DHL Express API
Globe Pickup Points integrates with DHL Express over the MyDHL API, enabling worldwide express shipping directly from Shopify. With this integration, you can:
- Export orders to DHL Express and receive a tracking number immediately
- Print shipping labels within Shopify
- Deliver to the customer’s address or to a DHL Express Service Point
- Send full customs data (HS codes, DDP or DAP terms) on international shipments
DHL Express is enabled per store on request. If you do not see it when adding a new carrier, contact support and we will enable it for your store.
Enabling DHL Express API integration
Section titled “Enabling DHL Express API integration”- In your Shopify admin, open Globe Pickup Points and navigate to Shipping labels. Add a new carrier and select DHL Express.
- Select the Environment — Production for live shipments, or Development (Test) for the MyDHL test environment. Test and production credentials are different.
- Enter your Username and Password — your DHL Express API credentials from the DHL Developer Portal or your DHL account manager.
- Enter your Account number — the DHL Express account the shipments are billed to.
- Fill in the sender details used as the shipper on every label: Sender name, Sender address (street and number), Sender city, Sender postal code, Sender country, Sender phone and Sender email. Only countries supported by this integration are offered in the country list.
- Enter a Default content description — a short description of the shipment contents for customs (for example
GoodsorClothing). This is mandatory: an order with no description, either default or per order, is not exported. - Optionally, under advanced settings, set a Default HS code and a Default weight (kg) used when the products have none.
- Configure Automatically fulfill orders, Automatically tag orders with tracking number and Custom tag after export as needed.
- Map your Shopify shipping methods to the DHL Express services enabled on your account.
Exporting and printing labels
Section titled “Exporting and printing labels”You can export orders to DHL Express and print shipping labels directly from Shopify, either in bulk or individually. See Creating shipping labels for the general workflow.
Each order is sent as a single package. DHL returns the tracking number and the label PDF in the same response, so labels are ready to print immediately after export. If Automatically fulfill orders is enabled, the fulfillment is created with the tracking number and a link to DHL tracking.
One thing this integration does not do: no courier pickup is booked. Shipments are created without a pickup request — arrange collection with DHL as you normally do.
Service types
Section titled “Service types”| Service | Description |
|---|---|
| DHL Express Worldwide | Standard door-to-door express delivery |
| DHL Express Worldwide – Service Point (D2SVP) | Delivery to a DHL Express Service Point |
| DHL Express 12:00 | Time-definite delivery by 12:00 |
| DHL Express 10:30 | Time-definite delivery by 10:30 |
| DHL Express 9:00 | Time-definite delivery by 09:00 |
| DHL Economy Select | Economy service |
Globe picks the DHL product code that matches the lane — domestic, intra-EU or worldwide — from the service you selected. The service still has to be active on your DHL account; DHL rejects shipments for products you are not contracted for.
Service Point vs. home delivery
Section titled “Service Point vs. home delivery”- Service Point (D2SVP) — the parcel is delivered to the DHL Express Service Point the customer selected at checkout. Globe sends the point’s 6-character MyDHL facility ID together with DHL’s Service Point value-added service, so the label carries the SPD marking. The Service Point is set as the receiver and the customer’s own address is sent as the buyer, which DHL requires for this service.
- Home delivery — every other service delivers to the customer’s shipping address.
A Service Point export needs a genuine DHL Express point, taken from the DHL Express pickup point map (configured with the same MyDHL credentials — see Adding pickup point carriers). Orders with no pickup point, or with a point from a different carrier’s network, are rejected during export.
Customs and duties
Section titled “Customs and duties”Shipments that cross a customs border — anything other than domestic or EU to EU — are exported with a full electronic declaration built from the order’s line items: description, quantity, unit price, weight, HS code and country of manufacture. HS codes come from the product’s harmonized system code in Shopify and fall back to your Default HS code; the country of manufacture comes from the product’s country of origin and falls back to your sender country.
In the Customs & duties section of the carrier settings:
| Setting | Effect |
|---|---|
| DDP countries | Destinations shipped on DDP terms (duties and taxes billed to you). Everything else uses DAP. |
| Send values ex-VAT for countries | For the selected destinations, the declared value is sent without VAT. |
Per order, you can override HS code and Content description in the label dialog before exporting.
Cash on delivery (COD)
Section titled “Cash on delivery (COD)”COD is sent to DHL as the cash collection value-added service. The amount is the outstanding amount on the order, in the order’s currency, collected in cash. COD must be enabled on your DHL Express account and available on the destination lane — DHL Express offers it in a limited number of countries only, so confirm with DHL before you offer it in your checkout. If the service is not available, DHL rejects the whole shipment.
Delivery status
Section titled “Delivery status”Delivery-status sync is not available for DHL Express — statuses are not written back into Shopify. The tracking number and tracking link are still attached to the fulfillment, so the parcel can be followed on dhl.com. Return labels are not supported either.
Label printing
Section titled “Label printing”Labels are generated as PDF at 300 DPI in the following formats:
| Format | Positions per sheet |
|---|---|
| A6 | 1 |
| A6 on A4 | 4 |
When printing A6 on A4, you can select a starting position on the sheet (positions 1–4) to reuse partially used sheets. Labels are stored at export time, so reprinting does not call DHL again.
Troubleshooting
Section titled “Troubleshooting”| Issue | Resolution |
|---|---|
| Authentication error | Check that Username, Password and Account number match the selected Environment — test credentials do not work against production. |
| Content description is required | Set a Default content description in the carrier settings, or fill Content description on the order. |
| Service Point: no pickup point selected | The order uses the Service Point service but has no pickup point. The customer did not select one at checkout. |
| Service Point: pickup point must be a 6-character facility ID | The selected point does not come from the DHL Express network. The customer must select a DHL Express Service Point. |
| Unknown product type | The shipping method is mapped to a service that no longer exists. Re-map the shipping method in the carrier settings. |
| Shipment rejected by DHL | The full DHL error message is shown in the export result — usually a product not enabled on your account, an invalid postal code or a missing phone number. |
| No label data found when printing | The stored label is missing for those orders. Re-export the orders to generate new labels. |