BRT-fermopoint in PrestaShop: the pickup point plugin, the network and the checkout

BRT is one of the main parcel carriers in Italy, and BRT-fermopoint is its network of pickup points. For an Italian PrestaShop shop it is often the first pickup option customers ask for. This article sums up what BRT says about its PrestaShop plugin and network, and what to check when you use it in a one page checkout.

The BRT-fermopoint plugin for PrestaShop

On its e-commerce page, BRT lists a BRT-fermopoint plugin “available for: PrestaShop (version 1.7.0.0 and later), WooCommerce (version 5.6.0 and later)”. With it, customers “choose where to pick up their purchases”, on a map or in a list.

The same page mentions other BRT services for shops:

• Plug & Ship, which can redirect a shipment to a BRT-fermopoint after the checkout phase.
• Delivery options such as delivery to a specific floor, nominated time slots, secure PIN numbers and Saturday deliveries.
• EasySpedWeb, a free BRT service that can import PrestaShop orders for shipping.

The page does not say who develops the plugin or what it costs; ask BRT for the current version and the conditions of your contract.

The network

BRT cites “over 12,400 BRT-fermopoint collection points across Italy” and, through the Geopost network, more than 150,000 pickup points in Europe. GEL Proximity, which provides the technology for the network, describes BRT Fermopoint as the brand under which the Geopost European network is accessible in Italy, with pickup points and lockers.

How point selection works in the checkout

Pickup point modules in PrestaShop show their content under their carrier in the delivery step, through the displayCarrierExtraContent hook. The module reads the cart, the customer and the delivery address, and offers points near that address.

In the standard four-step checkout, the address is saved before the delivery step loads, so the list is right. In a one page checkout the customer types the address and chooses the carrier on the same page, without a page load. A module that reads the address only when the page loads may then show:

• an empty list for a new guest, who had no saved address when the page loaded;
• points near the old address for a logged-in customer who switched to another address.

We explain the mechanism and the two ways to fix it in Pickup points in a PrestaShop one page checkout.

What to test before going live

Run these checks on a copy of your shop, with the BRT-fermopoint carrier enabled:

1. New guest. In a private window, add a product, enter a new Italian address and select BRT-fermopoint. The map or list should show points near that address.
2. Logged-in customer, second address. Log in as a customer with two addresses, select BRT-fermopoint, then switch address. The points should follow.
3. No point chosen. Try to place the order without choosing a point. The checkout should stop and ask for the delivery selection.
4. Phone. Repeat test 1 on a phone. The map or list should be usable without zooming.
5. The order. Open the order in the back office and check that the chosen point is recorded, so it reaches BRT with the shipment.

Our experience

We use BRT-fermopoint with Prime OPC on an Italian store. Prime OPC keeps the carrier module’s own map and list inside its delivery section, stops the order when no point is chosen, and has two optional settings that reload the checkout once, after a guest saves their details or after a customer changes address, for carrier modules that need it. Both are off by default; switch one on only if test 1 or test 2 above fails.