FTP/SFTP

FTP refers to ‘File Transfer Protocol’ which is an internet-based data transfer mechanism much like HTTP (Hyper-Text Transfer Protocol) which is what you would be used to seeing at the start of web addresses that you type into your browser.

SFTP is ‘Secure FTP’ and is designed to encrypt file data sent across the internet similar to HTTPS (HTTP Secure) whilst using the same base protocol of FTP.

Both methods of FTP are essentially the same from the user’s point of view as both will likely require the use of a username and password for MachShip to point to.

An example workflow:

• Consignment created in the customer's system.
• Customer's system creates the required file and uploads it to their own FTP server or pushes it to an FTP setup on the MachShip end.
• MachShip periodically polls the FTP server and uploads the file into MachShip.
• Consignment is created in MachShip.
• If there are any issues with the file, these issues will need to be resolved manually outside of this workflow.

Technical Level: IT Administrator

Setup

• Customers system
  • Setup structured files to be generated from the customer's system
  • Maintain an FTP Server
  • Send files to the FTP Server
• MachShip system
  • If the client wishes to send to an FTP configuration setup on the MachShip end you would contact support@machship.com and ask that the username and password are provided. 
• MachShip team
  • Setup within MachShip to poll the required FTP server
  • Setup within MachShip to send files back to their FTP server

Additional Setup for customer-specific file

• MachShip team
  • Develop the mapping to read and import the customer's specific file format

Functionality

• Creating Consignments
• Creating Pending Consignments