Within Cargo Controller, your organisation can be linked to a B/L and the information that becomes available in multiple ways. In this knowledge article, we explain how you can unlock this data and what possibilities we offer in this.
Option 1: Add a B/L yourself
Each user can enter a B/L number via the web screen (or via Cargo Controller API) in combination with at least 1 container number. Based on this data, Portbase retrieves information submitted by the carrier or cargo broker on the import manifest. If this is known, we immediately show all information (and all containers) that Portbase has available at that moment, an “Extended B/L”.
B/Ls that you as a user have added yourself are immediately marked as ‘Favorite’, recognizable by the yellow star in front of the B/L number. B/Ls that your colleagues have added can also be activated as favorites by clicking on the star.
Option 2: Assigned to a B/L
A carrier, a freight broker or a principal can grant a commercial exemption (via Secure Chain) to your organization without your organization tracking the container on the corresponding B/L within Cargo Controller. Based on this data, Portbase retrieves information that is available within the Secure Chain, a “Basic B/L”.
As explained in our Quick Start Guide, there are filter options available, but also ‘Quick Views’. These quick views quickly differentiate in the main screen, such as the quick view “My Cargo” which immediately selects all B/Ls that you have registered as favorites.
In addition, you can add a label for each B/L, a reference that makes it unique for your organization. This also allows for additional distinction in B/Ls and you can also apply a filter to the set labels. Click on the Label icon of the B/L and add unique or recurring labels, these are then saved and with the filter ‘Labels’ you can filter on these values.
Active full insight into cargo information and status
As previously indicated, the way in which your organization is linked to a B/L determines how much information you can see from a B/L. Cargo Controller tracks all B/Ls that are linked to your organization as complete (Extended Tracking) by default. This allows you to see all the important cargo information and status updates that you expect.
Are not all B/Ls actively tracked within your organization and do you need this information? Then every user can easily retrieve this by clicking the ‘Get access’ button. Portbase then registers a paid transaction and immediately provides all available B/L information as you are used to. The B/L that you manually upgrade is immediately marked as a favorite.
How do I manage my B/Ls for my organization (main administrator)?
The main administrator of an organization can manage the active tracking of B/Ls within Cargo Controller. Click on Manage data access via the User menu:
The ‘Manage Authorizations’ screen opens, now click on the ‘B/L Information’ tab:
This activates or deactivates the termination of automatic, full B/L information and statuses. By default, this setting is active for your organization. Changes will impact all new B/Ls that are tracked afterwards.
The above can also be controlled via our Cargo Controller API, which allows you to fully integrate with your own internal systems. Read more about this here.
If your organization is not ready for our Cargo Controller API integration, we also have an interim solution with an Excel upload function. Read more about that here.