When it comes to shipping in B2B eCommerce, one-size-(does-not)-fit-all. Whether you're shipping products from multiple warehouses, handling a mix of small parcel and freight, or applying unique business rules by customer type, programmable shipping gives manufacturers, distributors, and wholesalers the flexibility they need—without gumming up the entire checkout experience.

What is Programmable Shipping?

At its core, programmable shipping is a logic engine that works alongside existing shipping modules to further filter and generate shipping choices based on dynamic user inputs. So for example, most eCommerce platforms allow you to plug in providers like UPS or FedEx and get live rates. That’s a great start, but it falls short when your business needs to do more than just display every rate available. For many manufacturers, distributors, and wholesalers, this approach creates clutter and confusion—and worse, it doesn’t reflect the real cost or logistics of shipping an order.

When Standard Shipping Is Enough

For simpler operations, programmable shipping logic may not be necessary. If your business ships from a single warehouse and offers the same shipping options to every customer—regardless of who they are or what they’re ordering—standard shipping is often sufficient. This includes setups like flat-rate shipping, basic will-call pickup, or straightforward use of providers like UPS and FedEx.

But the moment you introduce complexity—such as customer-specific rules, different shipping tiers by product type or region, or third-party logistics platforms like Priority 1 or MyCarrier—standard shipping falls short. These scenarios demand more control, logic, and integration than simple, one-size-fits-all shipping setups can support.

Where Programmable Shipping Comes In

Programmable shipping lets you control what shipping options are shown and when. You can set rules based on order weight, contents, customer type, delivery location, or even rules tied to a specific customer account—like negotiated shipping terms, eligibility for truck delivery, or special free shipping thresholds.

For example during checkout you can:

• Show "Will-Call Pickup" to all customers—but only show your truck delivery option to existing accounts within a certain region.
• Hide freight options for small orders and automatically switch to freight carriers for anything over a set weight threshold.
• Offer free shipping on orders over $500, but only for customers in specific zip codes.
• Use distance-based logic to select the best shipping warehouse.

When the shipping options at checkout reflect your actual business rules, you eliminate guesswork and reduce order errors. Your team spends less time answering shipping questions or correcting methods and amounts after the fact. And your customers get accurate, predictable options that align with how they already do business with you.

Why Nomad’s Approach to Shipping Calculation Is Different

Nomad’s programmable shipping isn’t just a bolt-on feature—it’s fully integrated with the rest of our eCommerce platform and your ERP. That means it can reference customer records, pricing tiers, order history, and shipping data without syncing or duplicating logic. You get precise control without creating fragile front-end workarounds.

It also supports more advanced requirements. You can call external APIs in real time—for example, to MyCarrier for rate quotes or Google Maps to determine shipping distance. Programmable shipping can also pull in customer- or order-specific data through Nomad’s data ports, giving you access to ERP-derived logic or custom business rules right when shipping decisions are being made.

Unlike many platforms, Nomad doesn’t force complex businesses to settle for generic checkout setups. Programmable shipping is built for the realities of B2B—whether you're shipping heavy, custom, or region-specific orders, or serving customers with different account terms. It ensures your checkout can adapt to every scenario with the right options.