The Secure Chain can start in 2 different ways within the logistics process, and therefore also in Cargo Controller Import.
- The carrier sends the commercial release directly to your organisation
In that case, you will automatically receive a message from the carriers that they are going to activate your organisation for the Secure Chain. In that message they will also include a customer reference number; that number must be registered in Cargo Controller Import. Read Registering a customer code for the Secure Chain. for what you need to do next. - A client sends the commercial release to your organisation
In that case, you will automatically receive a message from the client that their carrier is going to activate their organisation for the Secure Chain. Your client will ask you to prepare yourself for the first releases that will be passed on to you from now on without a PIN code. You can read further in this article how to receive and process a commercial release.
Have you not received a commercial release? Discuss this with your client and/or carrier.
Registering a customer reference number
To activate this you need the rights of the main user or user administrator of your organisation; this is managed within your organisation’s IAM account. The next steps are described in the article Registering a customer code for the Secure Chain.
Start time Secure Chain
In consultation with the carrier, you jointly determine from when the commercial releases are released via Cargo Controller Import. Portbase has no active role in this. The status of your verification must be Accepted before you can actually start.
After reading this article, the basis has been laid for receiving a commercial release. Passing on a release differs depending on the role of the chain party that you are going to manage. In the article Receiving a commercial release in Cargo Controller Import we explain this process.
Planning smarter via Cargo Controller Import
Cargo Controller offers many options, enabling you to plan smarter and work more efficiently. Read Start with Cargo Controller. You can also watch a short instruction video there.
Monitoring Secure Chain actions
Within Cargo Controller Import there are a number of options to quickly get an overview of which cargo is or is not active within the Secure Chain.
My releases
On the left side of the screen there are quick filters. The quick filter My releases shows all releases for which your organisation represents a role in the Secure Chain.
Filters
The following filter options help you quickly clarify which status your cargo is in:
- Import manifest: Here we show whether the B/L data has already been made available by the cargo agent
- Secure Chain actions: For example, you can filter on B/Ls for which your organisation has not yet received a commercial release, or for which your organisation still needs to perform an action (nominating or authorising). In the image below you can see the 4 filters that are available for the Secure Chain
Searching for multiple BLs
If you want to nominate an inland operator for multiple containers at the same time, you can search in different ways. You can read more about this in this article.
Container status
For each container, you can read statuses at 8 critical points. In the article Start with Cargo Controller Import in the chapter Status information in the cargo screen you can read everything about statuses and which ones are important for you to monitor.
Email notifications
You can set up an email notification per commercial release or authorisation. Read everything about this in the article Setting up email notifications in Cargo Controller Import
Nominating and authorising
This step applies to all parties that manage an inland operator in the chain. Read everything about this in the article Nominating an inland operator and/or authorising a cargo director in the Secure Chain.
Terminal status
Within Cargo Controller Import it is possible to see the same status of the pre-notification at the terminal as the inland operator. The dependency here is that your organisation must participate in the Secure Chain for this cargo.
The status of the pre-notification comes from the terminal; this is the direct status from the terminal system. The status shown is a snapshot and is not automatically updated by all terminals. Always check the date and time of the status to see whether it is up to date.
Hinterland Container Notification
An inland operator schedules its visit to pick up and/or drop off the cargo at the terminal by means of a pre-notification via the service Hinterland Container Notification (HCN). After nominating the inland operator, the process within HCN starts with a status request of the cargo at the terminal. That response indicates whether the cargo is already available to schedule a visit. Status requests can be requested multiple times.
If the status request gives positive results, the inland operator can create a pre-notification for its visit; depending on the terminal, a specific time slot is requested in it.
The response from the terminal to these requests is shared within the Secure Chain. The follow-up and processing of pre-notifications differs per terminal; this is known to the inland operator. The status of the pre-notification is therefore the terminal status. Below is an example of a status request where the vessel still has to arrive.
Terminal status in Cargo Controller Import
We only show the terminal status in Cargo Controller Import and for chain parties in the Secure Chain. This is shown under the familiar status 'Hinterland pre-notification'. The colour indicator is expanded; the terminal status is translated into yellow or red. Below you can see an example.
Click the blue link all errors to see more detailed information about the pre-notification. Below is an example.
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