About GLS Germany
GLS Germany is the German company of GLS (General Logistics Systems). It delivers to business and private addresses across Germany, runs GLS PaketShops (ParcelShops) and GLS PaketStation parcel lockers, and carries parcels from Germany to every EU country it reaches by road, to Switzerland, Norway, the United Kingdom and the rest of non-EU Europe, and by express to 13 countries outside Europe. Your GLS Germany contract lives in ShipIT, GLS's shipping system in Germany, and Zippendo books straight into it.
Why ship with GLS Germany through Zippendo?
Zippendo is a shipping platform for webshops and warehouses. Connect your own GLS Germany contract once, and your orders become GLS shipments without anyone typing addresses into a GLS portal. You keep your GLS prices, and GLS Germany keeps invoicing you directly. Every parcel gets its own label and GLS parcel number, and the shipment links to GLS's website so you can follow it.
Express by 08:00, and on Saturdays
GLS ExpressParcel delivers within Germany on the next working day, by the end of the day or in the window you choose: by 08:00, 09:00, 10:00 or 12:00, or on Saturday by 10:00 or 12:00. An express parcel can weigh up to 40 kg and can carry cash on delivery. For standard parcels, GLS BusinessParcel takes Guaranteed24Service for a guaranteed next working day delivery, SignatureService when the receiver has to sign, and FlexDeliveryService, which lets the receiver steer the delivery from GLS's email.
GLS PaketShops and PaketStations at checkout
GLS ParcelShop Delivery takes a parcel to the GLS PaketShop your customer chooses in Germany, or to a GLS ParcelShop in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal or Spain. GLS Parcel Locker Delivery goes to a GLS PaketStation in Germany. Shopify live checkout rates and the Zippendo WooCommerce plugin show the GLS points nearest the customer's postcode, leaving out points GLS marks as out of order or closed today, and the order arrives with the point the customer chose. A parcel to a point in Germany can weigh up to 40 kg, and up to 20 kg to a ParcelShop abroad.
Cash on delivery within Germany and to Austria
With CashService, GLS Germany collects up to 2,500 EUR from the receiver on GLS BusinessParcel and GLS ExpressParcel within Germany, and on GLS EuroBusinessParcel to Austria. It works on a shipment with one parcel, and Zippendo checks the amount before booking.
Exports with customs data, in Europe and worldwide
GLS Parcel outside the EU takes parcels up to 31.5 kg from Germany to Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Norway, the United Kingdom, Iceland, Turkey, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Andorra, Gibraltar, San Marino, Vatican City, the Faroe Islands and Greenland. GLS Express outside Europe goes to Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa, Taiwan, the United Arab Emirates and the United States, up to 50 kg (40 kg to some of them) and with goods worth up to 5,000 EUR per parcel. Add the HS code, country of origin and value to your order lines and your EORI number once, and the customs data travels with every export. You choose who pays duties and taxes, and for goods worth 1,000 EUR or more you enter the MRN of your export declaration or let GLS file it for you.
Collections, returns and pickups
GLS Pick&Ship sends a driver to collect a parcel at an address in Germany and deliver it anywhere GLS reaches by road in the EU. GLS Pick&Return collects a return at your customer's address, in Germany or elsewhere in the EU, and brings it to you. The driver brings the label for both, so nobody has to print anything. GLS ShopReturn gives your customer a label to hand in at a GLS ParcelShop in Germany or 21 other European countries. For one-off collections at your own address, ask GLS for a pickup under Pickups in Zippendo.
Supported GLS Germany products and services
- GLS BusinessParcel: delivery to a business or private address in Germany, up to 40 kg
- GLS EuroBusinessParcel: road delivery from Germany to another EU country, except Cyprus and Malta, up to 40 kg
- GLS ExpressParcel: next working day delivery within Germany, with an optional window by 08:00, 09:00, 10:00 or 12:00, or Saturday by 10:00 or 12:00
- GLS ParcelShop Delivery: delivery to a GLS PaketShop in Germany or a GLS ParcelShop in 11 other European countries
- GLS Parcel Locker Delivery: delivery to a GLS PaketStation in Germany
- GLS Parcel outside the EU: delivery to 18 European countries outside the EU, with customs data, up to 31.5 kg
- GLS Express outside Europe: express to 13 countries outside Europe, with customs data, up to 50 kg
- GLS ShopReturn: a return label your customer hands in at a GLS ParcelShop in Germany or 21 other European countries
- GLS Shop Returns label and QR code: returns from customers in 25 EU countries, with a printed label or, in 17 of them, a QR code shown at the ParcelShop
- GLS Pick&Ship and GLS Pick&Return: GLS collects the parcel and brings the label
- Services in Germany: FlexDeliveryService, Guaranteed24Service, SignatureService and CashService up to 2,500 EUR
- Services abroad: FlexDeliveryService across the EU, and CashService to Austria
- Labels: PDF, or ZPL for 203 dpi Zebra printers, one label per parcel
How do I connect GLS Germany to my webshop?
Connect your shop to Zippendo, then add your GLS Germany contract under Carriers. Zippendo has ready-made integrations for Shopify and WooCommerce, and any other system can send orders through the REST API. Your shipping rules then decide which orders go with GLS Germany, alongside GLS Austria, GLS Poland, DHL eCommerce Europe, DPD Switzerland and UPS on the same platform. See all integrations for the full list.
Every outbound product ships from an address in Germany. You need a GLS Germany contract and your GLS Contact ID, the ID GLS gave you with the contract. You also need your own app on GLS's developer portal, with its Client ID and Client secret, which GLS enables for ShipIT and your Contact ID: ask your GLS contact to arrange it. Exports outside the EU need GLS to enable the app for customs too, and GLS Shop Returns needs a Shop Returns app ID from GLS. The GLS Germany setup guide in our docs walks through every field.
GLS Germany integration FAQ
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