Native Dynamics 365 Business Central Module

Inbound and Outbound Logistics On a Single Sales Quote

MetaShip simplifies inbound and outbound logistics by calculating outbound and return shipping charges on a single Business Central sales quote using live carrier rates, automated markups and zero manual re-entry.

Trusted carrier integrations
UPS FedEx USPS Purolator DHL
The Problem

Inbound and Outbound Logistics
Shouldn’t Be Managed Separately

When delivery and return shipping are handled and managed across different processes, tools or portals- your ERP creates the same four problems at every company.

❌  Without MetaShip
→
✅  With MetaShip
Outbound Logistics Quoted Blindly — Shipping costs often become visible only after the Sales Order is created, leaving little opportunity to validate the pricing or protect margin.
→
Outbound and Inbound Costs Together — See accurate carrier costs by calculating delivery and return shipping charges on the same Sales Quote- before the committing to customers.
Inbound Returns Forgotten At Quote Stage — With disconnected systems, return shipping is often added later- creating missed charges, billing disputes and margin leakages on return-based orders.
→
Estimating Return Charges on the Same Quote — MetaShip generates inbound and outbound logistics shipping charges together within a single quoting workflow to avoid discrepancies.
Two Separate Carrier Lookups — Teams compare carrier rates independently for outbound deliveries and inbound returns, which adds up to unnecessary time to every quote.
→
Side-By-Side Comparison For Both Shipment Legs — Compare carrier rates for inbound and outbound logistics shipping directly inside the Business Central in one place.
Logistics Charges Don’t Stay Connected — Freight cost added during quoting often require manual updates when the Sales Order is generated.
→
All Charges Carry Automatically — Inbound and outbound logistics shipping charges transfer from Quote to Sales Order without any manual or re-entry.
Core Capabilities

Everything Your Inbound and Outbound Logistics Team Needs One Connected Workflow

Managing outbound deliveries, inbound returns, carrier shipments and logistics charges right inside the Business Central Workflow.

↗️

Outbound Shipping Estimates

Compare live carrier rates, apply markups automatically, and add outbound shipping charges directly to the Sales Quote.

UPS Ground · 3–5 days$68.54 ✓
UPS 2nd Day Air$124.90
FedEx Ground · 4–6 days$71.20
OUTBOUND LOGISTICS · API RATES
↙️

Inbound Return Estimates

For rental and return workflows, MetaShip generates inbound return shipping estimates and add both logistics cost to the same Sales Quote automatically.

Outbound charge applied$75.46 ✓
Inbound return applied$75.56 ✓
Total logistics cost$151.02
INBOUND LOGISTICS · RENTAL & RETURNS
📦

Multi-Package Logistics

Handle complex shipments accurately by creating multiple packages with unique dimensions and weights while calculating consolidated shipping costs across the entire shipment.

PKG 1 · 10 lbs · 12×12×12BOX
PKG 2 · 15 lbs · 12×12×12BOX
Combined rate (25 lbs)$68.54 ✓
MULTI-PACKAGE · CUSTOM DIMS
🏷️

API & Manual Shipment Creation

Once packed, create an API shipments for carriers directly from Business Central or manually log the shipment with tracking number for order shipped outside the system and generate labels.

API Shipment created · UPS GroundMSH00029 ✓
Tracking No.1ZA0R7570399835068
Consolidated labelDownload PDF ↓
API SHIPMENT · MANUAL SHIPMENT · LABELS
🔁

Automatic Charge Transfer

Inbound and outbound logistics shipping charges transfer automatically from Sales Quote to Sales Order with no-entry, reconciliation or missing freight costs.

Outbound Shipping Charges$75.46 · Carried ✓
Inbound Shipping Charges$75.56 · Carried ✓
Sales Order SO000184Ready ✓
ZERO RE-ENTRY · FULL AUDIT TRAIL
How It Works

Complete Inbound and Outbound Logistics Workflow in 6 Steps

Manage the delivery and return shipping costs from the inbound and outbound logistics workflow- from quote creation through order conversion and fulfillment planning.

01
Create the Sales Quote
02
Add Package Details
03
Compare Outbound Carrier Rates
04
Compare Inbound Return Rates
05
Apply Both Charges Automatically
06
Convert to Sales Order
Step 01 / 06
Create the Sales Quote

Start with a Sales Quote in Business Central and add customer, items, and shipping details. For rental orders, return information is captured at the same stage including rental location Code, rental invoice Plan, and return location code.

  • Add customer no. and external document no.
  • Add item lines — sales items or rental items
  • Set Shipping service and delivery contact information
  • For rentals: define return date and location
Sales Quote · SQ000231 · Rubrik
Customer No.
C00041 · Rubrik
Status
Open
Shipping Agent
UPS
Method
UPS GRND
Rental Return Date
9/5/2025
Return Location
300
Items
Golf Balls ×10  |  Golf Hats ×15
Home Menu
Step 02 / 06
Add Package Details

Build the shipment by automatically creating or manually adding packages on the MetaShip Estimate screen. There you need to define package type, dimensions, quantity, and weight for each box for accurate carrier cost calculations.

  • Select package type (BX1, BOX, etc.) and define quantity
  • Dimensions are auto-populate based on package setup
  • Enter actual package weight- each shipment in lbs
  • Schedule shipment dates upto 10 days ahead.
EST-00022 · Create Package
Package Type
BX1
No. of Packages
2
Dimensions
12 × 12 × 12 in
Shipment Date
8/8/2025
PKG 1 Weight
10.00 lbs
PKG 2 Weight
15.00 lbs
Total: 25.00 lbs · 2 packages
Step 03 / 06
Compare Outbound Carrier Rates

Generate live delivery rates from the connected carriers and compare base price, delivery commitments, and total pricing side-by-side inside BC before sending the quote.

  • Fetched live carrier rates from the supported carrier
  • Compare pricing and transit times side-by-side
  • Select preferred outbound services and click OK
  • Automatically adding the outbound Shipping Charge
Carrier Price Comparison — OUTBOUND · EST-00022
UPS
UPS Ground
3–5 days · 8/14/2025
$68.54
✓
UPS
UPS 2nd Day Air
2 days · 8/13/2025
$124.90
FedEx
FedEx Ground
4–6 days · 8/15/2025
$71.20
Step 04 / 06
Compare Inbound Return Rates

For all return orders, click Inbound Price Comparison in MetaShip. The same carrier rate comparison runs for the return leg, so that you can get the upfront cost of complete shipment before confirmation.

  • Uses the same package configuration as outbound
  • Return rates fetched and displayed side-by-side
  • Select preferred inbound carrier and click OK
  • Automatically added inbound shipping cost
Carrier Price Comparison — INBOUND RETURN · EST-00022
UPS
UPS Ground
Return by: 9/10/2025
$68.54
UPS
UPS Ground (Return)
Return by: 9/10/2025
$68.64
✓
FedEx
FedEx Ground Return
Return by: 9/12/2025
$70.80
Step 05 / 06
Apply Both Charges Automatically

Add delivery and return shipping charges to the Sales Quote automatically, including configured markups for each shipment direction- there is no manual entry required.

  • Markup applied independently to each charge
  • Outbound and inbound lines created automatically
  • Add a comment line to label for clarity
  • Total logistics cost visible on the Sales Quote before Approval
Sales Quote · SQ000231 — Charges Applied
OUTBOUND SHIPPING CHARGES
$75.46 ✓
INBOUND SHIPPING CHARGES
$75.56 ✓
✓ Both logistics charges on Sales Quote
Step 06 / 06
Convert to Sales Order

Finally click on Make Order- where the Sales Quote converted into an order with all logistics charges preserved and ready for shipment execution. Zero re-entry, full audit trail.

  • All items transfer from Quote to Order
  • Outbound and inbound charges transfer automatically
  • Sales Order ready for warehouse shipment creation
  • Complete audit trail is maintained in the system
Sales Order · SO000184 · Converted ✓
Sales Order
SO000184
Status
Open ✓
Golf Balls ×10
Carried ✓
Golf Hats ×15
Carried ✓
OUTBOUND
$75.46 · Carried ✓
INBOUND
$75.56 · Carried ✓
Live Demo

Comprehensive Inbound and Outbound Logistics

We walk through your exact inbound and outbound logistics workflow — Sales Quotes, carrier comparison, both charge legs, and shipment creation.

ROI at a Glance

What Changes When Inbound and Outbound Logistics
Lives Inside Your ERP

0%
Less time spent on outbound logistics estimates per quote
0
Shipping legs (outbound + inbound) estimated in one workflow
vs. two separate manual lookups
0%
Logistics charge accuracy from Sales Quote to Sales Order
$0
Data re-entry cost — all charges carry over automatically
every single time
Customer Reviews

What Logistics Teams Are Saying

★★★★★

We ship hundreds of orders per month. Before MetaShip, getting an outbound logistics estimate meant leaving Business Central, checking UPS, checking FedEx, then manually entering the rate. Now it’s two clicks and done. The time savings are enormous. MetaShip is also available on Microsoft AppSource

MR
Marcus R.
Head of Logistics · Industrial Parts Distributor
★★★★★

The inbound return estimation changed everything for our rental business. We now give customers a complete logistics cost at quote time — outbound delivery and inbound return — instead of issuing a revised invoice three weeks later.

PL
Patricia L.
Operations Manager · Equipment Rental Company
★★★★★

Having both inbound and outbound logistics charges auto-carry from the Sales Quote to the Sales Order has eliminated our biggest reconciliation headache. Our billing team actually has time to do their real work now.

DK
Daniel K.
Finance Director · B2B Wholesale Company

Trusted Carriers, Connected to Business Central

UPS FedEx - Inbound and Outbound Logistics DHL USPS Purolator
FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Outbound logistics covers shipping goods from your warehouse to the customers. MetaShip fetches the live carrier rates, applies your configured markup, and adds the outbound shipping charges to the Sales Quote. Inbound logistics covers the return shipment back to the warehouse- where MetaShip allowing you to estimate return shipping cost and add them as a separate charge line on the same quote- without any manual entry.

Yes, MetaShip is designed to generate both outbound and inbound shipping estimates within the same workflow. The MetaShip Estimate screen, run the outbound rate comparison, apply the charge, then generate the inbound estimate for the return leg. Both charges are added automatically as separate line items on the Sales Quote.

MetaShip connects directly to UPS and FedEx APIs to retrieve live, account-specific rates for both outbound deliveries and inbound returns. Additionally USPS and DHL are supported through MetaShip’s multi-carrier shipping framework.

Yes, when you convert Sales Quote into Sales Order, MetaShip automatically carry over all shipping charges including inbound and outbound logistics cost. This eliminates the need of reconciliation issues and ensuring billing accuracy.

MetaShip supports multiple packages within a single shipment- all you need is to add own package type, custom dimensions and weight in lbs. for each shipment.000 Carrier rates are calculated using the complete package configuration, providing an accurate consolidated estimate for the entire shipment including inbound and outbound logistics.

Yes, you just access Third-Party Shipping on the Sales Order and enter the required billing details including account number, country code, and postal code. MetaShip passes the entire information to the selected carrier. It help freight charges to be billed to the specified third-Party account.
Get Started

One Platform For Your Complete Inbound and Outbound Logistics

Book a demo and see MetaShip handle both delivery and return shipping inside Business Central — with your carrier accounts, your markups, your workflow.

Native BC integration Outbound & inbound in one workflow Auto markup & quote lines UPS & FedEx API connected
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