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Restez à l'écoute pour septembre · Septembre 2026

Logistics

Shipping labels that speak European carrier.

Native DHL, DPD, GLS, Hermes, PostNL, Colissimo. Bulk printing, returns, customs — all from your Shopify admin.

Book a ConsultationSee What's Included

Fixed Price

No hourly billing

4-6 weeks

Planning, build, tests

Code You Own

Source code + handover

01 — The Problem

Why Generic Shipping Apps Are Painful in DACH

Shipping in DACH is fragmented in ways US-built apps don't anticipate. DHL Paket for standard domestic delivery, DPD and GLS for B2B and bulky items, Hermes for the budget tier, Österreichische Post for Austria, Swiss Post for Switzerland. Each has its own API, its own label format, its own customs requirements for cross-border, its own pickup workflow.

Off-the-shelf apps like Easyship and ShipStation were built around UPS and FedEx and treat European carriers as afterthoughts. The result: missing label formats, broken Packstation handling, customs declarations that don't pass for Switzerland, and pickup logistics that don't match how DPD or GLS actually operate. Sendcloud is closer to the DACH market but charges €30-300/month plus per-label fees that compound at scale.

02 — Our Solution

What We Build

A custom shipping label system that integrates directly with the carriers your DACH operation actually uses:

Native carrier integrations: DHL Paket via Geschäftskunden-Portal API, DPD via DPD-Online, GLS ShipIT, Hermes API, PostNL Shipping API, Österreichische Post Versandcenter, Swiss Post API. Each integrated at the API level, not via screen-scraping or generic adapters.

Bulk label generation: Process 200-2,000 orders in a single batch. Print to thermal printers (Zebra, Dymo) or A4 PDF. Configurable rules: weight thresholds switch carriers automatically, value thresholds add insurance, country-specific routing.

Customs documents: CN22 and CN23 generation for non-EU destinations (Switzerland, Norway, UK). HS code lookup integrated with Shopify product metafields. Commercial invoice generation in the customer's language.

Return labels: Same system handles outbound and return labels. Pre-printed return labels included in outbound packages (configurable per category).

Pickup management: Schedule daily pickups with each carrier directly from Shopify admin. No phone calls, no separate carrier portal.

Rate shopping: Real-time rate comparison across configured carriers per shipment. Configurable carrier preference rules (default carrier, fallback for outsized parcels, premium for next-day).

03 — For Your Market

Built for the Real DACH Workflow

Most shipping apps assume one carrier per store. DACH operations don't work that way. A typical 5,000 order/month German store routes:

• 60-70% via DHL Paket (standard B2C)
• 15-20% via DPD or GLS (B2B and bulky)
• 5-10% via Hermes (budget customers)
• 5-10% via international carriers for cross-border

Our system handles this routing logic natively. Per-product rules (this fragile item always ships DPD), per-customer rules (B2B accounts ship GLS), per-destination rules (Switzerland ships PostCH with customs auto-prepared) — all configured once, applied automatically. More on European-specific Shopify operations.

04 — Replaces

Replaces Apps Like

Easyship ($29-499/month + per-label), Sendcloud (€30-300/month + per-label), ShipStation ($10-159/month), Shippo, and DACH-focused tools layered on US frameworks. Stores doing 5,000+ orders/month routinely save €4,800-12,000/year on shipping app fees alone, and report 30-50% time savings on daily fulfillment because the system actually understands their workflow.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Can this connect to our Wawi or ERP system?

Yes. We've integrated shipping label generation with JTL-Wawi, Plentymarkets, Pickware, Xentral, Sage, and several SAP variants. Orders sync from Shopify to your Wawi, labels generate from there, tracking syncs back. We handle the bidirectional flow during build. If you operate a 3PL setup, we integrate with their API directly so labels generate from your fulfillment partner's environment.

What about carrier rate negotiation — do we use your rates or ours?

Yours. We integrate with your existing carrier contracts and use your negotiated rates. Sendcloud and Easyship typically force you onto their pooled rates, which sound competitive but are often 5-15% above what you'd get directly with DHL/DPD at your volume. Custom integration uses your rates, your account numbers, your invoicing — the carrier sees your store as the shipper, not a SaaS aggregator.

How are customs documents handled for Switzerland and UK?

CN22 (low-value parcels) and CN23 (commercial invoices) are generated automatically based on the order details. HS codes are pulled from product metafields you configure once. Commercial invoices generate in the customer's language with all required fields (gross/net values, country of origin, weight, contents description). For UK shipments, we handle EORI numbers and CDS-compliant declarations. Most DACH stores ship to Switzerland regularly and the customs friction was a top reason to migrate off Sendcloud — this fixes it.

Ready to cut your app stack?

A 30-minute call. We walk through your current app stack and identify concretely what can be replaced with a custom build — and what shouldn't.

Book a Consultation

4-6 weeks · Fixed Price · Code You Own