UPS World Ease® is a contract service that groups several international shipments destined for one country, or for the entire European Union, into a single shipment. The World Ease shipment clears customs as a single unit, which minimizes documentation. Detailed tracking is still provided for every package.
Each World Ease group includes a Doc Box — a small document shipment that contains the invoices for the packages in the group. In StarShip, the Doc Box is the master shipment. Each commercial shipment you process under that Doc Box is a child shipment. StarShip creates and deletes the Doc Box automatically. You do not create it by hand.
A child shipment is added to an existing open Doc Box only when it uses the same UPS account, Importer of Record, UPS service, ship date, and billing type (Prepaid or Collect). After you close a Doc Box, the next matching shipment starts a new Doc Box. You can add shipments to a closed Doc Box if you reopen it first.
Requirements
- Your UPS account must have World Ease enabled as a contract service. Contact your UPS representative if the service is not available.
- UPS REST mode must be enabled in StarShip. If REST mode is off, the UPS World Ease® option is not available.
- World Ease is only available for international shipments.
- Supported services: UPS Worldwide Express, UPS Worldwide Expedited, UPS Worldwide Saver®, UPS Worldwide Express Plus, UPS Standard (international), and UPS Worldwide Express NA1.
- An Importer of Record is required. The importer and recipient must be in the same country, or both must be in the EU customs union. The United Kingdom is not treated as part of the EU for World Ease.
- Billing must be Prepaid (Shipper) or Collect (Recipient/Consignee). Third Party billing is not supported.
- Documents Only is not supported. World Ease shipments cannot be returned and cannot be combined with Consolidation.
- UPS Letter, UPS 10 KG Box®, and UPS 25 KG Box® packaging are not supported.
Note: If you ship both World Ease and other UPS shipments from the same location, we recommend a separate thermal printer for World Ease 4″ x 11″ label stock so you do not have to change stock between shipments.
Setup
World Ease setup is done on the UPS account after UPS REST mode is enabled.
- From Setup > Carrier Interfaces > UPS, select the account and click Edit Account.
- Open the Settings tab. Under Contract Services, check UPS World Ease ®.
- Click IMPORT POE FILE and select the Port of Entry CSV file provided by UPS. Only .csv files are accepted.
- Save the account.
A successful import displays a message such as: Successfully imported 15 Port of Entry records for account 51875X. If the same file is imported again and nothing has changed, StarShip reports that the data is already up to date.
Note: The Port of Entry file is required. Until a valid POE file is imported for the account, World Ease shipments fail at process time with a Port of Entry error. StarShip selects the port automatically from this file; there is no Port of Entry field on the shipment.
Process a World Ease Shipment
In addition to processing the shipment as you normally would in StarShip, complete the following steps.
- Create or open an international UPS shipment and select a supported UPS service.
- Under Shipment Options, check UPS® World Ease.
- On the Transportation Details tab, select the Importer of Record.
- Click Ship/Process.
If the World Ease option is unavailable, hover the option for the reason. Common reasons are that UPS REST mode is not enabled, the account does not support the contract service, the shipment is domestic, or the selected service is not supported.
When you process the first matching shipment, StarShip creates the Doc Box and UPS returns a GCCN (Global Consolidation Clearance Number). Later matching shipments are added to the same open Doc Box and reuse that GCCN. The process result includes a message such as: WorldEase consolidated shipment completed. Tracking: …, GCCN: 12345678910.
View World Ease Shipments
StarShip Web does not have a separate World Ease Manager. You work from the Shipments page and the shipment editor.
On the Shipments page, use the pre-defined query named UPS WorldEase Shipments, then update the WorldEaseType filter for your needs. Values are Child Shipment, DocBox Open, and DocBox Close. The Status column still shows Processed for a booked Doc Box. Open versus closed is shown by WorldEaseType and by Doc Box Status on the option.
Master (Doc Box)
Open the Doc Box to see Doc Box Status ([Open] or [Closed]), Total # of Shipments, Total # of Packages, Total Value, Total Weight, and GCCN.
- VIEW CHILD SHIPMENTS — lists the child shipments in the Doc Box.
- CLOSE OUT DOC BOX — available while the Doc Box is open and not yet posted in End of Day.
- REOPEN DOC BOX — available after closeout and before End of Day posts the shipment.
The recipient of the Doc Box is always the importer, not the package consignee. Child shipments keep their own recipient addresses.
Child shipment
On a child shipment, click VIEW DOC BOX DETAILS to see the Master Shipment ID, Doc Box Status, GCCN, and totals. Click VIEW MASTER SHIPMENT to open the Doc Box.
Close Out the Doc Box
World Ease shipments have two finishing steps. First close out the Doc Box, then post the shipments in End of Day.
You can close the Doc Box from the master shipment in the editor, or by expanding the Doc Box row on the Shipments page.
- Open the Doc Box (master) or expand it on the Shipments page.
- Click CLOSE OUT DOC BOX.
- Confirm Close World Ease Doc Box Shipment. The message includes how many child shipments are in the box.
- Click YES , CLOSE OUT.
A successful closeout displays Doc Box closed out successfully. Doc Box Status changes to [Closed], the closeout label prints, and the button changes to REOPEN DOC BOX. Child shipments can be viewed but not edited or deleted until you reopen the Doc Box.
Note: World Ease Doc Boxes must be closed before End of Day. After End of Day posts the shipment, Close Out and Reopen are no longer shown on the Shipments list.
End of Day
When you post End of Day for a UPS account, StarShip looks for open World Ease Doc Boxes whose ready date is on or before the End of Day date you selected. If any are found, you are prompted to close them before UPS End of Day can proceed.
- CLOSE DOC BOX NOW — closes the open Doc Box (or all open Doc Boxes) and continues End of Day.
- VIEW DOC BOX — opens the Doc Box so you can review it. UPS End of Day is cancelled; other carriers may still post.
- CANCEL — leaves the Doc Boxes open and cancels UPS End of Day.
If closeout fails during this prompt, UPS End of Day is cancelled. Close the Doc Box, then post again.
Reopen, Edit, and Delete
Use REOPEN DOC BOX if you need to add, edit, or void a child after closeout but before End of Day. After you reopen, Doc Box Status returns to [Open] and matching children can be added again. Close the Doc Box again when you are finished.
- The Doc Box (master) cannot be edited. StarShip creates and maintains it.
- Open child shipments can be edited or deleted from the Shipments list. If you delete the last child, the Doc Box is also deleted.
- Closed child shipments and a closed Doc Box cannot be edited or deleted until you reopen the Doc Box.
- Posted World Ease shipments cannot be edited. Use Preview.
- World Ease shipments cannot be returned.
Printing
Child shipments print the normal UPS shipping labels with World Ease information when you process them. If StarShip automatically creates the master (Doc Box) on that process, the master label and information print together with the child shipment.
The Doc Box closeout label prints when you close out the Doc Box (before End of Day). In Printing Profiles this document is named UPS WorldEase CloseOut Label and is available when UPS REST mode is enabled. StarShip prints only that new closeout label at closeout; it does not reprint the original master ship label.
Place copies of the master invoice and the consolidated invoice detail with the Doc Box, following your UPS World Ease operating instructions.
Note: If Paperless Invoice is enabled on your UPS account, the consolidated invoice is transmitted electronically and is not returned after Doc Box closeout. Otherwise, it is typically available through the UPS Billing Center or UPS reporting tools.