feature increases my delivery commitment or my late delivery rate?
If you optimise your delivery times automatically with Smart Delivery Time Automation, the corresponding offers will be excluded from the KPI process, so these offers will not be deactivated due to deviating rates.