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How-to

Total Quality Logistics (TQL) LTL Freight

Total Quality Logistics (TQL) is a freight broker that quotes less-than-truckload (LTL) shipments across many carriers at once. When you connect your TQL account, UltraCart asks TQL for a quote during checkout and shows your customer a single TQL: LTL shipping method priced at the lowest rate TQL returns.

Before you start​

You need a TQL account with API access. The TQL API uses five credentials, and UltraCart needs all of them:

  • Subscription Key: your TQL API subscription key.
  • Client ID and Client Secret: the API client credentials TQL issues to you.
  • TRAX Username and TRAX Password: the login you use for TQL's TRAX portal.

Your freight items also need freight classes and pallet packages. If you have not set those up yet, the Gold Coast freight tutorial walks through packages and item freight settings, and the same setup applies to TQL.

Enable TQL as a shipping carrier​

Turning on the TQL carrier adds a TQL tab to your shipping configuration, where you enter your credentials.

  1. Go to Main Menu > Configuration > Checkout > Shipping.
  2. On the Carriers tab, select the TQL checkbox.
  3. Select TQL in the Shipping Config menu on the left.
  4. Enter your Subscription Key, Client ID, Client Secret, TRAX Username, and TRAX Password.
  5. Leave Use Staging Environment cleared. Select it only while TQL has you testing against their staging system, because staging rates are not real prices.
  6. Click Save.

Add the TQL: LTL shipping method​

The TQL: LTL method is what your customers see at checkout. It appears in the method list only after the TQL carrier is enabled.

  1. Go to Main Menu > Configuration > Checkout > Shipping > Methods.
  2. Click New Method.
  3. Choose A single built-in shipping method, select TQL: LTL, and click Continue.
  4. If your customers may need a lift gate at delivery, select Lift Gate Option on the method.
  5. Save the method.

For the rest of the method settings, such as markups and restrictions, see Shipping Methods.

How UltraCart prices a TQL shipment​

UltraCart sends TQL one quote request per order and uses the cheapest price in the response. TQL can return several carriers and service levels (Standard, Guaranteed, and Volume), and your customer sees only the lowest one, as TQL: LTL.

The request is built from your packing solution:

  • Handling units: each pallet or box in the packing solution becomes one handling unit. Pallet packages are sent as pallets, crate packages as crates, and everything else as boxes.
  • Freight class: each handling unit uses the highest freight class of the items packed on it. A unit with no freight class set is sent as class 55. Classes 77 and 92 are sent as 77.5 and 92.5.
  • Residential delivery: when the shipping address is residential, UltraCart tells TQL the delivery is to a residence, so the quote includes that charge.
  • Lift gate: when the method has Lift Gate Option selected and the customer asks for a lift gate, UltraCart requests a delivery lift gate, so the quote includes that charge.

UltraCart stores the TQL quote ID on the order, so you can find the quote in TRAX when you book the shipment.

note

UltraCart rates TQL shipments only. Booking the shipment with a carrier and tracking it happen in TQL's TRAX portal.

TQL quotes shipments within and between the United States, Canada, and Mexico. For any other origin or destination, the TQL: LTL method is not offered.

When TQL rates do not appear​

If TQL: LTL is missing at checkout, open the packing solution for the order and look for the TQL entry in the No Estimates for Shipping Methods section. The message there tells you what went wrong:

  • TQL credentials are not configured: one of the five credential fields on the TQL tab is empty.
  • TQL is reporting a 401 Unauthorized or 403 forbidden: TQL rejected the credentials. Check each value against what TQL issued, and confirm your TRAX password has not changed.
  • TQL is reporting a bad request: TQL could not quote the shipment as sent. The text after the message comes from TQL and usually names the field it rejected, such as a missing dimension or an invalid postal code.
  • TQL only ships between the United States, Canada, and Mexico: the origin or destination is outside those countries.

For how to open the packing solution and read the other messages, see Troubleshooting Shipping.

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