Guide to Update Shipment Details
Plans: All plans Platforms: All platforms
AfterShip Tracking enables you to update important information of multiple shipments in one go via CSV to cater to diverse business needs in different scenarios effortlessly.
Bulk update the customer’s phone number and address postal code to get accurate tracking updates from the carrier
Bulk update the carrier slug of pending and non-pending shipments (excluding expired shipments)
Bulk update the shipment status to DELIVERED, LOST, or RETURNED_TO_SENDER in scenarios when the carriers do not provide or update the package checkpoint once it reaches the destination
You can also update individual shipment information in the Shipments dashboard.
In this article, we will discuss:
Update shipment information by CSV
CSV template: Supported fields
Common CSV upload errors
Update shipment information individually
Go to Tracking dashboards > Shipments in your AfterShip Tracking dashboard
Click Update shipments by CSV on the upper right-hand section of the dashboard
You can update shipment details by CSV in two ways
a. Download the CSV template from the popup
Input the details (update fields) of the shipments you want to update
Save the CSV file on your system
Add or drop the file to the designed place to upload and click Update
b. Filter the shipments you want to update and export them in your desired file type and data format
The exported file will contain data based on the filters you’ve applied to extract specific shipments and may contain fields not supported by the update shipment information by CSV function. Updating those unsupported fields and uploading them will result in an invalid response.
Update the fields you want in the exported file directly and save it
Upload the updated export file directly to the dashboard
Once the CSV is uploaded to the AfterShip Tracking Shipments dashboard to update details of certain shipments, a corresponding email detailing the progress of the upload will be sent to the registered email address.
The email allows you to view how many CSV rows have been updated successfully and how many rows failed
CSV upload counts filled rows instead of shipment/tracking IDs. If you add one tracking ID twice, it will still be counted as two rows. The information given in the preceding row will take precedence and override the information of the duplicate tracking number.
You can refer to the error reason given in the email, and rectify the information provided in the CSV file with the right format and upload it again
You can update the details of the shipments individually directly in the Shipments dashboard.
Select a shipment you want to update to enter its details page
On the details panel, scroll down to the field you want to update
a. Carrier slug (pending shipments)
b. Shipment status
c. Postal code
Currently, we support updating the destination_zip (postal code) directly on the shipment detail page for shipments with the 'spanish-suer` slug. However, we recommend doing so only when the shipments of this slug have been pending for quite long.
d. Customer email address and phone number
e. Note
Overview
AfterShip Tracking enables you to update important information of multiple shipments in one go via CSV to cater to diverse business needs in different scenarios effortlessly.
Bulk update the customer’s phone number and address postal code to get accurate tracking updates from the carrier
Bulk update the carrier slug of pending and non-pending shipments (excluding expired shipments)
Bulk update the shipment status to DELIVERED, LOST, or RETURNED_TO_SENDER in scenarios when the carriers do not provide or update the package checkpoint once it reaches the destination
You can also update individual shipment information in the Shipments dashboard.
What you’ll learn
In this article, we will discuss:
Update shipment information by CSV
CSV template: Supported fields
Common CSV upload errors
Update shipment information individually
Update shipment information by CSV
Go to Tracking dashboards > Shipments in your AfterShip Tracking dashboard
Click Update shipments by CSV on the upper right-hand section of the dashboard
You can update shipment details by CSV in two ways
a. Download the CSV template from the popup
Input the details (update fields) of the shipments you want to update
Save the CSV file on your system
Add or drop the file to the designed place to upload and click Update
b. Filter the shipments you want to update and export them in your desired file type and data format
The exported file will contain data based on the filters you’ve applied to extract specific shipments and may contain fields not supported by the update shipment information by CSV function. Updating those unsupported fields and uploading them will result in an invalid response.
Update the fields you want in the exported file directly and save it
Upload the updated export file directly to the dashboard
CSV template: Supported fields
| Fields | Description | Instructions | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| id | ID indicates the shipment's “tracking id” and is used as a unique identifier for a shipment. | The users cannot update this field. | my2uktymyz72xld1f7l3h01z |
| slug | Unique code by which a carrier is identified. | AfterShip will track the shipments from the newly updated slug. | ups |
| user_marked_as_completed | It indicates that the shipment status is updated manually. | AfterShip will change the shipment status to the manually mapped values. | DELIVERED / LOST / RETURNED_TO_SENDER |
| origin_country_iso3 | It is the ISO Alpha-3 code (3 letters) for the origin country/region. | AfterShip will track the shipment based on the updated field value. | USA |
| destination_country_iso3 | It is the destination of the recipient where the package is to be delivered. | AfterShip will track the shipment based on the updated field value. | USA |
| destination_state | It is the state of the recipient’s address. | AfterShip will track the shipment based on the updated field value. | New York |
| destination_zip | It is the postal code of the recipient’s address. | AfterShip will track the shipment based on the updated field value. | 10001 |
| tracking_ship_date | It is the date the shipment was sent. | AfterShip will track the shipment based on the updated field value. | 20060102, 2006-01-02, 2006-01-02T15:04:05, 2006-01-02T15:04:05-07:00 |
| emails | Email address(es) to receive email notifications. | AfterShip will track the shipment and send the tracking notifications to the updated email address. | example@aftership.com |
| smses | The phone number(s) to receive SMS notifications. Phone numbers should begin with + and Area Code before the phone number. | AfterShip will track the shipment and send the tracking SMSes to the updated phone number. | “+8613800138000,+8613800138001" (depends on country) |
| note | Text note associated with the shipment | AfterShip will change the shipment note displayed on the Shipments dashboard. | Return shipment |
Common CSV upload errors: Summary email
Once the CSV is uploaded to the AfterShip Tracking Shipments dashboard to update details of certain shipments, a corresponding email detailing the progress of the upload will be sent to the registered email address.
The email allows you to view how many CSV rows have been updated successfully and how many rows failed
CSV upload counts filled rows instead of shipment/tracking IDs. If you add one tracking ID twice, it will still be counted as two rows. The information given in the preceding row will take precedence and override the information of the duplicate tracking number.
You can refer to the error reason given in the email, and rectify the information provided in the CSV file with the right format and upload it again
| Error reason in the email | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Invalid tracking ID format | The tracking ID format uploaded by the user is invalid. |
| The tracking ID does not match any shipments in your account | The tracking ID uploaded by the user can’t be found in the Shipments dashboard data. |
| A shipment with this slug and tracking number already exists | The tracking number with the same shipment details already exists. The user might have uploaded duplicate shipment information. |
| Invalid carrier slug | The carrier slug format is invalid. Visit https://track.aftership.com/couriers/download to easily download and discover the carrier slug for a particular carrier. |
| The maximum limit of carrier updates for this shipment has been reached | A maximum of 5 times a carrier slug for a shipment can be updated. |
| The shipment is missing a required field: {field_name}. You must add this column to the CSV file and fill in the required info for this shipment. | The file does not include the required field for getting the tracking status. |
| The field “destination_country_iso3” must use the 3-letter ISO 3166 format | The field format is invalid |
| The field “destination_state” can’t exceed 256 character | The field format is invalid |
| The field “destination_zip” can’t exceed 256 characters | The field format is invalid |
| The field “origin_country_iso3" must use the 3-letter ISO 3166 format | The field format is invalid |
| The field “note” can’t exceed 8,192 characters | The field format is invalid |
| Invalid email format | The field format is invalid |
| Invalid sms format | The field format is invalid |
| The field “user_marked_as_completed” must be one of the following: DELIVERED, LOST, RETURNED_TO_SENDER | The value(s) the user has added to the field is not the supported value. |
| The field “tracking_ship_date” must use one of the following formats: 20060102, 2006-01-02, 2006-01-02T15:04:05, 2006-01-02T15:04:05-07:00 | The field format is invalid |
| The tracking number for this shipment doesn’t match any known shipments for that carrier slug | The tracking number provided by the user could not be matched with the added carrier slug. The user needs to reconfirm the right carrier slug. |
| A maximum limit of 3 emails or SMS for this shipment has been reached | The maximum number of emails and phone numbers users can put in a row (for a tracking number) is 3. Exceeding this number will result in a failed shipment update. |
| Expired shipments can’t be updated | It is not allowed to update the slugs of expired shipments. |
| The carrier you want to update the current one to requires additional permissions. Please contact support if you want to track shipments with this carrier. | Your current plan does not support the carrier tracking you want to update to. |
| The carrier for the first segment can’t be the same as the second segment. | If your shipments are multi-segment (first and last mile), you can’t change the carrier slug to the same carrier slug as the second one. |
Update shipment information individually
You can update the details of the shipments individually directly in the Shipments dashboard.
Select a shipment you want to update to enter its details page
On the details panel, scroll down to the field you want to update
a. Carrier slug (pending shipments)
b. Shipment status
c. Postal code
Currently, we support updating the destination_zip (postal code) directly on the shipment detail page for shipments with the 'spanish-suer` slug. However, we recommend doing so only when the shipments of this slug have been pending for quite long.
d. Customer email address and phone number
e. Note
Updated on: 09/04/2024
Thank you!