Contents - Index

Importing Orders

This is used to import order information from outside the Lading Manager. It will create new BOLs, insert/update origin data, and insert/update consignee data.

You must conform to the import orders interface specifications or it will not function properly. This is for importing a CSV file only. Direct importing of orders from an external database is covered here.

Import File Layout
The file created by your system must be text file in a CSV (comma separated values) format. Text fields with embedded spaces and commas must be wrapped in quotation marks (either a single quote or a double quote -- as long as the same mark is on each end of the field). It is highly recommended that text fields be stripped of embedded quotes. There are 32 fields per record. Files will be prescanned and any line with a different field count will cause the entire file to be rejected.

All files must be tagged with a CSV extension. By default, the Lading Manager program will look into its own "Orders" folder. However, you may place your order files anywhere desired. The Lading Manager will remember the location of the last order imported. The file name itself may be anything you wish it to be, as long as it has a ".csv" after it.

The CSV file may have a header line. You must tell the import whether or not a header line exists.

Please remember that you may edit the resulting bills after import in order to finalize, add or correct data.

Fields
The fields for the import are listed in order below. After the definitions, an example of a CSV file will be presented for reference.

You may create multi-line BOLs, and multiple BOLs in this interface. The Order Number is the key. All lines in the file with the same Order Number (grouped together) will be placed on the same bill, in the order you provide.

When a BOL is created, all of the normal defaults will be applied as though it were created from the add new bill button.

1. Order Number. REQUIRED. (25 characters maximum) This is your internal order number. It will be used to establish a new bill for each different order number in the file. The order number will be placed into consignee CID# field. All subsequent CSV records with the same order number will be added to the same BOL.

2. Origin Name. (30 characters maximum) If not provided, the default Lading Manager origin information will be used and you may skip to field #7. If provided, it will be used as the origin (along with the additional origin fields 3-6 below). It is important to provide all of the origin address in fields 3-6. The program will compare the entire address against what is in the database. If an exact match is found on all fields, then that origin record will be used on the BOL. Otherwise, a new origin will be created and used on the bill. (The new origin record number will be automatically created with a prefix of "IMP-".)

3. Origin Address Line 1. (30 characters maximum) Only used if origin name is provided.

4. Origin City. (25 characters maximum) Only used if origin name is provided.

5. Origin State/Province Code. (2 characters maximum) Only used if origin name is provided. The program will convert the field to all uppercase for you.

6. Origin Postal Code. (10 characters maximum) Only used if origin name is provided. The program will convert the field to all uppercase for you.

7. Consignee Number. RECOMMENDED. (10 characters maximum) It is recommended to use the same consignee (customer) number in Lading Manager as you do in your order system. If both the consignee number and consignee name (field #8) fields are left blank, then no consignee will be assigned to the BOL and fields 7-13 will be skipped. If the consignee number is provided, it will be looked up in the consignee database. If it is found, then the existing consignee information will be used for the bill. In addition, if the consignee name is also provided, then the consignee data will be updated with fields 8-13. If the consignee number is not found in the database, then the new consignee data will be added using this number, and fields 8-13 should be specified. (Consignee information on subsequent lines for the same BOL will be ignored.)

8. Consignee Name. (30 characters maximum) If not provided, fields 9-13 will be skipped. If provided, it will be used (along with fields 8-13) as the consignee name and address. If the consignee number was not specified, then the program will compare the entire address against what is in the database.  If an exact match is found on all fields, then that consignee record will be used on the BOL. Otherwise, a new consignee will be created and used on the bill. (The new consignee record number will be automatically created with a prefix of "IMP-".) If a new consignee record is created, the normal default values will be applied to the other consignee fields.

9. Consignee Address Line 1. (30 characters maximum) Only used if consignee name is provided.

10. Consignee Address Line 2. (30 characters maximum) Only used if consignee name is provided.

11. Consignee City. (25 characters maximum) Only used if consignee name is provided.

12. Consignee State/Province Code. (2 characters maximum)  Only used if consignee name is provided. The program will convert the field to all uppercase for you.

13. Consignee Postal Code. (10 characters maximum)  Only used if consignee name is provided. The program will convert the field to all uppercase for you.

14. Unused field. Any value will be ignored. 

15. Predefined Carrier Number. (20 characters maximum) This is the start of the "Carrier Information" for the bill. The Lading Manager will either store the Carrier Information in the database (and possibly use inventory) or it will not. This decision is based on this field. If you specify a predefined carrier number, the software will store the information in the predefined carrier database and place it on the bill. If this field is not provided, then the program will simply place the information on the bill.

16. Carrier Information Commodity Description Line 1. (40 characters maximum) If this field is not provided and the predefined carrier number is not provided, then all Carrier Information fields will be skipped. If the predefined carrier number is provided and already exists in the database, and this field is not provided, then the commodity descriptions (all lines) will be used from the existing data.

17. Carrier Information Commodity Description Line 2. (40 characters maximum)

18. Carrier Information Commodity Description Line 3. (40 characters maximum)

19. Carrier Information Commodity Description Line 4. (40 characters maximum)

20. Carrier Information Commodity Description Line 5. (40 characters maximum)

21. Carrier Information Commodity Description Line 6. (40 characters maximum)

22. Carrier Information Handling Unit Quantity. (whole number, blank OK) If the predefined carrier number is used, this will override existing information from the database.

23. Carrier Information Handling Unit Type. (5 characters maximum) If the predefined carrier number is used, this will override existing information from the database.

24. Carrier Information Package Quantity. (whole number, blank OK) If the predefined carrier number is used, this will override existing information from the database.

25. Carrier Information Package Type. (5 characters maximum) If the predefined carrier number is used, this will override existing information from the database.

26. Carrier Information Total Weight. (whole number, blank OK) If the predefined carrier number is used, this will override existing information from the database. This weight may also be calculated for you. See the next field for details.

27. Carrier Information Weight per Handling Unit. (whole number, blank OK) If provided, the total weight will be calculated as Carrier Information Handling Unit Quantity times this field. A word of caution: the weight must take into consideration the total weight of what is being handled by the carrier, including pallets, skids, wrapping materials, etc.

28. Carrier Information Hazmat Flag. (1 character) If the predefined carrier number is used, this will override existing information from the database. Y, T, 1, or X will print an "X" in the column. N, F, 0 (zero) or blank will blank out the column.

29. Carrier Information LTL NMFC #. (10 characters maximum) If the predefined carrier number is used, this will override existing information from the database. 

30. Carrier Information LTL Class. (6 characters maximum) If the predefined carrier number is used, this will override existing information from the database.

31. Carrier Number. RECOMMENDED. (10 characters maximum) It is recommended to use the same carrier number in Lading Manager as you do in your order system. If both the carrier number and carrier name (field #32) fields are left blank, then no carrier will be assigned to the BOL. If the carrier number is provided, it will be looked up in the carrier database. If it is found, then the existing carrier information will be used for the bill. In addition, if the carrier name is also provided, then the carrier data will be updated with this data. If the carrier number is not found in the database, then the new carrier data will be added using this number, and field 32 should be specified. (Carrier number and name on subsequent lines for the same BOL will be ignored.)

32. Carrier Name. (30 characters maximum) If provided, it will be used as the carrier name. If the carrier number was not specified, then the program will compare the carrier name against what is in the database.  If an exact match is found, then that carrier record will be used on the BOL. Otherwise, a new carrier will be created and used on the bill. (The new carrier record number will be automatically created with a prefix of "IMP-".)

Example File
This is an example of a multi-line, multi-bill file.

Line 1: 51208,"Acme, Inc.","1234 Main St.",Hometown,CA,99000,COYOT1,"Wile E. Coyote","15789 Desert Drive",,"Palm Springs",CA,92262,,,"Bird Seed",,,,,,1,Pallet,25,Bags,515,,N,,,,"Acme Freight Lines"

Line 2: 51209,"Acme, Inc.","1234 Main St.",Hometown,CA,99000,COYOT1,,,,,,,,SB1025,"Sodium Benzoate, 25 Kg Bag","FCC, Kosher",,,,,1,Drum,7,Bags,0,Y,,,,"Acme Freight Lines"

Line 3: 51209,"Acme, Inc.","1234 Main St.",Hometown,CA,99000,COYOT1,,,,,,,,LC1000,"L-Cysteine HCL","Monohydrate","25KG Drum Nt/Wt",,,,25,Drum,25,Drum,,Y,,,,"Acme Freight Lines"

This will create two bills of lading. The first line will be on a bill all by itself. It will ship one pallet of bird seed (that contains 25 bags) to Wile E Coyote in Palm Springs, CA. The carrier will be Acme Freight Lines.

The second bill will result in 5 carrier information lines (2 products) of hazmat materials. The weight fields were not provided as they are not known yet. Notice that the consignee name and address were not specified. That is because it was established on line 1 under "COYOT1".

Other Screen Functions

To select an order file to import, navigate the Drive and Folder information to the folder in which the order files reside. This information will be rememberd for the next order. Then, click on the order in the Orders box. 

The selected file contents will be displayed for you, with record numbers and interspersed scale lines. File contents may be printed and/or copied to the Windows Clipboard for pasting into other applications.

Mark the "Is there a header record?" for the file. A header row would typically be a title line that identifies each of the fields on each line.

When ready to import, click the Process Order File button. The file will be prescanned to make sure that each record contains the correct number of fields and that each record contains an order number. If OK, you will be able to process the order.

The results of the import will be displayed. These results may be printed and/or copied to the Windows Clipboard for pasting into other applications. Each record of the import file will be examined and the results of each line's actions will be conveyed. The messages displayed should be self-explanatory.

Once a file has been imported, you should use the the button to delete the file. This will keep the orders folder manageable and save you from re-importing already processed files.