When looking to set up a new account with First Express you will need to contact their team and advise them that you are looking to despatch your account through MachShip. They can be contacted at campbell@firstexpresscouriers.com. Please cc integrations@machship.com in your email.

Your email should be as follows:

Hi First Express Team, 

I need to set up my account <insert account code> with First Express so that I may consign with my new FMS partner MachShip. Can you please provide me with the following:

1. API key
2. Consignment Prefix

Can you please also set up my account so that the status updates and PODs are sent back to MachShip?

Once the First Express team responded, you will then need to fill out the specific options:

Account Code - The account code will have been provided to you when your account was set up. 

API Key -  This will be provided in the email above. 

Consignment Prefix -  This will be provided in the email above. 

Reference Pools - Reference pools are utilised by MachShip in order to maintain a count on connote, manifest and item numbers. The reference pool will ensure that each of those numbers is unique to what we have sent to the carrier previously. More information can be obtained on reference pools here. First Express requires the creation of just 1 reference pool, for the Connote number.

To create the reference pool select the Create Carrier Reference Pool button at the bottom of the page. 

If you are creating a new account then the Reference Pools will be set to the following fields:

Pool Name - Set as First Express Connote Ref Pool <Account Code> 
Minimum Value - 1
Maximum Value - 999999 (that is six 9's)
Next Value -  1
Cyclical - N0

It will appear as below:

Once created it will appear in the drop-down as below:

Should you already be trading on an existing account please set the next available field as 1000 consignments higher than the highest connote number on your previous account. 

TEST:

Once the account has been set up and all of the rates have been added, you will need to run a test to ensure that upon go-live, everything will run successfully. To do this, create a consignment - please make Reference 1 and Reference 2 and the delivery special instructions THIS IS A TEST. Once this has been created please manifest the consignment to the carrier. If you experience any issues please contact support@machship.com.

If you receive a successful manifest message from MachShip then please send an email campbell@firstexpresscouriers.com and advise that you are starting to despatch your First Express account through MachShip and that you would like to receive verification on the test file and permission to start to trade. Please include the label pdf's for the manifest, connote, and the items.

Advise them of the connote number and request that they should cancel this to ensure that you are not charged. Please cc integrations@machship.com on this email so we can help if required. 

On confirmation from the support team that the setup is validated, you are free to begin to consign.