How do I bulk import shipments?

The shipment import enables you to import up to 200 shipments at once to your Flatbed Messenger account, reducing the time spent creating individual shipments!

This article will cover:

• Download Shipments Template
• Format Cells
• Upload Shipments to Flatbed Messenger
• Shipment Import Failure

Download the shipment template file:

1. On your left dashboard, click Shipments.

2. On the shipments page, click IMPORT SHIPMENTS.

3. A pop-up window will appear. Click DOWNLOAD TEMPLATE. 

Format Cells:

Use the shipment template file to list the shipments to be imported. The table below serves as a guide that defines the required or optional fields and the accepted formats or possible options you can select while filling out the template file. 

More details of the fields will be provided on the first-row column headers. Click on each cell on the header row to view the additional information. The columns can be in any order to import as long as the column header names remain the same.

Each import only allows a maximum of 200 shipments. 

Column	Format	Acceptable Options	Required/Optional	Default
PO Numbers	Separate PO numbers by comma		Optional
BOL Number			Optional
SO Number			Optional
Mode*		FTL Full Truckload	Required
Equipment Type*	Three letter acronym	Dry Van DRV VAN Flatbed FBE FLAT Reefer RFR	Required
Equipment Length	Numeric value	53 48	Optional
Hazmat		Yes No	Optional	No
Reefer Required Temperature	Numeric Value		Optional
Commodity (Commodity Name)			Optional
Package Type		Standard Pallets Pallets Non Standard Bags Bales Boxes Bunches Carpets Coils Crates Cylinders Drums Pails Reels Rolls Tubes and Pipes Loose Ubox	Optional
Package Count	Numeric value Whole Number		Optional
Stackable		Yes No	Optional	No
Freight Class	Numeric value	50 55 60 65 70 77.5 85 92.5 100 110 125 150 175 200 250 300 400 500	Optional
Total Weight*	Numeric value Up to ten digits		Required
Pickup Date*	Excel General Format 5 digit number OR Plain Text MM/DD/YYYY		Required
Pickup Facility Name			Optional
Pickup Address*	Valid address format		Required
Pickup City*			Required
Pickup State*	Two letters state abbreviation		Required
Pickup Country			Optional	USA
Pickup Zipcode*	Five-digit zip code		Required
Pickup Notes			Optional	If any Default Facility Notes exist under the saved facility, those notes will appear on the shipment. Notes added to this column will override Default Facility Notes.
Pickup Facility Contact Name			Optional
Pickup Facility Contact Email	Valid email address		Optional
Pickup Facility Contact Phone Number	Numeric value Ten characters		Optional
Pickup Facility Contact Phone Number Extension	Equal or less than ten characters		Optional
Delivery Date*	Excel General Format 5 digit number OR Plain Text MM/DD/YYYY		Required
Delivery Facility Name			Optional
Delivery Address*	Valid address format		Required
Delivery City*			Required
Delivery State*	Two letters state abbreviation		Required
Delivery Country			Optional	USA
Delivery Zipcode*	Five-digit zip code		Required
Delivery Notes			Optional	If any Default Facility Notes exist under the saved facility, those notes will appear on the shipment. Notes added to this column will override Default Facility Notes.
Delivery Facility Contact Name			Optional
Delivery Facility Contact Email	Valid email address		Optional
Delivery Facility Contact Phone Number	Numeric value Ten characters		Optional
Delivery Facility Contact Phone Number Extension	Equal or less than ten characters		Optional

Upload shipments:

1. After filling out the shipment template, save the template as a .xlsx file type.

2. Navigate back to the Shipments page in Flatbed Messenger. On the Import Shipments pop-up window, drag and drop the updated template or click Browse File. 

If all shipments import successfully, a will appear next to the file name on the import pop-up window. Click 

Import Failures:

File Type and Size Failures:

If the shipment import file type is not  .xlsx (Excel) and/or if the file contains over 201 rows, an error message will be stated on the Import Shipments pop-up window.

Shipments Import Errors:

If shipments fail to import due to data formatting, an error message will state if all/partial shipments failed to import. An error report will be available to download to view the shipment import failure reasons. Click  to download the error report.