Set up product identifiers for EU shipments

When you ship to customers in an EU country, EU customs and your carrier may ask for product identifiers for each item, so they can identify the goods being imported. For some goods, they may also ask for declaration details. Shippit lets you add these details once, and automatically includes them on every EU order for each carrier you use.

This article covers the product identifiers and declaration details Shippit supports for EU-bound orders, and how to add them. For customs documents and default customs details, see the Understanding international documentation and Default international settings articles.

Product identifiers and declaration details for EU orders

EU customs may ask for two types of details about each item in an EU-bound order, so it can identify what's being imported. Shippit supports both:

• Product identifiers: codes that identify the item. A merchant product ID, a manufacturer part number and a barcode number.

• Declaration details: additional references EU customs may ask for on certain goods. To find out which goods are covered, see the guidance from the EU and check with your customs broker.

The table below lists each product identifier or declaration detail, what it is, where to find it, and whether Shippit needs it to create an EU order.

Before you start

For every product you ship to EU countries, have these ready:

• A SKU.

• A manufacturer part number and, if the product has one, a barcode number. If you don't have these, ask your manufacturer or supplier.

• An EUDR Due Diligence Statement (DDS) reference and an EUDR TARIC document code, if EU customs asks for declaration details for your goods.

• Country of manufacture and Tariff / HS code filled in. For more on these, see the Default international settings and Understanding international duties and taxes articles.

How to add identifiers and declaration details in Shippit

There are a few different ways you can add product identifiers and declaration details to Shippit: through the API, through an integration, in the product catalogue, or on the order screen.

Send the details through the API

Use this method if your orders reach Shippit through the API.

Ask your developer to send these fields for each product when your system creates or updates an order:

• sku: your merchant product ID

• non_standard_manufacturer_pid: the manufacturer part number

• standard_manufacturer_pid: the barcode number

• eudr_dds_reference: the EUDR DDS reference

• eudr_document_code: the EUDR TARIC document code

You can find the full instructions in the Create an order and Update an order articles in the Developer Centre.

Add the details through an integration

Use this method if your orders reach Shippit through an integration, such as Shopify, a warehouse management system (WMS) or an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system.

The table below shows what each integration sends. For any details that aren’t sent, add them in Shippit by following the steps in the Add the details in your product catalogue or Add the details in the order page sections below. 

If you use a platform that isn’t listed, ask the provider to follow the instructions in the Send the details through the API section above. Alternatively, you can follow the steps in Add the details in your product catalogue below to add the details in Shippit yourself.

Add the details in your product catalogue

Use this method if you manage your products in the Shippit product catalogue.

Shippit adds the details to a new order when the SKU on the order matches a product in your catalogue, so you only enter them once for each product.

1. Log in to your Shippit account and go to Settings → Store → Product catalogue. 

2. If you manage more than one store, select the store whose catalogue you want to update.

3. To add a new product, click Add. To update a product that's already in your catalogue, click the three-dot menu at the end of its row, then click Edit.

4. In SKU, enter your own product code, for example TSHIRT-L-001. Make sure it matches the SKU your store sends, because Shippit matches orders to your catalogue by SKU.

5. In Manufacturer part number, enter the code from your manufacturer or supplier.

6. In GTIN / EAN / UPC / ISBN, enter the barcode number. If the product has no barcode, leave this blank.

7. If you're adding declaration details, enter them in EUDR Due Diligence Statement reference and EUDR TARIC document code.

8. Check that Country of manufacture and Tariff / HS code are filled in.

9. Click Create for a new product, or Save changes for an existing one.

To add the details for several products at once, you can import a CSV file. For the steps, and for the other details the catalogue holds, see the Add and manage products in your product catalogue article.

Add the details in the order page

Use this method if you add identifiers to individual orders by hand, or you need to fix a single order. You can edit an order until it's labelled.

1. Log in to your Shippit account and navigate to the New Orders page.

2. Find the order that's going to an EU country and open it.

3. In the Products section, hover over the product to show the edit icon.

4. Click the edit icon to open the Update product details screen.

5. Check that SKU is filled in with your own product code, for example TSHIRT-L-001.

6. In Manufacturer part number, enter the code from your manufacturer or supplier.

7. In GTIN / EAN / UPC / ISBN, enter the barcode number. If the product has no barcode, leave this blank.

8. If you're adding declaration details, enter them in EUDR Due Diligence Statement reference and EUDR TARIC document code.

9. Check that Country of manufacture and Tariff / HS code are filled in.

10. Click Save.

11. Repeat steps 3 to 10 for each product on the order.

Troubleshooting

This section covers common issues with product identifiers for EU shipments. If you can't find an answer here, contact Shippit support.

There's an error with my EU order

There are a few reasons an error might occur. 

Shippit stops an EU order when you create it if it's missing identifiers that carriers require.

To fix an order via API: 

1. Get the order with GET /orders/{tracking_number}

2. Send it back with PUT /orders/{tracking_number} - send sku,non_standard_manufacturer_pid, and standard_manufacturer_pid on each product in product_attributes

3. Request a quote again with POST /api/3/quotes

To fix an order in your Shippit account:

1. Open the order in the Shippit UI.

2. In the Products section, hover over the relevant product to show the edit icon.

3. Click the edit icon to open the Update product details screen.

4. Enter the missing identifiers.

5. Click Save.

Another reason might be that your identifier is longer than what some carriers will accept. Some carriers require 30 characters or fewer for a SKU, and 50 or fewer for a manufacturer part number or barcode number.

I can't see the identifier fields in Update product details

The manufacturer part number, barcode number and declaration fields appear only on orders going to EU countries. Check the delivery country on the order.

My API request returns an invalid_resource error

A value over 70 characters returns HTTP 422 with the error invalid_resource, and Shippit doesn't create or update the order. Check the value is correct and send the request again.

I'm not sure whether my product needs the declaration details

Shippit can’t advise on which requirements apply to your products. Check with your customs broker and see the guidance from the EU.