Systems and methods for providing extended shipping options

A method for providing access to extended shipping options, the method comprising:

• receiving via an existing shipment information specification user interface, through an existing user interface element, a first shipment information item of a first type;
• transparently providing access to extended shipping options by providing a module for facilitating specification of the extended shipping options via the existing shipment information specification user interface by transparently integrating the module into the existing user interface, thereby extending the existing user interface to handle the extended shipping options;
• receiving, via the user interface element, an indicator of a second shipment information item of a second type that is not the same as the first type, wherein the second shipment information item is specified via the module and the user interface is not configured to handle shipment information items of the second type prior to being extended;
• and
• causing a shipping provider to process a shipment according to the first and second shipment information items.

A system for providing access to extended shipping options, the system comprising:

• a processor;
• a memory;
• and
• instructions that are stored in the memory and that are configured, when executed by the processor, to perform a method comprising:
• providing access to extended shipping options with respect to a shipment information specification user interface that is otherwise not configured to facilitate specification of the extended shipping options, by providing a module that specifies extended shipping options by:
• receiving a first shipment information item specified by a user via the module;
• causing the first shipment information item to be transmitted as part of a second shipment information item of a second type that is not the same as the first type, the second shipment information item specified by the user via the shipment information specification user interface;
• and
• causing a shipping provider to prepare a shipment in accordance with the first and second shipment information items.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium including contents that are configured, when executed, to cause a computing system to perform a method for providing access to extended shipping options, the method comprising:

• providing access to extended shipping options via a shipment information specification user interface that is otherwise not configured to facilitate specification of the extended shipping options, the user interface including an element configured for specifying a first shipment information item of a first type, by:
• receiving, via the user interface element, an indicator of a second shipment information item of a second type that is not the same as the first type, wherein the indicator of the second shipment information item includes a tag or a uniform resource identifier that is interpreted by a shipping provider to determine the second shipment information item;
• and
• causing the shipping provider to process a shipment according to the first and second shipment information items.