The Import Consignments feature allows you to import any delimited, XML or JSON file containing consignment or order information.

How to Navigate to Import Consignments screen 

• To get to the Import Consignments screen, from the top menu Create/Manage, click Import Consignments under the Consignments section. 
  

• Or you can alternatively use the link here. 

Import Consignments Process 

MachShip can facilitate the mapping of a consignment file which you are able to internally produce in any of XML, Delimited or JSON formats. If you are unable to produce a file or are happy to utilize the MachShip generic version then please provide a file in the following format. 

Despatch Date

Despatch Time

Carrier

Account

Service

From Location Name

From Location Abbreviation

From Contact

From Phone

From Email

From Address Line 1

From Address Line 2

From Suburb

From Postcode

To Location Name

To Location Abbreviation

To Contact

To Phone

To Email

To Address Line 1

To Address Line 2

To Suburb

To Postcode

Special Instructions

Reference 1

Reference 2

Quantity

Item SKU

Item name

Type

Length

Width

Height

Weight

• Add CSV Files (required fields only apply when attempting to create a consignment. If you are importing orders (pending consignments) then you can provide as much or as little data as desired) 
  
  
  • Despatch Date Despatch Time (Not Required): If not provided then the current date will be utilised. 
    
    
  • Carrier, Account, Service (Not Required): If you wish to consign with a particular Carrier, Account or Service set them here. If not, MachShip will create the consignment via either the lowest cost or fastest ETA model. These will be the abbreviations stored in MachShip rather than the names. For example: TNT Road Express the carrier is TNT and the service is 76.
    
    
  • From/To Location Name or From/To Location Abbreviation (one is required): You can either fill in the location name or its abbreviation. If it is a saved location, all the address info fields can be left blank. For a new one, Address Line 1 and Suburb are required.
    
    
  • From/To Address Line 1 (required), Address Line 2, Suburb (required), Postcode (required), Contact, Phone or Email.  (Note: Required fields are only if not using saved location): If you are not using a saved location then you will need to provide at least the address line 1 as well as a suburb postcode combination from the from and to locations. 
    
    
  • Reference 1 and Reference 2: Set reference field 1 and reference field 2. Please note that the Generic Consignment Import workflow will consolidate the file by From and To Locations as well as reference 1 and reference 2. 
    
    
  • Items: (Required): As stated above, the Generic Consignment Import workflow will consolidate rows based on the same from/to location details and reference 1 and reference 2. As such, each row will be one line item.
    
    You will be required to set:    
    
    
    • Quantity: Quantity for each line item. 
      
      
    • Item SKU or Item Name: If you decide to use a saved item, enter the SKU or Name, it will use the dimensions from the saved item.
      
      If not using a saved item then you will need to provide:
      
      
    • Item Name - this is a free text field
    • Item Type - i.e Skid, Pallet, Carton or any other valid MachShip item type
    • Length, Width, Height (cm)
    • Weight (kg)

An example of the file import would be as follows:

Despatch Date

Despatch Time

Carrier

Account

Service

From Location Name

From Location Abbreviation

From Contact

From Phone

From Email

From Address Line 1

From Address Line 2

From Suburb

From Postcode

To Location Name

To Location Abbreviation

To Contact

To Phone

To Email

To Address Line 1

To Address Line 2

To Suburb

To Postcode

Special Instructions

Reference 1

Reference 2

Quantity

Item SKU

Item name

Type

Length

Width

Height

Weight

Test Sending Location

Test Sender

61422 123 123

test@test.com

123 test street

Melbourne

3000

Tim Test

Tim Testington

123 Test Street

Sydney

2000

Enter Through Front Gate

123123

456456

2

Big Carton

Carton

25

25

60

20

Test Sending Location

Test Sender

61422 123 123

test@test.com

123 test street

Melbourne

3000

Tim Test

Tim Testington

123 Test Street

Sydney

2000

Enter Through Front Gate

123123

456456

2

Small Carton

Carton

25

25

15

3

Handling Blank Rows in Import Files

• Blank Row Handling:
  Blank rows in your import file may cause validation errors depending on the import type selected:
  
  
  • Import With Fallback: Blank rows will fail validation and be converted to pending consignments (rows with validation errors are not imported as active consignments)
    
    
  • Import Without Fallback: Blank rows will cause the entire import to fail. The import cannot proceed if any rows contain validation errors
    
    
  • Order: Blank rows are typically handled more gracefully and will be imported as pending consignments without validation errors
    
    
• Best Practice: To avoid validation errors, remove all blank rows from your import file before uploading. If your file is auto-generated (e.g., by Excel macros), configure the macro to exclude blank rows or use the 'Order' import type which is more tolerant of incomplete data.
  
  
• Troubleshooting: If you receive validation errors for blank rows (e.g., 'To Location is required', 'To Address Line 1 is required'), verify that:
  
  
  • Your file contains no unintended blank rows
    
    
  • You have selected the appropriate import type for your use case
    
    
  • If using 'Import With Fallback', check that the pending consignments created from failed rows contain the required data before finalizing them
    
    

• Import Consignments
  • Select Add Files and select the relevant file to be uploaded.
    
    
    
    
  • Then Select Upload
    
    
    
    The file will then appear in the import files grid as below:
    
    
    
    
  • Import Type

    • Import With Fallback: The import preview screen will show any errors, any consignments with errors will come through as Pending Consignments everything else will import as a consignment.

    • Import Without Fallback: The import preview screen will show any errors and you are not able to proceed further.

    • Order: All the items will be imported as pending consignments. 
      
      
      
      
      
  • File Format: For each uploaded file, you can select the import file format, the default one is “GENERIC CONSIGNMENT IMPORTER V2”. Otherwise, select the relevant workflow you require. 
    
    

You need to select any file on the list that you want to import and click on Import Consignments button to start the process.

Once selected the Import Consignment Modal will appear. This will validate the file and then request you to select the Route Selection Option. Once complete, select Import Consignments. 

Once the import is complete MachShip will provide you with a list of successfully imported consignments or pending consignments and their relevant PC or MS numbers.