Pickup & Manifest Workflow

Meet Ana

Ana manages warehouse operations for MegaStore, a large e-commerce retailer in Mexico City. Every day, her warehouse processes 50-100 orders that need to be shipped to customers across Mexico. Instead of making individual trips to carrier branches or scheduling multiple pickups, Ana needs an efficient system to create labels, organize packages, and have carriers collect them all at once. She uses manifests to consolidate shipments and streamline her daily operations.

Business type

Large e-commerce warehouse with high-volume shipping

Challenge

Processing 50+ daily shipments efficiently with organized pickups and proper documentation

Solution

Create labels in batches, consolidate into manifests, and schedule single daily pickups

Why Use Manifests?

For high-volume shippers like Ana, manifests provide several key benefits:

Benefit	Description
Organization	Consolidate all daily shipments into one document
Efficiency	Schedule one pickup instead of multiple trips
Proof of Shipment	Official document showing all packages handed to carrier
Warehouse Management	Easy reference for warehouse staff preparing packages
Claims Support	Documentation for insurance or lost package claims

The Journey

Ana's daily workflow for high-volume shipping:

1. Create Multiple Labels

Create shipping labels for all daily orders

2. Create Manifest

Consolidate all shipments into one manifest document

3. Schedule Daily Pickup

Schedule one pickup for all packages

4. Track All Shipments

Monitor delivery status for all shipments

Step-by-Step Workflow

Step 1: Create Multiple Labels

What Ana needs to do: Throughout the day, Ana's system creates shipping labels for each order. By end of day, she has 50+ labels ready. Each label has a tracking number that she'll need for the manifest.

API Call: Create Shipping Label from the Shipping API

Ana's system creates labels programmatically. Here's an example of creating one label (her system repeats this for each order):

# Example: Creating a label for one order
curl --request POST \
  --url "https://api.envia.com/ship/create/" \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer $ENVIA_TOKEN" \
  --header "Content-Type: application/json" \
  --data '{
    "origin": {
      "name": "Ana Garcia",
      "company": "MegaStore Warehouse",
      "phone": "+52 5551112233",
      "email": "[email protected]",
      "street": "Av. Industrial 500",
      "city": "Ciudad de Mexico",
      "state": "CMX",
      "country": "MX",
      "postalCode": "07800"
    },
    "destination": {
      "name": "Customer Name",
      "phone": "+52 8181234567",
      "street": "Customer Street",
      "city": "Monterrey",
      "state": "NL",
      "country": "MX",
      "postalCode": "64060"
    },
    "packages": [
      {
        "type": "box",
        "content": "Products",
        "amount": 1,
        "declaredValue": 500,
        "weight": 1.2,
        "weightUnit": "KG",
        "lengthUnit": "CM",
        "dimensions": {
          "length": 30,
          "width": 25,
          "height": 15
        }
      }
    ],
    "shipment": {
      "type": 1,
      "carrier": "estafeta",
      "service": "estafeta_terrestre"
    }
  }'

Response example

{
  "meta": "generate",
  "data": [
    {
      "carrier": "estafeta",
      "service": "estafeta_terrestre",
      "shipmentId": 987654,
      "trackingNumber": "EST123456789",
      "trackUrl": "https://tracking.envia.com/EST123456789",
      "label": "https://files.envia.com/labels/EST123456789.pdf",
      "totalPrice": 125.5,
      "currency": "MXN"
    }
  ]
}

⚡
Ana's efficiency tip: Ana's system collects all tracking numbers throughout the day. By end of day, she has a complete list ready to create the manifest.

Step 2: Create Manifest

What Ana needs to do: At the end of the day, Ana consolidates all 50+ shipments into one manifest. This creates a single document listing all packages that will be picked up together.

API Call: Create Manifest from the Shipping API

# Ana creates manifest with all tracking numbers from the day
curl --request POST \
  --url "https://api.envia.com/ship/manifest" \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer $ENVIA_TOKEN" \
  --header "Content-Type: application/json" \
  --data '{
    "trackingNumbers": [
      "EST123456789",
      "EST123456790",
      "EST123456791",
      "EST123456792",
      "EST123456793"
      # ... (50+ tracking numbers)
    ]
  }'

Response example

{
  "meta": "manifest",
  "data": {
    "manifestId": "MAN-2025-001",
    "manifestUrl": "https://files.envia.com/manifests/MAN-2025-001.pdf",
    "totalPackages": 50,
    "carrier": "estafeta"
  }
}

📋
Ana's workflow: The manifest document lists all packages with their tracking numbers. Ana prints this manifest and uses it to:

Organize packages in the warehouse

Verify all packages are ready for pickup

Provide proof of shipment to the carrier

Keep records for claims or audits

Step 3: Schedule Daily Pickup

What Ana needs to do: Ana schedules one pickup for all packages. She includes all tracking numbers in the pickup request, and the carrier will collect everything during the scheduled time window.

📋
Pickup Rules: If Ana is unsure about pickup requirements (cutoff times, business days, etc.), she should check the Pickup Rules documentation for the specific carrier. This ensures she schedules pickups correctly and avoids any issues.

API Call: Schedule Pickup from the Shipping API

curl --request POST \
  --url "https://api.envia.com/ship/pickup/" \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer $ENVIA_TOKEN" \
  --header "Content-Type: application/json" \
  --data '{
    "carrier": "estafeta",
    "pickupAddress": {
      "name": "Ana Garcia",
      "company": "MegaStore Warehouse",
      "phone": "+52 5551112233",
      "email": "[email protected]",
      "street": "Av. Industrial 500",
      "city": "Ciudad de Mexico",
      "state": "CMX",
      "country": "MX",
      "postalCode": "07800"
    },
    "pickupDate": "2025-01-27",
    "pickupTimeStart": "16:00",
    "pickupTimeEnd": "18:00",
    "trackingNumbers": [
      "EST123456789",
      "EST123456790",
      "EST123456791"
      # ... (all 50+ tracking numbers)
    ]
  }'

Response example

{
  "meta": "pickup",
  "data": {
    "carrier": "estafeta",
    "confirmation": "PKP-2025-001",
    "status": "scheduled",
    "date": "2025-01-27",
    "timeFrom": 16,
    "timeTo": 18
  }
}

🚚
Ana's efficiency: Instead of making 50+ individual trips to carrier branches or scheduling multiple pickups, Ana schedules one daily pickup. The carrier arrives during the time window, collects all packages using the manifest, and Ana's warehouse operations run smoothly.

Step 4: Track All Shipments

What Ana needs to do: Ana wants to monitor all shipments and provide updates to customers. She can track multiple shipments in batches.

API Call: Track Shipments from the Shipping API

# Ana tracks shipments in batches (API may have limits on tracking numbers per request)
curl --request GET \
  --url "https://api.envia.com/ship/tracking?trackingNumbers=EST123456789,EST123456790,EST123456791&carrier=estafeta" \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer $ENVIA_TOKEN"

Response example

{
  "meta": "track",
  "data": [
    {
      "trackingNumber": "EST123456789",
      "status": "In transit",
      "carrier": "estafeta",
      "events": [
        {
          "timestamp": "2025-01-27T16:30:00Z",
          "location": "Ciudad de Mexico, MX",
          "description": "Shipment picked up"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Comparison: Individual vs Manifest Workflow

Ana's workflow comparison:

Aspect	Individual Pickups	Manifest Workflow
Number of Pickups	50+ separate pickups	1 daily pickup
Time Spent	Hours coordinating multiple pickups	Minutes scheduling one pickup
Organization	Packages scattered, hard to track	All packages in one manifest
Documentation	Individual receipts for each	One manifest document
Efficiency	Low - multiple trips/coordination	High - streamlined process
Scalability	Doesn't scale well	Scales easily with volume

What Ana Learned

Through managing high-volume shipping, Ana discovered:

Manifests are essential - They organize large volumes of shipments into manageable documents
Batch operations save time - Creating labels programmatically and consolidating into manifests is much more efficient
Single daily pickup is optimal - One scheduled pickup for all packages streamlines warehouse operations
Documentation matters - Manifests serve as proof of shipment and help with claims
The workflow scales - As order volume grows, the manifest workflow continues to work efficiently

Ana's warehouse now processes 100+ orders daily with the same streamlined workflow. Her team is organized, carriers collect packages efficiently, and customers receive their orders on time!

Related Resources

Shipping API Overview - Explore all shipping capabilities
Create Shipping Label Reference - API reference for creating labels
Create Manifest Reference - API reference for creating manifests
Schedule Pickup Reference - API reference for scheduling pickups
Track Shipments Reference - API reference for tracking