| Audience | Dispatcher, logistics provider |
| Task | Create freight job |
| Application | eCargo Web |
A freight job covers the dispatch and delivery of goods. Freight jobs are created by a dispatcher (or a logistics provider).
You can either create freight jobs one at a time in eCargo Premium, or you can save time by creating several consignments in a single batch by importing them in a CSV file, such as one saved from Excel.
Click here to access the import consignments feature in the eCargo application.
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Getting started
In preparation for creating your import consignment file it is recommended that you firstly download the consignments CSV template file from the Import consignments page. This will generate a template based on jobs recently created by your business.
The next step is to run the Master Data report, this will give you a full set of master data values to use in the Carrier, Pickup from and Deliver to fields.
File format
Your file will need to have a header row, followed by one or more consignment items to import. The first set of headers provide details about the consignment, such as pickup and delivery details, and the second set provide consignment item details. If there is more than one consignment item on the consignment, all the values in the consignment details columns should be duplicated.
The consignment detail columns can be separated into two categories: required and optional columns.
Required consignment columns
Consignment details columns (all headers must be present, and the header text must match the following text in bold):
- Consignment number
- Owner (usually the name of your business as seen in Premium)
- Logistics provider (the name of the business who sends you freight invoices)
- Carrier (optional, will be set if auto carrier rules exist)
- Carrier subcontractor (optional, will be set if auto carrier rules exist)
- Pickup from (business name, as seen in Premium)
- Planned pickup date (dd/mm/yy format)
- Planned pickup time (optional, in hour:minute format)
- Deliver to (business name, as seen in Premium)
- Planned delivery date (dd/mm/yy format)
- Planned delivery time (in hour:minute format)
- Booking reference (optional, can be left blank)
- Purchase order (optional, can be left blank)
- Protection type (ambient, chilled, or frozen)
- Comments (optional, can be left blank)
Note that the consignment number of imported consignments will not be prefixed, and will be saved into eCargo as specified in the import file.
The owner, logistics provider, carrier, carrier subcontractor, and pickup and delivery points use business names as seen in eCargo Premium.
Optional consignment columns
Optional columns are not required for successful processing of the import file. If an optional column is missing or the column header exists but the value is blank then a reasonable default will be used. If the default value is not correct for the consignment then add the optional column and the correct value so that the consignment will be created with the correct value instead.
The following column headers can be optionally added to the import file (the header text must match the following text in bold):
- Transportation mode (default is Road, can be Road, Rail or Shipping)
Consignment item columns
Consignment item details columns (the Consignment item header must be present, and the header text must match the following text in bold):
- Consignment item
- Weight (kg)
- Volume (m3)
- Other units of measure appropriate to your business. The template file will define these for you.
Some common units of measure codes include:
- Lift
- Pallet
- Carton
For example, to specify the number of pallets for the consignment item, add a new column to the right of the CSV file with the header pallet, and specify values in the rows corresponding to the appropriate consignment item. A full list of unit of measure codes can be found here.
You can download a sample file by clicking the link under Prepare your consignments file on the consignment import page in eCargo.
Auto-carrier and auto lead-time rules
When importing a consignment, auto-carrier and auto lead-time rules will be applied. If your business is configured to use auto-carrier rules, you must leave the Carrier and Carrier subcontractor columns blank because the system will set the correct values for you. Similarly, if the auto lead-times feature is configured to calculate the planned delivery date/time, the Planned delivery date and Planned delivery time columns must be left blank. For more information on auto-carrier and auto lead-time rules, see the documentation:
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