Zones setup

After creating the SHIP_METHOD general lookup/validation table and defining your shipping methods, you can set up your shipping zone tables. Zone tables are based upon shipping method, country (if applicable), and zip or postal codes. You can set up zone tables both for multiple shipping methods and for countries that use these shipping methods.

To define a default zone table for a shipping method, do not designate a country for a shipping method when setting up shipping zones. Orders that do not list a country will use the default zone table for a given shipping method.

Shipping zones are defined according to postal code. Depending on your organization's needs, you can define single postal codes as shipping zones or divide groups of postal codes into shipping zones.

Shipping zones use the first three characters of a postal code, and the table format for defining zones is XXX,Z where XXX represents the first three characters of a postal code, and Z represents the zone designation defined by the user. You also can enter a postal code in the format XXX-XXX,Z where XXX represents the first three characters of the beginning postal code, XXX represents the first three characters of the ending postal code, and Z represents the zone designation. These zone designations are used when setting up weight tables on the Freight by Weight window.

For example, if you define a shipping zone for a single postal code, such as 75208, you would enter 752 followed by a comma. You then would enter either a numeric or alphabetic value for the zone designation, such as a 1. The shipping zone would display as 752,1. A shipping zone defined for a group of postal codes could be entered as 900-999,2.

As long as you follow the correct table format, you can define as many zone codes as necessary. You must define shipping zone tables before defining freight tables. Zone tables are defined on the Zones window.

More:
Set up shipping zones window
Verifying shipping zones for orders