paperless_trade = true required for FedEx ETD but breaks UPS e-Customs

[minchaminder]

What happens

• Setting paperless_trade = true is mandatory for FedEx Electronic Trade Documents.
• In UPS shipments the same flag makes Karrio always send InternationalForms.FormType = 07, as hard-coded at karrio/modules/connectors/ups/karrio/providers/ups/shipment/create.py line 427.
• When no user-created docs are attached UPS Ship API returns error 128240 Invalid or missing User Created Form Data and the shipment is rejected.

Why this is a problem

• FedEx → needs paperless_trade = true to trigger ETD.
• UPS → needs paperless_trade = true only when documents are actually uploaded; otherwise it should fall back to the API-generated commercial invoice (FormType = 03) or to paper docs (FormType = 01).

With the current implementation we have to choose between:

1. Leaving paperless_trade off – FedEx ETD fails.
2. Turning it on – UPS shipments fail unless we attach our own documents.

Questions / suggestions

• Is the mapping at line 427 intentional (paperless_trade = true → FormType = 07 regardless of doc_references)?
• Would it make sense to default to 03 when paperless_trade is true and doc_references is empty, using 07 only when doc_references contains at least one document?
• Are there other carriers that rely on paperless_trade in ways that would clash with such a change?

Open to guidance on the best way to handle this without breaking existing integrations.

[danh91]

Hi @minchaminder ,
Thanks for explaining the problem. Let me review the implementation and create a dedicated documentation page for Paperless.
It will help clarify and address the clashing behaviours

[danh91]

Hi @minchaminder, I wrote the docs and addressed the conflicting behaviour of paperless for UPS and DHL.
There is still some work to be done to be able to allow more control over the specific file type that is being uploaded, but please test it and let me know what you think
https://www.karrio.io/docs/products/shipments/paperless-trade