Overview
Containers are used to group the shipments into one airwaybill for easy maintenance. Multiple shipments can be added into one container and managing the status of the shipments become easy in one place. Creating containers for similar shipments which is traveling on the same route will reduce the time to maintain the shipments individually.
Containers can also be used if there are multiple customers present in a specific region, they can be grouped together and be managed in one place. Similarly, using containers can help you to avoid unnecessary work by grouping similar shipments together.
Shipment Groups
Containers are also used to segregate records from one shipment from another. For example if you have three separate shipments that are traveling via different routes but they have a common origin and destination, you can create three containers with each shipment's record placed in its own container. This will make it easier to track each shipment's progress and keep track of what was received, when it was received and where it was sent to.
Containers are created by following these steps:
1) Create a new container and click on “New†in the top-right corner of your dashboard.
2) Provide a name for your container. This can be anything you want but it must be unique from other containers in your organization.
3) Add multiple shipments into one single container by clicking on “Add†next to each shipment in your list, then clicking on “New†button again at last step after all shipments have been added into a single container.
4) Clicking on “Edit†button next to any shipment will allow you to change its status from pending to active or inactive depending on what type of status you would like to assign it with (See screenshot). Once all shipments are assigned with desired statuses, they can be exported as PDF file using “Export†button located at last step.
Export Manifest
A manifest is a document that contains the details about a shipment. It helps to facilitate customs clearance at the shipping port and provides information about the goods that are being shipped. The Manifest can be in PDF or HTML format.
Manifest File Format
The manifest file format is a text file which contains all the information about the shipments, their weight, value and other details. A standard manifest file has three sections:
Section 1: The first section of a manifest file is called ‘Package Identification’ and it consists of eight fields:
Package Identification – This field contains the name of the package. In some cases, it also contains other information like serial number or barcode numbers which are used to identify this package uniquely.
Package Weight – This field contains the total weight of all items in one package.
Package Value – This field contains value along with weight of each item in one package.
Section 2: The second section of a manifest file is called ‘General Information’ and it consists of six fields:
Delivery Address – This field contains address where delivery will take place. If there are multiple addresses, then you can specify an address for each address given below this field