Routing Logic Directives (RLD) built into EPISHIP control shipments through the rate and label manifest processes of the supply chain.
The purpose of this article is to detail the Afferent Receiver Rule, a specific RLD Rule type, that targets the transformation and control of receiver (destination) information before a rate or label request is processed.
A rate or label request relies on destination data to determine shipping costs, transit times, and delivery routing. Sometimes, the submitted receiver information requires modification or standardization to ensure successful delivery or to align with business requirements. This is where the Afferent Receiver Rule comes in. Unlike Efferent rules that post-process carrier responses, the Afferent Receiver Rule pre-processes the request to explicitly modify the receiver details (e.g., dynamically rerouting to a hold location, updating address lines, or toggling residential indicators) before the request is ever submitted to the carrier network. The Afferent Receiver Rule is one rule type within an RLD Template.
Any number of Afferent Receiver Rules can be built within an RLD Template to match business objectives. Each Afferent Receiver Rule includes the following components.
Match conditions of criteria operators include the following types: All (AND), Any (OR), None (Not).
Sender fields available for match criteria include the follow properties:
Receiver fields available for match criteria include the follow properties:
Package fields available for match criteria include the follow properties:
Line Items fields available for match criteria include the follow properties:
Options fields available for match criteria include the follow properties:
References fields available for match criteria include the follow properties:
Rate fields available for match criteria include the follow properties:
Time fields available for match criteria include the follow properties:
The match criteria types listed above are used within individual rules or can be combined into a single rule to target specific conditions that include several match criteria.
The shipment request is modified according to the rules defined within the Afferent Receiver Rule matched within the RLD Template. The transformation functionality available to be included within the RLD template is as follows.
This configuration dictates exactly how the receiver properties are altered in the outgoing request payload. Once the match criteria are met, the request is transformed to override specific receiver fields—such as Receiver Name, Receiver Company, Receiver Address 1, Receiver City, Receiver Postal Code, or Receiver Residential status—with explicitly defined replacement values before the carrier processes the rate or label generation.
Usual use cases for Afferent Receiver Rules within an RLD Template are numerous. Some common use cases include the following:
Override the destination address to automatically redirect a shipment to a secure carrier access point or locker when specific delivery options (like “Hold for Pickup”) are selected at checkout.
Standardize or correct frequently misspelled city names or adjust specific postal codes to prevent unexpected carrier address correction surcharges.
Dynamically toggle the “Receiver Residential” flag on or off based on known B2B/B2C order tags or specific company name formats to ensure accurate rating upfront.
