Setting up SMS notifications

You can set up automatic SMS notifications about changes in an order's delivery progress.

SMS types

There are two types of SMS notifications:

The SMS text should be standard and include:

  • Company name
  • Order number
  • Courier tracking link with the tracking ID

For information on changing the standard text, see SMS customization.

The company name is taken from the settings in the Routing workspace.

Depending on the company's settings, the SMS may contain the order number:

  • From Track & Trace (From the system option is active).
  • From the client's external system (External customer number option is active). This is an arbitrary order number that can be added when uploading routes to Track & Trace. You can see it in the order card.

Note

If the order number is longer than 20 characters, it'll be truncated in the SMS. For example, 1234...2122.

For more information on filling in the fields in Track & Trace, see Description of fields.

Conditions for sending an SMS:

  • The order contains one phone number in +1XXXXXXXXXX format.
  • The courier logged in to the Yandex Courier app and selected a route.
  • The courier's geolocation data is received in real time.
  • The courier started the route within the specified order time window (before the order's ETA).
  • The order status isn't Delivered or Canceled.

Note

An SMS is sent for each order, even if multiple orders have the same recipient.

For example, if a route has three orders at the same location to the same client with the same phone number. This means an SMS will be sent to the recipient for each order. To avoid this, you can provide the phone number only for one order.

At the beginning of the route

Property

Value

Notification type

shift_start

Message text

Order <order number> from <company name> is out for delivery. Status: ya.cc/link.

Sending time

Simultaneously for all orders on the route.

Conditions for sending an SMS depend on the courier's starting location:

All of the following conditions must be true:

  • The route start time has come (the route_start parameter), or the earliest delivery window comes no later than in 5 hours.
  • The depot at the beginning of the route was marked as visited (via the mobile app or API).
  • The courier is not within the depot radius if the mark_route_started_radius parameter is set for the depot.

All of the following conditions must be true:

  • The route start time has come (the route_start parameter), or the earliest delivery window comes no later than in 5 hours.
  • The courier launched the app and selected a route (started sending coordinates for the route).

Before the car arrives

Property

Value

Notification type

nearby

Message text

Order <order number> from <company name> will arrive in <remaining time before order arrival, min> minutes. Status: ya.cc/link.

Sending time

N minutes before the arrival at the order location (see SMS settings for companies).

Conditions for sending an SMS:

Notification creation time

The notification creation time depends on the estimated time of arrival (ETA) calculation method.

The Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) is calculated by Track & Trace every few minutes based on incomplete and active orders on the route. The estimate is based on current traffic and road condition data.

The ETA calculation method is determined by the company, but you can change it for an individual order in the eta_type field. There are two ETA calculation methods available in Track & Trace: arrival_time and delivery_time.

Comparison of ETA calculation types

Property\Type

arrival_time

delivery_time

Used by default

yes

no

Order time window

soft

hard

Notification creation time

N seconds before the start of the delivery.

Explanation

N is the time window when to send an SMS before the estimated arrival time. Learn more

The start of delivery is the estimated time of arrival (ETA).

N seconds before the start of delivery, but not before the delivery window.

Explanation

N is the time window when to send an SMS before the estimated arrival time. Learn more

The start of delivery is the estimated time of arrival (ETA).

Example 1

The example describes the arrival_time ETA calculation.

Delivery window: between 12:00 and 14:00. The courier's arrival notification must be sent 30 minutes in advance. The order handling time is 1 hour, and the auto detection coefficient is 0.5.

For arrival_time, the delivery window is soft, so the courier can deliver the order earlier.

Let's say the courier's estimated time of arrival (ETA) is 10:00. The client receives the nearby notification at 9:30. The order status changes to Delivered at 10:30, when the courier has spent a certain amount of time in the delivery area.

Example 2

The example describes the delivery_time ETA calculation.

Delivery window: between 12:00 and 14:00. The courier's arrival notification must be sent 30 minutes in advance. The order handling time is 1 hour, and the auto detection coefficient is 0.5.

For delivery_time, the delivery window is considered hard, so the courier can't deliver the order earlier. If a courier arrives before the delivery window starts, they will have to wait.

Let's say the courier's estimated time of arrival (ETA) is 10:00. The client receives the nearby notification at 11:30. The order status changes to Delivered at 12:30, when the courier has spent a certain amount of time in the delivery area. The time is counted from the beginning of the delivery window.

Note

For courier performance reports, it's important that the order status is updated at the correct time. If the status automatically changes to Delivered when the courier is still waiting for the window to start, a time window violation is registered in the report. This may make statistics unreliable.

SMS settings

Set up SMS notifications in the interface: for company or couriers.

For company

You can set up SMS notifications in the routing workspace: Settings → Company → SMS messages.

If the Send to all clients option is:

  • Enabled, SMS will be sent in the routes of all couriers regardless of the settings for individual couriers.
  • Disabled, SMS will only be sent in the routes of couriers with the sending option activated.

The table below shows different combinations of company and courier settings and the resulting action. The company settings take priority over the courier settings.

SMS for company

SMS for couriers

SMS sent for courier

Yes

Yes

To be sent

Yes

No

To be sent

No

Yes

To be sent

No

No

Won't be sent

Types of notifications are set by the options:

  • Send at the beginning of the route
  • Send before the courier arrives

You can choose both options or only one. For example, if couriers' routes start very early, you can disable sending an SMS at the start of the route to avoid disturbing clients if they're still asleep.

You can also specify the following in the company settings:

  • Interval between the delivery time and the SMS message (by default, 1800 seconds, or 30 minutes).
  • Sending time is the time window when messages can be sent.

For couriers

SMS notifications for individual couriers are set up in the Track & Trace settings: Track & Trace → Couriers.

Enable the SMS option next to the username of the appropriate courier.

Enable the Send SMS to clients option at the top-left of the page.

SMS customization

SMS messages use the same text, which can't be customized with the service tools.

If you want to customize the text, use the service API for generating order events and implement the notification logic on your side. This will let you use your own wording in SMS notifications rather than standard text. For more information, see Order notifications.

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