OVERVIEW

Loop’s third party label feature offers merchants the ability source return labels from providers that don’t have direct shipping service integrations with Loop.

Let your Merchant Success Manager or support@loopreturns.com if you'd like to enable this feature.

Third party labels are generated through Loop APIs that third party partners can use to receive label requests from Loop and then provide Loop with the requested labels.

This helps merchants save on return labels by sourcing them from 3PLs who may have cheaper negotiated rates with carriers. Third party labels also benefit 3PLs by allowing them to directly monetize their Loop returns.

To learn how to set up third party labels as a merchant, follow the directions outlined in the steps below.

Instructions on how to integrate Loop's third party label API endpoints can be found in the developer documentation: https://docs.loopreturns.com/integration-guides/labels-integration.

When your third party label partner has completed the integration, they will send you an authorization link. This authorization link will give them permission to provide labels to your Loop returns instance. After authorizing the partner through the link, your next steps will depend on how the partner built the integration.

• If your partner can automatically create webhooks, skip straight to the “Configure Return Policies” section.

• If your partner can’t automatically create webhooks, continue to the next step, “Create webhooks”.

• If your partner uses API keys instead of authorization links, you’ll need to create webhooks and an API key manually. Continue through each step in the guide for instructions.

Note: a few partners are using the old version that requires API keys. Reach out to your label partner to find out if they are using API keys or authorization links.

Some partners can create webhooks automatically on behalf of the merchant; if your label partner can do this, you can skip this step. If your partner requires you to create webhooks manually, you will need to contact your third party label partner to request the URL that the webhook data will be sent to.

Tip: Loop recommends that third party label partners include Loop and merchant identifiers in the URL like in the following example: api.partnername.com/loop/examplemerchantname

How to create webhooks if your third party label partner cannot automatically create them for you:

1. In the Loop admin, navigate to Returns management > Tools & integrations > Developer tools.

2. Click Create webhook and create a new webhook using the following information:

   • Event: Label request.issued

   • Response: Label request

   • URL: The URL provided by the third party label provider

3. Click Create webhook again to create a second webhook using the following information:

   • Event: Label request.cancelled

   • Response: Label request

   • URL: The URL provided by the third party label provider

Note: If the merchant's third party label partner requires the merchant's webhook secret, it can be found at the bottom of the Webhooks table.

A recent update means most merchants won’t need to create an API key. If your third party label partner sent you an authorization link to provide labels, you likely don’t need to generate an API key and you can skip this step.

1. In the Loop admin, navigate to Returns management > Tools & integrations > Developer tools.

2. Scroll down to API keys and click Generate API key.

3. Select the following scopes for the new API key:

   • Return

   • Developer Tools

   • Destinations (read)

   • Destinations (write)

   • Labels (read)

   • Labels (write)

   • Label Generation Requests (read)

   • Label Generation Requests (write)

4. Give the API key a descriptive name with the partner's name in it, then click Generate.

5. Copy the generated API key and send it to the merchant's third party label partner.

For each of their return policies, merchants can choose whether or not to use third party labels for shipping returns. To enable third party labels for a new or existing return policy, follow the steps below.

Note: Before enabling third party labels in their return policies, merchants should confirm with their third party label partners that they're ready to go live.

1. Navigate to Returns management > Policy settings > Return policies.

2. Create a new return policy or edit an existing one.

3. Ensure that Generate labels is toggled on.

4. Under Label provider, select External connector.

Returns using third party return labels are handled in the admin in the same way as other returns. Merchants can still view return details such as the return's event history, destination address, and tracking number. As with other returns, merchants are also able send the label by email.

To check if this feature is included in your plan, please review the Pricing page on Loop's website.

If you want to add this feature, please contact your Merchant Success Manager to amend your account. 

What are the benefits of using third party labels for merchants? 3PL and warehousing providers are often able to negotiate highly competitive shipping rates because of their volume. Third party labels allow merchants to leverage these negotiated rates to get the cheapest possible labels while simultaneously allowing their partners to charge merchants less for labels while still making margin.

Do third party labels work any differently for customers? No, returns shipped using third party labels work in the same way as other return labels. After the customer has submitted their return, the label and packing slip (if applicable) are generated using the third party label APIs and returned to the customer for shipping.

Please reach out to support@loopreturns.com with any additional questions.