The speed at which status requests and pre-notifications are answered depends on various factors. Sending and processing status requests and pre-notifications is a series of actions involving different parties. At various points in this chain, things can sometimes go wrong. The aim is to minimise this as much as possible.
Port Community System (PCS)
Pre-notifications and status requests from inland operators or operators are predominantly processed within seconds via the Portbase platform and sent to the terminal. Nevertheless, it can happen that there is a disruption or maintenance is being carried out on the services. Portbase then works to resolve this as quickly as possible. Through our status page, you can see the status of the various Portbase services. You can subscribe to notifications via that page, so you are constantly kept informed. It is good to know that the Portbase (PCS) system has an uptime of 99.8%.
Terminal Operating Systems (TOS)
Most terminals work with an EDI system interface. EDI messages must, after receipt from Portbase, be read, processed in the terminal system, and eventually a response message must be sent back to Portbase. Delays can occur in all these steps. Consider the processing capacity during peak times, for example, on Friday afternoons. Then many EDI messages are sent, and delays can occur. API system interfaces are the future and can mean an improvement in this area. Newly connected terminals connect via an API system interface. Also, at terminals, a disruption can unexpectedly occur, or maintenance can be carried out on the systems. The terminals then work to resolve this as quickly as possible and inform the customers and users themselves.
Transport Management Systems (TMS)
Inland operators can make use of a system interface between their planning system (TMS) and the Portbase (PCS) system; delays or disruptions can also occur in these systems. Check with your software supplier about the possibilities of working with API. Delays can therefore occur at different times and in different steps in the process.
If you have reason to believe that there is an unusually large delay during pre-notification, please contact our Customer Service.
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