Flipkart introduces changes to seller panel

Indian ecommerce leader Flipkart has been in the news a lot these days. Last week we saw more than a mere chink in the etailer’s armor and its competitor Amazon going in for the kill. But Flipkart has no intention to go down quietly. The marketplace is ready to take on anyone blocking its way to online retail greatness. Flipkart is currently fighting the unjust entry tax system most online states have imposed on ecommerce goods.

The ecommerce giant is cutting down WS Retail’s share on its platform to enhance the online seller experience. It also has plans to cut down its reckless spending. The change revolution is in effect at Flipkart, so much so that they’ve even changed technical aspects like their self-ship panel.

Here’s the latest update on the panel changes:

What have they changed?

Change I – Tracking id validation

The new change is related to the validation of the tracking id field. When incorrect tracking id details are entered, that particular order will stay in a new tab as the dispatch action fails. Also an error notification will flash to alert you about the mistake made.

Invalid tracking id

When updating dispatch information for an order you may get an error due to the entry of an invalid tacking id. In this case, the marketplace says you need to check the tracking id you’ve entered.

The tracking id must:

• Have a minimum of six characters
• Start and end with and alphanumeric character
• Have only alphanumeric characters “-“ or “_”. NOT values like Null, Nil, Na, Selfship, etc. (Characters like #, /, etc. are also not allowed)

Change II – Visibility of customer delivery reattempt

The dispatched tab on the self-ship order dashboard now allows sellers to see all the orders that need to be redelivered. It will clearly show the orders that have been updated for customer delivery reattempts.

How will you know if the updated delivery attempt is reflecting on the portal?

• Locate the updated order under the dispatch tab.
• You will see the word “reattempt” reflecting on the order card. To see on which dates the reattempts were updated click on “reattempt”.

Change III – Edit Shipment

Under the dispatch tab you will now be able to edit details like the vendor name, tracking id and expected date. All it takes is one click of the new “Edit Shipment” button. However, sellers please NOTE this functionality is unavailable when orders are being auto tracked with an integrated logistics partner.

The orders that cannot be edited will appear grey. Flipkart does not allow sellers to manually make changes when orders are tracked by logistics partners.

How to update a different logistics partner/ tracking id?

• Use the order id or item id to locate the order you need to edit
• Select the edit shipment option
• Add new dispatch details like – tracking id, logistics partner name and expected delivery date)
• Click confirm to save your changes

Using own logistics to deliver products

If you deliver your products to customers via your own logistics arrangements and have no tracking id provided, use the UI to take the dispatch action on such orders. Select the “Don’t have tracking id” option next to Tracking id field. (You will find it under the dispatch section.) Select the other relevant details and click the dispatch button to confirm.

Changing logistic partner detail when order card appears grey (when functionality is unavailable)

You are not allowed to do any kind of manual actions if you choose a logistics partner during dispatch action and Flipkart has already started tracking it. However, you can avoid such a situation. The dispatch action on the dashboard should be done only when an order is handed over to the logistics partner.

Change IV – Visibility of installation service reattempt

Flipkart also allows you to check out orders where installation service reattempted. You will gain visibility of these updates under the “Pending Service” tab on the Self-Ship orders dashboard.

How to check if the updated service attempt is reflecting on the portal?

• Look for the order under the pending service tab
• You will see the word “Service Reattempt” reflecting on the order card. To see on which dates service reattempts for the order were updated click on “reattempt”.