Northbound refers to a shipping process by which Purolator customers located in the United States can ship to any destination that Purolator services. This process operates in the following manner. Each shipment consists of two legs. For the first leg of the shipment, the shipper arranges to have all Northbound shipments consolidated into a single less-than-truckload (LTL) shipment for transit from the pickup point to a Purolator Induction Point. This LTL shipment first clears Customs at the US-Canada border, and then proceeds to the Induction Point. At this Purolator hub, The LTL shipment received from the shipper's pickup point is then split into individual packages for delivery to final destinations via the Purolator system. This final delivery process constitutes the second leg of the shipment.

Notes:

•If you are shipping from an origin in the United States via a Purolator carrier, you need to configure Northbound for the Purolator carrier. Configure Northbound using the Web Admin tool, and then perform a Northbound shipment from any US location using the Warehouse screen. See the Help topic Configuring Purolator Northbound.

•To display the list of induction points on the Warehouse screen, as well as the Purolator Carrier services list for Northbound, do the following. Select the U.S. location for which Purolator Northbound is configured using the Change Location dialog. See the Help topic Using Parcel.

Processing a Northbound Shipment

If the Sender has Induction Points configured for Northbound, Parcel displays a Purolator Induction Point drop-down list on the Warehouse screen (see previous Notes). Select the Induction Point for a shipment from this drop-down list, and then set up, Rate, and Ship the shipment as usual, subject to these considerations, as well as those described in the following sections:

•Currently, Parcel supports Northbound shipping via the Warehouse screen only.

•Currently, US origins are supported.

•It is the shipper's responsibility to arrange transportation for the shipment from the origin to the Purolator Induction Point.

•Purolator Services apply only from the specified Induction Point to the final destination.

Caution: The following options on the Warehouse Options screen are not supported with Northbound (choosing one of the following options causes Parcel to return an error):

•Returns service

•Hazardous Materials shipments

•Chain of Signature (this check box not displayed for Northbound shipments)

•Saturday Pick-up (this check box not displayed for Northbound shipments)

Notes:

•The number in parenthesis ( ) before the Induction Point in the Induction Point drop-down list is the default time in transit specified for the Induction Point when configuring Northbound.

•Parcel generates the Package labels for a Northbound shipment when you click [Ship], and displays these labels in a popup window.

How Northbound Shipments are rated

With Northbound shipments, rating is based on the Induction Point being the origin, so that Induction Point/Destination constitute the Origin-Destination pair for rating purposes. Thus, Parcel rates packages only from the specified Induction Point to the final destination.

Note: The type of LTL "consolidation" referred to for the first leg of the shipment should not be confused with Billing (Rating) Consolidation, which is an entirely separate process not specific to Northbound. For Northbound shipments, Billing (Rating) Consolidation rules apply only to the second leg of the shipment. If multiple shipments are processed through the same Induction Point to the same final destination, they are consolidated for rating/billing purposes provided the other consolidation criteria are met.

Time in transit

Parcel calculates time in transit for a Northbound shipment as follows. For the first leg of the shipment, Parcel uses the estimated value entered in the Time-in-transit field on the Induction Point Setup screen. For the second leg of the shipment, Parcel uses the value returned by the Purolator Service Directory for the time in transit from the Induction Point to the final destination. Parcel then adds these two figures, generates an estimated delivery date based on total time in transit (first leg plus second leg), and then displays the result in the message bar together with the rate for the shipment.

Closing and Uploading Northbound shipments

You must Close Northbound shipments by Induction Point and these shipments must be closed at least once a day.  The Close Manifest screen includes an Induction Point drop-down list that enables you to filter Northbound shipments. The Shipments table on the Close Manifest screen includes an Induction Point column that displays the code for each Induction Point associated with a Northbound shipment. Otherwise, Close a Northbound shipment as you would any other shipment.

Northbound manifests and labels

On the Close Manifest screen, with Northbound configured, you can filter shipments by Induction Point by selecting the Induction Point from the drop-down list and clicking [Search]. The Close Manifest screen automatically consolidates all the shipments going to a single Induction Point, so that you select only one check box for all the shipments to that Induction Point, and then click the [Close/Upload]. When you click [Close/Upload] for a Northbound shipment, Parcel displays the 'Northbound Consolidation' popup dialog box with two fields, such as Label Count and Skid Count.

The "Labels" area enables you to specify the number of skids (pallets) in the Northbound shipment and the number of copies per skid. The total number of labels that Parcel prints on Close equals the product of the values in these two fields. For example, if a Northbound shipment has 5 skids and you specify 4 labels per skid, Parcel prints 20 skid labels.

Notes:

•Individual package labels are printed at ship time (when you click [Ship] on the Warehouse screen). The From address on each package label is the Sender address on the Warehouse screen (by default, the Location address), and the To address is the address of the final destination.

•Skid labels are printed at Close and Upload. The From address on each skid label is the Sender address on the Warehouse screen (by default, the Location address), and the To address is the address of the Purolator Induction Point.

On Close and Upload, you are prompted to enter the number of pallets for the first leg shipment, as well as the number of label copies per pallet. Parcel then generates the specified number of labels for each pallet (the so-called "skid labels") with the Induction Point as the "To" address.

In the "Documents" area, select the documents that you want to print for the Northbound shipment, and then click [OK].

Northbound Reports

Northbound shipments include a separate report specific to this type of shipment.

Northbound Tracking

Northbound processing provides no tracking information through Parcel for the first leg of the shipment. When a Northbound pallet reaches a Purolator Induction Point and is separated into individual packages, the label for each package is scanned as the package passes through the Purolator delivery system. Based on this package label scan, Purolator provides the tracking information for the second leg of the shipment.