Skip to main content

Easy Route: Guide to Using Our Retail Routing Guide Portal

A faster, more efficient way to turn retailer routing guides into a detailed, actionable Routing Guide Summary.

M
Written by Maureen

Easy Route is DCL's Routing Guide Portal, designed to create a faster and more efficient process for turning a retailer's routing guide into a detailed Routing Guide Summary. The process retains all accuracy and quality standards to ensure we follow retailer-specific fulfillment and shipping requirements, but gives customers a faster, simpler process.

What is Easy Route?

The Easy Route Portal is designed to save you time and expedite the routing guide process without sacrificing the detailed accuracy and quality required for successful retailer fulfillment.

  1. Generating a new routing guide summary

    • Simply upload your retailer's routing guide to the online portal.

    • Answer a few guided questions with the help of our AI assistant, Felix.

    • Submit the information DCL needs to create a detailed Routing Guide Summary for your orders.

  2. Updating an existing routing guide summary

    • Either a retailer or brand can access the portal

    • Answer a few guided questions with the help of our AI assistant, LEXI

    • The information will be submitted to DCL to make the adjustment.

Having the ability to collect comprehensive information upfront for either task means reducing unnecessary back-and-forth emails and helping streamline the overall process.

Section 1: Generating a new routing guide summary

Before You Begin: What You'll Need

To complete your Easy Route submission, please gather the following information and documents before getting started.

  • Retailer Routing Guide document(s)

  • Retailer name

  • Estimated first ship date

  • Retailer shipment type (Store, DC, ecommerce)

  • Destination country

  • Incoterms

  • EDI requirements

  • Routing website login credentials

  • ASN label or marking requirements

  • Information on freight terms

  • Prepaid, Collect, or 3rd Party)

  • Preferred carriers

  • Carton weights (specifically if any exceed 50 lbs)

  • Product-specific details like expiration dates or lot numbers

Tip: Please request the most current Routing Guide directly from the retailer or your retail representative before submitting your request.

Questions You’ll Be Asked

Here is a detailed list of questions that may be asked during the Routing Guide submission process.:

Retailer Shipment Type

  • Retailer Store

  • Distribution Center

  • Distribution Center/Consolidator

  • Ecomm/.com shipping to Distribution Center

  • Ecomm/.com shipping to Retailer Store

Shipping Destination

  • Is the shipment domestic or international?

  • What country are shipments shipping to?

  • What are the Incoterms?

  • Who is the Importer of Record, if applicable?

EDI Requirements

  • Will orders be sent to DCL through EDI?

  • If orders are sent through EDI, is DCL the EDI provider?

Order Type

  • Small Parcel

  • LTL

  • TL

Freight Terms

What are the freight terms for Small Parcel and Truck shipments?


​Please clarify freight terms with the retailer in advance, as many routing requirements are based on this information.

  • Prepaid: DCL pays freight

  • Collect: The retailer pays freight

  • Third Party: The customer or another party pays freight

If freight is billed to a third party:

  1. For Small Parcel: What is the third-party account number and billing address, if not included in the Routing Guide?

  2. For Truck: What is the billing address, if not included in the Routing Guide?

Shipment Routing

Who will route the shipments?

  • DCL

  • Customer

If the customer is routing shipments:

  • Will the customer schedule pickup and provide the BOL?

  • Or will DCL handle these responsibilities?

Additional Shipping and Product Questions

  • Is there a preferred carrier, if one is not included in the Routing Guide?

  • Will orders ship in full customer cartons only?

  • Are any cartons over 50 lbs.?

  • Are there inner cartons?

  • Can pallets be double stacked, if required?

  • Do individual units have scannable UPCs?

  • Do all units have COO (Country of Origin)?

  • Are any products packaged in polybags?

  • Are there liquid products?

  • Do products have expiration dates?

  • Do products have lot numbers?

Additional questions may appear based on your answers and the specific requirements of the retailer.

How Long Will It Take?

Easy Route is designed to streamline and accelerate the Routing Guide process. However, the overall timeline depends on how quickly clarification questions are answered and how quickly the completed Routing Guide Summary is approved.

Your Easy Route Submission: Approximately 15 Minutes

Once you have gathered your documents and information, completing the initial Easy Route submission should take approximately 15 minutes.

The portal collects key information upfront, reducing the time typically spent exchanging multiple emails to clarify retailer requirements.

DCL Routing Guide Summary: Approximately 10 Working Days

Once DCL has received:

  • All required documents and information

  • Answers to clarification questions

  • Any additional retailer-specific details

DCL's estimated turnaround time is approximately 10 working days to prepare the Routing Guide Summary for your review.

Your Response Time Matters

DCL may still contact you by email if additional clarification is needed. Prompt responses will help keep the process moving forward and avoid delays.

What Happens Next?

Once your submission is complete, we expect to be ready to start shipping in as few as 14 business days. The timeline below is a general guideline and may vary based on retailer requirements, clarification needs, approval timing, and other factors.

Step 1 / Day 1: Submit Your Information

Upload your Routing Guide and supporting documents.

Answer the guided questions provided by Felix in the Easy Route Portal.

Step 2 / Days 2–10: DCL Reviews the Requirements

The DCL team, Felix and our in-house routing guide experts, will work through the retailer's requirements and identify any additional information or clarification needed.

If additional information is required, DCL will contact your team.

DCL will then create your Routing Guide Summary.

Step 3 / Days 11–13: Review and Approve

DCL will send the completed Routing Guide Summary to you via email.

Please review the summary and provide your approval.

Once approved, the Routing Guide Summary is finalized, stamped, dated, and posted for production use.

DCL will also begin training the appropriate teams on the new detailed Routing Guide Summary.

Step 4 / Day 14: Begin Shipping to the Retailer

DCL will conduct a first article inspection to confirm the shipping details match the Routing Guide for the initial order going to the retailer.

Once the Routing Guide Summary is verified, shipments can move forward according to the retailer's requirements and shipping schedule.

Section 2: Updating an existing routing guide summary

Easy Route is set up to help you update an existing routing guide summary. The AI assistant LEXI will help ensure all information is collected at once, saving you back-and-forth emails and a faster process to ship with a retailer’s new requests.

Before You Begin: What You’ll Need

Here is the information you’ll need to have on hand to complete your routing guide summary update:

  • User’s Name

  • User’s Email

  • Account

  • Account manager name

  • Current routing documents, and new routing documents (If required)

  • What the change is

  • Who initiated the change. “Ex; Customer or Retailer”.

  • When the change needs to go into effect

How Long Will It Take? Steps to Updating an Existing Routing Guide Summary

When a retailer makes changes to an existing Routing Guide, Easy Route can help streamline the update process by comparing your current Routing Guide documentation with the new documents provided by the retailer.

How Long Will It Take?

  1. Step 1: Upload Your Documents — Approximately 5–10 Minutes

    • Submit both your current Routing Guide documents and the new changes you’ll need

    • LEXI will ask questions based on the differences identified between the two sets of documents.

  2. Step 2: Easy Route Compares the Documents

    • LEXI will compare the current and new documents to identify differences and changes.

  3. Step 3: DCL Updates the Routing Guide Summary — Approximately 2 Business Days

    • Once all required information is submitted, DCL will review the changes and update the existing Routing Guide Summary.

More About Easy Route

Easy Route was built to make the Routing Guide process easier, faster, and more efficient.

The technology behind Easy Route is designed to streamline the collection and review of retailer requirements and help ensure DCL has the necessary details upfront.

The portal leverages AI-assistant to ensure a simple way to guide you through providing comprehensive information needed to build a complete Routing Guide Summary.

What this means for you:

  • Less back-and-forth: Easy Route gathers much of the required information upfront, reducing the need for weeks of email clarification.

  • Faster initial submission: The guided submission process takes approximately 5-15 minutes when you have your information and documents ready.

  • A clear, organized process: Easy Route guides you through the questions and information DCL needs, making it easier to provide complete details from the start.

  • Focus on accuracy and quality: Speed does not mean skipping details. Retailer routing requirements are still carefully reviewed to help ensure your Routing Guide Summary supports accurate and compliant fulfillment.

Getting Started

Before opening Easy Route, make sure you have your current retailer Routing Guide and the required shipping, freight, operational, and product information available.

With the right information prepared, you can complete your initial submission in approximately 15 minutes and start moving toward an approved Routing Guide Summary faster.

Start your Easy Route process here: https://dclroutingsolutions.com/

Related Articles
Did this answer your question?