Industry Glossary

Quick reference for sea freight, air freight, road freight, and CFS terminology used throughout the Freight Forwarding Management documentation.

Tip

If you are already an experienced forwarder, you can skip this page — the user guides assume familiarity with industry vocabulary. This page is for:

• New staff (CS, Sales, Documentation) who need a quick lookup while reading the guides.

• Implementation teams who need to cross-reference how Viindoo labels terms against industry standards.

• End users who want to confirm an abbreviation seen in a report or dashboard.

Notation in the guides: the first occurrence of a term is written in full with abbreviation as Full Name (abbreviation); subsequent occurrences use only the abbreviation.

Ports & Transport

POL (Port of Loading)

The export port — where the container is loaded onto the vessel.

POD (Port of Discharge)

The destination port — where the container is discharged from the vessel.

CY (Container Yard)

The container yard at the port where containers are staged before loading or after discharge.

CFS (Container Freight Station)

The warehouse where LCL cargo is consolidated into or deconsolidated out of a container — used for both export stuffing and import breakdown.

FCL (Full Container Load)

Full container hire — one shipper occupies the entire container.

LCL (Less than Container Load)

Consolidated cargo sharing a container — multiple shippers share one container and pay freight based on volume or weight.

T/S (Transshipment)

Cargo transferred through an intermediate port — the container is discharged and reloaded at a third port before reaching the POD.

Consolidator

A forwarder that aggregates multiple house shipments into one master shipment to purchase freight from a carrier at a combined rate. For LCL and air consolidation, the consolidator is responsible for the master booking, cutoffs, and cost allocation per house.

Co-loader

A partner forwarder that accepts LCL cargo from another forwarder to include in their own master shipment. Used when a company sells a lane it does not self-consolidate.

ULD (Unit Load Device)

Specialized pallets or containers used to load cargo onto aircraft. Forwarders typically manage piece counts, house references, and Chargeable Weight; ULD assignment is usually handled by the airline or air cargo terminal.

Deadlines (Cutoffs & Free Time)

CY Cutoff

The deadline for delivering a container to the CY — missing it means a missed vessel and a Roll Over to the next sailing.

SI Cutoff

The deadline for submitting the Shipping Instruction to the carrier — the carrier issues the MBL based on this submission.

VGM Cutoff

The deadline for submitting Verified Gross Mass — containers without a confirmed VGM are not permitted on board under SOLAS regulations.

CFS Cutoff

The deadline for delivering cargo to the CFS — applies to LCL; missing it means missing the master shipment.

Free Time

The number of days the carrier allows before demurrage charges begin. Typically 5–14 days depending on the carrier and trade lane.

Detention Start

The first day detention charges accrue, equal to Free Time End + 1. Calculated from when the container leaves the port until it is returned empty.

Documents

SI (Shipping Instruction)

The instruction a forwarder sends to the carrier — the carrier uses this to issue the MBL.

HBL (House Bill of Lading)

The bill of lading a forwarder issues to the shipper — the document of title between the forwarder and the customer.

MBL (Master Bill of Lading)

The bill of lading the carrier issues to the forwarder — the document of title between the carrier and the forwarder.

HAWB (House Air Waybill)

The air waybill a forwarder issues to the shipper (the air freight equivalent of an HBL).

MAWB (Master Air Waybill)

The air waybill the airline issues to the forwarder (the air freight equivalent of an MBL).

D/O (Delivery Order)

The release document issued at the destination port — the consignee presents this to take delivery of the cargo.

VGM (Verified Gross Mass)

The verified total weight of a packed container — mandatory under the SOLAS convention.

SM1 (Weighing Method 1)

Weighing the entire packed container on a calibrated weighbridge. The result is the VGM directly. Preferred method because it is the most accurate.

SM2 (Calculation Method 2)

Summing the individually weighed cargo pieces (each with a separate weight certificate) plus the container tare weight. Used when a full-capacity weighbridge is not available.

EIR (Equipment Interchange Receipt)

The container handover receipt between the port/depot and the truck — confirms Gate-out or Empty Return.

Arrival Notice

The notification a forwarder sends to the consignee advising that the cargo has arrived, with delivery instructions and charges due.

Outturn Report

The cargo condition report produced at a CFS after deconsolidation of an LCL container — records the actual condition of each house shipment.

Telex Release

Electronic B/L release: the carrier instructs its destination agent to release the cargo to the consignee without presentation of an original paper B/L. Commonly used when shipper and consignee have settled payment or operate within a trusted network.

VNACCS/VCIS

Vietnam Customs’ electronic customs declaration system. In the current Viindoo Freight module, customs declarations are processed outside Viindoo; Viindoo stores shipment data, documents, and customs clearance milestones for operational cross-reference.

Container Execution Milestones

Empty Pickup

The truck collects an empty container from the depot or port and brings it to the warehouse for stuffing. This is the first milestone in the export flow.

Stuffing

Loading cargo into the container at the warehouse or CFS and sealing it. VGM can only be submitted after Stuffing is complete.

Gate-in

The container enters the CY at the export port — the prerequisite for loading onto the vessel and the point at which a Container Exception can be recorded if an issue occurs.

Loaded on Vessel

The container is lifted onto the vessel — the final milestone in the export flow and the On Board date shown on the B/L.

Arrived

The vessel berths at the destination port — the starting point for free time and demurrage calculation, counted from the ATA date on the shipment.

Customs Cleared

The destination customs authority grants clearance — the prerequisite for the container to leave the port.

Gated Out

The container exits the destination port — demurrage stops and detention begins.

Unstuffed

Cargo is unloaded from the container at the warehouse or CFS. This milestone may be skipped for FCL direct delivery.

Empty Return

The empty container is returned to the carrier’s depot — the final milestone in the import flow and the point at which detention stops accruing.

Charges & Incoterms

THC (Terminal Handling Charge)

Port handling charge — billed per container and varies by port and container size.

DEM (Demurrage)

The fee charged by the carrier for holding a container at the port beyond the free time allowance.

DET (Detention)

The fee charged by the carrier for holding a container outside the port beyond the free time allowance — calculated from Gate-out until Empty Return.

Chargeable Weight

The billing weight used primarily in air freight. Calculated as the greater of Gross Weight and Volumetric Weight. Incorrect dimension or weight declarations will cause per-kg quotes and invoices to differ significantly from the airline’s figures.

CIC (Container Imbalance Charge)

A surcharge carriers apply to compensate for repositioning empty containers between trade lanes.

FOB (Free On Board)

Incoterm: the shipper bears cost and risk until cargo is on board the vessel at POL; the consignee bears the remainder.

CIF (Cost, Insurance, Freight)

Incoterm: the shipper covers cost, insurance, and freight to POD; risk transfers at POL.

CPT (Carriage Paid To)

Incoterm: the shipper pays freight to a named destination; risk transfers when cargo is handed to the first carrier.

DDP (Delivered Duty Paid)

Incoterm: the shipper bears all costs, duties, and risk to the named delivery point in the buyer’s country — the highest level of shipper responsibility under Incoterms.

Exception Scenarios

Roll Over

Cargo misses its vessel due to a missed cutoff or carrier overbooking and is rescheduled to the next sailing. The container and cargo are intact — only the voyage and ETD change.

Not Loaded

A container fails to board the vessel due to a container, cargo, or documentation issue: broken seal, overweight, or incorrect paperwork. The root cause must be resolved before placing a new booking.

Shut Out

Carrier terminology for a container excluded from a sailing. Can result from a Roll Over (carrier-initiated) or a Not Loaded (container fails to qualify).

Container Exception

The exception status recorded in Viindoo when a container encounters an issue on the export flow. Two types: Rolled Over and Not Loaded. Applies to export direction only.

Short Shipment

Cargo quantity is less than declared — identified when re-weighed at a CFS or reported in an Outturn Report at the POD.

Consolidation

Grouping multiple LCL shipments from different shippers into one master shipment under one container.

Deconsolidation

Breaking down a master shipment into individual house shipments at the POD — mandatory before delivering to each LCL consignee.

Dashboard & Reporting

Spreadsheet Dashboard

A dashboard type in Viindoo built on the Spreadsheet engine — displays data as KPI scorecards, charts, and tables. Read-only: you cannot edit data directly; use filters and drill-down to explore.

Scorecard (KPI Card)

A summary metric tile in the top row of a Spreadsheet Dashboard. Each card measures one specific business indicator (shipment count, revenue, profit, etc.).

Delivery Status

The actual delivery status of a shipment: Early (arrived ahead of schedule), On Time (arrived as scheduled), Late (ETA has passed without arrival), In Transit (en route, on-time or late not yet determined).

Tracking Alert Status

An alert from the shipment tracking system: At Risk when a shipment shows signs of potential delay (slow vessel, port congestion, etc.). Do not confuse with Delivery Status — this is a separate alert category used for proactive risk monitoring.

Profitability Report

The shipment profit report — summarizes revenue (from invoiced charges) and actual costs for each shipment. Data is only available once the shipment has charges with issued invoices.

Period Filter

The global time filter on a Spreadsheet Dashboard. Defaults to the last three months. Affects charts and report-based lists; does not affect scorecards that count current-state records.

Common Port & Carrier Codes (Vietnam)

Sea carriers: COSCO, Evergreen, ONE, Maersk, CMA CGM, SITC, Wan Hai, HMM, Yang Ming.

Air carriers: Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet Cargo, Emirates SkyCargo, Korean Air Cargo.

Frequently used UN/LOCODE port codes:

Code	Port	Country
VNHPH	Hai Phong	Vietnam
VNSGN	Ho Chi Minh City (Cat Lai + Cai Mep)	Vietnam
VNDAD	Da Nang	Vietnam
CNSHA	Shanghai	China
CNYTN	Yantian (Shenzhen)	China
SGSIN	Singapore	Singapore
KRPUS	Busan	South Korea