Status Updates Export
In Transvirtual, there is the ability to create Consignment Status Export EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) rules that send out status update information about a consignment, to a location via FTP, Email, etc. This page can be found under Import/Export > Data Export > Status Updates.
This article will run through a common setup that most Transvirtual users implement, sending On Delivery notifications to a customer (indicating their freight has been loaded and is on its way).
Create/Add a New Rule
1. To create a new rule, go to the Export Consignments Status Updates page, where you will see a similar screen as shown below.
2. On the Export Consignment Status Updates page, click on the "New Rule" button as shown above. A pop up of 'Create a new export rule' will display, as shown below.
3. Manually enter the Rule Name in the rule name field and select the Export Framework with the help of drop-down button, then click on the Create button as shown above.
4. Once the rule is created, it will be added to the Export Rules list and highlighted in orange color as shown below.
4. Once the rule is created, it will be added to the Export Rules list and highlighted in orange color as shown below.
5. Now, click on the newly added rule, and the details of this rule will appear on the right side of the page as shown below.
6. In the rule detail section, you can add/update the detail of the rules as described in the Update/Edit the Rule paragraph.
Data Filter
1. To see the data filter tab, navigate to the bottom of the page where you'll find the Data Filter section. The data filter is the driving force behind when the rule will and won't apply to a consignment.
2. The data filter tab works in a similar way as described here.
Update/Edit the Rule
1. To update/edit the rule details, first click on the applicable rule, and the details of that rule will display on the right side of the screen as shown below.
2. You can update the details as follows:
a. Rule Name: This is the name given to rule. It can be changed at any point but should reflect what the rule will be used for or does. In this example will keep the rule name as it was set during the initial creation.
b. Trigger Period: This determines how often the import will work for new files to import. In this example, it will be set to the default Every 2 mins value.
c. Limit Exports: This setting controls how many times an EDI can be performed for the same event/consignment. In this example will select as Not Required.
d. Export Framework: This specify how the information will be exported from Transvirtual. In this example email is selected. You can update the import framework setting by clicking on the Settings button, edit email setting popup will display.
You have the ability to customize the FTP, E-mail, Webservice, Printer, Account Package and SMS using the Settings button.
e. Export File Type: Select the export file type with the help of drop-down button. In this example Basic CSV/Excel is used.
If you want to update the settings of Export Framework and Export File type, click here and refer to the Export Framework Setting and Export File type setting section.
f. Enable Export: To enable new rule, click on the toggle in the Yes position, and then click on the Update button to save the changes. Once completed, the color of the rule will change to White which means that this rule is enabled.
The Memo and Rule ID Errors are not mandatory fields, so in this example we leave them blank.
Delete the Rule
1. If you want to delete the rule, simply click on the delete icon, a confirm dialog will pop-up, click on Yes button, the rule will be deleted from database as shown below.
Any successful EDI rules that have triggered on a consignment will appear under the communications tab of that consignment.
You can see in the above that this consignment currently has a status of On Delivery; therefore, it is eligible for this EDI rule.
Delivery Updates at 30 and 15 minutes from location
In addition to the above, Transvirtual also has the ability to send out notifications to consignment customers, senders and receivers to provide notifications when their consignment is roughly 30 or 15 minutes away from being delivered. This setup is normally done via SMS and the below example will use that to demonstrate; this will also be setup under the Status Updates page, which can be found under Import/Export > Data Export > Status Updates.
The Route Optimisation module MUST be enabled for this process to work!
SMS sending in TransVirtual is a paid function. Each text message sent from your account will incur a charge. Further information for this can be found in the Rates and Modules page of your account:
To navigate Rate and Modules page, go to Configuration > Transvirtual Account > Rates and Modules.
To navigate Rate and Modules page, go to Configuration > Transvirtual Account > Rates and Modules.
1. To setup a rule for delivery updates in 15 and 30 minutes via SMS, go to Export Status Updates page and add a new rule by clicking on the New Rule button.
2. Now, follow the same steps as describe in the above Create Rule paragraph.
As this example we are going to setup for SMS, then make sure you choose SMS in the Export Framework
3. Now, click on the newly added rule, the detail of the rule will display on the right side of the page as shown below.
4. Scroll down and at the bottom of the page go to data filter section and fill the details as describe below.
Data Filters in Transvirtual are used to determine when an EDI rule will and won't apply to a consignment.
5. On data filter section, select the Field, Logic and Value as shown below.
These values helps when to apply this EDI rule to a consignment.
In the above example, in data filter section, in field we use Customer Name Logic will be Equal To and in Value use Customer Name (Transvirtual).
For this example, our Data Filter will apply to consignments for a nominated customer where the consignment status is MobileDeliveryIn15Mins.
6. You will now also need to specify the relevant status this applies to. To do so, follow the same instructions as describe in step 5 but here change the filter data, i.e., in the Field section select Status Name, Logic will be Equal to and in Select Value use Mobile - Delivery ETA 15 Minutes and then click on Add Rule button, a new row will be added in the data filter section as shown below.
In addition to the above, it may be a good idea to add another condition to the Data Filter like the below IF you have a similar rule setup for 30 min notifications:
If you wanted to add this, the logic is Previous Status (Any), then Not Equal, then Mobile - Delivery ETA 30mins and Add Rule.
Note: The reason adding this extra condition/line to the Data filter may be a good idea would be if you also have a 30-minute delivery notification version of this rule setup. If that is the case, you may not want to send both a notification SMS at 30 and 15 minutes. This extra line means that this 15-minute text notification will only occur if the system has not previously sent a message/SMS out at 30 minutes.
This may come in handy as it costs money to send texts so you may want to only send either a notification at 30 OR 15 minutes NOT both.
If you only have the one EDI rule, then disregard this as it only applies if you have both the 30- and 15-minute rules setup.
7. Once the data filter has been setup, now need to configure the rule details at the top of the page, where you can update the Rule Name, Trigger Period, Limits and Exports, Export Framework, Enable Export, perform a Test Export, Link to Rule ID, Memo and Email EDI Errors.
8. Once you updated the details, click on the Update button to save the changes.
Field Information
1. Rule Name: This is the name of the EDI rule and will already be populated with what you entered when creating the rule. You can change again if needed but ensure that the name is reflective of what the rule will be used for.
2. Trigger Period: This is the field where you specify how often the EDI rule will run. For this example, we are going to set as Every 2 Mins:
3. Limit Exports: This setting controls how many times an EDI can be performed for the same event/consignment. For this example, we are going to leave as Not Required.
4. Export Framework: This will determine how the information is sent out of Transvirtual. For this example, we are going to set as SMS. To edit what is sent with the SMS, click the Settings button next to this field as shown below.
Framework Setting
1. Once you click on the settings button, a pop-up to Edit SMS setting will display as shown below.
2. Here, you will need to configure where the SMS/texts are sent and what they say, starting from the top, there are toggles for Sending to Consignment Sender or Receiver Phone.
In this example, we are going to enable the toggle for Send to Consignment Receiver Phone
If you wish to check the consignment receiver phone number, open the consignment and go to consignment details section and check the Receiver information as shown below.
3. If you want to customise the message that will be sent to this phone number. To do this, simply type your desired text into the SMS Message field in SMS Message section as shown below.
@Model.ConsignmentNumber is a special coding function that will automatically populate the consignment number for each consignment this rule triggers against. It is VERY IMPORTANT that this code is typed exactly as per the above for this to work properly.
If necessary, use the Validate button to ensure the setup is correct - the screen will go white and display an example SMS if all good.
4. You'll notice that as you start typing, you will see message length and approx. credits as shown above, this message gives you an indication of how long your message is and thus how many credits will be used to send each SMS.
The more credits used the more it will cost you; so best to ensure the message is short and sweet to minimise costs (if required).
5. Once configured, click on the Update button to save the changes. The rule is now configured for this example.
6. Now, enable this rule, to do so click on the Enable Export toggle button in YES and then click on the Update button to enable this EDI rule.
7. Once the rule is enabled, you will notice that the rule appears white in colour from the list on the left - indicating it is now active as shown below.
How does this actually work?
Once setup, the rule will work automatically to apply to any consignments where Transvirtual is the customer (for this example) and the current status is "Mobile - Delivery ETA 15 Mins".
This status is achieved by Transvirtual communicating to the driver's mobile device. Each device (as long as it is turned on and GPS is enabled) sends back GPS data periodically to Transvirtual, letting the system know its location. When Transvirtual receives this information, it can calculate how far away a driver/device is from a location and if 15 mins, the system assigns applicable consignments the status of "Mobile - Delivery ETA 15 Mins" which then triggers the sending of an SMS to the client, informing them that their delivery will arrive shortly.
This status is achieved by Transvirtual communicating to the driver's mobile device. Each device (as long as it is turned on and GPS is enabled) sends back GPS data periodically to Transvirtual, letting the system know its location. When Transvirtual receives this information, it can calculate how far away a driver/device is from a location and if 15 mins, the system assigns applicable consignments the status of "Mobile - Delivery ETA 15 Mins" which then triggers the sending of an SMS to the client, informing them that their delivery will arrive shortly.
This process requires that the device remain on and that the Transvirtual app has GPS permission, along with GPS being enabled from within the device settings.
This process also requires that the driver follow the run order listed on their device!
This process is only as good as the GPS data being received back from the device!
This process also requires that the driver follow the run order listed on their device!
This process is only as good as the GPS data being received back from the device!
Important to note: If for some reason a driver is unable to complete the delivery, they MUST ensure that they 'fail' the delivery so that this export rule does not keep attempting/sending the SMS. For help with this, please click here or here.Related Articles
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