SelectShip is DCL’s AI-powered shipping solution that automatically selects the best carrier and service for each domestic parcel shipment.
Using real-time data from multiple carriers, SelectShip optimizes every order for speed, cost, and reliability, with a goal of delivering 95% of shipments within the committed service window.
Shipping Services Offered with SelectShip
These are the services DCL offers for parcel shipments in the United States. SelectShip is only available for domestic parcel orders. International and LTL/FTL shipments don’t qualify for SelectShip.
Here are the services, inclusions, and exclusions offered with SelectShip:
Services: Standard, Expedited, 2 Day, and Next Day
Pickup and Delivery: SelectShip is available at all facilities.
Transit Time: Depends on the service selected at the time of shipping. See the table below and How Transit Time Is Calculated.
Surcharges: Fuel, Delivery Area Surcharge, Peak Surcharges, and other surcharges apply on top of SelectShip transportation rates.
Note: Residential fees are included in the transportation base costs.
Dim Factor: No less than 200
Dangerous Goods: DG can ship with SelectShip.
Note: DCL Transportation needs to validate which customer DG items can be supported.
PO Boxes, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, and APO/FPO: All supported with SelectShip, with no special rules needed from the customer.
Carrier | Type | Service | Transit Time (business days)* | Destination |
SelectShip | Domestic | Standard | 7 business days or less | 50 states, PR |
SelectShip | Domestic | Expedited | 3 business days or less | 50 states, PR |
SelectShip | Domestic | 2 Day | 2 business days or less | 50 states, PR |
SelectShip | Domestic | Next Day | Next business day | 48 contiguous states |
*Transit time is counted in business days from the ship date to delivery. Each service level targets 95% or more of packages delivered within its window.
See How Transit Time Is Calculated below.
How Transit Time Is Calculated
Each SelectShip service level is a delivery-speed commitment. It isn’t tied to a specific carrier or carrier service. SelectShip assigns the carrier and service for each package when the label is created, based on its confidence that the package will be delivered on time.
Transit time follows these rules:
Measurement window: ship-to-deliver. The clock starts on the ship date and stops at the carrier’s delivery scan.
Day count: The ship date is day 0. A package delivered on business day N is on time for an N-business-day service level.
Business days only: Weekends and US holidays are not counted.
On-time target: A service level is meeting its commitment when 95% or more of its packages in the period are delivered within the window.
Target, not guarantee: The 95% threshold is a managed performance target. It is not a contractual guarantee and does not carry an automatic service credit.
Service Level | On-Time Delivery Target |
Standard | 95% or more delivered within 7 business days |
Expedited | 95% or more delivered within 3 business days |
2 Day | 95% or more delivered within 2 business days |
Next Day | 95% or more delivered the next business day |
Example: A 2 Day package ships on Friday (day 0). Saturday and Sunday aren’t counted, so Monday is day 1 and Tuesday is day 2. The package is on time if it’s delivered by end of day Tuesday. If Monday is a US holiday, Tuesday becomes day 1 and the package is on time if it’s delivered by Wednesday.
Parcel Service Coverage
Residential domestic parcel shipments
50 states, APO/FPO, and territories
Commercial domestic parcel shipments
50 states, APO/FPO, and territories
Shipments that require dangerous goods compliance
Not currently supported:
LTL/FTL shipments
International shipments
SelectShip: Understanding the SLA
DCL measures performance at the network level, and our AI-driven platform watches for order exceptions.
We measure success by customer and by service level. Our goal is a 95% on-time delivery rate, with shipments reaching their destination within the committed transit time for each service level (Standard, Expedited, 2 Day, and Next Day). On-time delivery is calculated as described above in How Transit Time Is Calculated. This measurement excludes address corrections, deliveries blocked by limited-access buildings, and shipments to remote locations, including APOs and US territories.
The Customer Success team works with Transportation to provide SLA reporting on a schedule set by the customer.
Non-Optimal Node Fee
SelectShip provides zone-agnostic flat-rate pricing by weight, designed to simplify parcel shipping across the US. This pricing assumes that orders ship from the most optimal DCL fulfillment node for the destination.
When a shipment originates from a node that isn’t the lowest-zone option for that destination, a Non-Optimal Node Fee may apply.
In eFactory, the Non-Optimal Node Fee appears in the invoice column named “RS ADJ. CHARGES.”
When the Fee Applies
The Non-Optimal Node Fee applies when an order ships from a DCL node whose origin-to-destination zone is higher than the lowest zone available within the customer’s DCL node footprint.
This typically happens when:
Inventory is placed in a sub-optimal fulfillment location
A customer chooses to ship from a specific node
Operational constraints require fulfillment from a non-optimal warehouse
Because SelectShip pricing assumes fulfillment from the most efficient node, shipping from a higher zone breaks the weighted pricing model and requires an adjustment.
Fee Structure
The Non-Optimal Node Fee schedule varies based on:
Shipment weight characteristics
Primary carrier mix
Customer shipping profile
Each customer’s fee schedule is set through an analysis of their shipping patterns and node footprint.
Customer Applicability
The Non-Optimal Node Fee may apply to both new and existing SelectShip customers.
Any customer using multiple fulfillment nodes will have a custom fee schedule set in advance.
The fee schedule keeps SelectShip pricing balanced across the network while still giving customers flexibility in inventory placement and fulfillment strategy.
SelectShip assigns the carrier and service for each package. The table below shows each carrier’s services and how to recognize its tracking numbers. For full tracking details and links, see SelectShip Tracking Examples.
Carrier | Services | Tracking Number Format | Example |
DHL eCommerce | SM Parcel Expedited Max, SM Parcel Plus Expedited Max, SM Parcels Ground, SM Parcel Plus Ground, SM Parcels Expedited, SM Parcel Plus Expedited | Starts with “GM,” “LX,” or “94,” followed by a long numeric string (often 22–34 characters) | 9261290357478304880413 |
FedEx | Ground, Express, 2Day One Rate | Usually 12 digits. If it starts with 9611, it’s 15 digits and USPS delivers the final mile. One Rate uses the same formats. | 436616711699 |
International Bridge | USPS final-mile service | About 30 digits, starting with 420 followed by the destination ZIP code (USPS-style) | — |
OnTrac | Ground | Starts with D or C, followed by 14 digits. A 1LS, LS, LX, or BN prefix means the package is in the former LaserShip region. | D10016329555744 |
OSM | Ground | Usually 18–34 digits, often starting with 420 (USPS routing code) | 9261290318441700286487 |
SpeedX | Domestic Ground, Domestic Air | Starts with SPX, followed by 15 characters. Ground and Air use the same format. | SPXPHX102900000012 |
UniUni | Ground Delivery | Often starts with UNI, UUS, or UU | UUS123456 |
UPS | Ground Service Residential, 2nd Day Air, Next Day Air | 18 characters, always starting with “1Z,” followed by a 6-character shipper number, a 2-character service code, and an 8-digit package ID | 1ZC1D3840314402819 |
USPS | Priority Mail, Ground Advantage | Usually 22 digits | 9405509105459654565490 |
Return to Sender
If the end customer refuses a package, or delivery is disrupted (for example, a wrong address or a gate blocking the entrance), each carrier returns the package to sender a little differently:
USPS and services that use USPS for last-mile delivery (OSM and DHLeC): Returned to the return address as postage due.
UPS: Returned via UPS.
FedEx: Returned via FedEx.
SpeedX, OnTrac, and UniUni: Each carrier over-boxes the package and sends it back via UPS.
FAQs
Can I choose which carriers to use and leave others out? No. The flat-rate pricing assumes all carriers are in the mix.
What are the carrier types, and how are they different? SelectShip uses a diversified carrier network. Each type varies in cost, speed, coverage, and consistency, and SelectShip chooses the best fit for each shipment. There are five primary carrier types in the SelectShip network, each with distinct strengths: enterprise carriers, consolidators, regional carriers, delivery service providers (DSPs), and gig-based platforms.
What are the four SelectShip service levels, and what is the on-time delivery (OTD) target for each? Standard (7 business days or less), Expedited (3 business days or less), 2 Day (2 business days or less), and Next Day (next business day). Each has an OTD target of 95% or more. OTD is measured per customer and per service level. See How Transit Time Is Calculated for how business days are counted.
When does the transit-time clock start? On the ship date, which counts as day 0. Only business days are counted, so weekends and US holidays don’t count toward transit time. The clock stops at the carrier’s delivery scan.
Does SelectShip support multi-carton orders? Yes. It selects the best-fit carrier and service for each box.
What about weather or capacity issues at sorting centers? The software sees changes in the carrier network in real time and adapts, so neither the customer nor DCL needs to take any action.
What is available in eFactory? You can see the service level passed to DCL, along with the carrier and service selected for each order.
How does SelectShip handle multi-node customers? If an order is routed to a non-optimal node, a separate Non-Optimal Node Fee applies because of the additional transit required.
Are returns covered with SelectShip? Not at this time. If a package is returned to sender because the end customer refuses it or because of an address issue, the carrier returns it to the facility it shipped from.
How do accessorial fees differ with SelectShip? Base rates include residential fees, and fuel varies by carrier. Accessorial fees such as DAS still apply, but they tend to be billed on fewer than 10% of packages, because the carrier selection model knows a package’s accessorial fees before it picks a carrier. As a result, the engine avoids additional accessorial fees in most, though not all, cases.
Can I use SelectShip for multiple channels? Yes, but make sure you understand the requirements and SLAs for each channel before onboarding.
How does SelectShip use AI and machine learning to improve carrier selection? Intelligent routing algorithms evaluate each shipment when it’s ready to ship. Actual delivery outcomes and real-time signals, such as weather, carrier congestion, network conditions, and delivery success rates, feed into the platform, which makes a machine-learning prediction for each package. The model keeps improving as more parcels move through the platform, balancing cost, speed, and reliability for every order.
What shipment-level variables does SelectShip consider when assigning carriers? Examples include Dangerous Goods (DG), remote deliveries, PO Boxes, military bases, territories, DIM weight, and package size.