Last updated: 23.02.2023

Valid from: 2023.06.00 and later

Sending free text messages to receivers manually (SMS/email)

Free text messages can be sent to the receiver of an order. Ready-made templates (reports) can be provided for the notification of an upcoming delivery, a time slot for the delivery and an estimated delivery time. The notification can also include a link to Track & Trace where the receiver can be given the opportunity to choose the time slot for the delivery and other options.

Step 1: Create a report

This only needs to be done once. To create more advanced reports for notifications, see Creating reports for notifications.

1. Click on Settings > Reports.

2. Create a new report by clicking on and give the report a name, for example “Free text notification”.

3. Select Text from the Type drop-down list.

4. Select the Notification checkbox.

5. Click on to save all changes.

6. Click on Display Editor and type the message in the editor.

7. Click on to save all changes.

8. Close the report editor.

Instead of creating a completely new report, the text of an existing report can be changed by selecting it in the list and clicking on Display Editor. The contents of a report can also be copied and pasted into a new one if you don’t want to overwrite the existing report.

Step 2: Change the text in the notification before sending (optional)

To change the message before sending it out, proceed as follows:

1. Click on Settings > Reports.

2. Select the report created in step 1 (“Free text notification”).

3. Click on Display Editor and change the message in the editor.

4. Click on to save all changes.

5. Close the report editor.

Step 3: Send the notifications

Manual notifications to the receiver can be sent from dispatch, order check or order reception. To send notifications automatically, see Sending notifications automatically.

1. Open dispatch, select the shipments whose receivers the message is to be sent to and press F10. The Notification Sender window opens.

2. Select whether the notifications should to be sent via SMS or email in the Method drop-down list at the top right of the window.
   • Suggestion: Opter looks for the receiver’s telephone number and email address. If both are found, SMS is suggested. You can change the method used for individual orders in the list.
   • SMS: In order to send notifications via SMS, an account at Pixie is required. See Activating the Pixie SMS service.
   • Email: notifications are sent by email.

3. To ensure that the notifications for all shipments use the same method, click on Set on all rows.

4. Select the report created in step 1 (“Free text notification”) from the Content drop-down list at the top right of the window.

5. To ensure that the notifications for all shipments have the same content, click on Set on all rows.

   Tip

   Tip

   If a particular shipment in the list should not be notified, deselect the checkbox at the far left of the row.

6. Check that there is a telephone number/email address on each row and that they are correct. The telephone numbers and email addresses are automatically retrieved from the Phone and Email fields in the receiver address on the order.

7. Click on Notify x orders at the bottom of the window. Notifications are sent in accordance with the settings you have chosen. A log containing confirmations is displayed at the bottom of the window.

8. When you have finished, you can close the Notification Sender window by clicking on Close.

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