Industry Terminology¶

This section summarizes key terms used across all Viindoo Freight Forwarder guides so that new users, logistics newcomers, and Viindoo team members share the same vocabulary.

Route & Transport Structure¶

Route: Fixed end-to-end transport path configured once and reused for shipments.
Waypoint: Transit point or stop that breaks a route into smaller controllable pieces.
Leg / Section: Individual segment between two adjacent waypoints.
Leg Type: Categorizes each leg as Pickup, Main Carriage, or Delivery to clarify responsibilities per segment.
Sequence: Numerical order (1, 2, 3…) determining how legs are executed.
Route Leg: Data record storing the origin, destination, carrier, and schedule for a single leg inside a shipment or booking.
Freight Route: The overall transport plan tying all configured legs together for a shipment.
Multi-leg Route / Multiple Leg Shipment: Shipment that travels through more than one leg or transport mode; each leg may have its own carrier.
Transport Type: Choice between Single-modal (one continuous leg) or Multi-modal (multiple legs, possibly different modes).
Transport Mode: Sea, Air, Land, or Multiple (multimodal) methods used on a route or specific leg.

Locations & Service Scope¶

Port: Sea port or airport used as a major handover point.
Door: Non-port locations such as factories, warehouses, or standard addresses.
Terminal: Pier, station, or container terminal inside a port complex.
Origin: Starting location of a shipment or leg, often inherited from the route.
Destination: Final delivery point of a shipment or leg.
Port of Loading (POL): Port/airport where cargo is loaded onto the main carriage vehicle.
Port of Discharge (POD): Port/airport where cargo is unloaded from the main carriage vehicle.
Service Type: Commercial scope such as Door to Door, Port to Port, Door to Port, or Port to Door services.

Transport Modes & Loading¶

Sea: Ocean freight legs handled by container ships, bulk carriers, etc.
Air: Air freight legs handled by aircraft and air cargo terminals.
Land: Inland trucking, rail, or other ground transportation.
Multiple (Multimodal): Bookings or shipments that combine more than one mode in sequence.
Loading Method: Mode-specific tactic such as FCL/LCL for sea or FTL/LTL for land shipments.
FCL (Full Container Load): Customer occupies an entire container.
LCL (Less than Container Load): Cargo shares container space with other shippers.
FTL (Full Truck Load): Cargo fills one truck.
LTL (Less than Truck Load): Cargo only occupies part of a truck.
Bulk Cargo: Unpackaged cargo (grains, coal, liquids) loaded directly into the hold.
Break Bulk: Large or heavy cargo (machinery, steel) loaded individually instead of in containers.
Express: Service level prioritizing speed with higher cost.
Economy: Lower-cost service accepting longer transit time.

Cargo & Container Details¶

Cargo Template: Predefined mix of packages and commodities for recurring shipments; speeds up data entry.
Generate Cargo From Templates: Button that copies a template’s packages and commodity lines into a shipment.
Cargo Input Mode: Configuration that decides whether teams use Quick Note Entry (free text) or Detailed Structured Entry (line-by-line fields).
Quick Note Entry: Simple narrative field (Cargo Note Details) for summarizing cargo when precision is not required.
Detailed Structured Entry: Formal packages and commodity lines capturing type, quantity, weights, and HS codes.
Package: Container, pallet, carton, or other handling unit listed under the Packages section.
Package Type: Equipment descriptor such as 20ft, 40ft HC, pallet, or carton.
Cargo Details: Commodity-level table storing HS code, quantity, unit, weight, and volume.
Commodity: Specific cargo item description (garments, electronics, food, etc.).
HS Code: Harmonized System code used for customs classification.
DG (Dangerous Goods): Flag indicating hazardous cargo that needs special handling.
UN Number: United Nations identifier for dangerous goods classes.
Total Packages / Total Cargo Commodities: Auto-calculated counters for packages and item lines.
Total Weight / Total Volume: Summaries helping check carrier limits and booking requirements.
Quantity: Count of items or packages entered for each cargo line.
Unit: Unit of measure (pcs, sets, pallets) tied to each commodity.
Gross Weight: Weight including packaging.
Net Weight: Actual cargo weight excluding packaging.
Tare Weight: Empty container weight; Gross − Tare = Net for containers.
Volume: Cubic meters (CBM) or other space measurement for each package.
Container No: Unique container identifier such as MSCU1234567.
Seal No: Security seal number applied to the container doors.
Shipping Mark: Markings or references printed on packages for identification.
Allocate packages to legs: Action assigning each package to relevant route legs so bookings know what to reserve.

Parties & Roles¶

Customer: Company buying the freight service.
Shipper: Consignor delivering cargo for transport.
Consignee: Receiver at destination who takes ownership of cargo.
Notify Party: Stakeholder who must be alerted upon arrival (may differ from consignee).
Carrier: Transport provider executing a leg (shipping line, airline, trucking firm).
Agent: Representative of the carrier or an overseas partner supporting local tasks.
Stakeholders: Internal or external parties who should receive booking or tracking updates.
Responsible: Operational staff member owning the shipment or booking inside Viindoo.
Salesperson: Commercial owner of the sales order linked to the shipment.
Freight / User: Access group allowed to operate assigned shipments and bookings.
Freight / Manager: Access group with full control over freight configuration, operations, and reporting.
Collection Partner: Third party for whom you collect or pay money on behalf of the customer.
Vendor: Supplier providing outsourced transport or services recorded on purchase orders.

Booking Fundamentals¶

Booking: Reservation made with a carrier to secure space for the shipment’s cargo.
Booking No: Auto-generated internal reference (e.g., BK/2024/0001).
Booking Date: Date the booking record is created in the system.
Booking Reference: Confirmation number issued by the carrier after they accept the booking.
Master Bill of Lading (MBL): Carrier-issued bill of lading number tied to the booking once cargo is loaded.
Booking Reference vs MBL: Booking Reference arrives when space is confirmed; the MBL is provided later when cargo actually loads.
Single Leg Booking: Booking that covers one direct leg with a single carrier and simple schedule.
Multiple Leg Booking: Booking that spans several legs and can hold different carriers per leg.
Draft Booking: Newly created booking that is still editable and not yet sent to the carrier.
Confirmed Booking: Booking accepted by the carrier; syncing updates carriers, schedules, and MBLs back to the shipment.
Done Booking: Completed booking kept for reference; data becomes read-only.
Cancelled Booking: Booking voided due to rejection or plan changes; can be reset to draft for reuse.

Shipment Stages & Tracking¶

Shipment: Operational record that ties together the sales order, route legs, cargo, bookings, documents, and profitability.
Shipment Number: Unique identifier for each shipment (auto-generated if configured).
Shipment Stage: Major milestone in the journey. Standard stages include Planning, Customs Clearance, Origin Port Handling, International Transport, Destination Port Handling, Domestic Delivery, and Shipment Completed.
Tracking Event: Time-stamped update recorded against a shipment stage (e.g., “Cargo loaded on vessel”).
Title Template: Predefined event title users can pick to standardize descriptions.
Event Time: Actual date/time an event happened; the system blocks future times to keep history accurate.
Location (Event): Free-text field describing where the event took place (port, vessel, warehouse).
Details: Supporting notes with vessel, voyage, or operational context for the event.
Published on Portal: Flag controlling whether customers see the event on their portal timeline.
Notify To: List of partners who should immediately receive an email notification for the event.
Need Update Shipment Planning: Checkbox on the progress form that opens extra fields to revise ETD/ETA, carriers, or legs when plans change.
Freight Route (event context): Selector used when updating progress on a specific leg inside a multi-leg shipment.
Shipment Dashboard: On-form timeline showing historical events, current stage, and key metrics for a shipment.

Schedule & Status Codes¶

ETD (Estimated Time of Departure): Planned departure date/time of a shipment or leg.
ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival): Planned arrival date/time of a shipment or leg.
Cutoff: Final deadline to gate in cargo before missing the planned carrier departure.
ATD (Actual Time of Departure): Real departure timestamp captured in tracking events.
ATA (Actual Time of Arrival): Real arrival timestamp captured in tracking events.
Forecast Time: Predicted completion time for similar shipments based on historical data.
On Track: Shipment status meaning operations match the plan with no delays.
At Risk: Status showing early warning signs (weather, customs queries) that could delay the shipment.
Off Track: Status used once a shipment is already late versus the plan.
On Hold: Status indicating the shipment must pause until an issue (documents, permits, payment) is resolved.
General Status: Operational state such as In Progress, Completed, or Delayed used in overview reports.
Delivery Status: Outcome compared to schedule—Early, On Time, Late, or In Transit.

Document Types & Management¶

Bill of Lading (B/L): Sea freight transport document issued per shipment or container set.
Master Bill of Lading (MBL): Carrier’s main B/L tied to the confirmed booking.
House Bill of Lading (HBL): Forwarder-issued B/L for the customer; often managed alongside MBL.
Air Waybill (AWB): Air freight transport document issued by airlines.
CMR: Standard international road transport waybill.
Commercial Invoice: Document stating the commercial value of the goods.
Packing List: Detailed list of packages, weights, and measurements.
Certificate of Origin (C/O): Document certifying the origin country of the goods.
Delivery Order (DO): Authorization for cargo release at destination.
Customs Declaration: Official filing with customs authorities for export or import clearance.
Import/Export License: Permit required for regulated goods.
Shipping Instruction: Instructions sent to carrier outlining how to issue the bill of lading.
Insurance Certificate: Proof of cargo insurance coverage.
Fumigation, Phytosanitary, Health, and Quality Certificates: Specialized compliance documents for certain commodities.
Actual Photos: Image evidence of cargo, containers, seals, or delivery handovers stored with the shipment.
Booking Confirmation: Carrier’s confirmation document stating space has been reserved.
Freight Workspace: Dedicated Documents workspace automatically created for freight files with controlled access for freight users.
Document Tags: Predefined labels (Document Type, Stakeholder, Leg) used to categorize freight documents.
Documents Button / Workspaces Button: Shortcuts on shipment and booking forms that open linked documents or the shared workspace.
Document Approval Status: Workflow states (To Review, Approved, Deprecated) applied to critical files like B/L or invoices.

Charges, Fees & Finance¶

Local Charge: Port-based surcharge products (THC, port security, storage) linked to freight services.
Service Charge: Value-added services (documentation, customs brokerage, trucking) billed alongside freight.
Fee Definition: Template that links a freight product to the local/service charges that should accompany it.
Fee Product: Specific local or service charge selected inside a fee definition.
Applied to: Field defining which freight product template a fee definition belongs to.
Applied to Variants: Restricts a fee definition to certain container sizes or service variants.
Quantity (Fee Definition): Multiplier that controls how many times a fee applies per sold unit (e.g., per container, per week).
Unit of Measure (Fee Definition): Read-only unit inherited from the fee product to ensure quantities stay consistent.
Compute Supplementary Fees: Sales-order action that inserts all linked local/service charges below the main freight line.
Product Fees Section: Group of auto-generated quotation lines listing every surcharge pulled in by the fee definitions.
Analytic Account: Cost/revenue ledger created per shipment so invoices, purchase orders, and expenses hit the correct job.
Analytic Account Suffix: Setting that renames analytic accounts as SOxxxx - SHPxxxx to make the matching shipment obvious in dropdowns.
Allocation: Distributing revenues and costs to the shipment’s analytic account to keep profitability accurate.
Revenue – Untaxed: Sales value excluding VAT shown in profitability reports.
Total – Incl. Tax: Tax-inclusive amount that represents the customer receivable.
Invoiced / Not Yet Invoiced: Metrics tracking how much of the sales order has been billed.
Cost: Sum of purchase orders, labor, and other expenses allocated to the shipment.
Profit / Profit Margin %: Revenue minus cost (and its percentage) used to judge shipment success.
Mark On-Behalf: Checkbox on sales order lines telling the system this is a pass-through amount, not revenue.
Collection on behalf: Collecting money from the customer to transfer to another party; posted to Account 3388 – Other Payables and excluded from profit.
Disbursement on behalf: Paying a partner on the customer’s behalf and reclaiming it later; posted to Account 1388 – Other Receivables.
Collection Partner: Party who ultimately receives the on-behalf amount recorded on a line.
On-Behalf Payment Distribution: Tab on inbound/outbound payments listing which partners participate in the on-behalf amount and how much each receives.
On-Behalf Payment checkbox: Payment flag that activates the distribution tab and proper accounting treatment.
Collections & Disbursements widget: Shipment dashboard summary showing how much on-behalf money has been collected, transferred, or remains outstanding.

Purchase & Vendor Coordination¶

Subcontract Service: Product flag that forces purchase order creation when the sales order is confirmed because the service is always outsourced.
Sale & Purchase Integration / Link Bookings & Purchase Orders: Freight feature that connects bookings with purchase orders so vendor costs follow each shipment.
Outsource Requested: Shipment/leg checkbox used when outsourcing is optional; once enabled it reveals the Generate PO button for that leg.
Generate PO: Booking action that creates a purchase order for the selected carrier/leg using supplier pricelist data.
Price Reference Vendor: Column on sales order lines that selects which vendor (carrier) the purchase order should use and which buy price to pull.
Supplier Pricelist: Vendor price table on each product storing purchase price, quantity, and lead time for every carrier.
Purchase Order (PO): Document ordering transport or services from a vendor, later converted into a vendor bill.
Vendor Bill: Payables document that records the actual invoice from the carrier or subcontractor.

Projects, Tasks & Collaboration¶

Freight Project & Timesheet: Feature that links every shipment to a dedicated project with predefined tasks and timesheet tracking.
Project Template: Archived project containing standard freight tasks (booking confirmation, customs clearance, delivery) used as a blueprint.
Service Tracking – Project & Task: Product configuration telling Viindoo to create a new project and task set whenever the service is sold.
Project Generation: Action that copies the selected template into a live project tied to the shipment or sales order.
Task: Work item (e.g., “Booking Confirmation”) assigned to a team member to ensure operational steps are not missed.
Timesheet: Labor log attached to each task, letting the system capture actual working hours as costs against the shipment’s analytic account.

Reporting & Analytics¶

Shipment Profitability Report: Financial report summarizing revenue, cost, profit, and margin per shipment.
Shipment Overview Report: Operational report breaking data down per transport leg with focus on carriers, agents, and schedule compliance.
Shipment Tracking Dashboard: Real-time event timeline with color-coded status cards and a sidebar summarizing shipment, profit, bookings, and on-behalf amounts.
Quick Filters: Built-in filters such as Last 7 Days, This Month, or This Year that accelerate common report views.
Group By: Analysis tool that pivots data by shipment, route, customer, carrier, agent, status, delivery status, transport mode, or time period.
Bar / Line / Pie Charts: Graph types available in both profitability and overview reports for visual comparison.
Pivot Table: Detailed grid view where users drag dimensions (customer, creation month, status) to analyze multi-dimensional trends.

Configuration Feature Toggles¶

Cargo Input Mode: Setting that switches user experience between Quick Note Entry and Detailed Structured Entry.
Lock Sales Orders with Shipments: Safeguard preventing users from deleting sales order lines that already created shipments or bookings.
Freight Fee: Feature that installs the Fee Definition workspace so local and service charges can be templated per freight product.
Freight Project & Timesheet: Toggle that installs the project integration linking shipments with projects and tasks.
Link Bookings & Purchase Orders: Toggle that enables the sale-purchase integration so bookings can spawn purchase orders automatically or on demand.
Freight Collect & Disbursements: Feature that activates on-behalf collection/payment workflows (accounts 3388 and 1388) inside Freight.
Documents – Freight: Adds the dedicated Freight workspace, document buttons, and tagging system for shipments and bookings.

Other Logistics Concepts¶

Freight Forwarder: Company that plans and coordinates international freight shipments on behalf of customers.
Logistics: End-to-end movement and storage of goods, information, and associated paperwork.
Multimodal Transport: Combining multiple transport modes (sea + air + land) under a unified contract.
Bottleneck: Process point that slows throughput and requires attention in reports or projects.
Constraint: Limitation imposed by regulations, capacity, or system rules that affects planning.