Spotlight: DX
DX Despatch Manager integration: book DX from your own system
We connect DX Express to order systems and back offices through DX's Despatch Manager API, so staff book a DX consignment from the order instead of typing it into DX Despatch Manager. The labels come straight back to print and every box has its own tracking number. We have built this in a live order system, where DX runs alongside Parcelforce and APC.
The problem
Typing every order into DX Despatch Manager
DX gives business customers Despatch Manager, its online tool for booking consignments. It works, but it means copying each order across by hand: the delivery name, company, address and phone number, the number of boxes and the service, then printing the labels and copying the tracking number back. With a handful of parcels a day that is a chore; with dozens it is someone's morning, and every mistyped address is a failed delivery.
Why connect it to your own system
DX's Despatch Manager API lets your own system do the booking. The order already holds every detail DX needs, so booking takes one click and nothing is typed twice. DX checks an integration before it goes live, and expects it to follow its rules, such as how addresses are sent and how the system signs in, so it pays to have it built by someone who has been through that.
What it changes
Booked from the order
Staff pick the DX service and the number of boxes on the order and book it in one click. Name, company, address, phone and weight come from the order.
Labels ready for the printer
DX labels come back as a PDF sized for a 4x4 inch thermal label printer, saved against the order to print or download again.
Tracking for every box
Each box in a consignment has its own DX tracking number, stored on the order so anyone can answer a customer.
Cancellations that add up
Cancelling a booking cancels each box with DX and records which were cancelled, so a part-cancelled consignment is never mistaken for a cancelled one.
How it works
What a DX integration connects
What happens between your order system and DX, step by step
Your own DX account
Bookings are made under your own DX business account at your rates. We build the connection; we do not resell delivery.
The DX services you use
The DX services on your account are offered on the order, so staff choose the service just as they would in Despatch Manager.
Addresses DX will accept
Each address is fitted to DX's rules before it is sent, from field lengths to leaving the county off UK addresses, so bookings are not rejected for avoidable reasons.
Thermal labels
Labels are requested in DX's 4x4 inch format and stored with the order as a PDF, ready for a thermal printer.
DX beside your other couriers
DX sits on the same order screen as Parcelforce and APC, so staff choose the courier order by order.
Errors shown, not hidden
If DX rejects a booking, its reason is shown on the order, so staff can correct the detail and book again.
DX integration: common questions
What is DX Despatch Manager?
DX Despatch Manager is DX's online system for business customers to book consignments and print labels. An integration does the same booking from your own system through DX's Despatch Manager API, so nobody has to re-type orders into it.
Do we need a DX business account?
Yes. Consignments are booked under your own DX account at your rates, and DX provides the API access. We build and look after the connection; we do not resell delivery.
Can DX connect to Sage, Shopify or our own order system?
Yes. The DX side is the same wherever your orders live: we read the order, book the consignment, and write the tracking numbers and labels back. A bespoke connection makes most sense when orders live in your own order system, an ERP or Sage, or when you ship with more than one courier.
Can we print DX labels on a thermal printer?
Yes. Labels come back as a PDF sized for 4x4 inch thermal labels. Staff print them from the browser, or download them again later if a label is lost or damaged.
Can we use DX alongside Parcelforce or APC?
Yes. We have built DX, Parcelforce and APC side by side on the same order screen, so staff choose the courier order by order. Other couriers with an API can be added the same way.
How much does a DX integration cost?
It depends on where your orders live and what needs to come back. Booking consignments and returning labels and tracking from one system is a contained job; several couriers, or orders spread across systems, take longer. We will scope it with you on a short call and give you a clear quote.
Ready to stop typing orders into DX Despatch Manager?
Tell us which systems you need to talk to each other, and we'll tell you honestly what it would take.