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Understanding the coming changes
In 2025, your customer experience will be enhanced when we move from our legacy SAP platform to a next-generation, cloud-based SAP solution.
Previous communications stated a target implementation date of September 3, 2024. Canada Post has shifted the target date to 2025. All the changes outlined on the What’s changing page will come into effect in 2025 and not in 2024.
Find answers to your questions about this upgrade below.
General / next steps
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Review the details and technical specifications under the “What changes you need to make” section. Share this information with any impacted stakeholders, such as third-party shipping systems vendors, third party logistics vendors, direct ship vendors, any other third parties you may work with, and your internal teams to determine the impact to your current systems and processes. Make note of the changes you may have to make before the systems changes are implemented in 2025 to ensure a smooth transition.
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In 2025. Exact date to be communicated later this fall. We are committed to providing advanced notice to ensure customers have time to prepare.
Previous communications targeted a September 3, 2024 deployment date. With any project of this scale and scope, it is not uncommon for timelines to shift in the interest of achieving the best possible outcomes. Canada Post continues to complete critical system testing to ensure a smooth transition
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To better meet customer expectations in an evolving market, Canada Post is transforming our platforms and processes. You’ll experience simpler processes, among other benefits, with our new cloud-based SAP system.
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Systems, Applications & Products (SAP) is both the name of the multinational company and the software that enables customers to perform day-to-day business processes, such as accounting, sales, production, HR, and finance.
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There will be no price changes for Parcel Services in 2024. Our price changes for Parcel Services will come into effect with the 2025 timing of the new SAP platform implementation. We will notify you with the exact date and you will receive your customized Price Guide specific to your Parcel Services agreement per your contractual terms.
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Some examples of how we are simplifying customer-facing processes:
- Simplifying induction processes by making paper manifests optional for parcels customers
- Simplifying invoicing processes with event-based billing, streamlining invoice types and content, and updating invoicing delivery options.
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The following changes are only applicable to shipping with Canada Post:
- Event-based billing
- Rate codes for Parcel Services will expand from 45 to 128
- Optional to print the paper manifest
Changes that will impact both shipping and mailing:
- Consolidated billing on one invoice, Statement of Account will no longer be offered
- Changes to the invoice data file (for customers receiving their invoice data file via Connect or SFTP only)
Billing and invoicing
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There will be no price changes for Parcel Services in 2024. Our price changes for Parcel Services will come into effect with the 2025 timing of the new SAP platform implementation. We will notify you with the exact date and you will receive your customized Price Guide specific to your Parcel Services agreement per your contractual terms.
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Canada Post’s current process for parcel orders is to bill immediately upon electronic receipt of the parcel order. In the future, customers will continue to transmit their parcel order data to Canada Post and Canada Post will only bill the items once we have received a physical scan (an event) in the Canada Post network. You may see parcels from a single order split over multiple invoices based on when they receive a physical scan.
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Currently, billing takes place when the electronic manifest data for parcel orders is sent to Canada Post. Customers must cancel labels if they don’t use them. With event-based billing being introduced in 2025, Canada Post will bill only when a shipment receives a physical scan in Canada Post’s network.
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Yes, this would apply to U.S.-bound shipments. This is good news for customers who are looking to do returns to the U.S.
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All products, credit and debit adjustments will now be available on one invoice, with filtering available on the data file. Customers with different customer numbers and/or with different billing terms will continue to receive separate invoices for each customer number and/or products and services.
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To standardize and simplify processes and forms, creating a better experience for customers (especially businesses that use multiple Canada Post services and products).
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There may be changes to the structure of the data file, with new or different field headers, and/or changes to field values. Please review the specifications for the data file to determine which changes are relevant to your current accounting processes. If you receive the data file invoice via SFTP or have other automation set up, you may need to update your systems to ensure seamless data transmission after the systems upgrade
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Statement of Account will no longer be available after the systems upgrade is implemented. The new consolidated invoice will provide a summary of charges by products and services.
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If you pay for shipping by credit card, you will be impacted by the new event-based billing processes, you will start receiving invoices weekly instead of monthly, and you will need to review your invoice weekly and pay any amounts owing.
Currently, your credit card is charged when you complete your parcel order through a shipping tool. In 2025, when you ship a parcel through a shipping tool, you will pre-authorize your credit pard for payment and payment will be processed once the parcel(s) receive a physical scan in Canada Post’s network. If your credit card payment fails, the amount owing will be posted to your account and your weekly invoice will identify shipments we weren’t able to process payment for. You must pay any amounts owing or risk having your account blocked for future transactions.
Parcel rates
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There will be no price changes for Parcel Services in 2024. Our price changes for Parcel Services will come into effect with the 2025 timing of the new SAP platform implementation. We will notify you with the exact date and you will receive your customized Price Guide specific to your Parcel Services agreement per your contractual terms.
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Until the new SAP platform deployment in 2025, your contracted rates will not be affected by this change. Canada Post is optimizing our pricing grid for parcels to offer more competitive rates across a wider variety of shipping lanes. Our pricing will expand from its current 45 rate codes to 128 rate codes while maintaining the current number of weight steps.
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2024 peak season surcharges for Oversize, Unpackaged and Out-of-spec items will be the same as 2023 and will be effective Monday, November 4, 2024, to Sunday, January 12, 2025. During this period:
- The existing surcharge for Oversize and Unpackaged items will be adjusted to $30 from $21.
- The existing surcharge for Out-of-spec items will be adjusted to $400 from $300.
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There will be no impact to pricing for Transaction Mail and Direct Mail products and services with this systems upgrade.
Shipping and mailing
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You already have access to accurate pricing through Web Services and that will continue after this systems upgrade in 2025. There is no action required on your part related to this change.
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The change to make paper manifests optional applies to outbound shipping only, there will be no changes to the returns process.
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Continuous inbound freight and other cross-border operations may still require a paper manifest as part of your documentation. We recommend you reach out to your broker to confirm.
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Yes, you can continue to print paper manifests and provide them to the pickup agent. Some third-party shipping tools may still automatically print the paper manifest.
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Customer use of Canada Post shipping and mailing tools (including EST 2.0, EST Online, Canada Post Snap Ship™, Shipping Manager, Express Order Entry, Express Order Entry Secure, Precision Targeter, Order Entry, EasyFlow, and Snap Admail) will remain unchanged, but they will see changes to their invoices. The following backend changes will be introduced, though there will be no impact to how you use Canada Post’s shipping and mailing tools:
- Credit validation will be done for every single order (real time credit check) for all products (Transaction Mail, Direct Marketing and Parcels)
- Master data changes (including pricing, customer information and products) will be synchronized to shipping and mailing tools in real time (currently they are visible after 24 hours from the moment SAP is updated)
Didn't find the answer you are looking for?
Contact customer support by emailing us at newSAPinfo@canadapost.ca or call us at 1-866-757-5480 (volume-based Commercial customers) / 1-877-262-5762 (Solutions for Small Business)