Issue adding new shipping carriers for package tracking

Question

fairly new Magento dev here.. I'm adding two new carriers to our Magento EE instance, Apex and OnTrac. The carrier records are attached to the shipment by a separate process handled by our ERP system and then imported into Magento, so we don't need to worry about anything being customer facing. All I need is to enable tracking info for these carriers.

Under the below configuration, APEX and OnTrac now display in system>configuration, but only APEX shows in the Shipping and Tracking Information box in Sales>Shipments, and if shipments are imported into Magento from our ERP, that control is empty.

Here's my code, what am I missing?

app/etc/modules/Foo_Shipping.xml

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<config>
    <modules>
        <Foo_Shipping>
            <active>true</active>
            <codePool>local</codePool>
            <depends>
                <Mage_Shipping />
            </depends>
        </Foo_Shipping>
    </modules>
</config>

app/code/local/Foo/Shipping/etc/config.xml

    <?xml version="1.0"?>
<config>
    <modules>
        <Foo_Shipping>
            <version>1.0</version>
        </Foo_Shipping>
    </modules>
<global>
    <models>
        <foo_shipping>
            <class>Foo_Shipping_Model</class>
        </foo_shipping>
    </models>
    <sales>
        <shipping>
            <carriers>
                <ontrac>
                    <class>Foo_Shipping_Model_Carrier_OnTrac</class>
                </ontrac>
                <apex>
                    <class>Foo_Shipping_Model_Carrier_Apex</class>
                </apex>
            </carriers>
        </shipping>
    </sales>
</global>
    <default>
        <carriers>
            <ontrac>
                ...
            </ontrac>
            <apex>
               ...
            </apex>
        </carriers>
    </default>
</config>

app/code/local/Foo/Shipping/etc/system.xml

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<config>
    <sections>
        <carriers>
            <groups>
                <ontrac translate="label" module="shipping">
                    <label>OnTrac</label>
                    <show_in_default>1</show_in_default>
                    <show_in_website>1</show_in_website>
                    <show_in_store>1</show_in_store>
                    <fields>
                        ...
                    </fields>
                </ontrac>
                <apex translate="label" module="shipping">
                    <label>APEX</label>
                    <show_in_default>1</show_in_default>
                    <show_in_website>1</show_in_website>
                    <show_in_store>1</show_in_store>
                    <fields>
                          ...
                    </fields>
                </apex>
            </groups>
        </carriers>
    </sections>
</config>

app/code/local/Foo/Shipping/Model/Carrier/OnTrac.php

class Foo_Shipping_Model_Carrier_Ontrac
    extends Mage_Shipping_Model_Carrier_Abstract
    implements Mage_Shipping_Model_Carrier_Interface
{

    protected $_code = 'ontrac';
    protected $_isFixed = true;

    public function isTrackingAvailable()
    {
        return true;
    }

    public function collectRates(Mage_Shipping_Model_Rate_Request $request)
    {
        return Mage::getModel('shipping/rate_result');
    }
    public function getAllowedMethods()
    {
        return array(); //shell, we won't use this logic for this carrier
    }
}

app/code/local/Foo/Shipping/Model/Carrier/Apex.php

class Foo_Shipping_Model_Carrier_Apex
    extends Mage_Shipping_Model_Carrier_Abstract
    implements Mage_Shipping_Model_Carrier_Interface
{

    protected $_code = 'apex';
    protected $_isFixed = true;

    public function isTrackingAvailable()
    {
        return true;
    }

    public function collectRates(Mage_Shipping_Model_Rate_Request $request)
    {
        return Mage::getModel('shipping/rate_result');
    }
    public function getAllowedMethods()
    {
        return array(); //shell, we won't use this logic for this carrier
    }
}

Answer 1

In your collectRates() method you are returning rate result object but without adding any actual rates. You need to add at least 1 to show it on front end:

public function collectRates(Mage_Shipping_Model_Rate_Request $request)
{
    $result = Mage::getModel('shipping/rate_result');

    /** @var Mage_Shipping_Model_Rate_Result_Method $rate */
    $rate = Mage::getModel('shipping/rate_result_method');

    $rate->setCarrier($this->_code);
    $rate->setCarrierTitle($this->getConfigData('title'));
    $rate->setMethod('apex_main');
    $rate->setMethodTitle($this->getConfigData('method_title'));
    $rate->setPrice($this->getMethodPrice(0));
    $rate->setCost(0);

    $result->append($rate);

    return $result;
}

/**
 * Calculate price considering free shipping and handling fee
 *
 * @param string $cost
 * @param string $method
 * @return float|string
 */
 public function getMethodPrice($cost)
 {
    return $method == $this->getConfigData($this->_freeMethod)
        && $this->getConfigFlag('free_shipping_enable')
        && $this->getConfigData('free_shipping_subtotal') <= $this->_rawRequest->getBaseSubtotalInclTax()
        ? '0.00'
        : $this->getFinalPriceWithHandlingFee($cost);
 }

You can simplify or extend logic of settings price and names according to your needs.

Answer 2

I had to do the same ... add new carriers for internal use only (not visible on frontend)

For your carriers model this should be enough:

protected $_code = 'ontrac';

public function isTrackingAvailable()
{
    return true;
}

public function collectRates(Mage_Shipping_Model_Rate_Request $request)
{
    return null;
}

public function getAllowedMethods()
{
    return array();
}

/**
 * @param string $tracking
 * @return false|Mage_Core_Model_Abstract
 */
public function getTrackingInfo($tracking)
{
    $trackData = array(
        'carrier'       => $this->getCarrierCode(),
        'carrier_title' => $this->getConfigData('title'),
        'tracking'      => $tracking,
        'url'           => 'http://nolp.dhl.de/nextt-online-public/set_identcodes.do?lang=de&idc=' . $tracking // german DHL tracking URL
    );

    return Mage::getModel('shipping/tracking_result_status', $trackData);
}

In config.xml I just set carrier title and model (i've no need for backend settings):

<default>
    <carriers>
        <ontrac>
            <title>Your title</title>
            <model>foo_shipping/carrier_ontrac</model>
        </ontrac>
        ...
    </carriers>
</default>