Topic
This article describes how Delivery Methods in Everbridge Suite are populated in bulk when contacts are imported or updated using CSV or SFTP uploads. It explains the prerequisites in the organization, how column mapping works, why contacts can appear without Delivery Methods after an import, and how to correct this using the contact upload/update workflow.
Description
A Delivery Method is a way a contact can receive a notification, such as email, SMS, pager, or phone. A Delivery Method represents a contact channel defined in an organization’s settings. Delivery Methods must be configured in your organization settings before they can be used or populated by an upload.
In Everbridge Suite, Delivery Methods are defined at the organization level under Settings > Notifications > Delivery Methods. When importing contact data, fields for phone numbers or emails must map to an existing Delivery Method so the system knows where to route and store those values. Without the appropriate Delivery Methods, incoming contact data has no destination and will not be ingested.
If Delivery Methods are not appearing after a data import, check and configure the Delivery Methods in the organization settings. For more detailed guidance on creating Delivery Methods, see EBS: Creating and Using Delivery Methods in Everbridge Suite.
How uploads populate Delivery Methods
When you upload contacts using CSV or Excel files, or when you use SFTP uploads, Delivery Methods are populated based on how your file columns map to Delivery Methods in the organization:
Prepare your CSV or Excel file with a header row including columns for each Delivery Method (for example, “Phone 1”, “Email 1”, “SMS 1”).
Ensure each contact row has the relevant values filled in for the desired Delivery Methods.
In the Everbridge Manager Portal, go to Settings > Notifications > Delivery Methods to map your file columns to Everbridge Delivery Methods.
Upload the file, and Everbridge will assign Delivery Methods based on your configured mappings.
When the file is processed, Everbridge creates or updates the contact record. For each mapped column that has a value, the system creates or updates the corresponding Delivery Method on the contact.
You can change how file columns map to Delivery Methods using the Delivery Methods settings. For more information about mapping Delivery Methods to specific upload requirements, see EBS: Mapping Delivery Methods to Specific Upload Requirements in Everbridge Suite.
Why contacts might show data without Delivery Methods
If Delivery Methods are not appearing after a data import, this indicates that Delivery Methods might not be configured in the organization settings or that upload mappings might not align with the organization’s Delivery Methods. In some cases, a Delivery Method mismatch in a feed can cause issues where Delivery Method values do not align with the system’s contact delivery routes.
Prerequisites before running uploads
Before running CSV or SFTP uploads that should populate Delivery Methods, ensure the following in the target organization:
Delivery Method types (phone, email, SMS, etc.) exist in the target organization under Settings > Notifications > Delivery Methods.
File columns for phone and email data are mapped to the corresponding Delivery Methods in the Delivery Methods settings.
Delivery Methods must exist before uploads run. If the Delivery Method types did not exist in the target organization at the time of the upload, Delivery Method values from the upload file will not be populated.
Using contact upload/update to bulk-populate Delivery Methods
You can use the contact upload/update workflow to populate or correct Delivery Methods in bulk:
First ensure the Delivery Method types (phone, email, SMS, etc.) exist in the target organization (Settings > Notifications > Delivery Methods).
Download your contact list from Contacts + Assets > Contacts > Contact List > Download.
Add or populate the Delivery Method fields (phone, email, SMS) in the spreadsheet.
Re-upload the file under Contacts > Uploads using the update option.
If you are using SFTP, include the Delivery Method details in the SFTP file and re-upload once the Delivery Methods exist in the organization.
This approach allows you to add multiple Delivery Methods during contact uploads without editing each contact individually. Everbridge will assign Delivery Methods based on your configured mappings.
Correcting missing Delivery Methods after an earlier upload
If Delivery Methods are still not appearing after the data import, check and configure the Delivery Methods in the organization settings and verify that the upload mappings align with those Delivery Methods. The article EB360: Troubleshooting Missed Delivery Methods in Everbridge Incident Communications & Mass Notifications provides additional troubleshooting information for missed Delivery Methods.
Checking the upload logs can help confirm whether the Delivery Method details were included in the file and whether they were processed. If the SFTP upload process is creating duplicate or backup contact records, verify that the Delivery Method specified in the feed matches the system's contact delivery routes and correct the feed so it does not generate duplicates and ensures Delivery Method mappings align with the system.
Including Delivery Methods for all contacts
To make Delivery Methods mandatory, contacts need to register through the Member Portal with required fields. However, if using Single Sign-On (SSO), these mandatory fields may be bypassed. The recommended approach is to include all Delivery Methods during SFTP uploads by ensuring your upload file has columns for each Delivery Method and mapping these columns correctly in the Everbridge Manager Portal under Settings > Notifications > Delivery Methods.
For further details about creating and using Delivery Methods, see EBS: Creating and Using Delivery Methods in Everbridge Suite. If Delivery Methods are still missing or cannot be populated by uploads even after configuration and mapping, refer to the related troubleshooting guidance for missed Delivery Methods and Delivery sections.