Pricing
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      Using the Site Group Rates File

      Supported actions and rules for importing Site Group rates

      Several rules are in place for import files, to ensure Site Group rates will validate and import as expected without causing conflicts.

      This guide is intended as a reference for users creating and updating Site Group rates for their customers in Hitrak, using the Rates csv template.

      For full details on applying the Site Group pricing model, see Using Site Group Pricing.

      In this article:

      Supported Actions

      Managing Dates

      Rate Priorities

      Rate Bands

      Field Value Rules

      Rate Band Rules

      Supported Actions

      This section details the functions available using the import file, and how the system treats the values entered for certain fields. 

      Creating New Rates

      A new rate is created in cases where:

      • A rate does not already exist
      • A change to an existing rate is detected in one or more of the following fields:
        • Base Rate
        • Rate Increment
        • Priority
        • Lower Bound
        • Upper Bound
        • Minimum Price
        • Minimum Priced Units
        • Priced Units Cap
        • Start DateTime Utc
        In these cases, a new rate will be created, and the End Date of the existing rate may be changed. 

      Note 🔎 If a rate is uploaded and no change is detected, no action will be taken.

      Ending a Rate

      If a rate is uploaded and no change is detected other than a change in End Date, the rate will have the End Date applied to it directly. This includes adding, updating or removing an End Date. This allows rates to be ended without starting a new rate.

      If any other change is detected, a new rate will be created or a validation error could occur, depending on the rate's start date. See Creating New Rates above. 

      Replacing a Rate

      The system avoids ending an existing rate and starting a new rate. If a rate is uploaded with the same Start Date as an existing future dated rate, the existing future dated rate is updated. 

      Deleting a Rate

      A rate can only be deleted if it hasn't started yet. To delete a future rate:

      • Upload the rate again, applying an End Date which matches the Start Date.

      The rate will never apply, and will no longer be visible in the Organisation's Rates page.

      Managing Dates

      Start Dates

      It is not possible to upload rates with different Start Dates for the same Freight Type in the same import file. If this happens, the rates will be considered duplicates.

      Duplicate rates are not supported, unless the rates form a Rate Band. Duplicates are counted as rates that target the same Organisation, Service Type, Origin Group, Destination Group and Freight Type.

      End Dates

      The Import file allows a Rate End Date to be set, however, as above this is an optional field. We recommend not using End Dates, unless it is absolutely necessary to end a rate without starting a corresponding new rate.

      There are automations in place regarding End Dates, as follows:

      • If a new rate is created and the previous rate does not have an End Date, the End Date of the previous rate will be automatically set to the Start Date of the new rate.
      • If a new rate is created and the previous rate has an End Date which is later than the Start Date of the new rate, the end date of the previous rate will be set to the Start Date of the new rate, adjusting the rate backwards to align with the Start Date of the new rate.
      • If a new rate is created, and the previous rate has an end date which is earlier than the start date of the new rate, the end date of the previous rate will not be altered at all. The system will assume that the End Date for the old rate and the Start Date for the new rate have been chosen deliberately, resulting in a gap in rates.

      Note 🔎 Rates cannot be backdated. Neither the Start Date nor End Date for a rate can be in the past.

      Rate Priorities

      Prioritisation of rates is supported by the Service Type Price Preference setting. This defines whether the highest or lowest rate should be used to price a consignment, in cases when more than one rate is available.

      However, if there are exceptions to a configured Price Preference, or more specific prioritisation of rates is required, the Rate Priority can be used. In these cases, all rates for a Sending/Receiving Site Group combination should have a priority set.

      The following logic determines which rate to use:

      • Lowest number = Highest priority. 0 is the highest prority rate, followed by 1, then 2 and so on.
      • If a consignment can be priced using the highest priority rate, other rates are filtered out. The highest priority rate is used to price the consignment.

      • If a consignment cannot be priced using the highest priority rate for some reason (e.g. there are Rate bands, and the freight details do not fit within any of those bands), the next highest priority rate is used to price the consignment.

      • If rates have equal priority, or any rates have no priority, both rates will be available to use. In these cases, the configured Price Preference is used to determine which rate is applied.

      Using Rate Bands

      Rate Bands allow for items within a range of numbers to be priced as a band.

      If you choose to include Bands within your Rate Cards, there are a number of options available, and specifications to be aware of.

      Rate Band Types

      Hitrak supports the following band types:

      • Unit based bands
      • Weight based bands in kg
      • Cubage based bands in m³
      • Flat rate bands (also in m³)

      Bands can also be set using a Base Rate or Increment Rate. These rate types price the band values differently, as follows:

      • A Base Rate for a band supports rates where the band has a single price.
        • E.g. a band of 1-4 Units with a Base Rate of $20 means that 1, 2, 3 or 4 units are priced at $20 total.
      • An Increment Rate for a band supports rates where there is a quantity-based price for each band.
        • E.g. A band of 1-4 Units with an Increment Rate of $20 means that 1-4 units are priced at $20 each. 1 unit = $20, 2 units = $40, etc. 

      Rate Band specifications are covered in the table below.

      Field value rules

      Required Fields

      The following table includes the specifications for fields which must have a value in the rates file. These fields are not case sensitive.

      Field Parameters Notes
      Organisation Code Must be a valid Organisation in your system.  
      Service Type Code Must be a valid Service Type in your system. This is not validated against the available freight types for the customer Organisation..
      Origin Group Name Must be a valid Site Group name in your system.  
      Destination Group Name Must be a valid Site Group name in your system.  
      Freight Type Code Must be a valid Freight Type Code in your system. This is not validated against the available freight types for the customer Organisation.
      Start Date
      • Must be a date only (no time) in local time zone
      • Supported date formats:
        • yyyy-mm-dd
        • yyyy/mm/dd
        • dd/mm/yyyy
        • dd-mm-yyyy
      • The date must be tomorrow or later
      • The date must be ≥ the Start Date of a previous rate
      		  

      Optional Fields

      The following table includes the specifications for the optional fields in the Rates file. 

      Note 🔎 For all number fields,  the maximum supported value is 1,000,000.

      Field Parameters Additional Notes
      Base Rate Number ≥ 0 Rounded to 5 decimal places
      Rate Increment Number ≥ 0 Rounded to 5 decimal places
      Priority Whole number (integer) ≥ 0 Lowest number = highest priority.
      Lower Bound Number ≥  0 Rounded to 5 decimal places
      Upper Bound Number ≥  the lower bound
      (if any)      		 Rounded to 5 decimal places
      Minimum Price Number ($ Value) ≥  0 Rounded to 2 decimal places
      Minimum Priced Units Number ≥ 0 Rounded to 5 decimal places
      Priced Units Cap   Rounded to 5 decimal places
      End Date
      • Date only (no time) in local time zone
      • Format must be yyyy-mm-dd or dd/mm/yyyy
      • Must be > start date for the rate, unless deleting a rate
      • Must be tomorrow or later

      Tip 💡 Base Rate, Rate Increment and Minimum Price have all been included in this table as the individual fields are technically optional, however, at least one of these must have a value, or effectively no rate will apply.

      Rate Band Rules

      The below table includes the specifications for Rate Band values.

      Field/Band Type Rule Example
      Start Date All rates in the band must have the same Start Date  
      End Date All rates in the band must have the same End Date, if used.  
      Boundaries Must have both a lower bound and an upper bound (fully banded). 1 - 4, 5 - 8, 9 - is invalid, as the last upper bound is missing.
      Boundaries There must not be any gaps in rate boundaries  1 - 4, 9 - 12 is not valid, as the 5 - 8 range is missing.
      Boundaries There must not be any overlaps in rate boundaries 1 - 4, 3 - 9 is invalid as the first and second range both include 3.
      Unit Bands The range must be whole numbers (integers) 1 - 4.
      Unit Bands The lower and upper bounds are included in the band.  1 - 4 includes 1 unit and 4 units. 
      Weight/Cubage Bands Rate bands for weight and cubage prices can contain decimals. 1 - 3.25

      Weight/Cubage Bands

      The lower bound is included, but the upper bound is excluded.

      		 A 0 - 4kg band effectively means
      0 - 3.99999kg inclusive