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Tracking Numbers

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Overview

Most shipping carriers assign tracking numbers to packages when a shipping label is printed. Regardless of the method in which the data is obtained from the carrier, the Order Manager records tracking information related to an order in its store data file. This information can then be inserted into an email that is sent from the Order Manager directly to a customer, or it can be sent to a web store (depending on the capabilities of the shopping cart system), or to the Stone Edge Order Status System so that customers can see the shipping status of their orders while they are en route. The Order Manager function that triggers this action is called Process Tracking Numbers.

Some carriers are able to communicate tracking information directly via an ODBC connection, while others may only provide that data in a text file. The latter case requires the merchant to perform an additional manual step to record tracking information in the Order Manager.

This topic discusses how tracking information is entered into the Order Manager. For more information about the Process Tracking Numbers function, refer to its Knowledge Base topic.

Entering Tracking Information in the Order Manager

There are several methods by which tracking numbers can be entered into the Order Manager:

Importing Tracking Data via a Text File from an External Shipping Application

There are two methods for importing tracking numbers into the Order Manager via a text file:

New Version

  1. Export tracking information from the shipping application to a text file (tab-delimited or comma-delimited). Be sure to note where you save this file on your computer.

  2. Go to Main Menu > Maintenance Menu > Shipping & Fulfillment tab>  and select Import .csv Tracking Numbers from the list of activities to open the Import Tracking Data screen.

  3. Select either the Regular Orders or Drop Ship POs radio button in the Import tracking for: section of the screen.

  4. If the text file does NOT contain a header row, un-check the box labeled First row contains field names.

  5. Choose one of the pre-defined shipping carriers from the Default Carrier drop-down list.

  6. In the Link Field box, select the radio button for the most appropriate field found in the text file:

  7. Manually type in the path to the file that contains the tracking data or click the [Browse] button to navigate to its location and click [Open]. The data from the text file will be displayed at the bottom of the screen (up to 50 fields and 100 records or rows).

  8. The program will map as many fields it can correctly recognize to the appropriate Order Manager fields in the drop-down lists. Manually select the correct mapping for any fields that the program could not adequately recognize. The Order # and Tracking Number fields are required fields; in other words, they must be mapped to a field in the text file in order for tracking information to be imported successfully.

  9. Click the [Test Data] button to have the program check for data errors. A message box will appear with the results, and if an error has been detected, the user may elect to view additional information about the error.

  10. When satisfied with the data in the text file and the settings on this screen, click the [Begin Import] button to initiate the process of importing the tracking information into the Order Manager.

When the process has been completed the program will provide a count of the new records that were added.

If item number information is included or the drop ship purchase order number is included, the program will create packing records for the items contained in the text file.

The new tracking records for the orders contained in the text file can be seen at the Shipping and Tracking tab of the Orders screen.

Figure 1: Import Tracking Data screen with sample data for Regular Orders

Figure 2: Import Tracking Data screen with sample data for Drop Ship POs

Old Version

  1. Export tracking information from the shipping application to a comma-delimited text file (.csv), or obtain the text file from the carrier or drop-ship vendor.

  2. Review the data in the text file with an appropriate text editor and determine which fields are to be mapped to Order Manager fields, and note their position (sequence or column number) in the text file.

A comma delimited text file (CSV) would look something like this:


"1234","1Z123456789","12.75","8.5"
"1235","1Z987654321","5.00","1.2"
"1236","1Z543219876","6.50","1.5"
"1237","1Z219876543","23.20","18"
"1238","1Z765432198","15.95","12"

In the example above, the data in the first column (position 1) enclosed in quotes contains the Order Manager order number. The data in the second column (position 2) enclosed in quotes contains the tracking number. The third column (position 3) contains the shipping cost. The fourth column (position 4) contains the actual weight of the item.

  1. To map the data fields to the appropriate system parameter, go to the Set System Parameters screen. For each of the Order Manager parameter fields listed below, enter the location (position) of the corresponding data (column) in the text file:

TrackingCostField

TrackingOrderNumberField

TrackingIDField

For example, based the sample data given in step 2, system parameter TrackingOrderNumberField would be set to "1". TrackingIDField would be set to "2", and TrackingCostField would be set to "3". Do not include the quotes (" ") in the system parameters, just the integer.

  1. Set system parameter TrackingDefaultCarrier to the appropriate shipping company: FedEx, UPS or USPS.

  2. If the text file does not contain a Carrier field, set system parameter TrackingDefaultField  to "0".

  3. Parameter TrackingLinkField should be set to Order Number, SourceOrderNumber or SourceOrderID.

  4. In order to utilize this method, one of the Quick Clicks must be set to Import .csv Tracking #'s. Refer to the Knowledge Base topic Quick Clicks, for instructions.

Figure 3: Select Tracking File with Data

  1. Click the Import .csv Tracking #'s Quick Click link and navigate to the location of the text file.

Figure 4: Select Tracking File with Data

  1. Click the [Import] button to start the process. When finished, the program will provide a summary of the results.

  1. The tracking records that were added to the orders referenced in the text file can be seen at the Shipping and Tracking tab of the Orders screen.

Importing Tracking Information from WindowBook's Postal Package Partner

Importing Tracking Data from an ODBC Connected Shipping Application

Process Tracking Numbers

 

Related Topics

Created: 4/1/11

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