Integration of Econt and Speedy in Magento Checkout 2 with the option to fill the delivery address only once

Update 26.08.2021:

The article is from 2019 and describes the simultaneous integration of Speedy and Econt couriers into the Magento 2 checkout. As of the latest update, Stenik still uses this excellent approach for user experience (UX). The difference is that we no longer install the official modules for Magento 2 provided by Speedy and Econt (the couriers no longer support them technically and were developed with old versions of the couriers' APIs). Instead, Stenik has built entirely new modules for integration with the courier companies. These modules are fully supported by us, and we continuously adapt and enhance their functionalities based on the requirements and needs of our clients.

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Often, fashion and trends in online commerce are dictated by the needs of consumers. After all, they are the ones who leave the money and drive the business of online merchants.
While a good online store can be realized on an open-source eCommerce platform (open code), which is usually developed and intended for international (mainly American) markets, an excellent online store needs to be localized according to the needs of consumers.

The Bulgarian consumer is not satisfied with just one courier

When we talk about Bulgaria, a similar need for the localization of the user experience emerged during the integration of couriers into the checkout of online stores. The Bulgarian consumer is not satisfied with just one courier. If an online retailer has a contract only with Speedy or only with Econt, this is a precondition to lose customers, orders, and money.

Stenik is a leading company in the development of online stores for many well-known Bulgarian brands. We would say (but usually our clients and partners say it, not us) that there is no other IT company in Bulgaria that has developed the online sales platform for top brands like Hippoland, Ozone.bg, Douglas & Beauty|Zone, Lily Drogerie, Cinema Arena, Technomix, Sladkarnitsi Nedelya, Global Brands Distributions, and many others.
As a leading developer of internet stores for the Bulgarian market, we understand the needs of consumers. That's why we developed a solution for online stores based on the Magento 2 platform, where we integrate both courier modules for Speedy and Econt simultaneously into the checkout.

Shortcomings of Standard (Basic) Modules for Speedy and Econt for Magento 2

The courier companies Econt and Speedy themselves have official modules (available on their corporate websites) developed for Magento 2 integration into the checkout, including automatic address filling and waybill generation.

However, when we installed each extension separately for our clients, it turned out that the modules themselves have a user experience that is disliked by both store owners and consumers. One of their main shortcomings is that the user has to fill in their delivery details once in the standard Magento address fields and then again in the fields integrated with the APIs of the courier companies Speedy and Econt.

You can understand how annoying this is for users, how much time they waste, and it doesn't offer an easy UX to complete the order as quickly as possible. This may even lead to confusion for the user because if they want delivery to an Econt or Speedy office, they first need to enter a delivery address (any), and then select that they want to pick up the package from the office of the respective courier and specify the city and office.

Another major drawback of the courier modules is that even if a user completes an order by filling in their addresses twice, these addresses are not saved in the customer's address book. So, for the next order, they have to fill in their delivery addresses twice again.

But at Stenik, we found a solution to all these problems.

Stenik's Solution for Courier Integrations for Magento 2

With an increasing number of clients with online stores on Magento 2, Stenik had to quickly find a solution and be able to integrate both Speedy and Econt couriers into Magento checkout simultaneously, with users entering their address only once.

A few years ago, we developed a similar solution for Magento 1. The solution was for the checkout of the renowned online store Ozone.bg. Shortly after redesigning Ozone, we implemented the integration of Speedy and Econt couriers into the checkout. The checkout for Magento 1 that we use is not the standard one; it's a one-step checkout that Stenik developed.
For the online store of Hippoland, again on Magento 1, we implemented a combination of two other couriers - EuroOpt and Speedy - again in a single checkout. In other words, it's not mandatory for the two couriers we combine to be Speedy and Econt; they can be chosen by the merchant.

On the one hand, creating a module from scratch for Speedy and Econt for Magento (and for any other eCommerce open source or SAAS platform) is a huge technical task. On the other hand, the official modules of Econt and Speedy contain rich functionality in the admin panel and good connections with the APIs of the couriers.

Therefore, we decided to keep the two current official modules, upgrading them with our additional modules, so that:

• The modules of Econt and Speedy work seamlessly together with the standard Magento address fields;
• Users fill in their details only once.

Users on the online store of Magento 2 now only need to fill in their email address, names, and phone number. Instead of filling in the delivery address (standard in Magento and for standard modules for Speedy and Econt), we directly allow them to choose how they want the package to be delivered:

• Address with Econt
• Econt office
• Address with Speedy
• Speedy office
• Pick up from a physical store (this is an additional module developed by Stenik for picking up the goods from the merchant's store - pick up from store or click & collect).

In the upgrade, we also included:

• Saving addresses in the address book for registered users;
• Edit addresses in the address book and checkout;
• Bug fixes for the official modules of Speedy and Econt and reworking certain functionalities;
• Option to track the shipment from the user profile for Econt (it was basic only for Speedy)
• Option to send a waybill for tracking in the email to the customer when the shipment is dispatched from the Magento admin panel and a tracking link to the sites of Econt and Speedy.
• Integration of order statuses in Magento with the statuses coming from Econt and Speedy and automatic status change when the order is taken by the courier and handed over to the customer.

How much time did it take, and how does it work?

The work on the upgrade of the courier modules took over 400 hours invested by Stenik programmers and Magento consultants. But as leaders in the development of complex online stores for the Bulgarian market, we feel obligated to impose important eCommerce functionalities as a standard, not as an exotic feature available only to a few larger online merchants.

You can see the easy way to finalize an order with Econt or Speedy courier, which we have integrated for the online store of Douglas & Beauty Zone.

What's next?

At Stenik, we are committed to continuous improvement and have planned further upgrades to our modules. These enhancements specifically target a major issue faced by online merchants, especially during busy periods like the Christmas holidays, when courier services may experience delays. In such instances, courier modules often lag or stop working, making it impossible for users of the online store to finalize their order. To address this challenge, we have successfully implemented a solution for Magento 1, which will now be seamlessly transferred to Magento 2. The key strategy involves creating a locally cached version of the delivery price calculation within the merchant's online store. This ensures that even if the connection with the courier API is interrupted, users can effortlessly complete their orders. So, if the connection with the courier API is interrupted, the user will be able to easily complete their order, and a waybill can be automatically generated afterward.

If you have a Magento online store, we will be happy to get in touch with us and discuss how we can upgrade your checkout so that your users only need to fill in the details for Speedy and Econt in the shortest and fastest way possible. At Stenik, we understand this!

We are also open to any questions about custom Magento development, as well as the development of new online stores or migration of online stores to Magento from other platforms such as OpenCart, PrestaShop, WordPress, SaaS solutions, or even custom-developed stores.