Client Pre-Onboarding And Onboarding Proposal

This document reviews the current ParcelPilot onboarding flow and proposes a better tenant-owner-led onboarding structure for adding clients.

Audience:

• tenant owners
• 3PL onboarding managers
• implementation and support staff

Important operating principle:

The client should provide the commercial and operational facts about their business, catalogue, order flow, service promises, and compliance requirements.

The tenant owner should decide:

• which carrier accounts are used
• which carrier services are allowed
• which packing boxes are available
• which routing rules should be configured
• which workflow policies should be enabled
• which billing/tariff model should be applied
• which tenant-level operational settings should be used

The goal of this document is to make that distinction explicit and give the tenant owner a structured pre-onboarding pack they can complete before creating the client in ParcelPilot.

Summary Of The Current Onboarding Flow

ParcelPilot currently has three main onboarding entry points:

1. Initial setup wizard
2. Main onboarding dashboard
3. New client wizard

The current practical flow is:

1. Create the tenant, first warehouse, first location, and first client through the initial setup wizard.
2. Use the onboarding dashboard to complete tenant setup tasks such as users, carrier integrations, and billing.
3. Use the onboarding dashboard or new client wizard to create later clients.
4. Open the client record and add branding, shipping rules, and pricing/tariffs.
5. Open client integrations and connect Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, BigCommerce, Amazon, TikTok, eBay, Mirakl, NOTHS, or other supported channels.
6. Configure order workflow policy, order number formatting, tax handling, stock sync direction, shipment-confirmation pushback, and any platform-specific compatibility settings.
7. Create or import items.
8. Load inventory through inventory units or integration-driven inventory actions.
9. Configure client shipping routing rules using destination, shipping title, item count, weight, shipping price, order total, channel, currency, and store ID conditions.
10. Optionally configure client pricing/tariffs if the tenant has Charge clients enabled.
11. Run a first shipment test.

In the current product, the onboarding checklist is useful as a progress dashboard, but it does not collect enough of the real operational discovery data needed to quote the client accurately or configure them smoothly.

Current Gaps And Friction Points

Discovery happens outside the system and is not structured

The current onboarding tools mostly help users create records. They do not provide a strong pre-onboarding structure for gathering:

• expected monthly order volume
• storage profile
• shipping method titles from the store
• returns and customs rules
• bundle and kit behaviour
• stock-sync expectations
• packaging and insert requirements
• tax/VAT assumptions

That means quoting, operational-fit assessment, and later configuration are often done from ad hoc emails or calls.

The first client can be created before the operational model is clear

The wizards capture core identity and address details, but they do not force the tenant owner to decide or document:

• whether the client is operationally suitable
• how items should be structured
• how orders should be imported and treated
• how shipping titles should map to carrier/service logic
• how billing should work when Charge clients is enabled

Routing-rule setup depends on information the client rarely provides in the right format

Shipping routing rules can use:

• shipping title
• destination country/postcode prefix
• excluded destination postcode prefix
• item count
• weight
• shipping price
• order total
• channel
• currency
• store ID

The critical issue is that many clients talk in promises such as "next day" or "tracked" while ParcelPilot needs the exact shipping titles coming from the store and enough commercial context for the tenant owner to turn those titles into routing rules.

Carrier and packaging decisions are mixed with client setup timing

Carrier integrations, service restrictions, split limits, and packing boxes are tenant-owner decisions, but the current process does not clearly separate:

• facts the client must provide
• decisions the 3PL must make internally

That creates avoidable back-and-forth and encourages clients to propose solutions in ParcelPilot terms instead of simply describing their requirements.

Pricing and quoting inputs are not gathered early enough

Client pricing/tariffs and service mappings are powerful, but the current onboarding flow does not gather a complete commercial input pack up front for:

• receiving profile
• storage profile
• pick/pack complexity
• shipping charging model
• inserts and special handling
• returns workload

Item and stock onboarding are still operationally fragmented

Items, inventory units, bundle logic, serialisation, dimensions, customs data, and stock-sync settings all exist, but the current onboarding flow does not package them into one clear catalogue-and-stock readiness step.

Integration readiness is under-specified

Platform help explains how to connect integrations, but the current onboarding flow does not strongly capture:

• which store is authoritative for orders
• whether ParcelPilot or ecommerce is stock master
• whether tracking pushback is expected
• which order states should be operational versus accounting-only
• whether location permissions, OAuth, or bundle stock sync require special handling

Proposed Improved Onboarding Structure

The improved model should split onboarding into six phases.

Phase 0: Pre-Qualification And Quote Discovery

Purpose:

• decide whether the client is a good fit
• collect quoting inputs before records are created
• identify setup complexity early

Outputs:

• pre-onboarding questionnaire completed
• fit/risk summary
• provisional quote inputs
• implementation scope

Phase 1: Commercial And Account Setup

Purpose:

• create the client record only after the commercial and operational basics are understood

Outputs:

• client record
• contact details
• billing and delivery defaults
• owner-approved onboarding notes

Phase 2: Catalogue And Inventory Readiness

Purpose:

• define the SKU model, bundle rules, serialisation, barcode expectations, dimensions, and inbound stock assumptions

Outputs:

• SKU/import approach agreed
• item data requirements agreed
• stock-loading approach agreed

Phase 3: Integration And Workflow Setup

Purpose:

• configure ecommerce integrations and workflow behavior using the facts gathered in discovery

Outputs:

• platform credentials or OAuth path confirmed
• order workflow policy decided
• stock sync direction decided
• tracking pushback decision made

Phase 4: Shipping And Operational Routing Design

Purpose:

• translate customer-facing store promises into tenant-owned routing rules and operational policies

Outputs:

• exact store shipping titles captured
• routing logic drafted
• carrier/service choices made by tenant owner
• packaging presets and defaults decided

Phase 5: Billing, Validation, And Go-Live

Purpose:

• configure tariffs where needed, validate the first shipment, and confirm operational readiness

Outputs:

• tariffs configured if Charge clients is enabled
• service mappings reviewed where needed
• first shipment test completed
• go-live checklist signed off

Draft Pre-Onboarding Questionnaire For Tenant Owners

Use this before creating the client in ParcelPilot.

The tenant owner should complete it with the client. The client provides business facts; the tenant owner translates them into ParcelPilot setup decisions.

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Section 1: Client Identity And Contacts

Client-supplied:

• Legal company name
• Trading name / brand name
• Registered address
• Main operational contact name, email, and phone
• Finance / billing contact name, email, and phone
• Returns contact name, email, and phone
• Website URL
• VAT number and company registration number if relevant

Tenant-owner notes:

• Internal client code to use in ParcelPilot
• Whether this client is new business, migration, or expansion
• Proposed go-live date

Section 2: Commercial Fit And Quote Inputs

Client-supplied:

• Expected monthly order volume
• Expected peak daily order volume
• Number of active SKUs
• Number of incoming stock receipts per month
• Typical inbound profile: pallets, cartons, units
• Typical storage footprint: pallets, shelves, bins, cartons
• Typical order composition: average lines per order, average units per order
• Expected destinations by country/region
• Special handling needs that affect labour time
• Returns volume estimate

Tenant-owner notes:

• Is the client commercially viable under the current warehouse model?
• Is the product mix operationally suitable?
• Which quote assumptions must be stated explicitly?
• Which items are likely to require bespoke pricing?

Section 3: Sales Channels And Store Details

Client-supplied:

• Which sales channels are in scope at go-live
• Which one is the primary operational channel
• Shopify store domain and myshopify.com domain if Shopify is used
• Platform admin contact or technical contact
• Whether orders come from one store, multiple stores, or marketplaces
• Example order numbers
• Any order prefixes/suffixes already used by the channel
• Whether completed/cancelled orders need to remain visible for support or accounting

Tenant-owner notes:

• Which integrations will actually be connected in ParcelPilot
• Which channels should be delayed until phase two
• Whether multiple client integrations are needed per client

Section 4: Order Import And Workflow Behaviour

Client-supplied:

• Which order states should become operational warehouse work
• Whether unpaid/on-hold orders should be visible before release
• Whether completed orders need to be kept for finance or history
• Whether cancelled orders need to be kept for audit/support
• Whether ParcelPilot should push shipment tracking back to the store
• Whether the client expects stock updates to be sent back to the store

Tenant-owner notes:

• Shared order workflow policy preset to start from
• Any lifecycle or retention exceptions
• Whether ParcelPilot or ecommerce will be stock master
• Whether virtual bundle parent stock sync should ever be considered

Section 5: Product Catalogue And SKU Structure

Client-supplied:

• SKU format rules
• Barcode rules
• Whether SKUs are stable across channels
• Whether the same physical product appears in multiple stores/channels
• Whether products are simple, bundled, kitted, configurable, or mixed
• Whether serial tracking is required
• Whether batch or expiry tracking is required
• Product dimensions and weights availability
• Commodity codes and country of origin availability for international shipping
• Whether product images are needed in ParcelPilot

Tenant-owner notes:

• Whether SKU cleanup is required before import
• Whether bundles need separate onboarding review
• Whether manual item creation, pull products, or a staged hybrid approach is best
• Whether Product Identity complexity is high enough to need special mapping review

Section 6: Stock Ownership, Inbound, And Inventory Expectations

Client-supplied:

• Who owns the stock
• Whether stock is exclusive to one client or co-located in the same warehouse
• Opening stock quantity method and source
• Whether stock will be loaded manually, from a file, or via a platform sync
• Whether inbound bookings, ASN-style data, or receiving references exist
• Reorder or stock-threshold expectations

Tenant-owner notes:

• Initial stock-loading method
• Whether inventory should ever be pulled from ecommerce into ParcelPilot
• Whether opening stock should be loaded through inventory units or a more controlled inbound path

Section 7: Shipping Promises And Routing Inputs

Client-supplied:

• Exact shipping method titles as they appear on orders
• Delivery promises offered to customers for each shipping title
• Countries and regions served
• Any postcode exclusions or exceptions
• Typical parcel weights and sizes if known
• Whether there are oversized, hazardous, fragile, chilled, or age-restricted items
• Which orders need signature, tracking, insurance, or customs paperwork
• Whether customers pay different shipping prices that matter operationally

Tenant-owner notes:

• Which carrier integrations are eligible for this client
• Which services are allowed
• Whether routing needs country, postcode, shipping-title, value, or weight logic
• Whether any routing rules need package-format defaults or dimensions
• Whether split limits or service restrictions are required on the carrier integration

Important:

Ask the client for the exact store-facing shipping titles and service promises. Do not ask the client to choose ParcelPilot carrier accounts, service codes, or internal routing rules.

Section 8: Packaging, Branding, And Fulfilment Requirements

Client-supplied:

• Plain-pack versus branded-pack requirements
• Required inserts, leaflets, gifts, or flyers
• Any client-owned packaging components
• Cartonisation constraints or presentation rules
• Labeling or relabelling requirements
• Dangerous goods declaration requirements
• Any packing instructions by SKU or order type

Tenant-owner notes:

• Which packing boxes should be assigned or made generic
• Whether generic packing boxes should be allowed for the client
• Whether additional services or bespoke tariffs are likely
• Whether packaging requirements justify warehouse process changes

Section 9: Returns, Compliance, And International Requirements

Client-supplied:

• Returns address and process
• Whether returned goods can be restocked automatically or require inspection
• Customs invoice and commodity-data requirements
• Countries requiring special documentation
• Any compliance requirements for cosmetics, food, supplements, batteries, or other regulated goods

Tenant-owner notes:

• Whether current ParcelPilot returns flow is sufficient
• Whether customs data is complete enough for shipping go-live
• Whether compliance creates operational-fit concerns

Section 10: Billing And Tariff Readiness

Client-supplied:

• Contracted charging model if already agreed
• Whether carriage is billed through the 3PL, through the client, or mixed
• Any agreed setup fee, storage fee, pick/pack fee, insertion fee, relabelling fee, or returns fee
• Any non-mainland or international surcharge expectations

Tenant-owner notes:

• Whether the tenant has Charge clients enabled
• Which pick/pack pricing model should be used
• Which tariff codes and service mappings will be required
• Which charge categories are in scope from day one versus later

Section 11: Launch Readiness And Test Data

Client-supplied:

• One or more example SKUs
• One or more example orders
• Example shipping titles
• Example bundle/kit if relevant
• Sample customs data if international
• Preferred pilot go-live date

Tenant-owner notes:

• Test order plan
• First shipment validation plan
• Rollback/contact plan if integration issues occur

Which Fields Are Client-Supplied Vs Tenant-Owner-Decided

Mostly Client-Supplied Facts

• company and contact details
• store domains and channel details
• example order numbers
• exact shipping titles shown to customers
• tax/VAT facts and whether prices include tax
• SKU, barcode, bundle, and product-data facts
• stock ownership and inbound facts
• packaging and insert requirements
• returns and customs requirements
• demand, volume, and storage profile

Tenant-Owner Decisions

• internal client code
• whether the client is operationally suitable
• which carrier integrations are assigned to the client
• which service codes are allowed
• split limits per carrier/client
• whether generic packing boxes are allowed
• which packing boxes are created or assigned
• which routing rules are configured
• which workflow preset is used
• whether tracking pushback is enabled
• whether stock sync is enabled
• which side is stock master
• whether virtual bundle parent stock sync is enabled
• how tariffs and service mappings are configured

Shared Review Items

• launch timeline
• data quality readiness
• pricing assumptions
• returns workflow
• international constraints
• bundle complexity

Which Parts Could Later Become An In-App Wizard

The best wizard candidates are the data-collection steps that are stable, repeatable, and structured.

Strong wizard candidates

1. Client discovery summary
2. Sales channels and integration prerequisites
3. Catalogue and SKU readiness
4. Shipping-title capture and delivery promises
5. Billing/quote assumptions
6. Go-live checklist and evidence capture

Better kept as owner-only operational configuration

1. Carrier account assignment
2. Allowed service-code decisions
3. Carrier split limits
4. Packing-box assignment and generic-box policy
5. Detailed routing-rule construction
6. Service mappings and tariff coding

These should stay owner-led because they are internal operating-model choices, not client choices.

Data That Could Be Reused For Quoting

The same pre-onboarding document can feed quoting if it captures:

• monthly orders
• peak daily orders
• average lines and units per order
• inbound receipts per month
• pallet/carton/unit storage footprint
• number of active SKUs
• serial/batch/expiry complexity
• bundle/kitting complexity
• packaging/inserts/rework requirements
• returns volume
• customs/international handling requirements
• non-mainland or special-destination profile
• whether carriage is billed through the 3PL or not

Reusable quote outputs could include:

• recommended charging model
• required tariff categories
• likely additional services
• implementation complexity score
• operational-fit risk notes

Quick Wins Without Rebuilding The Whole Onboarding System

1. Add this pre-onboarding document to the onboarding/help flow and use it before creating a client.
2. Add a simple internal onboarding notes field or checklist attachment reference on the client record.
3. Expand the existing onboarding guide to link directly to client integrations, shipping rules, pricing/tariffs, items, and inventory help.
4. Add a short structured checklist on the client create/edit screen for missing setup inputs such as shipping titles, SKU sample, and stock-sync decision.
5. Add a tenant-owner template for collecting exact store shipping titles and example orders.
6. Add a lightweight quote-input summary table that mirrors the questionnaire fields.
7. Improve the current shipping-rules help so it explicitly tells teams to collect exact storefront shipping titles before configuration.
8. Improve the client-create help so it states that client creation should follow discovery, not start discovery.

Larger Future Improvements

1. Build a dedicated pre-onboarding record linked to the client, with sections for commercial, catalogue, integration, routing, billing, and go-live readiness.
2. Add an owner-only client onboarding wizard that starts with discovery facts before allowing full configuration.
3. Generate a quote summary automatically from the discovery record.
4. Add readiness scoring such as data readiness, integration readiness, shipping readiness, and billing readiness.
5. Add structured shipping-title capture that can seed routing-rule drafts.
6. Add a catalogue-readiness tool that checks SKU uniqueness, barcode presence, dimensions, weights, customs data, and bundle flags before item import.
7. Add an integration-readiness tool that checks OAuth/credentials, stock-master choice, tracking pushback choice, and workflow preset before enabling a channel.
8. Add a first-shipment validation workflow that records test orders, expected routing, label outcome, tracking pushback, and stock behavior.

Recommended Operating Model

For now, the best process is:

1. complete the pre-onboarding questionnaire first
2. decide fit, quote assumptions, and implementation scope
3. create the client in ParcelPilot only after discovery is complete enough
4. configure integrations, items, inventory, routing, and tariffs from the collected facts
5. run a first-shipment validation before full go-live

This keeps the client responsible for business facts and keeps ParcelPilot configuration decisions with the tenant owner, where they belong.