The Shipping Simulator in the Admin simulates and analyzes available shipping options. The simulation checks the shipping conditions which enables the retailer to check availability of items, delivery methods, costs, and deadlines.

The simulator can also be used to validate the Shipping Strategy settings before enabling the logistics process (Inventory, Dock, and Shipping Policy) considering:

• Item Availability: the simulator checks if the item is in stock and whether it is possible to ship it (checks if there are carriers for that region, for example). If one of the criteria is not met, the simulator assumes that the item is unavailable.
• White Label Sellers Availability: the simulator selects the white label seller that is closest to the shipping address (the logistics settings are calculated in the White Label Seller’s environment, not in the main account).

There may be a discrepancy between the final price indicated by the simulator and the actual price in your store since the simulation does not take into account the following: Promotions applied to the items. Shipping discounts configured through promotions. The Total Delivery Time shown in the simulation results does not take into account the field Expected Delivery Date (pre-sale) in the item’s information in the system.

1. In the VTEX Admin, go to Shipping > Shipping Strategy, or type Shipping Strategy in the search bar at the top of the page.
2. Click on Shipping simulator.
3. Select your Country.
4. Select the desired Trade Policy.
5. Select the product by name or ID.
6. Select the SKU quantity.
7. Fill in the Price. This field is optional.

The simulator does not take into account the price registered in the Catalog module. Therefore, the calculation does not consider any current promotions for those SKUs, or shipping taxes for the shopping cart price, if there is any. This may result in a different rate from the real one in your store. To avoid this, we suggest that you manually enter the SKU’s exact rate with the applied promotions, which will make the simulator result more accurate.

8. Click on the + icon to add more than one product to the simulation. If you want, you can check the Simulate items individually box.

This functionality is useful when items do not have compatible logistics configurations that allow shipping to be made by the same carrier.

9. Enter the Zip code for which you want to perform the simulation, or fill in the Address.

For the simulation to be made based on Address coordinates, it is necessary to configure a Google geolocation key. You can get this key on the Google Developers Portal. Once you have the key, go to Store settings > Shipping > Settings, or type Shipping in the search bar at the top of the page and select Store settings / Shipping. Fill in the Google Geolocation API field with the key.

10. Click on the Shipping simulation button.

The items measurements in the simulation result appear in centimeters and grams; however, the actual values for the Checkout are the measurement units registered in the SKU and product registration fields.

The shipping simulation shows all the shipping possibilities and availability for the items included in the simulation and describes delivery details for an order or shipping cost and delivery time taking into account the factors below.

• Excluded carriers: when running the simulation, some carriers may be unavailable because they do not meet the Shipping Policy’s criteria (seeexcluded carriers for more information).
• Simulation sharing: the simulation can be shared by clicking share shipping simulation in the upper right corner of the page. When you click, a share link is copied to your clipboard. This feature makes it easy to get the VTEX team, or your store’s team, to resolve issues on specific orders. Only users who have access to the VTEX environment can view the share link.
• Shipping rate: in simulations that have more than one SKU, the shipping rate is proportionally divided according to the weight of each SKU in the package. For example, consider a simulation with 2 SKUs (one weighs 2kg, and the other one weighs 3kg). Let us assume that the shipping rate with Carrier A is US 10 in total. In this case, the cost for the lighter SKU is US 4, and the cost for the heavier one is US 6. To learn more, check How proportional shipping costs are calculated.
• Package dimensions: in simulations where the SKUs have more than 1 unit, the dimensions described next to the SKU on the simulation page do not change. The system will take into account that the total package dimensions increased.

The most common reasons why a carrier is not available for simulation are listed below along with solutions for them.