Cargo Release Manager provides an overview that allows you to monitor the current status of your cargo. In this Quick Start Guide (QSG) we will take you through the operation of the service for the Secure Chain.
All Cargo
Follow the current status of your cargo collection at the terminal. These can be bulk loads, container loads or trailer loads.
The status of your cargo includes: B/Ls, ship, terminal, and statuses. The cargo screen contains one general overview: All Cargo.
The cargo overview offers you various filter and search options with which you can easily find the B/Ls that are relevant to you. Using selection boxes you can select multiple B/Ls to quickly carry out follow-up actions, such as nominating a carrier.
Roles
We have various roles and rights within the Secure Chain. In this QSG we can refer to this:
Services
Portbase supports the Secure Chain within our existing services. In this QSG we focus on the middle two roles: Release-to Party and Forwarders.
Organizations that recognize themselves in the roles of Release-to Party and/or Forwarders have had to make a choice between Cargo Release Manager or Cargo Controller. You have probably already made this choice by following this QSG.
PLEASE NOTE: First register your carrier reference number to be able to receive releases
Are you a direct customer (the release-to-party) of the carrier or freight broker? To receive releases from the carrier, you must first request and gain access to the Cargo Release Manager service. You must then enter the customer reference that has been provided to you. From that moment on, the carrier or freight broker will process your import containers in the new, secure way via the Secure Chain and you can receive and pass them on within the service. See step 5: Identification and Verification.
In the next step we will delve deeper into the supply chains and variants you can experience.
You can only start the Secure Chain once you have informed all your chain partners. Without the last link you cannot simply start safely releasing containers.
Different roles
From your perspective, you as an organization can fulfill different roles within different chains, sometimes depending on the type of goods or obligations that each chain entails. Below is a schematic representation where you act in a different role as a Release-to Party or as a Cargo Director.
Visibility: Each role can only see its client and to whom the assignment has been passed. This way the chain remains transparent.
Different chains
It is even possible that you are active in different chains, with more or fewer chain partners. Below are the types of chains that Portbase can currently support.
The shipping company determines the starting point at which you become active in the Secure Chain, but then it is up to the Release-to Party to prepare all chains and all chain parties for this. This is your joint responsibility.
NB! The role of Inland Operator can be transferred indefinitely.
In the next step we continue with activating the Secure Chain.
In the previous steps we took you through the preparations for actually using the Secure Chain within Cargo Release Manager.
You will need to complete the next step if your organization is the recipient of the commercial exemption through the shipping company. Without this step the Secure Chain can’t start. If you are not a recipient of the commercial exemption, you can continue to the next step.
Identification via customer code
Verification
The shipping company immediately receives an e-mail notification containing the request for verification from your organization in combination with the entered reference number. The name of your organization in PCS and that of the shipping company with this reference number must be a match. The shipping company verifies whether this registration is approved.
Starting the Secure Chain
In consultation with the shipping company, you jointly determine from when whether the commercial exemptions will be exempt via PCS in Cargo Controller. Portbase has no further active role in this, this is done via the shipping company.
Manage references
You can have multiple reference numbers per shipping company, which you can register individually. In this tab you can see which reference numbers you have registered per shipping company and you can also manage them by removing expired reference numbers using the ‘Delete’ button.
In Cargo Release Manager you are able to monitor your cargo based on 2 main indicators for the 2 phases of the Secure Chain process that your cargo goes through before you can pick it up at the terminal.
For a detailed status of your cargo, click on the container status icons.
Here you can see whether a carrier has been nominated and whether it has submitted a successful pre-notification, allowing your cargo to be collected.
Below you will find an explanation of the Container status:
Colors and icons
The main indicators provide a general status per phase. You can read the color and icons as follows:
: Status is confirmed, all indicators are green.
: The indicator is yellow, your attention may be needed.
: The indicator is red, your attention is needed.
: Process in progress. The indicator is not yet green, but there are no warnings either. Waiting for update.
: Status not yet known. There is no update available yet, waiting for an update.The last status is the most interesting, this status indicates that you are in control of your load, but that a status is missing and it is still gray.
With these indicators you are in control of the status of your load. Supplemented with the filter options in Cargo Release Manager, you can now manage exceptions.
You want to be able to quickly create an overview of which cargo has or has not been made active within the Secure Chain. We have made a number of options available for this.
Filters
The following filter options will help you quickly clarify the status of your cargo. Especially ‘Inland operator’, here we show for which containers nominations are known or not.
E-mail notifications
You can set an email notification for each commercial exemption or authorization. Here you can read more about how to set this up.
With these resources we expect you to be able to monitor for exceptions and remain in control of your cargo.
Timeline
You can view all events in the timeline of the B/L, where you can also see at user level who performed this action.
After setting up and monitoring the status of your cargo, your organization must also perform Secure Chain actions.
Overview
As the recipient of the release, you have the ‘Release-to Party’ role (and therefore also receive the rights of Cargo Director). You can also be authorized by third parties as a Cargo Director. You can recognize your role per container in the overview.
From the overview, click on ‘Secure chain actions’ and you will see the following:
You will always see 3 lines on the left, from top to bottom:
The right side shows the actions that are tailored to the role your organization has at that moment. This role can differ per container and per supply chain and therefore also the available options:
Reactive versus proactive
You can only nominate a carrier once the commercial exemption has been sent, by the shipping company or by a chain partner. This is where Cargo Controller differs from Cargo Release Manager, where you can track a B/L earlier and prepare the chain before the commercial release has been sent to your organization.
Nominate Inland Operator
After choosing to nominate, the screen below follows. Enter the name of your operator here. Enter the organization name of your partner here, it will be completed automatically. We also show the EAN number and the location of the company.
Assign Cargo Director
After selecting the next Cargo Director, the screen below follows. Enter the organization name of your partner here, it will be completed automatically. We also show the Chamber of Commerce number and the location of this party.
Not found your partner?
If your partner is not active at PCS, it will not be shown in these screens. It is therefore important that you check in advance whether your chain partners are ready for the Secure Chain.
Withdraw nomination
Every action that your organization has taken in the chain can be undone by your organization. Every chain partner has the opportunity to break a chain. This is possible as long as the container has not yet been collected from the terminal. Read more about that here.
You have now learned what the Secure Chain entails and how you can apply it within Cargo Controller and/or Cargo Release Service. At the end we would like to show you how this theory can be experienced in practice.
Timing of moves
You have learned that all actions are consecutive, but the order in which moves are made can be as follows:
Any questions?
Then view all our FAQs on this page, or if you have specific Secure Chain questions, view our separate Support page about the Secure Chain here. You can also always contact our Customer Service.
Cargo Release Manager is available in Dutch and English. Each user can set their own preference.
