How to Add Romanian Couriers (Sameday, FAN, Cargus, DPD) as Shipping Methods in WooCommerce

You run a WooCommerce store and you want your checkout to look like every serious Romanian shop: the customer picks a courier, chooses a locker or home delivery, and pays by cash on delivery or card. It sounds simple, but between a bare WooCommerce install and a checkout that actually works with Sameday, FAN, Cargus and DPD there are a few technical decisions that matter.

In this guide we show you, concretely, how to connect the couriers, how to enable locker pickup points, how to keep cash on delivery as a payment method, and how to generate the shipping label (AWB) straight from the order - without copying addresses into each courier's own platform. No "done in 5 minutes" promises - we also tell you what can trip you up.

Two approaches: courier plugin vs. manual shipping

Before any plugin, decide how you want shipping to work.

• Native shipping methods (Flat Rate / Free Shipping): WooCommerce ships with this out of the box. You set a fixed rate (say, one price for standard delivery, free over a threshold) and generate the AWB manually in the courier's app. Simple, zero plugin cost, but the routine work grows with your order count.

• Courier integration plugin: brings real-time rates into checkout, the locker / pickup-point selector, and - most importantly - AWB generation straight from the order page. This is where dedicated plugins for Sameday, FAN Courier, Cargus and DPD come in.

For a store with a handful of orders a day, native is fine to start. As volume grows, the integration pays for itself in saved time.

What you need from each courier (accounts and API)

Each courier has a business portal and, behind it, an API. You need a contractual account, not the occasional-shipment option for individuals.

• Sameday: an eAWB / Sameday account plus API credentials. Sameday is the reference courier for the easybox locker network - if you want lockers, most of them are here.
• FAN Courier: a SelfAWB account; you'll need a username, client ID and API password. FAN also runs the FANbox network.
• Cargus: a Cargus account and access to the Cargus API (key / subscription key). It also offers Ship & Go pickup points.
• DPD: a DPD Romania account and DPD API credentials; the DPD locker network is useful nationwide.

Ask each courier, in writing, for the API data and documentation. Without these credentials, no plugin can show real rates or generate an AWB.

Step by step: activating in WooCommerce

The flow is similar regardless of the courier:

1. Install the plugin (from Plugins > Add New, or by uploading the archive from the provider).

2. Enter the API credentials in the plugin settings and test the connection - nearly all of them have a "test" button.

3. Set the sender address (your store): city, county, postal code, phone. Couriers reject AWBs with incomplete addresses.

4. Configure the shipping method under WooCommerce > Settings > Shipping: add the courier to the delivery zone (Romania) and choose how the rate is calculated - fixed or pulled from the API.

5. Enable the pickup-point selector (easybox, FANbox, Ship & Go, DPD lockers) if you want the customer to pick a locker at checkout.

Test with a real test order before going live. A checkout that looks fine but errors when the order is placed loses customers silently.

Cash on delivery and lockers: what to know

Cash on delivery is still in high demand in Romania, especially with new customers who don't yet trust paying upfront.

• Enable the "Cash on delivery / Ramburs" method in WooCommerce.
• In the courier plugin, tag the order with the COD amount - the sum the courier collects and remits back to you (usually within a few business days).
• Mind the COD fee the courier charges; you can fold it into the shipping price or absorb it yourself.

Lockers: when the customer picks a locker, the delivery address becomes the locker location, not their home. The plugin must pass the locker ID correctly to the courier, otherwise the AWB comes out wrong. Always check that the pickup-point selector saves the choice correctly on the order.

Generating the AWB straight from the order

This is where the real time difference shows. With the integration set up correctly, a "Generate AWB" button appears on the order page. With one click:

• the shipment is created in the courier's account,
• a printable PDF label is generated,
• the AWB number is saved on the order and (ideally) sent to the customer for tracking.

That means you no longer copy name, address, phone and contents into the courier's platform for every parcel. At dozens of orders a day, the difference is huge.

If you want to go further, some setups allow bulk generation of several AWBs and printing the labels in one action - handy when you prep the morning's parcels all at once.

When it's worth asking for help (and how we work)

Courier integration looks simple in theory, but in practice it gets stuck on details: rejected API credentials, wrong sender addresses, plugin conflicts, rates that don't calculate correctly for certain zones.

At MPO Web Studio we build WooCommerce stores with the couriers already connected - Sameday, FAN, Cargus, DPD - with cash on delivery, lockers and AWB generation tested on real orders before going live. We work remotely across the country and show you a working demo first, so you see exactly how the checkout and order flow look before you pay anything.

If you want your shipping side sorted without losing days on API docs, message us on WhatsApp - we'll tell you clearly what's needed and what it costs.