Smarter Shipping Rate Requests in Odoo by Reducing Costs and Improving Performance with EasyPost

Steersman’s EasyPost integration is a critical part of many Odoo workflows—but when not optimized, they can introduce unnecessary costs and inefficiencies.

Steersman has developed a new enhancement to improve how Odoo interacts with EasyPost, giving businesses greater control over when shipping rates are requested and significantly reducing the number of API calls.

The Problem: Too Many Unnecessary Rate Requests

In standard workflows, opening a Delivery Group on a Sales Order line automatically triggers rate requests to EasyPost for all available shipping methods.

While this may seem convenient, in practice it creates two major issues:

1. Most Rate Requests Aren’t Needed

In many real-world scenarios:

• Orders are handed off directly to customers
• Deliveries are fulfilled using internal company trucks

In these cases, external carrier rates (UPS, FedEx, etc.) are never used—yet the system still requests them.

2. API Calls Are Now Costly

EasyPost has introduced pricing based on the number of rate requests.

Under the current setup:

• Multiple delivery methods trigger multiple API calls
• Even when using the same carrier (e.g., UPS), duplicate requests are sent
• Some workflows generate 5–6 API calls per Delivery Group view

This leads to unnecessary and avoidable costs over time.

The Solution: Controlled and Consolidated Rate Requests

Steersman’s enhancement introduces two key improvements:

1. Manual Rate Requests

Shipping rates are no longer automatically fetched when a Delivery Group is opened.

Instead, users now have a “Request EasyPost Rates” button.

• Rates are only requested when needed
• Users stay in control of when API calls are made
• Unnecessary requests are eliminated entirely

This simple change alone can drastically reduce API usage.

2. Consolidated API Calls

When rates are requested, the system now intelligently consolidates requests.

Instead of:

• Sending multiple API calls per delivery method

The system now:

• Sends a single API call to EasyPost
• Includes all relevant carriers (UPS, FedEx, etc.) in one request
• Retrieves all rates in one response

The returned rates are then distributed across the appropriate delivery methods within Odoo—just as before.

How It Works in Practice

1. A user opens a Delivery Group on a Sales Order
2. No automatic rate requests are triggered
3. If shipping rates are needed, the user clicks “Request EasyPost Rates”
4. Odoo sends a single consolidated request to EasyPost
5. Rates are returned and displayed across all applicable delivery methods

The user experience remains familiar—just more efficient and intentional.

Configurable to Fit Your Workflow

This feature is fully configurable and can be enabled or disabled through:

Settings → Sales → Delivery Groups

• Enable: Manual rate requests with consolidated API calls
• Disable: Default automatic behavior

This allows businesses to adopt the feature based on their operational needs.

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The Impact: Lower Costs, Better Performance

With this enhancement, businesses can expect:

• Significant reduction in EasyPost API costs
• Fewer unnecessary external requests
• Improved system performance
• Cleaner, more intentional user workflows

By eliminating redundant calls and giving users control, this feature ensures that shipping integrations work efficiently—without generating hidden costs.