Managing e-commerce logistics means dealing with sudden updates to your inventory and fulfillment processes. Imagine some of your products were initially uploaded to fit standard packaging, so you assigned them a “Mailbox” shipping class. However, you later start producing them in a bigger size, or your manufacturer decides to increase their dimensions without prior notice. Suddenly, you need to mass update their shipping classes from the Mailbox shipping class to a “Bulky” or “Heavy” class to calculate accurate shipping rates.
Doing this manually is a tedious task because you likely have hundreds of products affected by that sudden change. Spending several hours editing your products one by one, or risking website errors by trying to implement custom PHP code snippets, is not an efficient strategy.
Fortunately, managing your WooCommerce shipping zones and classes doesn’t have to be complicated. The WP Sheet Editor plugin allows you to edit your shipping classes efficiently with its powerful bulk edit tool. This mass update solution lets you filter your catalog by keyword, product category, attribute, and more, allowing you to target exactly the items that need a new shipping class.
Let’s dive into the tutorial!
Install WP Sheet Editor to Manage Shipping Classes
This plugin displays your entire WooCommerce product catalog in a clean, easy-to-use spreadsheet interface where you can view and edit data freely. It also includes an advanced Bulk Edit tool to help you apply widespread changes to thousands of products with a few clicks.
You can download the plugin here:
Download WooCommerce Products Spreadsheet Plugin - or - Check the features
Once you install and activate the plugin, open the products spreadsheet. You’ll see an interface like this:
1. Search for the Products You Want to Edit
To start optimizing your shipping logistics, you first need to filter the products you want to bulk update. To do this, we will use the Search tool, which allows you to filter products using any field as a search criteria.
In most scenarios, you won’t want to edit the shipping class of your entire inventory. That’s why this plugin includes a comprehensive search and filtering tool.
In this example, we will search for all the products containing the Heavy shipping class, so let’s select it in the Enter Brands… Shipping classes field and click on Run search.
You can combine multiple search filters to narrow down your selection. The spreadsheet will display all the products matching the search filters.
IMPORTANT: How to Filter Product Variations
If you run a store with variable products and want to edit only specific product variations, you just need to tick the Search on variations checkbox. In this case, the plugin will bypass the parent products and filter only the underlying variations.
It’s important to mention that when filtering variations, you can still use the other fields such as Contains keyword, Status, and Enter tags. For example, you can isolate all variations containing a specific size or color by writing it in the Contains keyword field and then ticking the Search on variations checkbox.
3. Bulk Edit Shipping Classes on the Filtered Products
Once your target products have been filtered, you are ready to apply the mass change. You need to start by opening the Bulk Edit tool.
Use these exact values in the Bulk Edit tool to reassign their shipping class:
- Select the rows that you want to update: Edit all the rows from my current search.
- What field do you want to edit: Select “Shipping class”
- Select type of edit: Choose “Set value”
- Replace existing value with this value: Select your new class, such as “Discount” or “Bulky”. (This is just an example; you decide which shipping class fits your fulfillment strategy).
- Select Edit only parent products or Edit only variations.
- Click on the Execute now button.
After that, your products’ shipping classes will be updated across your WooCommerce database.
Simplify Your WooCommerce Logistics
Updating store logistics does not have to be a manual burden. You can save lots of hours of administrative work and keep your fulfillment processes accurate with WP Sheet Editor. Once you master this tool, you can easily handle other major catalog updates, such as bulk editing WooCommerce pricing or reassigning product categories in bulk.
You can download the plugin here:
Download WooCommerce Products Spreadsheet Plugin - or - Check the features
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Can I revert the bulk edit if I assign the wrong shipping class?
We recomment you to first export a backup since changes cannot be automatically undone.
Does this bulk update method work for WooCommerce product variations?
Absolutely. By using the “Search on variations” filter, you can isolate and update shipping classes for specific product variations without affecting the parent product or other variations within the same group. Make sure you select Edit only variations in the Bulk Edit tool.
Is it possible to bulk remove shipping classes from products?
Yes. To remove a shipping class entirely, simply filter your products, open the Bulk Edit tool, select the “Shipping class” field, and choose “Clear value” as your edit type before executing.