Initiating your Bulk Upload

To upload multiple tracking shipments at once, select New → Track Shipment from your top navigation bar.

Next, select Begin Bulk Tracking.

You'll now see your spreadsheet containing all of your tracking shipment data. From here, you have two options- Add file, or Manually enter data. 

Action Options

Within this spreadsheet, you have a few action options in the top right of your page.

Jobs, the truck icon: will show jobs when they are running or completed.

Submit: will submit any of the shipment data you have entered in the spreadsheet. 

Ways to Upload your Bulk Tracking Data

Manual Entry

Manually enter data will allow you to individually enter each field of data for your tracking shipments. Once you've entered all of the data points, press Submit. You'll see the following message letting you know that you've successfully submitted your shipments.

Once you've entered your bulk tracking shipments, a new field will appear on your page labeled Bulk Tracking.

Add File- Import Spreadsheet

To import your shipments through a spreadsheet, select Add file. This will allow you to browse through documents on your computer to upload. You can also simply drag and drop your document into this field. 

Please note: Your spreadsheet must be saved as a CSV to be uploaded for bulk tracking. 

Once you do so, all of the viable columns from your spreadsheet will be imported and displayed on the left side of the screen, labeled Incoming Fields. 

Mapping your Data

On the right side of the screen, you'll se a column labeled Destination Fields. Based on how you have your data labeled in your uploaded spreadsheet, the platform will attempt to automatically assign and match the fields of data for you to the corresponding fields in the platform.

If a field of data does not have a category that is recognizable by the platform, it will not auto-suggest a category for it, and the destination field will be blank. This allows you to assign the category to it by utilizing the drop down menu.

Hovering over any of the destination fields in the right column will allow you to preview the information within each.

If you need to re-assign a field of data, simply press the down arrow in that field within the destination fields column, and the platform will allow you to re-assign it from a pre-set list of options.

Please note that you are only able to bulk upload data that is within the 10 different fields present in the platform. If your spreadsheet contains data that is not one of these present fields, that data will not be uploaded to the platform. 

As mentioned above, you only need your MBL and SCAC code to initiate your tracking. However, we recommend uploading as many of the possible data fields as you can. The data fields available are:

Client Reference, Consignee, Shipper, Cargo Ready Date, HBL Number, HBL SCAC, Delivery Location, PO Number

Types of Supported Spreadsheets

The bulk upload tool is designed to integrate seamlessly with your current workflow, eliminating the need to generate a separate spreadsheet to start your bulk upload. Provided your existing spreadsheet contains your MBL information, you can use it to upload your visibility shipments in bulk. Your spreadsheet can be in either Excel or CSV format to facilitate bulk upload. Regardless of the number of tabs in your spreadsheet, you'll have the option to select specific tabs from which to import your visibility shipment data.

Error Messages

If you import your spreadsheet and you've included a partner (supplier, consignee, or delivery location) that is not currently saved in your partners network, you will receive an “Invalid” message.  

The specific partner that's causing the invalid message will also be marked in red within the table.

If you hover over the invalid partner, you'll also see an explanation of the error.

If you receive this message, you can still continue to submit your data. After submitting your data, we suggest you navigate to your Partners network, and add the new partner within their correct partner category. Once you do so, return to your Track Shipment page, and select Review and Bulk Track.

The error message should now clear out, allowing you to proceed with bulk uploading your shipments.

To learn how to add partners to your network, check out our guide here. 

Deleting a Row

If you need to delete a row from your bulk shipments table, you'll want to hover over the specific row. Hover over the left side, where the number of the row is located. Doing so will generate a check box that you can select.

Please note: deleting a row of data from your table within the platform will not delete it from your original spreadsheet. 

Select the check box in the row you wish to delete.

Now, select the trash icon to delete the selected row.

The platform will now ask you to confirm you wish to delete the row.

Completing your Bulk Upload

Once you have assigned data categories to all of your data fields, press Continue. 

You can now review all of your data again, seeing any data that may be marked as invalid, and make any changes as necessary. 

Once you've confirmed all of your data is accurate, press Submit.

Your shipments are now being tracked, and each one will be assigned a Shippabo ID number. 

You can access your shipments via your Shipments List, or within the Tracked Shipments section of your “New Track Shipment” button. 

Enriching your Bulk Uploads with Additional Data

Another significant feature of the bulk upload tool is the ability to upload additional data points as they become available. Once your bulk upload is complete, the tool can be reused to update your shipment data points in mass. For instance, if you need to assign delivery locations to all your shipments post the initial upload, you can efficiently use the bulk upload tool in the same manner as before. The platform will identify the MBLs you're entering and avoid creating duplicate visibility shipments. Instead, it will update your existing shipments with the new data.