Consignment Import
In Transvirtual there is the ability to create EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) Import rules that allow you to create consignments without the need to use the consignment creation page in the Transvirtual Web Portal. This is especially handy for when you/customers need to create a large number of consignments in one go.
The page used to create a consignment EDI Import rule can be found under Import/Export > Data Import > Consignment Import.
This article will detail how to create an example standard consignment Import rule that can be used to create consignments in bulk. This example will also be limited to creating consignments for one customer because typically, your customers would be responsible for creating their own consignments.
This article will detail how to create an example standard consignment Import rule that can be used to create consignments in bulk. This example will also be limited to creating consignments for one customer because typically, your customers would be responsible for creating their own consignments.
Example Setup
1. Go to the Consignment import settings page and click on Add Import Rule, a pop-up to create a new import rule will display as shown below.
2. On Create a new import rule screen, fill the detail as describe below:
a. Rule Name: This is the name of the EDI Import rule. The name should be reflective of what the rule does. For this example, we are going to name the rule "Consignment Creation Import via Email".
b. Import Framework: This is the method which this EDI rule will utilize to create the consignments. Select the For this example we are going to set this as Email.
3. Once fill the detail, click on the Create button and you will now see your EDI rule appear in orange color in the list, indicating that it is not yet active, now click on the rule and the rule detail will display on the right side of the page as shown below.
4. Now, update the detail as describe below:
a. Rule Name: This is simply the name of the EDI Import rule. You should already have this field populated with the name used to create the rule. This can be changed if needed.
b. Import Framework: This is how the consignments will be created. For this example, we are using email, which means that a file in the format of the Import File Type, will need to be sent as an attachment to the email address listed for this rule. The email listed needs to be a Transvirtual email. To generate/identify what email should be used for this process, click the Settings button next to this field, a pop-up View the Email Settings for this import rule will display as shown below.
i. Here you have to generate an email address by clicking on Generate Address button and then copy it, add it to your emails and finally click on Update button.
This is the email address that will need to be used in this process; email recipient should be this email address.
ii. If you re-click the Settings button again, you will see the email you have generated and can copy and paste it to provide to staff or customers hoping to create consignments via this method:
c. Import File Type: Now, with the help of drop-down button, select the file format that will be used to create the consignments for this EDI rule.
In this example we are using CSV as a file type. CSV is a comma separated file that is the most commonly used file type in Transvirtual. Setting the Import File Type as CSV means that for this EDI Import to work as expected, the file that is sent with the email MUST be a CSV type file. Import File Type Setting: In addition to setting the Import File Type as CSV, we also need to map the columns that will be in the file (CSV files look very similar to an excel worksheet/file). Without any column mapping, Transvirtual is unable to determine what information belongs where and any imports would be unsuccessful. To add/edit the column mapping, click on the Settings button and then you can edit the CSV file setting where you can adjust the columns required as shown below.
Now, update the setting as below:
i. Delimiter Char: This is the character that will be used to separate the columns in the CSV. Typically, commas (", ") are used in CSV files, if needed you can use other characters
For this example, we are using a comma.
ii. Toggle: The set of toggles in the middle of this window can be used if required. Each toggle has different functions. The top one will ignore the first row of a CSV file. The reason you would do it, because you may have a row of column headings in your file. For this example, we are going to set this toggle to YES.
The other commonly used toggle here is the Skip if Job Already Exists toggle. Enabling this toggle simply means that once a consignment has been created, no future EDI imports can be used to update the information on it. This can be toggled if required, but for this example, we are going to set as NO.
iii. Column Mapping: This will list the columns that should appear in your CSV file, from left to right. To add mapping to this rule, click and select the relevant fields from the column selector field or you can remove any existing column by clicking on cross icon.
If there is not a selection for everything. In this case you can use the "xignore" column to ignore the required column.
The column mapping is up to you/your customer. The mapping that is listed in this EDI Import rule MUST match the columns from left to right in your CSV file; otherwise, this process will not work as expected.
iv. Transformation Code: This is a numeric value that can be used to map complex CSV files. This is not typically required, but if needed, you will need to talk to the Transvirtual staff to implement. In this example, we are going to leave this field blank.
v. Once your mapping has been setup, click the Update button to save the changes.
d. Customer (Optional): This field is used so that you don't need to specify a Customer Name in the CSV file. Here, if you select the customer then any consignments created via this EDI rule will belong to this selected customer. For this example, we will keep it blank.
This field acts as a backup Customer Name. If you forget to include a Customer Name in the CSV file, this value will be used for any rows missing a Customer Name.
f. Agent/Supplier (Optional): This field can be used to specify an Agent/Supplier that will be listed against consignments created via this EDI rule.
This may be handy for situations where the same Agent/Supplier ALWAYS does the delivery or pickup for these jobs. For this example, we are going to leave blank. g. Leave the remaining fields blank unless you need to change the default Date/Time, UOM (Length, Cubic Weight, or Height), or Weight formats. For example, if dimensions are provided in millimetres instead of meters, set the UOM to mm so the system converts it to meters when the consignments are created.
The Timezone should also be set accordingly.
h. Once the details for this rule have been configured, now enable the rule using the Enable Import toggle and then click on Update to save the changes.
i. This Import rule is now active and will appear in white in your list.
Extra Information - What Next?
From here, the next step is to provide the email address linked to this rule (found by clicking the Settings button next to Import Framework) to the Customer that will be using this rule to create consignments in your account. Once they have been provided the correct email, the file they send with the email MUST be in the format specified in the settings of this rule.
1. For this example, the file type is listed as a CSV, meaning that the attached file they send to the Transvirtual email MUST be a CSV, otherwise, the import will not work, and the consignments will not be created.
2. The columns listed in the file MUST be the exact same as those listed in the Import File Column Mapping. Below is an example of what the file could look like for this setup.
2. The columns listed in the file MUST be the exact same as those listed in the Import File Column Mapping. Below is an example of what the file could look like for this setup.
3. Ensure the columns listed match what is in the Import Mapping. Save the file as a .csv file type and attach this to an email and click on send button to send the email to the email listed for this import rule as shown below.
4. A few minutes later, the consignments will be created in your account, provided there are no errors with the file type or column mapping. If needed, you can check for newly created consignments via the Consignment Search page (Transport > Operational Task > Consignment) or by using the Import History page (Import/Export > Administration > Import History, and Search for Rule Name and double-click on the appropriate rows to see what consignment numbers may have been created via this rule). The Import History page will also display whether an Import has been successful or not.
If you are creating an import rule and the Import Framework is Remote FTP, and if the rule has not downloaded any files in 3 months or longer, the rule will get automatically disabled. If this occurs, you will not be able to use the rule anymore and will need to re-create the rule (creating a new rule with the same settings).
Conclusion
If you have any issues or queries you can contact support@transvirtual.com and we will be happy to help.
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