If you need to quote consignments on a large scale, MachShip has the capability to accept an upload of the data and return a list of route options. 

Note: When creating a Bulk Quote Report, please ensure you are NOT impersonating any of your child companies. 

Use Case: Generating Static Rates for Product Feeds

(Google Shopping, Facebook Catalog, eBay)

If you have enabled live shipping pricing on your e-commerce platform but need to maintain static shipping rates in your product feed (Google Merchant Center, Facebook Catalog, eBay), you can use the Bulk Quote Report to generate these static rates.

Why This Is Needed:

Live pricing calculates shipping costs dynamically based on customer address and cart contents, but product feed platforms require static, pre-defined shipping costs. Using the Bulk Quote Report, you can generate a static rate table for each zone combination and import these into your product feed, while keeping live pricing enabled at checkout.

Setup Instructions:

1. Identify all origin/destination zone combinations you ship between
2. Create a CSV with one row per zone combination
3. For weight-based pricing, include representative product dimensions
4. Run the Bulk Quote Report
5. Export the results and import into your product feed configuration
6. Update quarterly or when carrier pricing changes

Example:

If you ship from 2 origin zones to 50 destination zones, create 100 rows (2 × 50) in your Bulk Quote Report template. The resulting static rates can then be mapped to your product feed.

How to run the Bulk Quote Report

Step 1.  Select the Bulk Quote Report:

Navigate to the Reports then select Bulk Quote Report.

The Bulk Quote Report modal will come up.

Step 2: Setup the Bulk Quote Template. 

To access the template select the Template Download link.

The download will appear like below:

The template will have all of the headings that MachShip will need to import the Bulk Quote Report. (If you are unable to download the template, copy and paste the table below into Excel.)

The headings that are in bold are the required fields. When filling this table out, you can either enter in:

Total Quantity, Total Volume, Total Weight 

OR 

Item Name, Item Type, Length, Width, Height, Weight and Quantity

IMPORTANT - Option 1 Behavior:

When using Option 1 (Total Quantity, Total Volume, Total Weight), the system automatically converts items to cartons as the default item type and allocates system-calculated dimensions based on the total volume and weight provided. This auto-conversion can result in significant pricing discrepancies if the actual item dimensions differ from the system-generated dimensions.

Example: If you provide Total Volume and Total Weight for 3 pallets, the system may calculate different dimensions than the actual pallet dimensions, resulting in different pricing.

SOLUTION: For multi-item shipments with varying dimensions, always use Option 2 (Item Name, Item Type, Length, Width, Height, Weight, Quantity) to provide actual item-level dimensions. This ensures accurate pricing calculation without system-generated dimension conversion. If you must use Option 1 for aggregated totals, be aware that the resulting pricing may not match manually cloned consignments with actual item dimensions.

Template Structure Requirements

Critical: Column Headers Must Remain in Template

When setting up your Bulk Quote Report template, it is essential to understand the difference between clearing field values and deleting columns:

• CORRECT: Keep both Option 1 and Option 2 column headers in your template structure, but clear (leave empty) the data values in the cells you are not using.
• INCORRECT: Do not delete the column headers themselves. Deleting headers will cause the system to fail to recognize your data structure properly.

Understanding the Two Options:

Your template contains two distinct data entry options:

• Option 1 Headers: Company Abbreviation, Reference, Date, Time, From Name, From Suburb, From Postcode, To Name, To Suburb, To Postcode, Total Quantity, Total Volume, Total Weight, Questions
• Option 2 Headers: Item Name, Item Type, Length cm, Width cm, Height cm, Weight kg, Quantity

Both header sets must remain in your CSV file. You choose which option to use by populating data in one set and leaving the other set empty.

How Option 1 Works (Total Quantity, Total Volume, Total Weight):

When you use Option 1, the system automatically converts your items to cartons as the default item type and allocates system-calculated dimensions based on the total volume and weight you provide. This automatic conversion is designed for simplified quoting when you only have aggregate shipment data.

Important: This auto-conversion can result in significant pricing discrepancies if the actual item dimensions differ from the system-generated dimensions. For example, if you provide Total Volume and Total Weight for 3 pallets, the system may calculate different dimensions than the actual pallet dimensions, resulting in different pricing than if you had quoted those pallets individually.

Best Practice for Multi-Item Shipments:

For shipments with multiple items that have varying dimensions, always use Option 2 (Item Name, Item Type, Length, Width, Height, Weight, Quantity) to provide actual item-level dimensions. This ensures accurate pricing calculation without system-generated dimension conversion. Leave the Option 1 value fields (Total Quantity, Total Volume, Total Weight) empty when using Option 2.

Visual Example - Correct Template Structure:

CORRECT: Your CSV should look like this when using Option 2:

Key Points:

• All column headers remain in the template (shown in gray header row)
• Option 1 columns (Total Quantity, Total Volume, Total Weight) are left empty (shown in light red)
• Option 2 columns (Item Name, Item Type, Length, Width, Height, Weight, Quantity) are populated with actual data (shown in light green)
• The template structure is preserved; only the data values change based on which option you use

By maintaining this template structure and following these guidelines, you will ensure accurate pricing calculations and avoid the pricing discrepancies that can occur when the system auto-converts aggregated totals to system-calculated dimensions.

If your quote has multiple sets of dimensions, you'll need to add the measurement columns right after each other. You can have as many columns as you need. Please see the table below for an example.

Note: You cannot enter both. 

Once you have entered all the details, save the report as a CSV.

Step 3: Add the file.

Click on Add Files and search for your report. Once you have found your file, select it and click open. 

Once you have selected your file, click on Upload to load the report into MachShip.

When the file has successfully uploaded, there will be a green File was uploaded Successfully prompt that will come up in the top right-hand corner of the screen.

Enter in the email address you would like the report to go to. If there are a few emails put a semicolon(;) in between each email address. Then click on Generate Bulk Quote Report.

If you would like your Cost price showing, switch the Show Cost Price flag to Yes.

This report will run in the background and every 5 minutes it will quote a batch of 20 routes.
Limit each report to 1500 lines, this should take 15 - 20 minutes. 

Please aim to run these reports between the hours of 9 am and 4 pm. 

Troubleshooting: Carton-Only Consignments Not Appearing in Bulk Quote Results

Issue: When running a bulk quote report with carton-only consignments, certain carriers do not appear in the results even though they normally service carton shipments.

Root Cause: Route restrictions may be configured at your parent company level to block specific carriers when all items are cartons (or similar parcel types). These restrictions cascade down to all child companies, including the account you're running the bulk quote report from.

Example: If your parent company has a restriction like "Deny Carrier A if ALL items are Carton, Satchel, Bag, Roll, or Tube," then carton-only consignments will not show Carrier A as an option in bulk quote results.

Solution:

1. Contact MachShip support and provide:
   • The company account code you're running the bulk quote report from
   • The carriers that are missing from your carton-only results
2. Support will identify the parent-level route restrictions affecting your account
3. Support can add your account to the restriction's exclusion list, allowing carton-only consignments to be quoted
4. After the change, re-run your bulk quote report and verify the carriers now appear

Note: When creating a Bulk Quote Report, please ensure you are NOT impersonating any of your child companies.