How to create Consignments via the Batch Consignment method

The Batch Consignment creation method is best used when you want to create a series of consignments with the same shipping items, from the same pickup location to a set of different delivery locations, with the same Carrier and on the same Service. MachShip will return to you a list of quoted prices from which you can then bulk generate consignments. 

How to navigate to the Batch Consignments screen

• To get to the Batch Consignments screen, click on Create/Manage from the top menu, and select Batch Consignments under the Consignments section.
  

• Or you can alternatively use the link here. 

Create Batch Consignments screen

Upon navigating to the Batch Consignments screen you will see the screen setup as below.  

To create a set of Batch Consignments you will need to provide the following required fields:

• Very Frequent Locations: If you add any location to the very frequent location list, you will see a dropdown list to select. Once you choose a location, it will pre-populate all the address info from that location.
  
  
  
• Location Name: As you type in the location name, MachShip will suggest the best match from your saved locations, once selected, the location’s address will fill all the relevant fields. If it is a new location, you can manually fill in everything and click on “save address” link to save it to your saved locations. Before it is created, you will need to specify the location type just like when you add a new location from Create Location screen.
  
                                       
  
  
• Required fields for the Pickup Location Section are: Location Name, Address 1 and Suburb.
  
  

Note:  It is also suggested (but not required) that you provide MachShip with a contact name, phone number and email address if known.

• Items: Enter the items that are being delivered in this section. All dimensions are in Centimeters (cm) and all weights are in Kilograms (kg). Note that these are LINE ITEMS so the weight should be item weight NOT total weight. MachShip will multiple out for totals. 
  
  
  
  
• Very Frequent Items: It works similarly to Very Frequent Locations, it will allow you to select an item from your frequent item list if you have any. Once you select an item, it will add the item with its information to the item list, similar to the image below.
  
  
  
  
• Item Name: It is an optional field. If what you type matches with a saved item, it will populate the item type and dimensions, if not, you will need to manually fill in all fields as they are all required. 
  
  
  
  Once you have added the shipping items then you will be able to assign:
  
  
• add DG items: This option is made available if your company is provided access to consign Dangerous Goods. By clicking on the add DG Items link will result in the Add Dangerous Goods modal. You may click on this link on how to Add the Dangerous Goods information.
  
  
  
  
• add item Contents: This functionality will enable users to be able to specify a description for the item contents along with references and quantities. You may click on this link on how to Add the Item Contents information.
  
   
• Service Selection:
  
  The Carrier selection method for the Batch consignment page has a couple of default views, these will be pre-set by your freight consultant for most efficient use of the system.
  
  
  
  MachShip will pre-fill any information it can. For example, if you had one account with a carrier this would be auto-filled after carrier selection.
     
  
  
  References: You may enter two references as your business requires. 
  
  
  

Once you have filled in all of the details, the next step is to choose Delivery Locations. Click on the Select Delivery Locations button on the top right corner of the screen. 

• Set the Delivery Locations

The delivery locations screen will appear like below with a summary of the pickup details as well as Carrier, Account and Service details. 

To set the delivery locations you can do the following:

1. Add a Location Group

A Location Group is a set of linked locations. Type in the location group name in the Add a Group to the Batch search bar.

The location group will then appear as below. 

If you click on the location group then it will expand as below and you can set the individual references for each location. 

2. Add a Saved Location

Add a save company location to the batch by typing the name in the Add a Location to the Batch search bar. 

The location will then appear under the Misc Locations bar as below:

If you click on Misc. Locations then it will expand as below and you can set the individual references for the location(s). 

3. Via a csv import 

MachShip has a particular import csv format which is required for the Batch Import which is outlined below. Required fields are in bold. 

Alternatively, you can export saved locations in this format by going to this link.

Select Export Locations for Batching Import.

Once you have the template, select Import Delivery Locations.

This will prompt the CSV Location Group Import modal to appear, select Add Files then select the file you wish to upload. Please note to limit this to 200 locations. Select Upload. 

MachShip will validate the file and upload to the batch import.

• Generate Pricing

Once you have all your locations loaded, select the Get Routes button. 

MachShip will then route and price all of the valid routes and present as below with the number of successful and failed routes as well as a total price for all movements. 

Clicking Expand will present a quote for each route:
 

Users can then expand each individual consignment:

You can also delete the entry if required. 

• Create Consignments

To create the consignments select the Create Consignment button.

This will prompt the Batch Consignment Creation Modal. If your company has access to Dangerous Goods select the declaration and then opt to Create Consignments.

The consignments will be created and the modal will provide a success message and a link to the unmanifested consignments page.