Product messages are contextual alerts generated by product bricks during pricing calculations. They inform operators and customers about important conditions, constraints, or requirements related to a transport booking.
When a product is calculated for a transport request, the underlying product bricks can emit messages to communicate relevant information. These messages appear as colour-coded alerts throughout the booking flow and on order details, giving users immediate visibility into conditions that affect their transport.
Key highlights:
Severity-based — Each message carries a severity level (info, warning, or error) that determines its visual treatment
Multilingual — Messages are displayed in the user's selected language
Non-blocking — Messages inform users without preventing the booking from proceeding
Persistent — Messages are preserved on the Order and remain visible after booking
Each product message has one of three severity levels, displayed with a corresponding colour:
Level
Colour
Purpose
info
Blue
General information about the offer or transport conditions
warning
Yellow
Conditions that may affect the transport but do not prevent booking
error
Red
Critical issues the user should be aware of
When multiple messages are present, a badge displays the total count and uses the colour of the highest severity message. Hovering over or tapping the badge reveals the full list of messages.
In Orbit MissionControl, product messages appear in two locations:
Product cards in the TransportComposer — When creating or editing a transport, each product card displays a message indicator next to the product name. The indicator shows the number of messages and is coloured according to the highest severity. Hover over the indicator to see the full message list.
Order details — On the order details page, product messages are shown in the pricing section alongside the product name and version. A badge indicates how many messages exist, and hovering reveals the details.
In Orbit Hub, product messages appear in these locations:
Date selection: When a date is available on request only, the notice above the date picker includes the selected product's messages.
Booking overview: During the booking process, messages for the selected offer are displayed on the booking confirmation step, helping customers review any conditions before placing the Order.
Order details: After booking, the order details header displays a severity-coloured badge with the message count. Interacting with the badge reveals the full message list.
After you choose a date, the notice above the date picker tells you whether you can continue with the selected product:
Notice
What to do
On request only
Review the product messages. You can send a request for this date instead of booking directly.
Date not available
Choose another date. You cannot continue to the booking overview while the selected date is unavailable.
This date can be booked again.
You can continue with a direct booking after changing to an available date.
If a product you could book directly becomes available on request only after a date change, continuing opens Now available as a request only. Choose Continue as request to continue to the booking overview with a request instead of the quoted price. Choose Choose another date to stay in date selection. Once you confirm the change, you do not need to confirm the same request again unless another date shows a price. A resumed request without a quoted price does not ask for confirmation. If a later date shows a price and you then return to a request, you must confirm before that calculated price is removed. A price your provider has already set for the request remains in place.
Product messages explain the conditions; the date's availability determines whether you can book, send a request or need to choose another date.
Product messages are defined within context bricks and feasibility bricks as part of the product configuration. When a product is calculated for a transport, these bricks can include messages in their output to communicate conditions such as route constraints, load limitations, or scheduling notes.
Messages from all bricks of a product are automatically collected, deduplicated, and sorted by severity (errors first, then warnings, then informational messages). For details on configuring bricks to return messages, refer to the Products documentation.
Julia at Orion Industries in London books a next-day delivery through Orbit Hub. During the booking process, she sees a blue info badge on her selected product. Hovering over it reveals the message: "Route includes channel crossing via ferry, transit time may vary." After placing the Order, the same message remains visible on her order details page. Meanwhile, Mohammad, an operator at the logistics company in Berlin, sees the same message on the Order in Orbit MissionControl, along with a yellow warning: "Approaching maximum load weight for this vehicle class." These messages help both parties understand the conditions of the transport without interrupting the booking flow.
Can product messages prevent a booking from being placed?
No. Product messages are informational only. To prevent a booking, the product's feasibility bricks must return the transport as not feasible. Messages communicate context but do not block the process.
Do product messages appear in Orbit Cockpit?
Product messages are displayed in Orbit MissionControl and Orbit Hub. They are not shown in Orbit Cockpit.
Can a product have no messages?
Yes. Messages are optional. If no brick returns messages, no badge or indicator is shown.
Are messages visible after the order is placed?
Yes. Messages are stored on the Order and remain visible on the order details page in both Orbit MissionControl and Orbit Hub.
What happens if the same message is returned by multiple bricks?
Duplicate messages with identical content are automatically removed. Each unique message appears only once.
