This article contains the most frequently asked questions that our Customer Integration team receive:

• Shipping with the New Zealand Couriers / Freightways API's
• Use of Latitude and Longitude
• Outages/Troubleshooting
• Before Going Live

Shipping with the New Zealand Couriers / Freightways API's

Does New Zealand Couriers supply a flat file of suburbs and postcodes?

New Zealand Courier's prices to the land parcel, meaning two buildings next door to each other, may incur differing fees (Business, Residential, Rural); therefore, suburbs and postcodes are too broad to price a receiver accurately. See What is Address Validation and how does it work? for more info.     

Does New Zealand Couriers supply a flat rate card?

There is no need to utilise a rate card when printing labels, as the item will instantly be rated via the API call, and a full price breakdown will be returned. See Why is Address Validation important? for more info.     

Is there a need to manifest?

There is no need to manifest at the end of the day, as each item's attributes are captured on label creation.

Why is consignment deletion important?

Items are billed on label creation, so if a label is not used, it's recommended that an API call is made to ‘delete’ the consignment in its entirety.

Can multipart items be shipped over a number of days?

Yes, however, it's important to structure your consignment, reference and part numbers accordingly. Contact ci@nzcouriers.co.nz for details.

Use of Latitude and Longitude

Does New Zealand Couriers use Google for Latitude/Longitude geo coordinates?

We use Core Logic API as a service provider for the addresses, which is also used by emergency services in New Zealand. Google can be used, but a known issue is that if an address does not exist, it tends to do an estimate and return a coordinate pointing it to the middle of the street. 

The potential risks when Latitude / Longitude are from a different source:

• Incorrect Run Number/Branch code – delay in delivery
• Incorrect Rural/Residential rating – additional fees may be charged after delivery

Note: These are usually addresses near the border of a polygon of what is considered Business, Residential, Rural or to which Delivery Driver/Branch code it belongs.

The potential risks without Latitude / Longitude or a valid address:

• Additional fees may be charged after delivery
• Depending on how clean the addresses are

See Integration API - Address Validation Logic for detailed information.

What accuracy is required on Latitude/Longitude?

The coordinate points near the entrance of the property. A few metres out is acceptable – this is around 4 -5 decimal places on the coordinates.

I don't have geo Coordinates? Can the API calculate them for me

Yes, see Integration API - Address Validation Logic for details

Outages / Troubleshooting

How responsive is the API, and how can I learn about outages?

See https://status.nzcouriers.co.nz for our up-to-date uptime and subscribe for planned outage notifications.

What if the API is unreachable by way of an internet outage/cyberattack?

New Zealand Couriers strongly recommends, in the case of cyber attack/loss of internet connectivity/functionality etc, that the software developer includes in scope, functionality to generate an unbarcoded, unmanifested, unvalidated “blank” address label, which can be accompanied by a pre-paid ticket to ensure your business continuity (BCP).      

Before Going Live

What's the best pre-go live test plan?

Contact ci@nzcouriers.co.nz for the latest test documentation.

Is there a formal signoff process before going live?

Yes, the New Zealand Couriers Customer Integration team will provide production keys after successful testing.