Configuring a Whatsapp Template

Shipsy’s communication engine allows users to configure whatsapp templates according to their requirements allowing them to set up customised templates for all event types.

Instructions

The following instructions should be followed to setup a Whatsapp template:

Navigating to Communication Config Setup

1. Click on the hamburger menu icon

2. Select Setup and Communication Config from the sub-menu

3. Users are then redirected to the templates list view page. This page has two sub tabs - message setup and email setup. The default landing page is message setup

4. To start configuring a new Whatsapp template, the user is required to click on the add new button

Configuring a New Template

1. After clicking on the add new button, the user is presented with a pop up where they are required to fill in necessary information to set up their template

   1. First, the user must select their message medium - Whatsapp, Whatsapp or Email. As the name suggests, this is the method of communication that their template will use. Select Whatsapp

   2. Next, select an event type from the drop down list. This list includes all event types that occur during a consignment’s journey and the user has the option to select any event type as per their requirement. This means that whenever the selected event type occurs, the configured message will be triggered as per the template provided

   3. Further, the user will select the receiver of this message that they are configuring. Users can choose between destination (receiver of the consignment), origin (hub manager) and worker (rider)

   4. Next, the user will have to define the priority of this message. This is important because when multiple messages are set up for the same event type and receiver combination, the message with the highest priority will be sent. The higher the number, the higher the priority assigned

   5. In the next field, the user has the option to apply a filter on the message template. The system currently supports only applying a filter on the customer. If selected, another field appears under it where the user is required to input the name(s) of the customer(s) they want to filter. By applying a filter and selecting the customers to filter, this message template will then only be triggered for consignments of the filtered customers

   6. The user will then have to select the language in which they want their message to be sent. This is mandatory since this information is required by Meta to process the message

   7. Additionally, the user will also have to input the Template ID for this message. The template ID is the unique ID issued to the user when they got their message approved with Meta. Again, this field is only required for Whatsapp message templates

   8. In the next step, the user will be required to select the account name which is the communication provider account that will be used to send this message. All provider accounts setup in the integration marketplace will be visible here and the user will be required to select one as per their requirements.

   9. The template field is where the user is required to input the actual body of the message they wish to send. However, in the case of whatsapp, since the user is required to get the message template approved from Meta beforehand, the message template they input in this field will have to be the same as the template they got approved from Meta.

   10. Once the user has configured their template, they can click on OK and their template is saved. 

   11. Further, this template will now be added to the list view, and by default its status will be active. The user will have the option to manually disable it if required.

Using Handlers and Tags

1. While configuring a message template, users can use tags and handlers to automate how information is fed into the dynamic template such that each message is customised as per their requirements

2. The way tags work is that wherever a tag is put within the message body, the tag will automatically fetch consignment data and include it in the message without having to manually type out a message every time

   1. For example, if the user wants to configure a message that is sent to the recipient of a consignment which tells them that their consignment has been picked up, they can make a template like the image below where they use the {{reference number}} tag. 

   2. Here, whenever this message is triggered, using the variable tag, the system will automatically fetch the reference number from the database and send the message to the recipient without having to manually type out the relevant reference number every time a message is sent

3. Handlers work on top of tags in a way that using a handler combined with a variable tag, the user can apply a few checks and balances within the message body itself. 

   1. For example, if the user wants to configure a message such that the message body of the email is something when the destination country is India, and something else if the destination country if Saudi Arabia, they can use the {{if}} and {{else if}} handlers to configure their message body in such a way

Conclusion

The Whatsapp template has now been set up successfully.