Spring GDS API

Globe Pickup Points integrates with Spring GDS, a cross-border consolidator that hands your parcels over to local final-mile carriers such as PostNL, Royal Mail, DPD, Hermes, Colis Privé and Packeta. With this integration, you can:

Export orders to Spring GDS directly from Shopify
Ship to 49 destination countries using 34 services
Print shipping labels within Shopify
Send full customs data (HS codes, country of origin, DDP/DDU) on international shipments

Enabling Spring GDS API integration

In your Shopify admin, open Globe Pickup Points and navigate to Shipping labels. Add a new carrier and select Spring GDS.
Enter your API key — you can find it in your Spring GDS account.
Fill in the sender details used on every label: Sender name, Sender company name (optional), Sender street, Sender city, Sender ZIP, Sender country, Sender phone and Sender email.
If you ship internationally, add your customs identifiers. All of them are optional:
- Sender VAT number — your VAT number. For Norway use VOEC, for Switzerland UID, for Singapore GST.
- Sender EORI number — used in the Spring Clear customs solution.
- Sender IOSS number — used in the Spring Clear IOSS+ and Union OSS solution.
- Sender GB EORI number — starts with GB, required for DDP shipments to the United Kingdom via Spring Clear.
Choose the Tracking URL sent to customers in the fulfillment email: Spring GDS Tracking or Final Mile Carrier Tracking.
Configure fulfillment and tagging options as needed.
Map your Shopify shipping methods to the Spring GDS services you have agreed with Spring.

Exporting and printing labels

You can export orders to Spring GDS and print shipping labels directly from Shopify, either in bulk or individually. See Creating shipping labels for the full workflow.

Each exported shipment receives a Spring GDS tracking number. Depending on the Tracking URL setting, fulfillments are created either with the Spring GDS tracking page or with the tracking link of the final-mile carrier that Spring returns for that shipment.

Service types

Spring GDS exposes 34 services. Pick the one that matches your Spring contract and destination — the full list is available in the export dialog and in the shipping method mapping.

Service group	Examples
Spring network	Spring Tracked (TRCK), Spring Signature (SIGN), Spring Untracked (UNTR)
Spring Collect	Spring Collect (CLLCT) — the only pickup point service
PostNL	Packet Tracked / Registered / Non Tracked, Parcel EU, GlobalPack EMS and UPU, EPG, Benelux variants with and without signature
Royal Mail	Tracked 24 and Tracked 48, with or without signature
Final-mile partners	DPD DE, Hermes, Colis Privé, Italian Post Crono and Crono Express, Sending Mainland and Islands, Spring Com Standard and Express, Packeta, Austrian Post Eurodis, Express

Pickup points vs. home delivery

Spring Collect (CLLCT) is the only Spring GDS service that delivers to a pickup point. When an order is exported with this service, Globe attaches the PUDO location ID of the point the customer selected at checkout. All other services deliver to the customer’s shipping address.

If an order exported as Spring Collect has no pickup point selected, no PUDO location is sent with the shipment. Use a home delivery service instead, or make sure the customer picks a point at checkout.

Customs and duties

Spring GDS is a cross-border carrier, so Globe always sends a customs declaration with the shipment. Product lines carry the HS code and country of origin from your Shopify inventory items; where those are missing, the HS code entered for that shipment at export time and your sender country are used.

The Customs & duties section of the carrier account controls:

Setting	Effect
DDP countries	Destinations shipped as DDP (Delivered Duty Paid). Everything else is sent as DDU.
Send values ex-VAT for countries	Order and shipping values for these destinations are sent without VAT.
Preferential origin countries	Adds the preferential origin tag to every product line. Required for the UK under the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement.
Declaration type	Sale of Goods (default), Documents, Gift, Returned Goods or Commercial Sample.

Two further values are not carrier settings at all — HS code (6–10 digits, overridden by product-level HS codes from Shopify when available) and Content description (for example Goods or Clothing) are advanced options you fill in per shipment in the export dialog.

Test mode

Each Spring GDS carrier account has a Test mode checkbox. When enabled, both shipment creation and label retrieval go to the Spring GDS test environment instead of production. Disable it before you start shipping real orders — test shipments are not dispatched.

Cash on delivery (COD)

Spring GDS does not support cash on delivery. No COD amount is sent with the shipment, regardless of the payment method on the order. If you need COD, use a different carrier for those orders.

Delivery status

Delivery-status sync is not available for Spring GDS — it is not part of the two-way delivery status sync that carriers such as Packeta, PPL, DPD or GLS have, so parcel statuses are not written back to Shopify. The tracking number and tracking link are still attached to the fulfillment, and further status updates come from Shopify’s own tracking or from the Spring GDS portal.

Return labels are also not supported for Spring GDS.

Label printing

Spring GDS returns PDF labels, which Globe can print in two formats:

Format	Positions per sheet
A6	1
A6 on A4	4

When printing A6 on A4, you can select a starting position (1–4) to reuse partially used sheets.

Troubleshooting

Issue	Resolution
Spring GDS API key is not configured	The carrier account has no API key. Add it in the carrier settings — it is also required for printing.
Fatal error from Spring GDS	Spring rejected the shipment. The message returned by Spring is shown with the failed order — most often an invalid service code for the destination, or missing customs data.
No tracking number returned	The shipment was accepted but Spring did not return a tracking number. Re-export the order and check the service is enabled on your Spring account.
No labels could be retrieved	The label is not yet available for the tracking number. Wait a moment and print again.
Spring Collect exported without a pickup point	The order has no pickup point selected at checkout. Choose a home delivery service, or have the customer select a point.
Test shipments never arrive	Test mode is still enabled on the carrier account. Disable it for production shipping.

Add Spring GDS pickup points to your Shopify store — pricing, demo & setup →