Features
The eLading Documents System consists of the following modules :
1. eLading Documents System module
2. Documents Reporting module
3. Table Maintenance Module
4. Freight Invoice Payment module
5. Documents System Configuration Utility
I. eLading Documents System module:
The interface window provides the entry point from which the user can navigate to the various processes :
A. Create / Maintain Bookings
B. Create / Maintain Documents
C. Create / Maintain Document Equipment
D. Create / Maintain Document Correctors
E. Assign Marks-Freight
F. Assign Voyage Clauses to Documents
G. Assign Ondeck Clause Amounts to Documents
H. Document Printing
I. Import EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) Data
J. Create / Maintain Invoices
K. Table Maintenance
L. Housekeeping
M. Change Active Voyage
The system is designed to accommodate the data entry and document preparation required to support an organization involved in the shipping of cargo. Documents which can be produced from within this system include :
Bills of Lading & Sea Waybills
Cargo Manifests
Freight Invoices
Documents Control Report
Login Window
When you launch the eLading Documents System Module you will first encounter the Login Window. The purpose of the Login window is to obtain a User ID and password to determine if the User has authorized access to the eLading Documents System.
The demonstration database includes the following Pre-Configured Users.
DataBase Administrator Users are dba1, dba2, dba3,
Documents Coordinator Users are doc1, doc2, doc3,
Accounting Users are acct1, acct2, acct3
Note : for the demonstration database passwords are null.
The DataBase Administrator can create additional Users when required.
Users identified as either “Documents Coordinators” or “DataBase Administrators” are allowed access. The Accounting Users only have access to the Freight Invoice Payment module. Also, please note that User Names are case sensitive.
Navigation Method
The system’s title bar includes : Documents : ‘carrier name’ + ‘ - ’ + ‘Vessel Name’ + ‘ V-’ + ‘Voyage Number’ where the Vessel Name and Voyage Number is determined by the user’s Active Voyage. If the user’s Active Voyage is NULL, the user will be prompted to select an Active Voyage via the Active Voyage window. If the user wishes to process documents associated with a different Voyage, they must change their Active Voyage by using the “Change Active Voyage” option. The Documents System interface makes use of a menu and toolbars for presentation of processes and actions to be selected by the user. The ”Process” toolbar is on the left side of the screen and the “Actions” toolbar is underneath the system’s menu. When the user makes changes on a window and then clicks the Save button, or switches to another tab, the system will automatically save the changes. If the user has made changes and does not want to save them, they can select the Undo menu item or toolbar button and the system will restore the data to the values present after the last save.
The system is designed to enable the user to have several different processes open simultaneously. To switch between processes simply click on the associated toolbar buttons.
DataBase Standards
The eLading Documents Software is based on industry standard ODBC technology and can therefore connect to any ODBC compliant database such as Microsoft SQL Server, Sybase SQL Anywhere, etc. This compliance facilitates integration with other systems in your organization and provides the means to turn your documentation input into critical management information on cargo volumes, customers, etc. The database field structures are based on the UN/EDIFACT standards.
When you initially install the eLading Documents Software a sample “demonstration” data base is set up. This database uses a “royalty-free” version of Sybase’s SQL Anywhere runtime engine. This SQL Anywhere runtime engine is available for our customers’ ongoing use, at no additional cost.
A) Create / Maintain Bookings
The Create / Maintain Bookings process allows the user to specify the Shipper, Booking Agent, Load Ports, Discharge Ports and Commodity information along with the Quantities, Freight Rates and Commissions agreed upon. This module enables the user to easily record these details and then send the resultant Booking Confirmation Report to the Shipper or Booking Agent quickly and efficiently. These entered Freight Details then become available for assignment to associated Bill of Lading or Sea Waybill Marks Detail records. Thus the resultant Invoice becomes fully integrated with this Booking Module. In fact, cross-reference tables have been included on the Bookings Screens to enable the user to immediately identify which Documents, which Marks and which Invoices are respectively associated with which Bookings, which Cargo and which Shipper / Booking Agent.
B) Create / Maintain Documents
The Create / Maintain Documents process allows the user to create and edit existing Documents, create and edit Mark records associated with a Document, and assign Freight to the Mark records.
The Create/Maintain Documents window has the following tabs:
1. Documents Listing Tab
2. Document Controls Tab
3. Parties and Pre-Carriage By Tab
4. Marks Listing Tab
5. Marks Detail Tab
6. Clauses Tab
1. Document Listing Tab
The Document Listing tab allows the user to search for a document to modify or to create a new document. The user may search for a Document by entering any combination of the following criteria:
Document Number
Document Status
Shipper
Commodity Group
Ports of Loading
Ports of Discharge
When the user selects the Find menu item or toolbar button, a list of matching records will display. The matching records will be sorted as follows:
Sort Order from the Ports of Loading table
Sort Order from the Ports of Discharge table
Document Number
The user can clear the search criteria by selecting the ‘Clear Search’ menu item or toolbar button.
The user may select a Document record to either “open for modification” or to “copy from” or to “print” or to “print preview”. The Print and Print Preview menu items are available from any tab.
The Print Preview will display a copy of the report resized so the width of the report fits on the window and the user will have to scroll vertically to see the remainder. The Print Preview menu item will toggle the Print Preview on and off. Next to the Print Preview button are two buttons for scrolling up or down through the Preview report pages.
If an Adobe Acrobat PDF Writer is the selected printer, then you have the option of viewing the result and / or sending an e-mail, with the PDF file included as an attachment. To take advantage of the PDF file generation option it would be necessary to purchase a copy of the associated Adobe Acrobat software.
A user can view any of the Documents that appear in the Documents Listing. For those documents that have a status of Open, they can modify all of the fields on all tabs except for the Marks Listing tab. For those documents that have a status of Closed or Paid, they can modify the Parties and Pre-Carriage tab, the Clauses tab and all of the Marks fields except for the Amount 4 column and the Freight Rate amount The Document status is tied to the Invoice status. We will review this interrelationship later on.
The user may create a new Document record by performing one of the following:
If the user selects the “New” menu item this will create a blank document and the Document Controls tab will become the active tab. Any clauses that are marked as Default Clauses in the Standard Clause table, and meet specific related criteria, are automatically added to the document.
If the user selects an existing document, and then selects the “Copy From Document” menu item, all relevant Document information associated with the currently selected Document will be copied to a new Document record prior to switching over to the Document Controls tab.
2. Document Controls Tab
The Document Controls tab allows the user to enter specific information that is required to produce documents.
Document Number: When the user enters the Document Number, the system will verify that the Document Number entered is unique for the Active Voyage. If it is not unique, the user will be prompted to enter another number. The maximum number of characters is 6. If the user is viewing an existing Document and they attempt to change the Document Number, the system will ask if they really want to change the Document Number. The user may select Cancel and the original Document Number will be restored, or the user may select OK. At this time the new Document Number will then be checked to see if it is unique for their Active Voyage.
For Cargo either LOADED or DISCHARGED at a U.S. port the Document Number, printed on the Bill of Lading, Sea Waybill and Cargo Manifest will be according to the 'U.S. Customs-style' which is comprised of sixteen characters, in five components :
i.) the first four characters comprise an alphabetic code, assigned by U.S. Customs, to the carrier
ii.) the subsequent four characters are numeric and report the year (two digits) and month (two digits) in which the cargo was loaded
iii) the subsequent three characters are numeric and are simply a value assigned by the carrier to the Bill of Lading or Sea Waybill in question
iv) the subsequent two characters are alphabetic and are the code, assigned by U.S. Customs, to the country in which the cargo in question was loaded
v) the final three characters are alphabetic and are the code, assigned by U.S. Customs, to the port at which the cargo was loaded.
Rider: The user can specify, via a check box, if the Document will print with an attached Rider.
Document Status: can be either Open, Closed or Paid. We will discuss Status more thoroughly during our discussion on Invoicing.
Shipper: The user can select a shipper from the dropdown list of valid shippers.
Port of Loading: The Port of Loading dropdown lists valid ports of loading for the user’s Active Voyage.
Port of Discharge: The Port of Discharge dropdown lists valid ports of discharge for the user’s Active Voyage.
Commodity Group: The Commodity Group will be used to filter the Goods for the Marks records associated with the Document.
Document Type: this dropdown lists valid Document Types from the Document Types table. Valid Document Types currently include “Bill of Lading” and “Sea Waybill”. It is possible to create additional Document Types using the Table Maintenance module. The Document Type will be populated when the user selects a shipper for a new document.
Document Format: The user can specify either the 2 column or the 4 column format for the document. If the user selects the 4 column format, the document prints the Goods Description above the Marks and the amounts. The user may enter a Goods Description that contains up to 5 lines, 70 characters each. If the user selects the 2 column format, the Goods Description is printed on the same line as the Marks and amount 1 and amount 4. The user may enter 10 lines, 35 characters each. The user may change the format at any time.
Compressed: The user can specify if the Document will print in Compressed or Normal format via a check box.
Number of Originals: specifies the number of “Original” Documents that are printed when the user prints the Final version of the document. The Number of Originals will be populated when the user selects a Shipper.
Number of Copies: specifies the number of Document “copies” that are printed when the user prints the Final version of the document. The Number of Copies will be populated when the user selects a Shipper.
Prepaid: The user will determine if the Cargo for the Document will be prepaid. This information is needed when creating Invoices since an Invoice cannot contain both prepaid and not prepaid Cargo. The default value will come from the Document Prepaid field in the Carrier Markets table.
Freight: The information the user enters in the Freight input area will print in the Freight box on the Document. The default value is set to the value in the Freight Box field in the Carrier Markets table. Usually the user will enter “PREPAID” in this box.
Currency: The Currency will be used to associate a specific Currency to a Document so that when the user creates an Invoice, the system can select Documents that have the same Currency as the Invoice. The default value will be the Document Invoice Currency defined in the Carrier Markets table, if it is not NULL. The user cannot change the Currency of the document if there are Marks records that have a Freight Rate record assigned to them.
Freight Payable At: The Freight Payable At will be populated when the window opens with the value in the Document Freight Payable At field in the Carrier Markets table.
Place of Issue: The Place of Issue will be populated when the window opens with the value in the "document_place_of_issue" field in the Carrier Markets table.
As Agents for Carrier: The As Agents for Carrier field identifies the name of the Agent who is signing the Document on behalf of the Carrier. An agent may be signing Documents when either an Agent or Shipper or Broker, rather than the Carrier's Document Coordinator, is entering the Document information. The default value will come from the Document As Agents of Carrier field in the Carrier Markets table.
Merchants Declaration: The information the user enters in the Merchants Declaration input area will be printed in the Merchants box on the Document.
3. Parties and Pre-Carriage By Tab
The Parties and Pre-Carriage By tab allows the user to enter Shipper, Consignee, Notify, Free Disposal Area, Pre-Carriage By and Place of Receipt by Pre-Carrier information. In addition to simply typing names and addresses into the associated text areas the user may wish to :
select from a group of pre-defined Consignees, Notifies, and Free Disposal Text using the drop down lists,
select from a group of pre-defined Consignees, Notifies, and Free Disposal Text for the selected shipper by selecting the Shipper Notify Parties menu item or toolbar button,
use the Shipper Alternate Names and Addresses menu item or toolbar button to select from a list of pre-defined Alternate Names and Addresses for the currently selected Shipper.
4. Marks Listing Tab
The Marks Listing tab will display all the Marks records associated with the Document. If the user wishes to view or modify the details of a Marks record, they can select it in the Marks Listing tab and then click on the Marks Detail Tab. Also, it is possible to reorder the marks records by clicking the associated Move Up and Move Down Menu items or Toolbar buttons.
5. Marks Detail Tab
The Marks Detail tab allows the user to enter Detail information about a Marks record, including the Reference, Goods Description, Marks Description, and Amounts 1 thru 4. The user can also assign a Freight Rate to a Marks record, which is used for the Invoicing process. There exists four alternative Marks detail formats from which to choose, depending upon the selected column format (2 or 4) and font size (normal or compressed).
Document Amount Information Window
The user may change the units description, number of decimals, and the “said to contain” clause from the Document Amount Information window accessible by clicking the associated Menu item or Toolbar button.
Assign Freight Rate Window
The Assign Freight Rate window allows the user to assign a Freight Rate to a Mark. Alternatively, Freight Rates can be more efficiently assigned through using the Create and Maintain Marks-Freight process discussed later on.
6. Clauses Tab
When a new document is created, the system will automatically generate clauses based on specific criteria defined in the Standard Clauses table. The Clauses tab allows the user to subsequently assign additional Clause information to a Document, change the sort order of the Clauses, or delete clauses. The user will also be able to specify whether to include the ON BOARD clause and/or the Ondeck clause.
The Clause tab will display a list of all the clause records, sorted by the sort_order.
Assigned Clauses: The Assigned Clauses contains a list of all the clauses assigned to the Document. The list will display the sort order and the Clause Name and will be sorted by the sort order.
Available Clauses: The Available Clauses contains a list of all the clauses currently assigned to documents already created for the Active Voyage, but not currently assigned to the current document. The list will be sorted by the clause names.
If the user wants to remove one or more clauses from the Document, they can highlight the Clause or Clauses and click on the '>' button. If the user wishes to remove all clauses from the Document, they can click on the '>>' button. The clauses that are removed from the Document will appear in the Available Clauses list.
If the user wants to add one or more clauses to the Document, they can highlight the Clause or Clauses in the Available Clauses list and click on the '<' button. If the user wishes to add all the Clauses in the Available Clause list to the Document, they can click on the '<<' button. The clauses that get added to the Document will no longer show in the Available Clauses list.
If the user wants to move a Clause up in the sort order, they can highlight the Clause and select the Move Up menu item or toolbar button.
If the user wants to move a clause down in the sort order, they can highlight the clause and select the Move Down menu item or toolbar button.
ON BOARD Clause: The user can click on the ON BOARD clause check box if they want the ON BOARD clause printed on the Document. The default is set to the value in the Carrier Markets table in the ON BOARD Clause field. The ON BOARD clause is the following computed field and is displayed on the tab for the user to view:
'ON BOARD “' + Vessel Name + '”' + Date of Issue
Ondeck Clause: The user can select a value from the Ondeck Clause dropdown list to specify the ondeck clause for each document. The default is set to the value in the Shippers table in the Ondeck Clause field.
Reset to Default Clauses
The Reset to Default Clauses menu item allows the user to reset the Clause assignment and sort order to what it was when the document was initially created.
C) Create / Maintain Document Equipment
The Create / Maintain Document Equipment process allows the users to describe the container equipment used to hold the cargo being transported.
D) Create / Maintain Document Correctors
The Create / Maintain Document Correctors process allows the users to describe corrections made to Documents that have already been issued. These correction descriptions will print below the Document on any subsequent Cargo Manifest report, thus providing a means of communicating these changes to customs, port authorities, etc.
E) Assign Marks-Freight
The Assign Marks-Freight process allows users to efficiently assign a Freight Rate to multiple Marks, regardless of whether a Freight Rate has been previously assigned. The first step is to enter search criteria for Marks records based on Document, Marks, and Freight information. Then select one, several or all of the listed Marks records. If the user selects more than one Marks records, the Marks Detail tab will become disabled. Finally, the user will choose a Freight Rate to assign to the selected Marks records.
The user assigns a Freight Rate to the selected Marks records by selecting the Assign Freight Rate menu item or toolbar button. If the user has selected more than one Marks record, the system will verify that all the selected records meet the following criteria:
Identical Currency
Identical Freight Rate if the Document status is Closed or Paid since if any of the Marks records are associated with a Closed or Paid Document, the user can only assign a Freight Rate that is identical to the Freight Rate already assigned.
Assign Freight Rate Window
When this window first opens, the search criteria used to find the matching records will be initialized with data corresponding to the selection critera entered earlier. If no matching records are found, a warning message box will be displayed and the user will be allowed to broaden the search to find a relevant Freight Rate record.
F) Assign Voyage Clauses to Documents
The Assign Voyage Clauses to Documents process allows the user to assign one or more Voyage Clauses to one or more Documents thus enabling an efficient way to add clauses to a set of documents.
G) Assign Ondeck Clause Amounts to Documents
The Assign Ondeck Clause Amounts to Documents process allows the user to assign an Ondeck Clause Amount for one or more Documents. This functionality is useful if some or all of a cargo shipment is being transported ondeck and the carrier wants to clearly communicate this fact to the shipper and perhaps limit liability.
H) Document Printing
The Document Printing process allows the user to print multiple documents by entering the Document Numbers. When the user enters the Document Numbers, they can use a comma to separate individual ones or use a hyphen to specify a range. The Bill of Lading, Sea Waybill, Cargo Manifest and Marks Listing reports are all available for selection.
I) Import EDI (Electronic Data Interchange)
The purpose of the Import EDI process is to provide a method for the user to import a file of Documents and Marks information sent from a Shipper’s Order Processing System. Manufacturing or distribution organizations who wish to produce their own documentation could use this module to tie their systems together. As mentioned earlier, when discussing the Lineup Cargo Freight Rates Record Importing module, sharing data, but disengaging persistent links, enables an organizations various systems to effectively co-exist.
J) Create / Maintain Invoices
The Create / Maintain Invoices window contains a tab folder with the following three tabs:
1. Invoice Listing
2. Invoice Detail
3. Invoice Adjustments
Invoice Status
The Invoice has three possible status values: Open, Closed and Paid. When an Invoice is first created, it will have Open status. While an Invoice has an Open status, the user can modify the contents. When the user closes an Invoice, via a menu item or toolbar button, the following occurs:
The Invoice status is changed to Closed.
The system will review the data in the Documents table and locate all the documents that meet the associated Invoice criteria.
The system will populate the Invoice Number to all the documents selected for that Invoice, and will change those Documents’ Status to Closed(C). The system will review all the data in the Marks table and locate all the Marks records that are associated with the above mentioned Document records.
More specifically, when the user closes an Invoice the following occurs:
- on the Invoice record:
The Invoice status is changed to Closed.
The Invoice Revision Number is set to the number entered by the user.
The Invoice Date Closed is set to the date entered by the user.
The Invoice Freight is calculated and is stored in the Freight field.
The Invoice Tax Rate is set to the current Tax Rate from the Taxes table.
- on the associated Documents records:
the system will review the data in the Documents table and locate all the documents that meet the following criteria:
- Document's Voyage = the Active Voyage
- Document's Status = 'O' (OPEN)
- Document currently has No assigned Invoice #
- Document's Shipper = Invoice Shipper
- Document's Currency = Invoice Currency
- Document's Prepaid specification = Invoice Prepaid specification
- Document's Port of Loading = one of Invoice's Ports of Loading
The system will then populate the Invoice Number to all the documents selected for that Invoice, and will change those Documents' Status to Closed(C).
If the system determines that there are no associated Documents with the Invoice, the user will be warned and the Invoice will still be closed.
- on the Associated Marks records:
The system will review all the data in the Marks table and locate all the Marks records that are associated with the above mentioned Document records.
The Invoice Number is then copied into the Closed Invoice Number on the Marks records.
If any Marks record has not been assigned a Lineup Cargo Freight Rate record, the system will inform the user that Document X has Marks records that have no Lineup Cargo Freight Rate record assigned. This will STOP the Close Invoice process. The user must then assign Freight and then attempt to Close the Invoice once again.
When an Invoice Status is changed to Closed, the contents of the Invoice, the Invoice Adjustments and the Documents' Freight-related fields associated with that invoice become read-only.
Reopen Invoice
If the user reopens a Closed Invoice, all associated Documents Records' status information is changed to Open, the Invoice Number in the associated Documents records are set to NULL and the Closed Invoice Number on all of the associated Marks records gets set to NULL. The Invoice status is changed to Open and the Date Closed is set to NULL.
Upon Payment of Invoice
Upon receipt of a cheque, for a Closed Invoice, the Accounting Department will change the Invoice Status to Paid using the Freight Invoice Payment module. A user may view a Paid Invoice in the Invoice Details or Invoice Adjustments tabs, but may no longer modify, display or print the Invoice.
Once an Invoice has been marked as PAID it becomes finalized and the Paid Amounts and Freight Rates are stored on each Document's associated Marks Records. If freight rate or amount adjustments are required later on then the user may change the status of Document from Paid back to Open by using the Reopen Document menu item located in the Create and Maintain Documents option. When the user creates a new Invoice, to collect or credit additional revenue, this new Invoice will display and credit the freight from the previous Invoice.
Printing Invoices and Documents
Documents are logically linked to a Shipper through the Invoicing process. Consequently, the Invoicing module is the appropriate location to print out a Shipper’s documents either in Draft or Final form. When the Documents Coordinator requests to “Print the Invoice’s Documents in Final Mode”, a collated set is produced according to the Number of Originals and Number of Copies specifications entered for each document. Also, if special “watermarked” paper has been loaded in one of the printer trays, and is specified for use during the Final Mode printout, then the Originals can be printed on this special paper distinguishing them as originals and thus ensuring they cannot be easily reproduced. Originals can also be automatically signed if the Document Coordinator’s signature has been scanned into the system.
Adobe Printing
If the Adobe Acrobat PDF Writer has been installed on the Document Coordinator’s computer, they will have the option of :
creating a PDF file,
viewing the result on screen,
sending an e-mail, with the PDF file included as an attachment.
To take advantage of the PDF file generation option it would be necessary to purchase a copy of the Adobe Acrobat software printer driver. Automatically e-mailing a copy of the Draft Documents and / or Invoice to your customers enables efficient checking and confirmation that the documentation satisfies the shipper’s specifications.
1. Invoice Listing Tab
The Invoice Listing tab allows the user to search for Invoices they wish to print, view or modify. The user can view the detail specifications for the Invoice by selecting a record and clicking on the Invoice Detail or Invoice Adjustments tab. The user can only modify an Open Invoice.
This search list will be sorted as follows :
Sort Order of the Ports of Loading,
Shipper Name,
Invoice Number.
Since there may be multiple Ports of Loading assigned to an Invoice, the Shipper, Invoice Number, Status, Closed Date (if any), Currency and Prepaid may be repeated.
The Print Preview menu item will display a copy of the Invoice report resized so the width of the report fits on the window and the user will have to scroll vertically to see the remainder. The Print Preview menu item will toggle the Print Preview on and off. Next to the Print Preview button are two buttons for scrolling up or down through the Preview report pages.
2. Invoice Detail Tab
The Invoice Detail tab will display the Invoice detail information for the user to view and modify. If the Invoice status is Closed or Paid, the user can only view the information. For an Open Invoice the fields which can be modified include :
Taxes: the user will specify what Taxes are calculated for the Invoice via the Taxes dropdown list. When the user changes the Taxes, the list of available Ports of Loading will change to match the new Taxes.
Prepaid: the user will specify if the Invoice is for prepaid or non-prepaid cargo.
Currency: the Currency dropdown list will contain all the Currency records in the Currency table.
Terms and Notes: the Terms and Notes field will contain any information about the terms of the Invoice.
Assigned Ports of Loading: this list contains the Ports of Loading which have been Assigned to the Invoice. If the user is creating a new Invoice, this list will be blank. The list will display the Ports of Loading Name + ' ' + Date of Issue, and will be sorted by the Sort Order in the Ports of Loading table.
Available Ports of Loading: this list contains all the Ports of Loading which have not been Assigned to the current Invoice that match with the Taxes of the Invoice
The user can assign a Port of Loading to the Invoice by highlighting the desired port in the Available Ports of Loading and clicking the up arrow buttons located between the two lists. They also can remove a port by highlighting the port and clicking the down arrow buttons. If the user clicks on the single arrow button, the selected ports will be moved to other list. If the user clicks on the double arrow, all the ports will be moved to the other list.
3. Invoice Adjustments Tab
The Invoice Adjustment tab will display a listing of all the Invoice Adjustments which have been created for the current Invoice. The user can edit an Adjustment directly in the listing. If the user wishes to change the Sort Order of the Adjustment records, they can use the Move Up and Move Down menu items. To move a record up in the Sort Order, they select the desired record and click on the Move Up menu item or toolbar button. To move a record down in the Sort Order, they select the desired record and click on the Move Down menu item or toolbar button.
K) Table Maintenance
The Table Maintenance process allows the user to maintain certain tables used by the system. Due to security issues, several tables cannot be maintained from within the eLading Documents System module. These tables are accessible to DataBase Administrators through the Table Maintenance Module.
The user will select a Table from the Table List and then proceed to the Table Maintenance tab to perform the maintenance required. Several of the tables are filtered to only display information associated with the currently active voyage. From the Table Maintenance tab the user can insert, modify, and delete records in the selected table. The system will not allow the user to delete a record in a Reference Table if there is an associated Document or Marks record that references it.
L) Housekeeping
The Housekeeping process allows the user to delete Document and Voyage related records, associated with the Documents Database, that are no longer required.
The Housekeeping window contains a tab folder with the following tabs:
1. Document Deletion
2. Voyage Deletion
The system will check if the Create / Maintain Documents, Create / Maintain Document Correctors, and Create / Maintain Marks - Freight windows are open before opening the Housekeeping window. If any of the above three windows are open, the system will display a general message box informing the user that it is necessary to close these windows prior to proceeding.
1. Document Deletion Tab
The Document Deletion tab allows the user to delete Documents that have a status of Open and with a Date Time Paid value of Null. Associated Marks, Document Clauses and Document Corrector records will also be deleted.
2. Voyage Deletion Tab
The Voyage Deletion tab allows the DataBase Administrators to delete all Documents related Voyage information. To delete one or more records, the DBA user would select the records they wish to delete then select the Delete Selected Records menu item or toolbar button. The user will be warned prior to the deletion that the deletion is permanent and they cannot undo this operation.
M) Change Active Voyage
The Active Voyage is used throughout the system wherever a voyage value is needed. The user’s Active Voyage is stored in the User table and is updated when the user changes their Active Voyage.
The Vessel List will be sorted by Vessel Name, but with the Long Term Charters Vessels appearing above the other vessels. When the user selects a vessel, the Voyage List will display only the voyages for that Vessel. Notice that the Voyage List identifies the Carrier associated with each Voyage. Since the system is capable of differentiating based on the Carrier, an agent can quite conveniently enter documents for several different organizations.
II. Documents Reporting module:
The Documents Reporting module is designed to enable the user to generate reports based on specified selection criteria. These reports include:
Document Control Sheet
Bills of Lading
Sea Waybills
Cargo Manifest
Relet Manifest
Marks Listing Report
Revenue Summary
Load / Discharge Dock Summary Reports
The selection criteria categories include Ports of Loading, Ports of Discharge, Shippers, Commodity Groups and Document Types. Multiple entries can be selected in each category using the Control + Click method. Each report generated will include a cover page documenting the chosen selection criteria.
III. Table Maintenance Module:
The Table Maintenance module is designed to enable Database Administrators (DBA) and Documents Coordinators (DOC) to maintain a specific set of Reference tables. Due to security and control issues, certain tables are made accessible only to the DataBase Administrators.
The Reference Tables have been designed to include many default-related fields which enable Document processing efficiencies. Several of these fields will be mentioned during this presentation.
Also, please note that several of the tables have been designed to enable customization of the system and its reports. For example, the Bill of Lading, Sea Waybill, Rider and Invoice reports are each designed to allow for the inclusion of logos plus customized Headers and Footers. As another example, the Bill of Lading and Sea Waybill report design includes a Document Terms section where the carrier's legal conditions are printed. The actual logos, images, text, font and font size details, for these type of customizations, are defined on the Carrier Document Types, Carrier Markets, Carriers and X Reference Document Printing reference tables. Additionally the "Original" Bills of Lading or Sea Waybills can be automatically signed if a signature image file is specified, for a Documents Coordinator, on their associated Users table record.
IV. Freight Invoice Payment module:
The Freight Invoice Payment module is designed to allow the Accounting Department to change the status of an Invoice to Paid once the Shipper's Invoice cheque has been deposited. This process will also change the status of the associated Documents and Marks.
V. Documents System Configuration Utility:
The Documents System Configuration Utility is designed to enable the Database Administrator (DBA) to change some specific system configuration parameters relating to Data Base and File Management setup.