Key takeaways:
- Review your carrier integration versions and schedule the upgrades you need before year-end.
- Use automated rate shopping to match shipments with carriers and services that meet your cost and delivery requirements.
- Review NetSuite bundle updates and EU product data requirements as part of your shipping preparation.
Peak season shipping preparation looks different for every business. You may be heading into your busiest weeks or using year-end to set up a strong start in 2027. Either way, recent updates to Descartes Pacejet give you more options for managing shipping costs, coordinating fulfillment, and preparing international orders.
What’s new for you in Pacejet
- Pacejet offers 60+ carrier integrations, and eight of them got updates in the last 60 days. See the list
- Pacejet Shipping for NetSuite supports NetSuite 2026.2 and NetSuite Next.
- Pacejet 26.7 helps you prepare for the EU’s new product identifier rules, which start in November with enforcement beginning in January.
Most of these changes take effect only after a carrier upgrade or bundle update. Get these updates on the calendar before year-end.
More carrier choices at the right cost
Pacejet’s carrier network gives you more ways to ship at the right cost. Eight of our 60+ carrier integrations improved in the last 60 days, with new pricing options and more guaranteed services. New versions roll out with less risk, so you can adopt them with confidence.
Carrier upgrades bring more service options and lower costs
Recent carrier updates lower your freight costs and bring your bills closer to your quotes. They also add more service options, including guaranteed and hazmat shipping.
- Averitt now supports dynamic LTL pricing, an increasingly popular option that can lower your freight costs.
- USPS (Endicia) now supports hazardous shipping. You get a more cost-effective hazmat option, with the label flag USPS now enforces more strictly.
- BlueGrace rates services more accurately, so your bills match your quotes more closely. Rating and shipping now pass expanded address information.
- Estes now sends freight bill-to details from Pacejet’s address fields automatically, for more accurate billing. This update also fixes issues with staging pickups and hazardous shipments.
- CH Robinson now handles standard and guaranteed service from the same LTL carrier as separate options. You get more choices across more carriers and services.
- Manitoulin is a new integration with more service options, including RockSolid guaranteed services.
- GLS Canada rates multiple services much faster. That means fewer timeouts and faster throughput in your warehouse.
- FedEx updates improve stability and performance, with better rating for multi-package shipments and better Pro Forma invoice support.
60+ carrier integrations on one platform
Pacejet makes it easy to try a new carrier and see how it performs. You can then change your carrier mix across multiple locations as your needs shift. With national and regional carriers across the US and Canada, plus 3PLs that quote across many carriers, you can balance cost and service with the most competitive options.
| Carrier type | Integrations | Popular examples |
|---|---|---|
| LTL | 28 | Estes, Old Dominion, R&L Carriers, SAIA, TForce Freight, XPO |
| Parcel | 19 | UPS, FedEx, USPS, DHL Express, Canada Post, Purolator |
| 3PL | 19 | Mainfreight, CH Robinson, BlueGrace, Echo, GlobalTranz, Worldwide Express |
If you haven’t looked at the network lately, browse the full library of carrier integrations in Introduction to Pacejet Carrier Integrations.
Faster carrier upgrades
We’re speeding up carrier integration delivery. That means more carrier types and broader feature coverage, with deeper integration into each carrier’s services. We’ve also changed how updates reach you, so new versions roll out with less risk.
- Request-first releases – Most carrier updates release on request first. Once enough customers report the new version is working well, we make it available to everyone.
- Clear version IDs – Every carrier integration now has one version ID, in the form CarrierName_VersionDateID. You can check which version you run yourself. Carrier Versions and Upgrades shows you where to find it.
- Help us test – We’re looking for customers to help test new carrier integrations before general release. To volunteer, reach out through Descartes Support at [email protected] or email [email protected].
Our knowledge base has more carrier documentation, too. See what changed in each version in the carrier release notes, and browse our growing carrier documentation for each integration.
Rate shopping on your rules
If you haven’t tried the Automations Rate action yet, take a look. It gives you powerful control over rate shopping and service selection. You set the triggers and conditions, and Pacejet rates or rate-shops each shipment automatically.
- Shop the right carriers. Limit small parcel orders to parcel carriers, and send heavier orders to your LTL carrier group.
- Choose by your rule. Include or exclude services, then pick the lowest-cost option that meets your delivery promise.
- Rate early. Pre-rate orders when they’re created, so shipping costs show up sooner.
Learn how it works in the Automations Rate Action Overview, or see it in action in Find the Best Rate for Every Shipping Use Case.
ERP integrations ready
We keep improving Pacejet’s ERP integrations, including NetSuite. Pacejet Shipping for NetSuite 26.1.5 keeps customer service and the warehouse in sync, and it holds up under high order volumes.
- Coordinated order changes – When customer service deletes an Item Fulfillment in NetSuite, Pacejet can warn the user, block the delete, or void the shipment. Customer service and the warehouse stay in step, with no orphaned shipments.
- Simpler custom field mapping – A new simplified custom field chooser lets administrators enter values manually. Your mappings are also protected during upgrades.
- High-volume processing – Scheduled processing makes better use of NetSuite map/reduce to handle more updates. It rides out NetSuite slowdowns, and one bad record no longer stops the run.
- NetSuite readiness – The bundle supports Built for NetSuite 2026.2 and NetSuite Next.
Platform ready for EU product identifier requirements
Complete product data helps your EU orders clear customs on time, without held shipments or surprise costs at the border. Your EU customers get their orders when promised, and you avoid paying to ship returns back.
The EU now requires product identifiers (PIDs) on low-value ecommerce imports. Starting November 1, 2026, each item in a business-to-consumer shipment worth €150 or less needs PIDs in its customs data. Missing PIDs can mean clearance delays, inspections, or a return to origin.
The rule is part of EU customs reform. Since July 1, 2026, these shipments also pay a €3 duty per item. Most B2B shipments to VAT-registered companies are out of scope. Sources: European Commission, FedEx, and UPS.
| Identifier | Required | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Merchant PID | Yes | Your SKU or item code |
| Manufacturer PID | Yes | Manufacturer part, model, or style number |
| Standard PID | If one exists | UPC |
Pacejet 26.7, which was released in October 2026, helps you get ready:
- Manufacturer Part Number – Products can now store a Manufacturer Part Number for the manufacturer PID.
- EU Commercial Invoice – New EU Commercial Invoice templates print automatically for EU destinations. Two new print triggers, International EU and International Non EU, control which template prints.
Until carriers accept PIDs electronically, FedEx asks shippers to list them on the commercial invoice. Next, we’ll send PID data electronically through UPS and FedEx.
Be an early adopter
Several additional major updates are on the way, and we’re looking for customers and partners to try them first. Early adopters get hands-on access before general release and a direct line to our product team.
- New integrated USPS shipping – A new USPS option built into Pacejet, with an improved payment process and more payment options. It runs on modernized integration technology.
- Major Pacejet user experience upgrade – We’re excited to announce a major upgrade to the Pacejet experience. Processing is significantly faster, and Pacejet handles very large package and item volumes better. New sign-in options include single sign-on, device registration, and more.
To join, reach out through Descartes Support at [email protected] or email [email protected]. Tell us which program interests you.
Get ready before year-end
Most carrier upgrades start as request-only. Email [email protected] to schedule the carrier upgrades and NetSuite bundle updates you need. Pacejet platform releases, such as 26.7, reach customers as each release rolls out.
- Carriers – Check which versions you’re on with Carrier Versions and Upgrades, and see what’s new in the carrier release notes.
- NetSuite – See what’s in each Pacejet Shipping for NetSuite bundle in the NetSuite release notes.
- Pacejet platform – Follow each Pacejet release in the Pacejet release notes.
FAQs
Include the carrier integration name, your current version ID, the shipping locations affected, and the change you want to use. Share your busiest shipping dates so Support has context when discussing timing.
Run representative shipments through rating, service selection, label printing, and any documents your team uses. Include the shipment types affected by the update, such as multi-package, LTL, or international orders.
Start with changes that address an active shipping issue or a requirement affecting your orders. Review optional changes separately and leave enough time to test before your busiest shipping days.
Bring together the people responsible for warehouse shipping, customer delivery promises, and shipping costs. Each team can check that the rules reflect how orders need to move.
Explain what is changing, which orders it affects, and what each person needs to do differently. Walk through a representative shipment and make the updated instructions easy to find.