Viindoo Freight Forwarding demo handbook
Cargo, documents and customs
Lesson 3. Cargo, packages and container equipment
About 12 minutes. These three layers are often confused. This lesson makes clear what each layer is and how they connect.
| Layer | What it is | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Cargo | the commercial item, with HS code, weight and volume | Cà phê nhân Robusta loại 1 (Grade 1 Robusta green coffee), 12 tonnes, 20 m3 |
| Package | the physical packing unit | 200 pallets |
| Container (the equipment) | the box with a number and a seal number | CONT 40FT, number MSKU1234567 |
Step 1 - Look at the cargo list
Go to Freight Forwarding > Cargo & Containers > Cargo.
You should see: more than a thousand cargo lines, each tied to a shipment, with the columns Description (the goods name), Quantity, Unit of Measure, Item Count, Allocated Quantity, Weight (kg), Volume.
Step 2 - Group by cargo type
Click the arrow at the end of the search box, scroll down to Custom Group and choose Cargo Type.
You should see: the groups GENERAL CARGO, REFRIGERATED CARGO, DRY-BULK CARGO, LIQUID-BULK CARGO, HEAVY LIFT CARGO, SPECIAL CARGO (and a None group for unclassified lines) - with the number of lines and the total weight and volume of each group.
Why it matters: the cargo type decides how it is stowed, which equipment it needs and whether a permit is required. Refrigerated cargo must travel in a reefer, and dangerous goods must declare a UN number and a DG class. The system comes with 20 UN numbers and 9 dangerous goods classes (menu
Freight Forwarding > Configuration > Cargo Information).
Step 3 - Open a cargo line
Click any line.
You should see: the blocks CARGO INFORMATION (shipment, description, quantity), PHYSICAL PROPERTIES (weight, volume), CARGO CLASSIFICATION (Cargo Type, the full HS Code - for example [0901] Coffee, whether or not roasted or decaffeinated - Is Dangerous Goods, Country of Origin (C/O)), HANDLING (handling instructions) and ITEM ALLOCATION SUMMARY, which shows the quantity allocated and the quantity remaining.
Step 4 - Look at the package list
Go to Freight Forwarding > Cargo & Containers > Packages.
You should see: nearly five hundred packages, each row with Package Reference, Package Type, Weight (kg), Volume (m³), Shipping Mark, Container, Booking.
Step 5 - Look at the container list
Go to Freight Forwarding > Cargo & Containers > Containers.
You should see: more than four hundred containers, each row with Container Reference, Container Type, Execution State, Import State, Exception, VGM Status, Container Number, Seal Number, Package Count, Total Weight, Total Volume.
Step 6 - Load cargo into packages (LCL)
Do this step on an LCL shipment (created in Lesson 6, Step 1). Open the shipment, confirm it, and open the Cargo & Packages tab. Add a line in the CARGO table (Description, Quantity, Weight (kg), Volume) and a line in the LCL PACKAGES table (Package Reference, Package Type, Weight (kg), Volume (m³)), click Save, then click Load Cargo to Packages.
You should see: the Load Cargo to Packages dialog lists each cargo line with its Quantity, Weight, Volume; the Packages field holds the packages you just created (shown as tags) and the Package column of each line is still empty. Click Distribute Evenly to spread the cargo across the selected packages, adjust the Package column if needed, then confirm.
Step 7 - Load cargo into container equipment (full container)
Do this step on the full-container shipment from Lesson 2 (the shipment already has the container CONT 01 and a cargo line that the booking wizard created from the Commodity line). Open the Cargo & Packages tab and click Load Cargo to Containers.
You should see: the Load Cargo to Containers dialog with the Containers field (CONT 01), the Load Mode field and the Loading Method field. Fill in Cargo Qty, Package Type, Pkg Qty (package count) and Weight on the cargo line, click Distribute Evenly - the dialog splits into one row per package, already linked to the container - and then click Apply Loading Plan. The shipment's Packages list now has the new packages, and the container's Total Weight and Total Volume add up automatically.
Why three layers: a 40FT container carries about 67 m3 and roughly 27 tonnes of cargo. Once all three layers are entered, the system knows whether the container is full and knows which item sits in which container - which is what customs asks when it inspects the goods.
Lesson 4. Documents for each shipment
About 10 minutes. Freight forwarding lives on documents. Viindoo tracks each document as a task with a person responsible and a deadline.
Step 1 - See all the documents of all shipments
Go to Freight Forwarding > Documents > Shipment Documents.
You should see: more than two hundred documents as cards, each card with the document name, date and a short description; the left column filters by Workspace, Tags (leg, document type) and Status.
Step 2 - See the missing documents
Go to Freight Forwarding > Documents > Pending Documents.
You should see: the documents not yet submitted (about two hundred cards) - exactly the work the documentation team has to do today.
Step 3 - See the finished documents
Go to Freight Forwarding > Documents > Completed Documents.
You should see: nearly forty documents carrying the Approved tag (the Status column on the left shows the count).
The classification rule: a task moves to Approved only when all of its documents carry the Approved tag. If even one is missing, the whole task stays in the Missing Documents status. There is no such thing as half done.
Step 4 - Open a document
Click a card in Completed Documents.
You should see: the detail panel on the right with Name, Owner, Resource, the shipment's own Workspace folder, the Tags (for example Approved, House BL (HBL), Main Leg - Sea) and the Actions section (Ask to Review, Approve).
Step 5 - See the documents from the shipment side
Open your shipment and click the Tasks stat button at the top of the record.
You should see: the shipment's task list (on your shipment, 11 tasks taken from the template, for example Nhận yêu cầu và chốt lịch tàu (receive the request and fix the vessel schedule), Đặt chỗ với hãng tàu (book space with the shipping line), Nộp chỉ thị gửi hàng trước hạn SI (submit the shipping instruction before the SI deadline)), each with its assignees, priority, next activity and stage. The screenshot shows an older sample shipment with a single task, grouped by stage.
Step 6 - Create a new document request
On your shipment, open the Required Documents tab and click Prepare SI. The dialog is titled Prepare Shipping Instruction (in English on screen): fill in SI Due Date (required), check Goods Description for SI, fill in Special Instruction, then click Prepare SI.
You should see: the system opens the Shipping Instruction document request you just created (with a Due Date, and the tags Shipping Instruction (SI) and Main Leg - Sea), and at the same time creates the shipment's document folder and adds a task linked to that request. You do not have to create the folder by hand.
Lesson 5. Customs clearance and the two types of declaration deadline
About 6 minutes. This is where the trade is fined most often, so it deserves a close look.
Step 1 - Find the customs block on the shipment record
Open your export shipment (confirmed). Scroll down below the BILL OF LADING block - the CUSTOMS (EXPORT) block is right there, above the row of tabs, not inside any tab.
You should see: two time fields - Customs Declaration Due and Customs Declared At. The third field, Customs Released At, appears only after you record when the declaration was filed (Step 3).
This block has no tab of its own and sits between two other blocks, so it is a little hard to find the first time.
Step 2 - Imports use a different block
Open an import shipment (for example the LCL shipment in Lesson 6). The block is renamed CUSTOMS (IMPORT) and the deadline field changes too.
| Deadline field | Applies to | Anchored to |
|---|---|---|
| Customs Declaration Due | export cargo | the sailing date - the declaration must be filed before the cargo leaves the port |
| Customs Entry Due | import cargo | the arrival date - the entry must be opened within the legal time limit after the cargo reaches the port |
You should see: an import shipment shows Customs Entry Due in place of Customs Declaration Due. On the demo system, about 330 shipments have an export declaration deadline and about 245 shipments have an import entry deadline.
Why two fields: the two deadlines are anchored to two different events and carry two different penalties. Merging them into one field would either raise a false warning for imports or miss exports.
Step 3 - Record that the declaration was filed
Fill in Customs Declaration Due and Customs Declared At and save. The Customs Released At field appears, empty.
You should see: the first two fields hold a time, and Customs Released At is still empty - meaning the file has been submitted but the cargo has not yet been released.
One thing to say plainly: the software does not block you from recording cleared before you have recorded declaration filed. If you record them in reverse order, the system still accepts it. This is team operating discipline, not yet a software barrier.
Step 4 - Record that the cargo is cleared
Fill in Customs Released At.
You should see: all three milestones - the deadline, the filing time and the clearance time. From here the shipment can move on to the next stage.
Step 5 - Filter the shipments waiting for clearance
Go to Freight Forwarding > Operations > Stages > In Progress, switch to list view, open the search box, and under Custom Group choose Current Stage.
You should see: the stage groups Planning, Pre-Carriage, Customs Clearance, Main Carriage, On-Carriage, Completed, each with the number of shipments currently in that stage. The list also has one group with an odd-looking name and 0 shipments - that is a surplus stage in the sample data; ignore it.
A limit to state plainly: Viindoo does not file the declaration with the customs authority. Filing is done on the customs authority's own system. Viindoo records that the declaration was filed and the cargo cleared, and keeps the deadline milestones so that your company can follow them.
