Overview¶
Requirements
This guide requires the following applications:
Once the shipment exists, operations staff should review and complete every mandatory field so bookings, cost tracking, and customer updates stay accurate throughout the transport journey.
Shipments are the core operational records in the Freight Forwarder app. Each shipment consolidates cargo data, stakeholders, transport routes, costs, bookings, and progress updates so every team works from the same source of truth. A shipment typically starts life from a confirmed sales order, goes through booking and execution, and finishes once profit is confirmed and documentation is completed.
Shipment Lifecycle at a Glance¶
Build and confirm a quotation that generates the shipment and allocates pricing.
Add or refine shipment data: cargo, schedule, parties, compliance documents.
Create bookings with carriers and keep them synchronized with the plan.
Update progress and tracking statuses as the cargo moves.
Review revenue, costs, collections, and disbursements before closing.
How Shipments Are Created¶
Automatic from Sales Order Confirming a quotation that contains freight services will automatically spawn a shipment with inherited customer, route, and pricing data. This keeps sales, invoicing, and profitability linked without extra work.
Manual with Later Linking Operations can manually create shipments from Freight Forwarder > Operations > Shipments when planning ahead of commercial approval. Link the sales order later from the order form once pricing is agreed so documents stay connected.
Finding and Managing Shipments¶
Access shipments either from the related sales order (via the Shipment button) or directly from Operations > Shipments. Choose the view that fits the task:
Kanban to see stages and workload at a glance.
List for filtering and mass updates.
Calendar for planning around ETD/ETA commitments.
Graph to analyze performance across routes, customers, or teams.
Shipment Types¶
Single Leg Shipment Ideal for straightforward jobs using one carrier and transport mode. All timing and cargo data live on the main form.
Multiple Leg Shipment Used for multimodal or multi-carrier journeys. Enable multi-leg mode to manage legs, carriers, and schedules separately while still reporting on a single shipment.
Key Status Indicators¶
Tracking Status shows the current situation versus plan (On Track, At Risk, Off Track, etc.).
Booking Status reflects the carrier confirmation state (Not Booked, Booking in Progress, Booked).
Shipment Stage indicates the workflow step (Booking, In Transit, Customs Clearance, Delivery, Completed).
Detailed Workflow Guides¶
Each stage of the process has its own in-depth walkthrough. Use the summaries below to jump straight to the guide you need.