Postal Zones are relative distances from your shipping location to your recipient that are provided by USPS. 

They can be from 1-8 representing the distance between origin and destination. These are not static zones, just a numerical representation of a relative distance. If your origin or destination address changes, the zone could potentially change as well. These zones help to determine the rates for your shipping provider. 

Extensiv Network Manager offers the ability to filter by postal zone using our Orderbots. Simply create a new Orderbot and under filters, select Postal Zone. Network Manager only uses the USPS zones. Whenever an event occurs that would change the zone (e.g. changing a recipient’s address, changing the fulfillment source), Network Manager will recalculate the postal zone. This however does not mean your Orderbot will run again as Orderbots only apply the first time an order comes in.

How to use Postal Zones

Knowing the postal zone allows you to make informed decisions on the best shipping options for your orders. For example, let's say you want to make sure that orders being shipped long distance still make it to their destination on time.

You can create an Orderbot filter that says if the postal zone is greater than 6, to set the shipping method to 2-day delivery.

Here is another example:

Filter: If Postal Zone is less than 3

Action: Then set Carrier/Service/Package to USPS, USPS Priority Mail Express, My Packaging

In this example, it is important to make note that “Set Carrier/Service/Package” only applies to 3PLs.