Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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PARTIALLY USER-DEFINED COMPUTER TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention concerns a digital electrical apparatus and methods involving
the same, applied to the
field of transportation. More particularly, this invention relates to managing
cargo shipments with a computer
system especially adapted to preparing, processing, and transmitting quotes,
bookings, documentation
and/or orders (and tracking thereof, in a system of coordinated support for
the transportation industry. The
invention includes automated aspects of shipment and delivery for air freight,
sea freight, trucking, customs,
warehouse, inventory, customer, supplier, banking, insurance, export, and
other providers, including
processing, documentation, storage, and transmission of data for all of the
foregoing.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The disorganization of the transportation industry is a historical artifact.
In prior eras, economic
activity grew from a personal activity, to a local, then to a regional, and
then to a national activity. For a
significant period of history, the national economy remained the transcendent
form of economic activity, with
each country producing goods and services primarily for national consumption.
While international trade
grew over the centuries, such trade was not of paramount importance to the
majority of businesses. Thus,
over the course of most of world history, most businesses had little or no
need for international trade-related
services. During the latter part of the 20th century this national focus has
begun to change to a more global
approach, as evidenced by a reduction of trade barriers and the development of
numerous multinational
corporations. With the growth of a world economy came an opportunity for more
businesses to benefit -- if
they can overcome the tremendous challenges to doing business in an
international market place. One of
the greatest obstacles has been a need to translate local or domestic business
practices into workable
international business practices. To a point, both international and local
transactions share some common
characteristics such as purchasing, production, inventory management, etc.
However, beyond these
commonalties, there are significant differences. An international transaction
could have additional
requirements such as risk and carriage insurance, banking terms and practices
(e_.g, letters of credit.
currency issues), transportation modes (e.~c.., multinational air, sea, truck,
and rail), customs and
documentation needs, multinational and multi-linguistic communication with
vendors and customers, and
working with types of service providers not found in the USA.
The attempt to overcome the barriers to international business transactions by
computer support
seems to have taken two directions: centrally managed database networks and de-
centralized database
applications. To understand the need for the present invention it is necessary
to review the shortcomings of
prior approaches to this problem.
The approach or centrally managed systems can be best illustrated by three
major sub-categories:
(1 ) internal private computer systems, (2) external private systems, and (3)
provider-defined public systems.
Internal private systems are generally operated by large multinational
companies such as IBM. These
systems generally involve a mainframe computer that automates certain aspects
of a business, including
transportation, both locally and internationally. These systems are costly and
are generally not available for
public use.
Another variation of the centrally managed approach is the external private
network. A good
example is one operated by Federal Express, which provides value-added
information services to
companies who use Federal Express's core business, i.e. integrated air freight
transport. Although
approaches like this are open to some external users, the approaches usually
exclude non-clients and have
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no application to those using a competitor to Federal Express or a form of
transportation not offered by
Federal Express, e.cg, sea freight.
The third general category of centrally managed systems can be characterized
as provider-defined
external networks. In this permutation, a provider sets up a centrally managed
database system which
receives user data and then distributes the pertinent data (or permits
distribution) to various entities in the
business supply chain. The system includes, but is not limited to, order
processing, job costing, freight
tracking, etc. A technological platform for this type of network involves
Electronic Data Interchange (EDI).
EDI was developed to provide standardized data sets that would allow users to
conduct business
electronically. While the standards are public, accessibility was never really
achieved in the transportation
industry, at least in part because the majority of business could not afford
to participate.
After many potential users did not participate, some providers developed a fee-
based network to
manage the exchange of user data with trading partners. The latest variation
of this scheme has evolved on
the Internet, where providers have developed strategies to offer businesses on-
line access to centrally-
managed databases using web browsers. Although the medium has changed, the
basic idea remains:
These approaches are provider-defined with exclusive membership. The Internet-
based systems have
additional drawbacks because the systems require users to be on the Internet
to process their orders. And
being on fine is expensive. Additionally, the number of businesses that could
use this approach will always
be limited -- imagine the computer traffic jam that would occur if every
employee of every business in the
world had to log on to a central database network all day long in order to
conduct daily business routines.
This approach seems to be doing it the hard way, and the result has been that
the Internet schemes have
been impractical, thus far.
For the public, the limitations of all three centrally-defined approaches are
inherent in their structure:
They all place control of information in the hands of a self-interested host.
Further, the host exacts a
substantial economic "rent' in some form from the user. It also places both
technological and process-
oriented limitations on the participants. Accordingly, the percentage of
businesses using these approaches
remains a fraction of the world-wide potential. Indeed, it is believed that of
the world-wide businesses
involved in the transportation industry, those using centralized database
systems is about 5% for private
internal networks, 2% for external private networks, 10% for EDI driven
provider networks, and less than 1
for Internet- based provider networks.
Other businesses use de-centralized database systems, which provide limited
and often incomplete
or inadequate solutions. CDM Consulting provided a de-centralized database
system.
In any event, such approaches are representative of a broader problem which
businesses face in
dealing with disorganized complex information in the transportation industry.
There are a multitude of
providers of decentralized database system. Sut all of these systems seem to
be limited to whatever niche
led to their creation, which hinders communication in the transportation
industry.
There are insurance programs to calculate some insurance charges; export
documentation
programs to handle some such paperwork; rating databases to help select air
freight carriers; rating
databases to help select sea freight carriers; banking programs which assist
in some banking
considerations; US Customs-related systems which handle Customs issues; and
the list goes on and on and
on.... Therein lies part of the problem.
IV. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To understand the dilemma faced by the global ~~ansportation industry, one
could look to other
historic artifacts, such as the experience of the former 5~. , yet Union.
Shortly after the Communist Revolution
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in 1905 those who instituted a totalitarian form of government gave the
promise of economic and social
justice. The only "catch" was that the individual would have to release
certain rights and privileges in order
for the whole to advance. The same principle is at work with the centrally-
managed transportation systems.
In order to achieve an orderly process, the users must work within the
somewhat monolithic structure, often
at a significant price. And like the centrally managed economy of communism,
the centrally managed
transportation approach has revealed that the benefits to a few come at the
expense of the many.
On the other hand, the absence of structure often leads to a great deal of
chaos. Again, the former
Soviet Union is a good historical illustration. After the fall of the Berlin
Wall, the Soviet Union collapsed into a
great deal of chaotic activity. Wars, attempted military coups, and similar
strife effected every region of the
former empire, resulting in a disintegration. This is representative of
decentralized transportation
approaches. Everyone goes their own way in a highly fractious and inefficient
chaos.
Again by historical analogy, The United States can be viewed as model of the
present invention, i.e.,
a partially user-defined network. In this present invention, users operate
individually in accordance with a
generally structured system. This present invention permits efficient
transactions involving users doing
business without the centralized control or completely disorganized chaos that
is presently the state of the
art.
It is an object of the invention to provide a digital electrical apparatus and
method for managing
cargo shipment that is partially but not totally user defined. It is another
object of the present invention to
provide an apparatus (machine), method for making the apparatus, article of
manufacture, and method for
using the apparatus to more efficiently carry out transportation activities as
well as to address the above-
mentioned problems. It is another object of the present invention to provide
the foregoing as regards a
method implemented on a first user computer machine for processing an order
for a service to be used in a
segment of a future cargo shipment, the first user computer machine including
a digital electrical computer
having a processor programmed to electrically process input data to produce
output data, the digital
electrical computer being electrically connected to an input device, an output
device, and a memory to carry
out a partially user-defined transportation system. It is still another object
of the present invention to expedite
computer processing in the foregoing method by using data from a prior
shipment to establish defaults for
use in the computer processing of a subsequent shipment. It is yet another
object of the present invention to
automate and modularize transportation activities that have heretofore not
been captured or understood in a
way that would permit coherent automation.
These and other objects as would be understood from the following description
of the invention are
carried out by a method implemented on a first user computer machine for
processing an order for a service
to be used in a segment of a future cargo shipment, the first user computer
machine including a digital
electrical computer having a processor programmed to electrically process
input data to produce output
data, the digital electrical computer being electrically connected to an input
device, an output device, and a
memory, the method including the steps of: for a first cargo shipment,
processing an order for a service in a
segment of the first cargo shipment to produce first cargo shipment order data
in a database in the memory;
for a second cargo shipment, second processing an order for the service in the
second cargo shipment, the
second processing including: if the price is not already in the data in the
memory, then entering price data as
a portion of the input data at the input device for processing by the first
user computer; entering an other
portion of the input data at the input device for processing by the first user
computer, the other portion
characterizing a beginning and an end for the future use of the service in the
future cargo shipment; and
carrying out the processing of the input data by using at least some data from
the first processing as a
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default in the second processing for the future use of the service for the
future cargo shipment to produce the
output data; and generating documentation of the second processing, including
some of the output data.
The method can be carried out so that the steps of entering are carried out by
obtaining one of the portion of
the input data or the other portion of the input data from a second user
computer. Additionally, the step of
entering the portion of the input data is carried out so that the shipping
data includes mode of shipping; and
further including the steps of entering a selection data portion of the input
data at the input device for
processing by the computer, the selection data portion representing at least
one criteria for selecting among
the alternatives for the future shipment of the cargo; and engaging the
processor to process the input data to
produce a selection of a best shipment alternative corresponding to the
selection data. Further, the method
can be carried out so that the step of engaging the processor to determine
from the input data at least one of
the group consisting of (1 ) what services are required to move the future
cargo shipment from an origin to a
destination, (2) what vendors perform the services, and (3) what costs are
associated with the vendors
providing the services.
The method can also involve displaying on a monitor electrically connected to
the processor a
map for guiding management of the future cargo shipment. Furthermore, the step
of generating the
output data can include: generating documentation by determining what
documentation is required for the
segment, retrieving text for the documentation from the memory, and inserting
some of the output data in
the text for the documentation. Also, the step of second processing can
include: displaying, on a
monitor electrically connected to the processor, a scheduler for scheduling
events corresponding to the
segment. Moreover, the step of second processing can include: displaying, on a
monitor electrically
connected to the processor, work-in-progress for monitoring scheduled
activities corresponding to the
segment. Still further, the step of second processing can include: rating air
and sea freight services for
the future cargo shipment. Still further, the step of second processing can
include: rating insurance and
transport services for the future cargo shipment. Even still further, the step
of second processing can
include: scheduling a booking.
From another point of view, the invention includes a method of using a
computer system in
managing a future cargo shipment, the method including the steps of:
electrically processing input data to
produce output data with a digital electrical computer having a processor
programmed to carry out the
processing, the digital electrical computer being electrically connected to an
input device and an output
device; entering a first data portion of the input data at the input device
for processing by the computer, the
first data portion characterizing a future shipment of cargo, including an
origin, a destination, for the
shipment; entering a second data portion of the input data at the input device
for processing by the
computer, the second data portion representing shipping alternatives, each of
the alternatives including cost,
routing, and mode; entering a selection data portion of the input data at the
input device for processing by
the computer, the selection data portion representing at least one criteria
for selecting among the alternatives
for the future shipment of the cargo; and engaging the processor to process
the input data to produce the
output data, the output data representing a selection of a best shipment
alternative corresponding to the
selection data for the future cargo shipment. The step of entering the second
data portion of the input data
can include: entering at least some of the second data portion for a shipment
other than the future cargo
shipment. Additionally, the method can further include the steps of: entering
a third data portion of the input
data at the input device for processing by the computer, the third data
portion representing documentation
for carrying out the shipment according to each of the alternatives; storing
the third data portion in a memory
electrically connected to the processor; and triggering the computer to
generate, at the output device, a set
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of the shipping documentation corresponding to the best shipment mode, the
shipping documentation
constructed by inserting a portion of the output data in a portion of the
third data portion in the memory.
Further, the method can further include the steps of: prior to producing the
shipping documentation at an
output device, displaying data corresponding to the shipping documentation at
a monitor electrically
connected to the computer and editing the data corresponding to the shipping
documentation.
From still another point of view, the invention includes an article of
manufacture including: a means
for storing a computer program; and on the a means for storing a computer
program, a means for
programming a digital electrical computer processor electrically processing
input data to produce output
data, the digital electrical computer being electrically connected to an input
device and an output device;
wherein the means for programming controls: entering a first data portion of
the input data at the input device
for processing by the computer, the first data portion characterizing a future
shipment of cargo, including an
origin, a destination, for the shipment; entering a second data portion of the
input data at the input device for
processing by the computer, the second data portion representing shipping
alternatives, each of the
alternatives including cost, routing, and mode; entering a selection data
portion of the input data at the input
device for processing by the computer, the selection data portion representing
at least one criteria for
selecting among the alternatives for the future shipment of the cargo; and
engaging the processor to process
the input data to produce the output data, the output data representing a
selection of a best shipment
alternative corresponding to the selection data for the future cargo shipment.
17. The article of manufacture
can involve controlling further the entering of the second data portion of the
input data to include: entering at
feast some of the second data portion for a shipment other than the future
cargo shipment.
V. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a diagram that provides an overview of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a diagram that an overview of a method of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a depiction of a Security Clearance computer screen ;
FIG. 4 is a depiction of an Opening computer screen;
FIG. 5 is a depiction of a Shipments in Progress computer screen;
FIG. 6 is a depiction of a Daily Cut-offs List computer screen;
FIG. 7 is a depiction of a Daily Arrivals List computer screen;
FIG. 8 is a depiction of a Cargo Available List computer screen;
FIG. 9 is a depiction of a User-scheduled Events List computer screen;
FIG. 10 is a depiction of an Inter-office Mail List computer screen;
FIG. 11 is a depiction of a Memo Send computer screen;
FIG. 12 is a depiction of a Revised Inter-office Mail List computer screen;
FIG. 13 is a depiction of a Main Map computer screen;
FIG. 14 is a depiction of a Comments computer screen;
FIG. 15 is a depiction of a systems administrator's Comment Access computer
screen;
FIG. 16 is a depiction of an Expressway On Ramp computer screen;
FIG. 17 is a depiction of a Revised Expressway On Ramp computer screen;
FIG. 18 is a depiction of an Agent Broker Table computer screen;
FIG. 19 is a depiction of an Undelete Agent computer screen;
FIG. 20 is a depiction of a Broker Table computer screen;
FIG. 21 is a depiction of an Undelete Broker computer screen;
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FIG. 22 is a depiction of an Expressway inland computer screen;
FIG. 23 is a depiction of a Revised Expressway inland computer screen;
FIG. 24 is a depiction of an Expressway Port-to-port computer screen;
FIG. 25 is a depiction of a Revised Expressway Port-to-port computer screen;
FIG. 26 is a depiction of a further Revised Expressway Port-to-port computer
screen;
FIG. 27 is a depiction of a still further Revised Expressway Port-to-port
computer screen;
FIG. 28 is a depiction of a Terminal Location computer screen;
FIG. 29 is a depiction of a Country Code Table computer screen;
FIG. 30 is a depiction of a Three Lefter Port Code computer screen;
FIG. 31 is a depiction of a Carrier Rates Expressway computer screen;
FIG. 32 is a depiction of a Carrier Routing computer screen;
FIG. 33 is a depiction of a Carrier Schedule computer screen;
FIG. 34 is a depiction of an Insurance Class List computer screen;
FIG. 35 is a depiction of a Special Vendor computer screen;
FIG. 36 is a depiction of a Transit Type computer screen;
FIG. 37 is a depiction of a Consol Vendor Add computer screen;
FIG. 38 is depiction of a Rate Table Entry computer screen;
FIG. 39 is a depiction of a Client Manager computer screen;
FIG. 40 is a depiction of a Revised Client Manager computer screen;
FIG. 41 is a depiction of a Billing Info Add Edit computer screen;
FIG. 42 is a depiction of a Further Revised Client Manager computer screen;
FIG. 43 is a depiction of a Location Edit computer screen;
FIG. 44 is a depiction of a Still Further Revised Client Manager computer
screen;
FIG. 45 is a depiction of an Even Further Revised Client Manager computer
screen;
FIG. 46 is a depiction of a Revised Rate Table Entry computer screen;
FIG. 47 is a depiction of a Master Bill Manager computer screen;
FIG. 48 is a depiction of a Revised Main Map computer screen;
FiG. 49 is a depiction of a Booking Pop-up computer screen;
FIG. 50 is a depiction of a Booking Look-up computer screen;
FIG. 51 is a depiction of a First Shipment Details computer screen;
FIG. 52 is a depiction of a Second Shipment Details computer screen;
FIG. 53 is a depiction of a Third Shipment Details computer screen;
FIG. 54 is a depiction of a Fourth Shipment Details computer screen;
FIG. 55 is a depiction of a Fifth Shipment Details computer screen;
FIG. 56 is a depiction of a Sixth Shipment Details computer screen;
FIG. 57 is a depiction of a Shipper Inventory computer screen;
FIG. 58 is a depiction of a Revised Sixth Shipment Details computer screen;
FIG. 59 is a depiction of an Edit Phrases screen;
FIG. 60 is a depiction of a Seventh Shipment Details computer screen;
FIG. 61 is a depiction of a Revised Seventh Shipment Details computer screen;
FIG. 62 is a depiction of a Second Revised Seventh Shipment Details computer
screen;
FIG. 63 is a depiction of a Save Record computer screen;
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FIG. 64 is a depiction of a HouseBill Number Assign computer screen;
FlG. 65 is a depiction of a Billing Creation computer screen;
FIG. 66 is a depiction of a Booking Assign To Flight computer screen;
FIG. 67 is a depiction of a revised Booking Assign To Flight computer screen;
FIG. 68 is a depiction of a Booking Assign View Master computer screen;
FIG. 69 is a depiction of an Open MasterBill computer screen;
FIG. 70 is a depiction of a Revised Main Map computer screen;
FIG. 71 is a depiction of a View HouseBill computer screen;
FIG. 72 is a depiction of a HouseBilling computer screen;
FIG. 73 is a depiction of a revised House Billing computer screen;
FIG. 74 is a depiction of a View HouseBill Lookup computer screen;
FIG. 75 is a depiction of a Generate Documents computer screen;
FIG. 76 is a depiction of a Warehouse Pieces Received computer screen;
FIG. 77 is a depiction of a Revised Warehouse Date Received computer screen;
FIG. 78 is a depiction of a Pending Masters computer screen;
FIG. 79 is a depiction of a MasterBill Table computer screen;
FIG. 80 is a depiction of a Bookings Not Assigned To Masters computer screen;
FIG. 81 is a depiction of a Process Master Change Carrier computer screen;
FIG. 82 is a depiction of a Process Master Populate New computer screen;
FIG. 83 is a depiction of a Revised MasterBill Table computer screen;
FIG. 84 is a depiction of a Process Master Cost Analysis computer screen;
FIG. 85 is a depiction of a Loose Rate Enter computer screen;
FIG. 86 is a depiction of a Generate Master Documents computer screen;
FIG. 87 is a depiction of a Revised Main Map computer screen;
FIG. 88 is a depiction of a Confirmed On Board computer screen;
FIG. 89 is a depiction of an Option To Fax computer screen;
FIG. 90 is a depiction of a Proof Of Delivery computer screen;
FIG. 91 is a depiction of a Time And Signature Entry computer screen;
FIG. 92 is a depiction of a Further Revised Main Map computer screen;
FIG. 93 is a depiction of a Cass Report computer screen;
FIG. 94 is a depiction of a Consolidation Schedule computer screen;
FIG. 95 is a depiction of a Consolidation Exists Warning computer screen:
FIG. 96 is a depiction of a Revised Gonsolidation Schedule computer screen;
FIG. 97 is a depiction of a Monthly Detail computer screen;
FiG. 98 is a depiction of a Billing Lookup computer screen;
FIG. 99 is a depiction of a revised House Billing computer screen;
FIG. 100 is a depiction of a flow chart diagram of the International Shipping
Process;
FIG. 101 is a depiction of tables containing International Shipping
information;
FIG. 102 continues the depiction the of tables Containing International
Shipping information;
FIG. 103 continues the depiction of the tables Containing International
shipping information;
FIG. 104 continues the depiction of the tables Containing international
Shipping information;
FIG. 105 is a depiction of the Temporary Storage Workspace relationships;
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FIG. 106 is a depiction of Quotation Storage relationships;
FiG. 107 is a depiction of Housebill Storage relationships;
FIG. 108 is a depiction of MasterBill Storage relationships;
FIG. 109 is a depiction of Routing and Rating relationships;
FIG. 110 is a depiction of User Utility relationships.
V. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
In accordance with the broad, general objects, this invention can be
understood with reference to
FIG. 1, which is a diagram that provides an overview of the present invention
(contrast with the subsequently
discussed FIG. 100). FIG. 1 shows a Partially User-defined Computer
Transportation System 1, which
represents a community of user computer systems that are adapted to
communicate data, the user systems
generically illustrated as User Computer System 2. User Computer System 2 can
be made with an IBM-
compatible digital electrical computer having a CPU 4, which is electrically
connected to at least one Data
Input Device 5, such as Keyboard 6, Scanner 8, Modem 10, CD-ROM System 12, or
Other Input Devices
14. Once information (subsequently described) is input via the at least one
Data Input Device 5, and
changed into input digital electrical signals if necessary, the input digital
electrical signals representing digital
electrical output data that can be output to an Output Device 15. Output
Device 15 can include, for example,
Computer Monitor 16, the Modem 10, Printer 18, Facsimile Machine 20, the CD-
ROM System 12, or an
Other Output Device 22. Preferably, allowance is made for Future Devices 24 to
handle data display,
storage, output, and input.
There is a community of many variants of User Computer System 2, which can
include, for
example, a plurality of each of the following systems: Freight Forwarding
Providers Computer System 55, Air
Freight Provider's Computer System 57, Sea Freight Providers Computer System
56, Trucking Providers
Computer System 58, Customs Providers Computer System 60, Inventory Providers
Computer System 62,
Customers Computer System 64, Suppliers Computer System 66, Banking Providers
Computer System 68,
Insurance Providers Computer System 70, Export Regulations Providers Computer
System 72, Warehouse
Providers Computer System 74, and Other Providers Computer System 76. Computer
Systems 55-76
illustrate a simplified universe of the present invention. One simplification
is that there would preferably be a
multitude of each of the foregoing systems for any user system to interact
with. For example, any particular
freight forwarder preferably would interact with a plurality of trucking
companies, each with their own
computer system collectively forming part of Computer System 1. There is
further simplification because
one user could well make use of more than one of the Systems 55-76. For
example, a freight forwarder
would use at least one of the Freight Forwarding Providers Computer System 55,
to obtain data (preferably
by downloading) from at least one other user's systems, such as Air Freight
Provider's Computer System 57
and/or Trucking Providers Computer System 58. Additionally, the Freight
Forwarding Providers Computer
System would place orders with systems like Systems 57 and/or 58 in the course
of providing freight
forwarding services.
On the other hand, some businesses likely would not utilize and/or process
much data from other
users, but instead would make data available and take orders. For example, an
insurance provider company
could make data available to other users and offer insurance policies by means
of Insurance Providers
Computer System 70, but have little if any need for receiving data much beyond
the orders for insurance
policies.
CPU 4 is controlled at various times by two types of computer software,
including Computer
Program 26 (in whole or a standardized output part), for example one written
in Microsoft Access Ver. 2 and
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Other Programs 28, which may include Windows 3.1, Windows 95, Novell 3.0, and
other types of operating
systems and computer programs. Computer Program 26 would be particularly
suitable for a Java
application. The user's version of Program 26 manipulates data stored in
Database 30, which is a master
database that contains at least some of other databases that pertain to the
particular user. These other
databases can include an Air Freight Database 32, a Sea Freight Database 34, a
Trucking Database 36, a
Customs Database 38, an Inventory Database 40, a Customer Database 42, a
Supplier Database 44, a
Banking Database 46, a Insurance Database 48, a Export Regulations Database
50, a Warehouse
Database 52, and Other Database's 54.
The aforementioned Computer Programs 26 and 28, and the Databases 30-54 are
stored in a
Memory System 23. The Memory System 26 can be comprised of any machine-
readable media and means
for reading the media, for example, any of the Computer Programs 26-28 and
Databases 30-54 could be
stored on a diskette (or other means for storing any of the Computer Programs
26-28 and Databases 30-54)
along with the means for reading the diskette being a disk drive electrically
connected to the Computer
System 2, particularly the CPU 4. The Memory System 23 could also include a
hard disk, etc.
Each user can meet its particular needs by communication to and or from other
users. Rather than
manually obtaining and entering data from other users, the present invention
permits the preferable
approach of computerized communication of this information. Accordingly, to
the extent that the needs of a
particular user so requires, the data for subordinate Databases 32-54 can be
obtained from other users
(directly or via an intermediary, such as a central repository). (Only data
pertinent to the particular user
andlor kind of user are taken and stored on the user's Database 30.)
The data obtained by the Computer System 2 from other users can be screened by
a Filter 15
which would allow only information that exists in the Database 30 to be
accessed or updated if the user
provides authorization. This would be analogous to functionality generally
used to update existing
database records without adding new records {e.~c ., appending). For example,
Air Freight Provider's
Computer 57could transmit a complete flight schedule to all of the pertinent
users. However, if a
particular user only needs the flight schedule information that is relevant to
that user, that user's Filter 15
is directed to allow only the data required to be received into Database 30.
The extraneous data would be
discarded and two way communication would be prevented.
The data involved in the above-described updating of Database 30 also can be
encrypted so the
data cannot be intercepted and used by parties outside the transaction. The
data is encrypted with an
encryption system such as, for example, a double-key system which is a system
where a sender encrypts
the code with his private key and a public key of the receiver (public keys
would be stored in fields in
records storing information about the receiver in tables such as Shippers
Table and Vendor Directory
Table in the Database 30) and a receiver decrypts the data with the receiver's
private key and a public
key of the sender. Such a system has been placed in the public domain and is
known as "PGP."
Further, a particular user can obtain data for Export Regulations Database 50
by linking to another
user's computer system that provides this data, i.e., Export Regulations
Providers Computer System 72. If
only part of the Export Regulations Database 50 is downloaded by a particular
user, the part would be that
which is applicable to that specific user. Similarly, air freight providers
(airlines) are a good source of
information about air freight data, e.g,, general flight schedules, rates,
etc. For example, the User Computer
System 2 has an Air Freight Database 32, which contains information pertinent
to the users of air freight
services. This data is particularly useful to the Air Freight Provider's
Computer System 57. Air Freight
Providers Computer System 57, includes analogous Providers' hardware,
software, and databases, all
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handled by methods analogous to those of the User Computer System 2. Linking
Device 78 can facilitate
compatibility between the various user's computer systems. A primary
distinguishing characteristic is that
the data contained in the Air Freight Providers Computer System 57 is
pertinent to a provider of air freight
services. This data could include such information as rates, schedules,
tracking, delivery status, billing
information, documentation, and all other information necessary and useful to
this facet of the industry.
Compare an Air Freight Providers Computer System 57 and Air Freight Database
32 with the
corresponding system for a Sea Freight Database 34, which contains information
pertinent to User's of sea
freight services. The Sea Freight Provider's Computer System 56 includes
analogous hardware, software,
and databases, and employs the analogous methods described for the User
Computer System 2, except
that Database 34 is tailored or tailorable to the needs of a sea freight
provider. Similarly, a distinguishing
characteristic is that the data used and/or generated by the Sea Freight
Providers Computer System 56 is
pertinent to provider of sea freight services. This data could include such
information as rates, schedules,
tracking, delivery status, billing information, documentation, and all other
information necessary and useful to
this facet of the industry.
The Trucking Database 36 in User Computer System 2 contains information
pertinent to users of
trucking services. This information is for/from Trucking Providers Computer
System 58, which includes
analogous hardware, software, and databases, and corresponding methods
described for User Computer
System 2. A difference is that the data contained in the Trucking Providers
Computer System 58 is pertinent
to the providers of trucking services. This data could include such
information as rates, schedules, tracking,
delivery status, billing information, documentation, and all other information
necessary and useful to this
facet of the industry.
The Customs Database 38 of User Computer System 2 contains information
pertinent to users of
Customs services. This information is forlfrom the Customs Providers Computer
System 60, which includes
analogous hardware, software, databases and methods as described for User
Computer System 2 but the
data is pertinent to the providers of Customs services. These providers could
be Customs Brokers or
Customs agencies world-wide. This data could include such information as
commodity classifications,
harmonized code information, duty rates, handling/processing fees,
regulations, documentation, and all other
necessary and useful information.
The Inventory Database 40, in User Computer System 2, contains information
pertinent to the users
of inventory. This information is for/from the Inventory Provider's Computer
System 62, which includes
analogous hardware, software, and databases, and corresponding methods as
described for User Computer
System 2 except that the data is pertinent to the providers of inventory. This
data could include such
information as part numbers, descriptions, unit prices, harmonized codes, item
numbers, back-orders,
inventory management procedures and all other information that is necessary
and useful to this facet of the
industry.
The Customer Database 42 , in Users Computer System 2, contains information
pertinent to the
User's customers. This information is for/from the Customer's Computer System
64, which includes of
analogous hardware, software, and databases, and corresponding methods for
User Computer System 2,
except that the data contained is pertinent to the User's Customer. This data
could include such information
as billing addresses, pricing information, delivery instructions, contact
information, payment terms, product
information and any other information that is necessary and useful.
The Supplier Database 44, in User Computer System 2, contains information
pertinent to the User's
suppliers. This information is forlfrorr; the Supplier's Computer System 66,
which includes analogous
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hardware, software, and databases, and corresponding methods for User Computer
System 2, except that
the data is pertinent to the User's supplier. This data could include such
information as billing addresses,
pricing information, delivery instructions, contact information, payment
terms, product information and any
other information that is necessary and useful.
The Banking Database 46, in User Computer System 2, contains information
pertinent to users of
banking services. This information is for/from the Banking Provider's Computer
System 68, which includes
analogous hardware, software, and databases, and corresponding methods for
User Computer System 2,
except that the data is pertinent to the provider of banking services. This
data could include such information
as letter of credit details, currency values, payment processing fees,
interest rates, payment terms, financing,
and any other information that is necessary and useful for this facet of the
industry.
The Insurance Database 48, in User Computer System 2, contains information
pertinent to users of
insurance services. This information is for/from the Insurance Provider's
Computer System 70, which
includes analogous hardware, software, and databases, and corresponding
methods for User Computer
System 2, except that the data is pertinent to the provider of insurance
services. This data could include
such information as a schedule of rates, which could correlate with the value
of the goods, the country of
originldestination, and the mode of transport. Additional information might
include marine cargo policy limits,
regulations and legal issues, documentation, and any other information that is
necessary and useful for this
facet of the industry.
The Export Regulations Database 50, in User Computer System 2, contains
information pertinent to
users of export regulations. This information is for/from the Export
Regulations Providers Computer System
72, which includes analogous hardware, software, and databases, and
corresponding methods for User
Computer System 2, except that the data is pertinent to the provider of Export
Regulations services. This
data could include such information as all rules, regulations, documentation
requirements, import restrictions,
inspection requirements, any other trade-related conditions that foreign
countries might impose and any
other information that is necessary and useful to this facet of the industry.
The Warehouse 52, in User Computer System 2, contains information pertinent to
the users of
warehouse services. This information is forlfrom the Warehouse Providers
Computer System 74, which
includes analogous hardware, software, and databases, and corresponding
methods for User Computer
System 2, except that the data is pertinent to providers of warehouse
services. This data could include such
information as on-hand reporting, package details (e.g., shipping unit weight,
dimensions, etc.), inlout
reporting, location id's, and any other information that is necessary and
useful.
The Other Database 54, in User Computer System 2, contains information
pertinent to any other
types of goods and services pertinent to another user. This information is
forlfrom the Other Providers
Computer System 76, which includes analogous hardware, software, and
databases, and corresponding
methods for the User Computer System 2, except that the data is pertinent to
the providers of other goods
and services. This data could include information that is necessary and useful
that relates to providing any
other goods or services.
To summarize, the User Computer System 2 is preferably structured in a manner
that permits a
wide range of users in the transportation industry to pursue their specific
needs, while communicating (when
necessary) in an efficient, compatible manner. While there is commonality to a
degree, there is flexibility to
adapt the User Computer System 2 to the specific needs of different types of
users.
To ensure an efficient flow of data among the community of the various users
systems, e.g:, the
Freight Forwarder 55 and the Air Freight Providers System 57, the particular
user would employ the Linking
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Device 78. Examples of these types of devices are as follows: an Internet
Appliance 80, the Internet 82, a
Phone Line 84, a Wireless Connection 86, a Java Script Device 88, an Intranet
90, a Centrally Managed
Provider Network 92, a Webcasting Device 94 (such as a web-browser), Other
Linking Devices 96, and
Future Linking Device 98. Of course, a Linking Device 78 would preferably
facilitate both the input and
output of data. Each of the user's computer systems is partially user-defined.
The individual user's systems
are partially user-defined on several levels.
First, at a high level, individual kinds of user's involved in managing cargo
shipment have different
needs. For example, what is a "buy" for one user is a "sell" to another. While
this has led to completely user-
defined approaches (with limited acceptance of EDI), it need not be so.
Actually, there is considerable high
level symmetry in export/import cargo handling. For example, a shipment must
be assembled and later
disassembled (see FIG. 100, as discussed subsequently). But the symmetry is
not perfect, and thus a totally
defined user system (centralized management) would be wasteful. The present
invention involves
coordinated information processing carried out locally according to the needs
of a particular kind of user.
This is most efficiently accomplished with transportation software
standardized and modularized to be
mostly, but not completely identical among the users. This does not mean that
participants in the System 1
must use the same software -- to the contrary, an insurance provider might use
it's software only
standardized to provide insurance data in a format for users to download with
confidence that particular data
will be in particular fields. However, it would be most efficient for such
particular users to use a readily
available module to upload and download the data.
The entire shipping process from order-placement to delivery is modularized
into blocks of code,
individual programs, or applets (herein referred to as modules) used or called
upon by a particular kind of the
user to perform a shipping procedure as needed. For example, a shipper, might
use an order processing
module (which could access an order processing module in a Customer's Computer
System 64) to receive
and process orders, an inventory module (which could access an inventory
module in an Inventory
Provider's Computer system 62) to monitor the shipper's inventory, rating
module (which could access rating
modules in various carriers' computer systems 55-58) to calculate shipping
charges, a documentation
module (which could access a documentation requirement module in an Export
Regulations Provider's
Computer System 72) to generate required documentation, a payables module
(which could access billing
modules of various service providers' computer systems 55-76) to approve and
possibly electronically settle
vendors' billings, a tracking module (which could access tracking modules in
various carrier's computer
systems 55-58) to track shipments, or an analysis module to generate business
or market analysis reports.
These modules may reside in the User's Computer system 2, or the latest
version of the modules may be
downloaded as needed.
Second, the systems are partially user-defined in that the composition of an
individual user's
Database 30 would include essentially only what that user would need. So, for
example, if the user is only
engaged in trucking, it would be wasteful to include data corresponding to
AirFreight Database 32 or
SeaFreight Database 34, or to waste time downloading it for local processing.
This is advantageous over
the prior arf approach of attempting to centrally manage data that a
particular user would not need.
Second, a particular user's computer system is partially user-defined by a
setting of system defaults.
Usually, such defaults would be arbitrarily set, but in the present invention,
data used for a first shipment (or
transportation transaction) automatically sets the defaults for the next
shipment (or transaction}. This
approach is implements an assumption that the handling of one shipment is an
efficient predictor of the
handling of the next shipment, and implementing the assumption is greatly
preferable over the user setting
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defaults one by one. This is especially true where the handling of a shipment
or other activity is so
complicated that the prior approach of individually entering data (ore even
individually setting defaults) is
cumbersome.
Accordingly, the present invention is not totally centrally managed and not
totally user defined.
Users share some common ground, as needed. For efficiency, as mentioned above,
the software can be
designed to reflect certain symmetries in the transportation industry so that
customizing the software for a
particular kind of user can be kept to a minimum. One aspect of the design is
the use of a single format for
multi-modal international cargo handling. This generic format allows
essentially the same monitor screen
design to be used by different kinds of users, e.g., air and sea
transportation service providers, and
importers and exporters. (See again the subsequently discussed FIG. 100.)
A map through the cargo transport morass is provided. This map is generically
usable in tracking
and managing cargo shipments, even very different kinds of users. An
"information expressway" is used to
control obtaining, managing, and conveying data. Note that the map is used
herein generically to subsume
equivalents such as a chart, face, plot, or other such representation, each of
which can be employed to
guide a user through the transport morass.
A generic documentation and communication functionality preferably has two
features. First, there
is a "no-key" approach that permits documents to be generated with little or
no human intervention (i.e., to
avoid having to type the same information more than once). Second, the
particular user's transaction is
computer-processed to determine what documentation is required and what
additional documentation could
be useful. (No-key customs clearance and no-key load planning and pallet
building are also provided.}
Automated Cass Reports and Profit-loss ledger are features of this
funcitonality.
A generic AutoCalc functionality permits different kinds of users to
automatically determine what
services are required to move a cargo shipment from origin to destination,
what vendors perform the
services, and what costs are associated with the vendors providing the
services. The AutoCalc functionality
applies a "sell rate" (based on a sell tariff for a shipper), a default tariff
for the type of shipment, or a
percentage markup over cost. The AutoCalc functionality facilitates the
providing of quotes to customers
and the storing of the quotes. Further, AutoCaic is preferably written in a
language compatible with
accounting software (e~. ,.-, for a Windows application such as PeachTree) to
permit seamless additional
accounting without errors or wasted time from re-entering data.
A generic Profit Check functionality permits a standardized data entry,
viewing, searching, and
payable-approval mechanism for cost-base accounting.
A generic shipper scheduler (e.g., flight scheduler) permits automated
determination of the "best"
routing -- including consideration of cost -- for shipping parameters. This
functionality reveals the importance
of a relational database approach, which facilitates efficiently searching by
the maximum criteria applicable
to the data fields in the relational database (e.g., Database 30).
A generic COB (Confirmed On Board) manager functionality tracks shipments not
yet confirmed on
flights (ships, etc.), and provides notice to all associated with such
shipments. Direct connection to shippers
such as airlines (with EDI if necessary), preferably automatically each hour,
can provide fresh data con
COB's, schedules, and rate changes.
For consolidations of shipments, another generic approach is utilized. Data
for consolidation
parameters are obtained and used to generate a monthly consolidation schedule.
A generic consolidation
generator uses the data for building and managing international freight
consolidations.
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A generic scheduler uniquely combines a daily planner with E-mail to help
ensure that what must be
done in fact gets done.
A generic POD manager functionality offers a standardized management system
for requesting and
storing delivery details.
A generic "help" system uses a "bug trap" to catch "bugs" in the computerized
system. This permits
central handling of problems and means for correcting them, including
distribution of improvements.
Additionally, there is automated security for the user's systems.
Accordingly, by virtue of the present invention, such diverse users as import
l export and air l sea J
trucking can efficiently utilize the same system. Computer screens and reports
provide appropriate
information to avoid losing a shipment, as well as to determine at a glance
what the status of an undelivered
shipment is. Appropriate users are continually reminded of shipments that are
not yet scheduled for
departure, and "to-Do" lists based on pending shipments, upcoming lock-outs,
and even individual reminders
are generated for each user. With the click of a computer mouse, a user can
view a manifest and then add
or remove shipments, and then close the consolidation with another click.
Further, by judicious use of defaults and by recycling data (like rates,
schedules, and shipping
partners) to fill in redundant details in forms, a booking can be generated
(or a consolidation can be closed)
in less than two minutes. Document selection and generation in electronic or
hard copy form is handled
automatically, thereby avoiding "wrong-document' problems: customs will not
hold a shipment due to
missing Export Declarations; foreign customs will not seize the shipment due
to a missing Certificate of
Origin. This is particularly helpful where a user does not know what documents
are needed for a particular
kind of shipment in a particular nation. By automated periodic linking
(e.~.Lc., hourly) with other users computer
systems, there would be electronic SED reporting, clearance checks (for
brokers and clearance checks), etc.
More particularly, but still on a general level, FIG. 2 shows an Overview of a
Representative Method
carried out in accordance with the present invention. Computer System 2, using
Computer Program 26
displays an in progress List of Scheduled Events 100 (see FIG's. 5-12,
subsequently discussed). The user
reviews a displayed list and options that are displayed by the Monitor 16 and
enters data in International
Shipping Information Field 102 (FIG'S. 16-49) via Keyboard 6.
There is a procedure to process orders as illustrated in FIG. 2. The user Gets
a Shipping Order 108
(e.~c ., a customer calls to buy 500 widgets shipped to the customer). Next,
the user Enters Shipment Details
110 into the Computer System 2, (FIG'S 50-59 and 59-B) and Calculates Rates
114 (FIG's 60-62). The user
can then choose to generate a Quote or Booking 118 (FIG. 63).
Although a quote conveyed and is merely stored (FIG. 63), a booking involves
Scheduling 122
(FIG's 64-69), which can include evaluating routing options and schedules on
file (e.cL, using an Air Freight
Providers Computer System 57). The user then Chooses A Carrier 124 (also
FIG's. 64-69) to book the
cargo ), i.e., make an order for a shipment).
When the Scheduling 122 is completed, the User Computer System 2 is next used
to Generate
Documents 134 (FIG's. 70-86). Next, Shipments are Tracked 136 (FIG's 87-91 ),
which leads to Generated
Reports 138 (FIG'S 92-99).
Turning now to a more particular description of the present invention, FIG. 3,
Security Clearance, is
a security computer screen encountered when fogging on one of the User
Computer Systems 2 and a
Computer Program 26. A password is entered so that the respective System 2
allows only authorized
users to operate the respective Computer Program 26. The user enters a name in
Name Field 140, and
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clicks an OK Button 142. If the user's name is not recognized, the User System
Computer 2 cannot be
accessed.
In FIG. 4, is an Opening screen that presents the user with a greeting.
Opening Screen 4 signals
that the user has been allowed access to the Computer Program 26, and that the
User Computer System 2
has stored the user's name "Doug" in Field 144. (In the present example, the
respective User Computer
System 2 is one of the Freight Forwarding Providers Computer System 55, and
the user's name is "Doug".)
The Freight Forwarding Providers Computer System 55 displays the Date 146 and
Time 148, and allows the
user to click Proceed Button 150 to proceed on to the next screen.
In FIG. 5 (Shipments in Progress) the Freight Forwarding Providers Computer
System 55 displays
several columns that allow the user to see at a glance a list of shipments
that are in progress and need
attention that Date 146 in Date Field 154. The screen FIG. 5 displays the list
by shipment, a shipment being
comprised of at least one shipment segment -- usually many segments. For
example, transport on a vessel
or airplane could be a segment, storage in a warehouse could be another,
transport by truck still another,
customs clearance still another, etc. Each column shows a status of progress.
Shipment Column 156
identifies the shipments in progress; Pickup Date Column 158; Whse In Column
160, indicates the date that
a shipment was received in the warehouse; All? Column 162 indicates whether or
not all of the cargo in that
shipment has been received; Master BIL Date Column 164 indicates the date that
the shipment was
assigned to a master bill of fading; Whse Out Column 166 indicates the date
that the cargo left the
warehouse; Next COB Req. Column 168 indicates the next flight date that the
cargo is scheduled for
transport and whether or not the cargo confirmed on that flight; Arrival Date
Column 170 indicates the date
and time that the cargo arrived and was turned over to the customer at final
destination; and
TurnOverIDefiveryDate Column 172, is the date or time that shipment documents
were turned over for
clearance. For example, FIG. 5 shows that Shipment No. GC1 ORD-000 was picked
up on 2123197, received
in the warehouse on 2/24197, and all the cargo was present; this shipment was
assigned to a master bill of
lading on 2/25/97, and was removed from the warehouse on 2124197 for a flight
departing on 2126!97 which
requires the user to confirm the cargo On Board on the flight that arrives at
its destination on 2/28/97 at
3:OOAM. The user would request a proof of delivery, which in the present
example, remains outstanding. By
clicking (eg, with a mouse as one of the Data Input Devices 8) View Shipment
Button 173, the user will see
a display of shipment information on Computer Monitor 16.
FIG. 6 Daily Cut-Offs List is a computer screen listing all master bills that
are scheduled to be closed
or finished in the next 5 days. House bills are assigned to master bills
(i.e., to a "master"), then on a certain
date that a master is closed (i.e., house bills are assigned to the master), a
permanent record of the master
is formed, and the next scheduled consolidations are closed or "locked out."
In FIG. 6, the cut-off date in
Cut-off Date Column 174 shows the dates that a representative master is
scheduled to be closed. The
MasterBill Column 176 shows the identifying numbers for consolidations. Origin
Column 178 shows the port
codes for the places that consolidations are being put together. Destination
Column 180 shows the port
codes for the final place that the consolidations are going to.
FIG. 7 Daily Arrivals List is used for import cargo. This screen is used to
show what cargo (if any) is
scheduled to arrive at respective destinations within the next 5 days.
Preferably, a corresponding origin
would also be shown. The displayed information includes: ETA Date Column 182,
which is the estimated
date of arrival; Master No. Column 184, which identifies the number of the
import consolidation; Port of
Destination Column 186, which shows the destination of the user services; and
Destination Terminal Column
188, which.shows where the cargo would be available.
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FIG. 8 Cargo Available List is a screen which lists cargo scheduled to be
available. When cargo
comes into an airport that would be shown on the previous screen, there is a
certain amount of time that
certain processes have to be done before the cargo is actually available for
pick up. Columns shown on the
screen FIG. 8 include: Avail Date Column 190, which shows a date that the
cargo is scheduled to be
available to pick up; Breakdown Warehouse Column 192, which shows a location
for cargo; Consignee
Name Column 194, which shows a person to whom the cargo is to be delivered;
and City And State Column
196, which shows a location of the consignee.
FIG. 9 User Scheduled Events List is a computer screen that shows Doug 144 is
the user
recognized by Computer System 55, as shown in Name Field 191. The screen
displays a listing of events
that Doug has scheduled on that day, 03/22/97, in Date 146. The events
represent the user's "to-do list,"
and can include memos or notes, for example notes regarding scheduled
shipments or segments of
shipments in progress (e.~c ., a scheduled future shipment). The user can look
at previous daily scheduled
events or future scheduled events by using Back Arrow 202, and Forward Arrow
204. Underneath the
Arrows 202 and 204, the user can type in a date in Date Search Field 206, to
search for the scheduled
events for that particular day. The user can click ADD Button 208 to add a new
event in Field 212 for the
displayed day. The user can click Today Button 210 to display scheduled events
for today's date, if he or
she has been scrolling through other days. The screen FIG. 9 lists Previous
Not-done and Next Not-done,
showing in this example that the user has an event Not-done in Box 216 on
3121/97, and that the user did
not mark off as completed with Done Button 260. The next date that the user
has something that needs to
be done is 3/25/97, shown in Field 220. There is also a Mail Message Box 222
which notes whether or not
the user has E-mail that has not marked off as having been read. The user
clicks on Envelope 224 to go to
another screen to read and send mail. (A Daily Scheduler Computer Sutton 218
causes a display of FIG.
13.)
In FIG. 10 Inter-office Mail List the screen displays the user's name, i.e.,
"Doug", in Field 144. The
screen FIG. 10 displays the name of the person who sent the message in Field
228, the date that the
message was sent in Field 230, and displays the message in Field 232. The user
can mark off the E-mail as
having been read by marking Box 234. The user can delete the message with
Button 236, forward the
message to someone else with Button 238, reply with Button 240 or print the
message with Button 242. The
user can click on Button 244 to display any messages that have not been
deleted but have been marked as
being read. The user can click Button 246 to get a new screen FIG. 11 to send
a new message to another
user.
FIG. 11 Memo Send is a screen used for responding to a current message or
creating a new
message. The user inputs to whom the message will be sent in field 248, writes
the message in the Text
Box 250, clicks Button 252 when the user intends to send the message, and
clicks Exit Button 254 to leave
the screen FIG 11.
FIG. 12 Revised Inter-office Mail shows a version of FIG. 10 modified after
the user has clicked
Button 244. The message that was sent to the user on 3/24/97 256 has been
marked off as read at Box
234, but was not displayed until the user clicked the Button 244. Exit Button
256 leads to a display of FIG.
13.
FIG. 13 is a Main Map screen that displays a "TRAFF/COP" version of the
present invention. The
various features the user can select are as follows: A Daily Scheduler Button
264 for returning to FIG. 5; Exit
TraffiCop Button 266 to end running of Computer Program 26; Police Box Button
268 for reporting problems
and suggestions to a system administrator via FIG. 13, etc.; Work with
Individual Shipments Button 270 for
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handling individual shipments via FIG.48; Work with Masters and Consolidations
Button 272 for handling
masters via FIG. 78; Tracking Button 274 for tracking shipments via FIG. 87;
Reports Button 276 for
generating reports via FIG. 92; and Input Expressway Button 278 for inputting
international shipping
information 102 via FIG. 16.
More particularly, when the user clicks on the Police Box Button 268, the
screen illustrated in FIG.
14 (Comments) is displayed to allow the user to advise the User Computer
System 2 administrator of any
bugs in the Freight Forwarding Providers Computer System 57 or any corrections
or suggestions the user
might have for improving the Freight Forwarding Providers Computer System 55.
The user inputs his or her
name in Name Field 280, indicates where the bug/required improvement exists in
Field 282, what action
caused the error or needs to be improved in Field 284, and completes a
detailed explanation Field 286. The
user then clicks on a Return to Program Button 288 and the message is logged
for reading by the system
administrator.
FIG. 15 Comment Access is solely for use by the system's administrator. This
screen displays all
messages users have entered via FIG. 14. For example, the user Doug in Field
144 shown in Box 290 was
entered on 3/22197 as shown in Field 292. Text input in Field 282 is shown in
Field 294. Freight Forwarding
Providers Computer System 57 also has a "bug trap" that automatically notices
some errors (what, when,
who) and creates a record of information about the error for reading by the
system's administrator. The bugs
are reported in a code-specific manner, e_.g" a location in the code where the
error developed. The record
has messages that a particular one of the users might not see, and might not
even be aware occurred, but
the Freight Forwarding Providers Computer System 57 automatically informs the
system's administrator with
a Field 296 about the bugs so that they can be fixed. The first illustrative
message in FIG. 15 indicates that
an error occurred on 3121/97, as shown in Date Field 298, in the Expressway
Inland Field 300 after an
update function in Field 300. The user Doug in Field 144 (as in Field 302) was
using the Freight Forwarding
Providers Computer System 57 again (in Field 304). The present screen gives
this kind of an error
message to the system's administrator to fix the error.
After the user clicks the Input Expressway Button 278, in the Main Menu, FIG.
13, the screen
illustrated in F1G. 16 Expressway On Ramp is displayed. This is the main
screen for the information
expressway. FIG. 13 displays a map used to find a way through the process of
managing international
transportation. A Car 263 marks the user's location and progress. In FIG. 13,
the Car 263 is not yet
positioned along the map or highway but compares FIG. 39, FIG. 40, etc. An
Input Expressway Button 278
marks the "On Ramp" for Car 263. A plurality of clocks show time around the
world, which corresponds to
subsequently discussed cut-off times encountered as the Car 263 indicates its.
progress. also subsequently
discussed are signs and flags designating significant events along the mapped
route of Car 263. There are
three categories of information to input: Vendor Manager for handling vendor
information, Routing & Rating
for handling scheduling information, and Client Manager for handling customer
information. The user inputs
the type of vendor to modify in a Service To Modify Field 312. A drop down box
option for Service To Modify
Field 312 shows six types of vendors: Agent 322, Broker 344, Inland Carrier
360, Port-To-Port Carrier 362,
Terminal 364, and Other Service Providers 306. In a Country to Modify Field
314, the user inputs
information needed to determine rates to and from particular points, and
routing times and flights or vessels
between various points. In the Client to Modify Field 316, the user inputs
client information, such as how the
clients are serviced, rated, context information and such. Other Routes Field
318 is for other information that
may be needed at this point. For example; a Master Air Waybill Pool (indicated
at Button 320) for storing
master air waybills for particular carriers. Each of fields 312, 314, and 316
show Drop Down Box options.
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In FIG. 17 (Revised Expressway On Ramp), An Inland Carrier 360 for the part of
transportation
which covers picking up the goods; Port-To-Port Carrier 362 for the part of
transportation that carries the
goods, from one port to another; or Other Service Providers 306, for the part
not affecting transportation
directly but affecting the handling and the cost of the goods, etc. FiG. 17
shows that the user has entered or
selected Agent 322 for the Service To Modify Field 312, prompting a display of
field FiG. 18.
FIG. 18 (Agent Broker Table) is a screen titled "Existing Agents on File". A
Box 324 displays a
listing of agents known to Computer System 55. (It should be understood that
the present example involves
a freight forwarding provider, such that an equivalent listing is provided as
appropriate for another kind of
provider.) When the user clicks on one of the agent listings displayed on the
FIG. 18 screen, the Computer
System 55 loads data pertaining to the corresponding agent into Editing Box
326. The user can then change
any information that is displayed in the Editing Box 326. The user can also
click on a Delete This Agent
Button 328 to remove data corresponding to the agent from the screen FIG. 19.
Clicking on an Undefete
Agent Button 330 displays FIG. 19 (Undelete Agent). FIG. 19 in turn displays a
listing of the agents that
have been "deleted" so that the user is able to choose an agent to "undelete",
i.e., make the agent data
visible to the screen of FIG. 18. In FIG.18 the user can click on a Add New
Agent Button 332 to clear the
Editing Box 326, allowing the user to enter new information pertaining to a
new agent (i.e., agent data that
has not been previously entered into the Computer System 55}. There is also a
Broker Drop Down Box
334, as part of the Editing Box 326, which will link that particular agent to
a particular broker characterized by
information preferably from a prior transaction. Accordingly, whenever a
future shipment is routed through
that particular agent, that particular broker would be the default broker.
Similarly, as shown in FIG. 18, in
sending a shipment to the default broker, there is a default for a particular
terminal. Preferably such defaults
for a present or future shipment ail correspond to data entered for a prior
shipment. If the user, (again in this
case, a freight forwarder) would have to pay the agent a handling cost, such
cost is entered or displayed at
Agent Handling Cost Field 336. If the agent has no handling cost, the user may
want to assign a handling
cost as part of the user's profit. If the user marks a check in Box 338, as
shown in FIG. 18, the handling cost
is paid by the user to the agent. The Clearance Cost Field 340 is for data
representing the cost that the user
has to pay an agent when the agent performs a Customs clearance on the freight
forwarder's behalf.
In FIG. 20 (Broker Table), this screen allows the user to enter brokers that
will be performing the
Custom clearance on a particular shipment. The user can access this screen
FIG. 20 by the System
information Expressway, FIG's. 16-17, by choosing from the Service To Modify
Field 312 and highlighting
Broker 344 as one of the services. If the user clicks where a broker is
selected in Field 346, the Computer
System 55 will fill an Editing Box 350. The functionality is similar to that
of the Editing Box 326. The user
may also click on Add New Broker Button 352 to blank out the Editing Box 350,
for entering a new broker
into the Computer System 55 or changing any information as may be desired. The
cost charged by the
broker for clearance services is entered in Clearance Cost Field 351. The user
can click on the Delete This
Broker Button 354, which "deletes" the broker information from display or use
Undelete A Broker Button 356
to restore the display of the broker information.
When the user clicks on the Undelete A Broker Button 356, the Computer System
55 displays FIG.
21 (Undelete Broker) of all the brokers that have been deleted from display.
The user highlights one of
them, in this case "A-1 Brokerage Corp" in Field 348, and the broker is
displayed in FIG. 20.
FIG. 22 (Expressway Inland) allows the user to enter data corresponding to
those performing inland
carriage for a particular shipment. The user data could be derived from other
user's systems, e_.cg, the
Trucking Providers Computer System 58 or Other Providers Computer System 76.
The user can access
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FIG. 22 from the Information Expressway, FIG. 17, by choosing the Service to
Modify Field 312 and by
highlighting and clicking Inland Carrier 360. In FlG 22 is a Country Location
ID Box 386 that the user can
click to display all country locations known to the Computer System 55. The
user countries are designated
by a two-letter ISO country code. FIG. 22 also displays specific delivery
areas where the Computer System
55 does not have complete data. The additional data pertains to Loose Carton
Rates Column 366, Air
Container Rates Column 368, and Sea Container Rates Column 370. The Computer
System 55 determines
the needed rates by cross-referencing the two-letter ISO country code and the
first three digits of an inland
location postal code of that country. The results are displayed in columns
below the corresponding rate,
e.~c ., the Loose Carton Rates Column 366 is needed for HK shown at Field 372
(there are no significant
postal digits in Hong Kong, and thus Field 372 is partially blank), Air
Container Rates Column 368 is needed
for US479 (United States and part of a Zip Code beginning with "479") shown at
Field 374, and Sea
Container Rates Column 370 for US658 shown at Field 376. The user can click
any highlighted two-letter
ISO country code, and the Computer System 55 will automatically display screen
FIG. 23 (Revised
Expressway Inland).
FIG. 23 (Revised Expressway Inland) is a screen which allows the user to view
and enter the data
discussed in FIG. 22. The user can enter a two-letter ISO country code in
Country Location ID Box 386 and
a three digit Postal Code in Postal Code Field 390, and the Computer System 55
will merge the data from
Country Location ID Box 386 and Postal Code Field 390 to produce the data
displayed in Postal Code ID
Field 392. The Computer System 55 displays vendor-related data in FIG. 23 from
left to right, and uses this
data to determine the cost of using the services when making subsequently
described computations. FIG.
23 has been used to display a Vendor in Loose Cargo Vendor Field 394 (which
could be an air or a sea
freight trucker), a Vendor in Air Container Vendor Field 396 and a Vendor in
Dray Vendor Field 398, which is
for sea container truckers. When the user clicks on one of the vendors
displayed in FIG. 23, e.,g_, Transonic
Logistic. the Computer System 55 loads corresponding data for the vendor into
Editing Box 400. The user
can change any information displayed in the Editing Box 400. The user can
click an Add An Inland Vendor
Button 428 to clear the Editing Box 400 to enter a new vendor. For this
example using Transonic Logistics,
the Terminal Field 402 shows as ORD, (the code for O'Hare Airport, Chicago,
IL). The transit time from a
postal code shown in the Postal Code ID Field 392 to a terminal shown in the
Terminal Field 402 is a time of
1 day. This time is entered into Time Field 404. Rates for the vendor
displayed in the Loose Cargo Vendor
Field 394 are displayed in an industry-accepted format, beginning with a
minimum charge shown in Minimum
Charge Field 406, a +100 pound rate shown in +100 Pound Rate Field 408, a +500
pound rate shown in
+500 Pound Rate Field 410, etc.
In a preferred embodiment there would be a box for the standard loose sea
freight charges
displayed as WIM Rate Field 416 (discussed subsequently in FIG. 27, Field
463). The standard air container
types are displayed in Fields 414, i.e., for an LD3 container, an LD7
container, etc. The related cost Air
Container Drop Charge Field 412 displays data if the vendor has to "drop" the
container for loading and then
return to pick-up the container. The Dray Container Vendor Field 398 displays
corresponding vendors. The
Dray Terminal Field 418 is for sea freight terminal data. A 20' Container Rate
Field 420, a 40' Container
Rate Field 427, etc. are for dray rates data for corresponding container
sizes. A "drop" charge is shown in
Sea Container Drop Charge Field 422, which is similar to the air container
"drop" charge mentioned
previously.
Many vendors shown in FIG. 23 will have duplicate rates for different delivery
zones shown in the
Postal Code ID Field 392. For instance, Transonic (in Loose Cargo Vendor Field
394) may assign the same
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rates to US601, US602, US603, and US604 in the Postal Code ID Field 392. The
user can create duplicate
the rates and corresponding vendor by clicking a Create Duplicate Button 424
to show a pop-up field for
entering a postal code for the duplicate. The user can click Generate Rate
Request Button 426 to generate
a rate request for the postal code id's shown in Postal Code ID Field 392.
This is accomplished by
highlighting a displayed vendor and clicking Generate Rate Request Button 426.
The Computer System 55
then generates a rate request to the highlighted carrier by means of the
output device 15.
FIG. 24 (Expressway Port-to-port) allows the user to enter and manipulate data
that the
Computer System 55 uses to determine port-to-port rates. The user data could
be derived, for example, from
Air Freight Providers Computer System 57, Sea Freight Providers Computer
System 56, or Other Providers
Computer System 76 as shown in FIG. 1. The user can then access this screen
FIG. 24 by the System
Information Expressway, FIG. 17, by choosing the Service To Modify Field 312,
highlighting Port-To-Port
Carrier 362, and clicking thereon. This screen FIG. 24 displays a carrier in
Carrier List 429, which includes
all the carriers known to the Computer System 55. The user may choose an
existing carrier by highlighting
and clicking on a carrier name in Carrier List 429.
The Computer System 55 will then display a FIG. 25 (Revised Expressway Port-to-
port) screen.
The user can then highlight a carrier to view, e.~3~.c ., Northwest Airlines.
The corresponding information will
appear in Editing Box 434, which includes Carrier ID Field 435, which is a
unique identifier for an airline --
e.~c ., NW; MAWB Prefix Field 436, which is a unique three digit number for
each airline as a prefix for all
master air waybills, a Check Box 437 checked to indicate an air carrier rather
than a sea carrier, a Check
Box 438 to indicate IATA carrier (i.e., a member of the International Air
Transport Association); Carrier
Commission Percentage Field 439, which is for sales commission that generally
is paid to a sales agent for
the carrier, a Carrier Payment Terms Field 440 for the carrier's terms; a
Carrier Name And Address Field
441 for the corresponding information, including the carrier's phone number
and fax number; and Carrier
Surcharge Per Kilo Field 449, which would be applicable for surcharge data for
all carrier routes (discussed
in FIG. 27). The user can then click Add a Carrier Button 430 which will clear
the Editing Box 434 and allow
the user to enter new carrier data. A list of Airports in Origin Port Column
433 having a corresponding three
letter port code will also appear once a carrier is highlighted.
A FIG. 26 (Further Revised Expressway Port-to-port) screen displays the result
of the user's
selecting ORD in Origin Port Column 433 in FIG. 25. The Computer System 55
displays a list of destination
ports in Dest. Column 451. Items in Dest. Column 451 are displayed with a
solid Check Box 452 for ports
with rates on file. By clicking, for example, on a Marked Check Box 453
showing HKG, the Computer
System 55 displays FIG. 27.
FIG. 27 (Still Further Revised Expressway Port-to-port) shows the screen
updated after the user
chose destination HKG in Destination Column 453 of FIG. 26. Rates on file
corresponding to the carrier (NW
Airlines), Origin (ORD, i.e., O'Hare), and destination HKG (i.e., Hong Kong)
are displayed in Rate Tariff 455
pertaining to the carrier chosen. In this case the user has selected Northwest
Airlines in Rate Tariff Box
455. The user may click Update Rates Button 458, and the Rate Tariff Box 455
becomes available for
updating. If the user selects a port code from the Dest. Column 451 where
there are no rates on file, for
example BEI, the Rate Tariff Box 455 displays only empty fields. The user may
then click on the Update
Rates Button 458 to enter the rates that are required. A minimum charge in
Field 460 shows a simple
minimum amount of $55.00 that the carrier NW Airlines will charge for handling
this shipment. Charges for
loose cargo as shown in Fields 461 which is for cargo tendered loose to the
airline is rated on a per kilo
basis. For example, for a +1 kilo category the charge is $10.95 per kilo.
Fields 462 display a base rate, a
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pivot rate, and an over-pivot rate for each of the air container type
displayed in the Rate Tariff Box 455. Air
carriers often assess a minimum disbursement charge and a disbursement percent
(shown as a percent
value of the collected amount) for collect shipments. This information, if
applicable, is entered in Fields 464.
If the carrier selected from the Carrier List 429 provides ocean freight
services, then the user would
input relevant data into Field 463. For example, ocean carriers generally will
charge the user for loose cargo
based on the weight or measure and this charge is shown in a W/M field of
Fields 463. The generally
accepted standard for comparison is 1000 kilos to 1 cubic meter, whichever is
greater, and the standard is
used by Computer System 55 as the rating basis. Ocean carriers also handle
various types of containers
shown in the Fields 463 as 20' Std(standard), 20'H(~(hi-cube), 20'OT(open-
top), 20'Refer(refrigerated),
40'Std(standard), 40'HQ(hi-cube), 40'OT(open-top), and 40'Refer(refrigerated).
When done entering the
relevant rates and carrier information, the user can click Exit Expressway
Button 431 to exit screen FIG 27.
FIG. 28 (Terminal Location) is a screen that allows the user to enter and
manipulate information that
the Freight Forwarding Providers Computer System 55 for terminals. The user
data could be derived from
FIG.1, Warehouse Providers Computer System 74 or Other Providers Computer
System 76. The user can
access this screen FIG. 28 by the System Information Expressway, FIG's. 16-17,
choosing Service to Modify
Field 312, and highlighting Terminal 364. In FIG. 28 is a Box 465 that
displays a listing of terminal locations
on file. When the user clicks on one of the terminal listings displayed on the
FIG. 28 screen, the Freight
Forwarding Providers Computer System 55 loads data pertaining to the
corresponding terminal into Editing
Box 466. Editing Box 466 has delete and undelete functions analogous to those
detailed with respect to
FIG. 18 and FIG. 19. However, the present screen has unique data entry fields,
such as Contact Name
Field 469 and hours of operation defined by Open Time Field 470 and Close Time
Field 471, and User
Notes Field 472. To enter data characterizing a new terminal, the user can
click Add New Terminal Button
468 to clear the Editing Box 466 and enter the data pertaining to a new
terminal. The cost due to the
particular terminal for provided services is entered in Terminal Charge Column
473. Terminals charge in
different ways, as indicated in Per Shipment Field 474, Per Pound Field 475,
Per Cubic Meter Field 476, and
Per (Weight or Measure) W/M Field 477 subject to a minimum charge in the
Minimum Charge Field 478.
Terminals generally need a local inland provider displayed to transfer cargo
between the terminal and a port.
This is known as a terminal transfer, for which there is a charge. The user
selects a vendor for the terminal
transfer by clicking on a List Box 479 and by selecting from a list of inland
carriers that would be displayed.
The terminal transfer vendor is chosen from the list of inland vendors and
terminal transfer rates entered in a
manner analogous to that for terminal charges in Terminal Charge Column 473.
Accordingly, whenever a
future shipment is routed through that chosen terminal, that chosen inland
carrier would be the default
terminal transfer.vendor.
FIG. 29 (Country Code Table) is the screen displayed after the user enters a
country name in the
Country To Modify Field 314 in FIG. 16. This user data could be derived from
FIG 1, the Export Regulations
Providers Computer System 72, Customs Provider Computer system 60, or Other
Providers Computer
System 76. The user enters the country name as it is to appear on documents in
Country Name Field 483,
the two-letter ISO country code in ISO Field 484 (this data is reused in FIG.
23 in FieIdCountry Location ID
Box 386, for example) and the number of significant digits that country
requires to determine local delivery or
pick up rates in Rate Field 485 (refer to FIG. 23 at Postal Code Field 390).
Documentary requirements for
the country are entered by the user for sea shipments in a row of Fields 486
and air/land shipments in a row
of Fields 487 (thus, each document is listed twice in parallel rows). Below an
abbreviated name in Fields
486 and 487 is a check box to indicate whether a corresponding document is
needed for the service and
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country. Preferred functionality allows the user to enter a number to produce
multiple copies of each
document. Because the necessity for many documents is related to the value of
the goods being
transported, there is a corresponding dollar amount at or over which the
document is required. If there is no
corresponding value to the marked document then the default value is zero and
the document is presumed
to be needed in all cases. The Freight Forwarding Providers Computer System 55
uses this information to
determine what document output is needed for every transaction. The type of
documentation needed for
each country can also vary by mode of transport. Therefore, the user inputs
data for each mode of
transport. Examples of documentation produced by the Freight Forwarding
Providers Computer System 55
included in Fields 486 are as follows: Pforma (Proforma Invoice), CO
(Certificate of Origin), BR Inv.
(Brazilian Commercial Invoice), CA X (Canadian Export Declaration}, etc.
FIG. 30 (Three Letter Port Code) is a screen that allows the user to view and
enter data pertaining
to international ports. The user data could be derived from FIG 1, the Export
Regulations Provider Computer
System 72, the Customs Provider Computer System 60, or Other Providers
Computer System 76. In this
example the user has chosen to display Hong Kong. The present screen FIG. 30
shows a three-letter
airport code HKG in Field 497 for the Hong Kong Airport named fully in Field
498 and Hong Kong sea port
named fully in Field 499 with a schedule K number 58201 shown in Field 500.
Also displayed is the
insurance class 1 in Field 501 for the country of Hong Kong. The three-letter
airport code in Field 497 is an
internationally recognized identification for a specific airport. For U.S.
Customs purposes each foreign port
has been given a Schedule K number, and each U.S. Customs port has been given
a Schedule D number.
The Freight Forwarding Providers Computer System 55 uses this information to
generate U.S. Customs
related documents. Each country is assigned an insurance class in Field 501,
an insurance provider, e.4..
by the Insurance Providers Computer System 70 in FIG 1. The Freight Forwarding
Providers Computer
System 55 uses the insurance class entered in Field 501 to determine insurance
rates for shipments
between the user's country selected shown in Drop Down Box 502 and the country
displayed. The screen
FIG. 30 displays additional information which may be useful to the user such
as: how many carriers' rates
are on file covering service from ORD to Hong Kong, in Field 503; and how many
carriers' rates are on file
from Hong Kong to ORD in Field 504. Both the Fields 503 and 504 relate to user
data entered in FIG. 27
(Still Further Revised Port-to-port), which the user can either view or enter
by clicking Star Button 505 (rates
from the user's port) or a Star Button 506 (rates to the user's port). The
user can also set up carrier
schedules between a selected port in the Drop Down Box 502 and the destination
ports in Field 497, and
Field 499 by clicking Set up Schdl Button 507, which will bring up screen FIG.
31 (discussed later). Next the
user can enter special charges that are applicable to shipments between the
selected port in Drop Down Box
502 and selected ports in the Fields 497 and 499 for the chosen country
displayed in FIG. 30. The user
enters a name of an applicable charge at Field 508, and the vendor who will be
paid the charge is entered in
Field 509. The charge amount can be entered per shipment in Special Charge
Column 510, per kilo, and/or
a per weight measure basis and possibly subject to minimum charge in a manner
analogous to that of
Terminal Charge Column 473. The screen FIG. 30 displays an example of a
specific charge, named "fuel
surcharge" of $.10 per kilo with no minimum to be paid to UPS for all
shipments going to, or coming from,
HKG.
Color-coded Fields 514 on screen FIG. 30 are colored throughout the screens
displayed by Freight
Forwarding Providers Computer System 55 in the following manner: Yellow fields
(such as the port code
Field 497, the airport name Field 498, the seaport name Field 499, the
schedule DIK code Field 500, and the
insurance class Field 501 ) are required to be completed, and the user cannot
leave any screen unless the
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yellow fields have been completed; White fields (such as the surcharge name
Field 508, the surcharge
vendor Field 509, and the fields making up the Special Charges Column 510) is
a default for use only when
applicable, eg, when a special charge applies; And the dark blue fields (such
as the surcharge vendor Field
509) can be double clicked by user to obtain a drop down box to data "on the
fly" white progressing through
the screens. The Freight Forwarding Providers Computer System 55 will then
display the corresponding
data input screen, such as appears in FIG. 28, so the user can proceed to
enter required data. The
insurance class data in Field 501 is determined by the Freight Forwarding
Providers Computer System 55
from a user-entered matrix of rates (country or region, by class or commodity)
obtained from the Insurance
Providers Computer System 70 of FIG. 1 ) (see also FIG. 34). When the user
double clicks on Field 501 the
Freight Forwarding Providers Computer System 55 displays the FIG. 34 matrix in
pop-up fashion.
FIG. 31 (Carrier Rates Expressway) is displayed when a user clicks on the Star
Buttons 505 or 506
shown in FIG. 30, which correspond to the number of rates on file in the
Fields 503 and 504. The user in this
example selected the Star 505 corresponding to rates for HKG "'FROM ORD". The
present screen FIG. 31
displays all carriers with rates on file in Carrier Box 520 from the origin
ORD in Field 518 to the destination of
HKG in Field 519. A Carrier to Display Box 521 shows a carriers in the Freight
Forwarding Providers
Computer System 55 that the user selected to display. The user may, if the
carrier desired is not displayed
and therefore not in the Freight Forwarding Providers Computer System, double
click the blue field in
Carrier To Display Box 521 to be taken to Expressway Port-to-port FIG. 24
where the new carrier may be
entered. After a carrier is selected in Box 521, the Rate Tariff Box 455 is
displayed (see FIG. 27). If the
carrier Box 521 shows no record of rates on file for the route displayed, an
empty record is created by the
Freight Forwarding Providers Computer System 55 and displayed in the Rate
Tariff Box 455. The fields in
Rate Tariff Box 455 are locked to prevent accidental changes, but can be
unlocked as previously discussed.
The user has two options when finished with entering carrier's rates: click
the Schedule Button 524
or click the Return Button 525. By clicking the Return Button 525 FIG. 30 is
displayed. if the user clicks the
Schedule Button 524 a new screen FIG. 32 is displayed to allow the user to
enter data corresponding to
carrier routings. The user data would preferably be derived from FIG. 1 Air
Freight Providers Computer
System 57, Sea Freight Providers Computer System 56, or Other Providers
Computer System 76. The
Freight Forwarding Providers Computer System 55 loads the corresponding code
for a selected carrier in
Field 526, the code for the origin port in Field 527, and the code for the
destination port in Field 528 into the
present screen in FIG 32. If the code in Field 526 indicates a carrier that
will move the cargo via air
transport, then the user checks air transport Box 529. Otherwise, the Freight
Forwarding Providers
Computer System 55 will know that the user intends to use a sea carrier. In
the case of air transport, the
user enters the flight numbers in fields 530 - 533 that will be used to fly
from the origin in Field 527 to the
destination in Field 528. !f the user enters a flight number in Field 530 that
the Freight Forwarding Providers
Computer System 55 recognizes, the present screen FIG. 32 will display the
origin in Field 534 and the
destination in Field 535 for the flight. The user may viewledit more details
about the flight designated in Field
530 by clicking the View Record Button 536. If the user entered a flight
number in Field 530 that is not
recognized by the Freight Forwarding Providers Computer System 55, then
neither the origin nor the
destination of the flight will be shown in Fields 534 and 535. In this case,
the user must click the View
Record Button 536 to enter details about the flight in Field 530. A View
Record button (not shown) will then
be displayed on the screen FIG. 30 for each of the other flights in Fields 531
- 533 as flight numbers are
entered by the user. In other words, the user determines which flight to view
by clicking a View Record
button corresponding to the desired flight. Often, carriers do not move cargo
directly between two points, but
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instead connect shipments on a number of flights. Each flight number is
displayed in order in the following
fields: 530, 531, 532, 533, from the origin in Field 527 to the final
destination in Field 528. For ocean freight
schedules, the user does not enter flight numbers, but instead clicks the View
Record Button 536 to direct
Freight Forwarding Providers Computer System 55 to load screen FIG. 33
(Carrier Schedule).
In FIG. 33 (Carrier Schedule} the user may view existing flights and enter new
flights (or view
existing and enter new sailing schedules). The Freight Forwarding Providers
Computer System 55 has
loaded certain details from Carrier Routing screen FIG. 32, such as a flight
number in Field 537. the flight
origin in Field 538, and the flight destination in Field 539. The effective
date of the flight in Field 540 and the
ending date in Field 541 may be entered by the user for flights or schedules
that are temporary. Otherwise,
the Freight Forwarding Providers Computer System 55 keeps the record active
indefinitely. For the selected
flight in Field 537, the present screen FIG. 33 displays the cut off time,
which is the latest time that the carrier
will accept cargo for the flight in Field 537; the cut off date in Field 543,
which is in number of days relative to
departure (i.e., 2 days before departure date is displayed as "-2"); the
departure time in Field 544 (the
departure date is always 0); the arrival time in Field 545; and the transit
time in Field 546 (where the
displayed "2" signifies 2 days after departure date). The days on which the
flight specified in Fiefd 537
operates (departs) are indicated by the user marking an appropriate day box in
a Days Of The Week Row
547 of check boxes that correspond to days of a week. The types of shipper-
loaded containers accepted for
carriage on the flight designated in Field 537 are indicated by the user
marking the appropriate Check Box
Column 548.
The user may enter a sea freight sailing schedule by clicking the Activate
Sailing Schedule Button
549. Sea Freight Providers Computer System 56 in FIG. 1 publish sailing
schedules on a monthly or bi-
monthly basis, and if the information fram those schedules is not
computerized, the information can be user-
entered here (up to 7 sailings). Again, the Carrier Schedule screen FIG. 33
will display the origin in Field 538
and the destination in Field 539 from the previous screen FIG. 32. The flight
code will of course be blank for
ocean schedules. The cut-off time in Field 542 and date in Field 543, the
departure time in Field 544 (not
required), arrival time in Field 545 (not required) and the transit time in
Field 546 are all entered by the user.
Each sail date Row 550 is noted with a corresponding vessel name/voyage number
in Row 551. When
finished entering and/or viewing schedules, the user clicks a Return Button
442 and FIG. 30 is again
displayed. The user can then view the Insurance Class List FIG. 34 by double
clicking the Insurance Class
Field 501 in FIG. 30. The Freight Forwarding Providers Computer System 55 then
displays a List of
insurance classes and the corresponding countries and regions. The insurance
class is in Row 517 and the
countries and regions covered are in Columns 516. The data for Row 517 and
Columns 516 are entered by
the user. However, it would be preferable to obtain the data from the
Insurance Providers Computer System
70 or Other Providers Computer System 76, as shown in FIG 1. Countries and
regions where the user
cannot receive insurance coverage are fisted as class zero in Column 515. When
finished the user returns
to the screen displayed in FIG 30.
As previously described in FIG. 30, the user may double click on dark blue
fields displayed on any
screen to load a drop down screen corresponding to the selected dark blue
field. As dark blue screens are
listed the user double clicks field on Vendor Providing Service Field 509 the
Freight Forwarding Providers
Computer System 55 displays a Special Vendor screen FIG. 35. A Vendor ID
Number 495 is automatically
assigned by the Freight Forwarding Providers Computer System 55. The user
enters a descriptive name of
a special service that the vendor is going to provide in Field 494. The user
enters the special vendor's name
in Field 493 and corresponding address information in Field 522. The rates
that the vendor will charge the
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WO 98/58303 PCT/US98/13063
user for providing the named service can be entered on a basis of per shipment
in Field 489, a per kilo in
Field 490, andlor a per weighUmeasure in Field 491, subject to a minimum
charge in Field 492. The special
vendor rates in Fields 489-492 are used by the Freight Forwarding Providers
Computer System 55 to
calculate costs of the special service for shipments moving to and from a
country. The user then clicks a
Return Button 488 on the screen FIG. 35 to return to FIG 30.
When the user clicks on the Service Set Up Button 507, the Freight Forwarding
Providers Computer
System 55 displays FIG. 36 (Transit Type) which is a list of user-defined
services. Each service has a
numerical designation, for example from ORD to HKG, Freight Forwarding
Providers Computer System 55
has assigned for ocean freight the number zero: consol air freight the number
one, direct air freight the
number two, and urgent air freight the number three. Likewise, for HKG to ORD,
the Freight Forwarding
Providers Computer System 55 has designated ocean freight the number four,
consol air freight the number
five, direct air freight the number six and urgent air freight the number
seven. The user would select the
appropriate service to edit by entering the corresponding number into Field
512 and then clicking OK Button
511. The Freight Forwarding Providers Computer System 55 would then load the
screen displayed in FIG.
37. The screen (Consol Vendor Add) FIG. 37, allows the user to select default
vendors and carriers for the
service and route chosen in the previous screen FIG. 36. In this example, when
the user chooses number
one for Field 512 in FIG. 36, the screen FIG. 37 displays an existing record
for service from ORD to HKG for
consolidated air. The user selects a default origin agent in Field 443, an
origin terminal in Field 444, a Port-
to-port carrier in Field 445, a destination agent broker in Field 446, and a
destination terminal Field 447. The
screen FIG. 37 displays the aforementioned as dark blue fields, permitting the
user to double click the
appropriate field to enter new data or edit existing vendor data. For example,
to edit a destination agent
broker Field 446, the user double clicks on the corresponding field, and the
Freight Forwarding Providers
Computer System 55 displays the Agent Broker Table FIG. 18. Once all vendors
have been specified in
FIG. 37 by the user, the Freight Forwarding Providers Computer System 55 later
uses costs associated with
each specified vendor to calculate the total cost of consolidated air service
for future shipments entered by
the user. In addition to future costs, the user can establish a schedule for
future consolidation service in
Fields 448 by selecting check box to correspond with the day of the week and a
time for that day. The
Freight Forwarding Providers Computer System 55 can later determine a
consolidation schedule in FIG. 96.
The user can enter a sell tariff by clicking a Sell Tariff Button 456. The
sell tariff entered by the user
will be applied to shipments routed as specified, e.g:, ORD to HKG (unless the
customer has an overriding
tariff on file, as discussed later). If a sell tariff for the routing ORD to
HKG is recognized by the Freight
Forwarding Providers Computer System 55, the Button 456, is marked "View Sell
Tariff'. If a sell tariff is not
recognized by the Freight Forwarding Providers Computer System 55, then the
Button 456 is marked "Sell
Tariff Needed".
When the user clicks the Button 456, the Freight Forwarding Providers Computer
System 55
displays the Rate Table Entry screen FIG. 38. The Freight Forwarding Providers
Computer System 55
loads data from the origin port, the destination port and the service type
displayed in FIG. 37 into FIG. 38.
The sell tariff entered by the user will be applied to all user-entered
shipments moving from the origin port to
the destination port via the service type, unless there is an overriding
customer tariff recognized by the
Freight Forwarding Providers Computer System 55. The user enters a selling
tariff for the displayed origin
terminal charges in Fields 554, Origin Terminal Transfer Charge Fields 560,
Origin Services Fees Fields
566, Insurance Charges Fields 567, Special Charges Fields 572, Port-to-port
Charges Fields 578,
Destination Service Fees Fields 579, Destination Terminal Charges Fields 584,
and Destination Terminal
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Transfer Charges Fields 585. All charges displayed by the screen FIG. 38 have
been discussed previously
with the exception of Origin Handling Services Fields 567, which are usually
fixed fees charged by a provider
for documentation services and processing activities. As displayed in the
present screen FIG 38; per
shipment fees could include a handling charge in Field 568. a letter of credit
fee in Field 569, or a hazardous
material shipment handling fee in Field 569. When the user has finished
entering data, the present screen
FIG. 38 displays two options: a Save As Displayed Button 586 and a Delete this
Tariff Button 587. If the
user selects the Delete This Tariff Button 587, the Freight Forwarding
Providers Computer System 55 clears
all data from FIG. 38. The date that the tariff was last updated is displayed
in Field 588.
FIG. 39 (Client Manager) is the first screen the user sees after selecting the
desired client in the
Client To Modify Field 316 in FIG. 16. Note that Car 263 is positioned at a $
Sign Post 615 (Special
Charges, FIG. 39). Also shown are the following: B Sign Post 616 (Bill-to
Party FIG. 40), W Sign Post 634
(Warehouse Location FIG. 42), S Sign Post 657 (Shipping Partner FIG. 44), T
Sign Post 663 (Rate Tariff
FIG. 45), and I Sign Post 708 (Inventory Items FIG. 45). The user data for
FIG. 39 could be derived from
FIG. 1, the Customer's Computer System 64. If the user enters a client that is
recognized by Freight
Forwarding Providers Computer System 55, then the present screen FIG. 39
displays all the relevant
information for that client. If the user enters a new or unrecognizable client
in the Client To Modify Field 316,
then the Freight Fonrvarding Providers Computer System 55 displays a blank
Client Manager screen FIG. 39
for the user to enter information for a new client. In this example, the
Client Manager FIG. 39 screen
displays the information for a client named DSX International. The information
displayed in Box 589 defines
part of an underlying record that cannot be changed by the user in FIG. 39.
The user can change this
information by clicking a Replace This Record Button 590, which will engage
Freight Forwarding Providers
Computer System 55 to clear the record. The replaced record remains in a
computer-readable file
permanently, but is not current and is not accessible to the user. Likewise,
the user may delete a record
from the Freight Forwarding Providers Computer System 55 by using a Delete
Button 591. A printed profile
of a client may be generated by the user clicking on the Print This Profile
Button 592.
An ID number in Field 593 for internal use is automatically generated by the
Freight Forwarding
Providers Computer System 55. The user can enter data for a new client into
the Freight Forwarding
Providers Computer System 55 beginning with the client name in Field 594 and
address information in Fields
595, and the client's federal employer's identification number (FEIN), which
is required for some U.S.
documentation. The FEIN is stored in Field 601.
The remaining information displayed is fully updatable without the user having
to replace the record.
The user enters contact information into Fields 602, which includes the
clients primary contact name, phone
number, extension, a secondary contact name, the corresponding telephone
number, the client's fax number
and E-mail address. Handling Comments in Field 603 are user-entered handling
instructions for a particular
client that are displayed whenever the client's record is displayed by Freight
Forwarding Providers Computer
System 55. When user calculates charges to be billed to a client for the
transportation of a shipment, the
Freight Forwarding Providers Computer System 55 will search to determine
whether the client has a rate on
file matching the origin, destination, and transit type requirements of the
particular shipment. If the Freight
Forwarding Providers Computer System 55 does not find a client rate on file,
Freight Forwarding Providers
Computer System 55 will search for a default sell tariff (FIG. 38). If Freight
Forwarding Providers Computer
System 55 finds no default sell tariff matches the origin, destination, and
transit type of the particular
shipment, then the Freight Forwarding Providers Computer System 55 will
compute the cost based on
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default vendors designated by the user in FIG. 37. The user (in this case a
freight forwarder) can generate a
profit margin for providing such services to the client by entering a profit
margin percentage in Field 604.
There are six other types of data that the Freight Forwarding Providers
Computer System 55 allows
the user to enter to complete the Client Manager screen FIG 39. Rather than
display all entry fields on one
screen, the Freight Forwarding Providers Computer System 55 loads the relevant
data entry screens into
Editing Box 605. The user clicks the Done Entering Button 611 when entry is
completed. The first data
entry screen displayed is for information pertaining to special charges
applicable to every shipment for this
client. The user to enter data pertaining to a special charge in Field 606 in
similar fashion to the previously
discussed handling of special charges (see FIG 35, in Field 494). If the
special charge in Field 606 has
underlying vendor costs, the user can select from a vendor list in Box 610 or
double-click to enter a new
vendor. The user clicks a Done Entering Special Charges Button 611 when
finished.
The Freight Forwarding Providers Computer System 55 then displays FIG. 40
(Revised Client
Manager), which allows the user to enter data relating to a client bill-to
party. Note in FIG. 40 that Car 263
has advanced to B Sign Post 615, thereby marking progress to handling a bill-
to party. The Freight
Forwarding Providers Computer System 55 defaults to the current client record
in Field 617 because most
client charges are for the client's account. However, the present screen FIG.
40 allows the user to select a
new address in Field 617. To see all customers that share the bill-to address
displayed in Field 617, the
user can click Button 619. When the user clicks an edit-this-address Button
618, the Freight Forwarding
Providers Computer System 55 displays a Billing Info Add Edit screen FIG. 41,
which allows the user to view
and edit billing information. Displayed is the client information from the
previous screen FIG. 39, Box 589, for
ease of reference. Company information is displayed in Editing Box 620 as the
information is to appear on
the user's billing invoice, past due notices, and any other such documentation
generated by the Freight
Forwarding Providers Computer System 55. The data used in the Editing Box 620
could include company
and/or division name, billing address, the accounting person's name, the
accounting department's phone
number, phone extension, and any notes specific to accounting issues regarding
the client. The user can
quickly complete this screen FIG. 41 with information already entered and
displayed above by clicking on the
As Per Above Button 631. When the data entry is completed the user may click
on a Return Button 632 to
return to the Client Manager screen as shown in FIG. 42.
FIG. 42 (Further Revised Client Manager) shows that this Car 263 has advanced
to the W Sign Post
634, to mark that the user now needs to handle the warehouse location for the
shipment. Every user client
will have a location where cargo is stored. The user now enters client
warehouse location data in Field 635.
The Freight Forwarding Providers Computer System 55 defaults to the client
address for warehouse location
in Field 636. The present screen FIG. 42 displays analogous functions as those
discussed in FIG. 40,
except that the user is entering data for warehouse locations rather than
billing information. A difference is
displayed when the user selects an existing warehouse in Field 636 to view and
possibly edit by clicking
Button 637.
When the user clicks a Button 637, a FIG. 43 (Location Edit) screen is
displayed. The present
screen FIG. 43 displays analogous data entry fields and functionality as those
of FIG. 41. An exception is
the OPS details Fields 639, which permit the user to enter data relating to
the hours of operation, the
terminal of service and the transit time to the port of service. The user can
quickly complete the present
screen FIG. 43 with information that duplicates the client information already
entered and displayed above by
clicking on the As per Above Button 654. When FIG. 43 is completed, the user
may click a Return Button
655, which leads to FIG. 44.
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FIG. 44 (Still Further Revised Client Manager) screen now shows the Car 263
advanced to the S
Sign Post 657 which is marked with an "S" for shipping partner. A shipping
partner is a default company that
a client is most likely to ship to or from, in view of a prior business
transaction or transactions. The user now
enters client shipping partner data in Field 659. The present screen displays
analogous functionality to that
of FIG. 40, except that there is no edit button.
FIG. 45 (Even Further Revised Client Manager) screen (compare with FIG. 40)
where the Car 263
has advanced to the T Sign Post 663. The user now enters client tariffs for
specific originldestination
routings in Box 664. When the Freight Forwarding Providers Computer System 55
recognizes a client tariff
all other methods of determining the charges billed to the client are
overridden. The user may enter more
than one tariff per client, but only one tariff per customer per routing is
allowed by the Freight Forwarding
Providers Computer System 55. A routing is defined as an origin warehouse in
Field 665 (a warehouse
location on file), a destination warehouse in Field 666 (also a warehouse
location on file), and a transit type
in Field 667. In FIG. 45, an export tariff sold to DSX is entered by the user.
Because the present screen
FIG. 45 displays an export tariff, the origin warehouse is the warehouse of
"DSX", which is entered in Field
665. (Contrarily, if the present screen FIG. 45 displayed the user entry of an
import tariff, the destination
warehouse would be DSX's warehouse.) The warehouse used by DSX is selected by
the user from the list
in Field 665. The number of tariffs that the Freight Forwarding Providers
Computer System 55 recognizes is
displayed in Field 668. If there is more than one match, Freight Forwarding
Providers Computer System 55
displays a list of the matches, from which one match is selected to display in
FIG. 46. If only one match is
found, then the user may click a View Matches Button 669 to display screen
FIG. 46. If no match is found,
the user can click Add New Button 670 to go to FIG's. 46-48 for data entry.
FIG. 46 (Rate Table Entry) is for use in entering client rate tariffs. The
functionality and data
structures of this screen FIG. 46 are analogous to those of FIG. 38, with two
exceptions: pick-up charges
Fields 678, and delivery charges Fields 705, which have a functionality and
data structure analogous to
those of FIG. 23.
When the user has completed FIG. 46, another version of the Client Manager
screen(not shown)
displays the Car 263 at the ftnal I Sign Post 708. Final Sign Post 708 marks
that the user must now handle
inventory items. This is accomplished by clicking a button (not shown) to go
to FIG. 58 (Revised Sixth
Shipment Details screen). In FIG. 46, the user can click a Return Button 704
to go to FIG. 45 From FIG.
45, the user can click a Return to Expressway Button 698 to go to FIG. 16.
Next, the user can click Master
Airway Bill Pool Button 320 to go to FIG. 47 (Master Bill Manager) screen.
Master air waybills are transport documents that are accountable and must
either be used and
recorded, or voided and returned, to the carrier. In the days before
computers, master air waybills were
issued on pre-printed mufti-part forms that were uniquely numbered. Now air
carriers just issue numbers
that can be used in a computer system to generate master air waybills.
However, the numbers are still
accountable to the air carrier. A master air waybill management function in
Freight Forwarding Providers
Computer System 55 tracks the used master air waybill numbers and will assign
the next unused master air
waybill number to each consolidation generated (discussed later). When a
consolidation is canceled leaving
the master air waybill number un-used, that un-used number becomes available
to the next consolidation.
FIG. 47 shows a screen that allows the user to view and enter master air
waybill numbers. A display of the
master air waybills for that carrier that are shown in Box 709. An Add Bills
Box 710 allows the user to enter
new master air waybill numbers into the Freight Forwarding Providers Computer
System 55. The air carrier
is selected by the user from a list of carriers in Field 711. When a carrier
issues master air waybill numbers
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WO 98/58303 PCT/US98/13063
to the user for entry into the Computer Freight Forwarding Providers Computer
System 55, the issuing
carrier will provide the first master air waybill number, which is entered in
Field 712, and either a number of
waybills for entry in Field 713 andlor the last master air waybill number for
entry in Field 714. Master air
waybill numbers are eight digits, the first seven being the actual waybill
number and the eighth being a check
digit which is the mod-7 of the actual waybill number. The Freight Forwarding
Providers Computer System
55 checks for the validity of the user's entry, and if the number entered is a
valid number, then the user will
be allowed to proceed. Otherwise, the user is given a warning to check the
data entry or to request a valid
number from the air carrier. When the Freight Forwarding Providers Computer
System 55 verified that all
the user-entered data is correct, the user clicks a Save To Pool Button 715,
and the bills are saved by the
Freight Forwarding Providers Computer System 55 for future use. When finished
with the present screen
FIG. 47, the user exits to the Main Map FIG. 13 by clicking an Exit Button
707.
From the Main Map FIG. 13, if the user selects a Work With Individual Shipment
Button 270, the
Freight Forwarding Providers Computer System 55 displays a screen FIG. 48
(Revised Main Map) with three
buttons: (first) Book and Ship Button 701; (second) Billings and Payables
Button 702; and (third) Generate
Documents Sutton 703. Billings and Payables Button 702 is discussed later in
FIG. 72. The Generate
Documents Button 703 is discussed later in FIG. 75.
Book and Ship Button 701 displays FIG. 49 (Booking Pop-up) when selected by
user. In FIG. 49 the
user can edit, view, and enter data pertaining to individual shipments being
managed by Freight Forwarding
Providers Computer System 55. If the user selects an edit/view quotes Button
717 or Bookings Button 718
button FIG. 50 (Booking Look-up) screen displays. The screen in FIG. 50
displays a variety of data input
fields for the user to use in searching for an existing booking or quote on
file. The fields include Booking
Number 690, mode of transport Field 691, the shipper name Field 692, the
shipper reference number Field
693, origin Field 694, consignee name Field 695, the consignee reference
number Field 696, the destination
Field 697, a date search Field 699, and a search now Button 700. The user can
enter any relevant data in
these fields displayed and then click the search Button 700 to locate the
booking or quote, if it exists in the
Freight Forwarding Providers Computer System 55.
f~uotes are shipments that the user has entered into Freight Forwarding
Providers Computer
System 55 to determine pricing for a particular future shipment Bookings, are
quotes that a customer has
accepted, but the shipment has not departed. Housebills are shipments that the
user has entered into the
Freight Forwarding Providers Computer System 55 which are in transit or have
been delivered to the
consignee (discussed later in FIG 71 ).
After the user has completed a search in FIG. 50, clicking the Return Button
706 displays FIG. 49.
Clicking Enter New Shipment Button 716 causes a display in FIG. 51 (First
Shipment Details). Across the
top of the screen FIG. 51 are Shipper Button 722, Consignee Button 723, Bill-
to Button 724, Transit Button
725, Pkg Details Button 726, Invoice Button 727, Auto Calc Button 728, each of
which is for signifying sets of
user-input data regarding a shipment. The user can select a Button 722-728 and
the corresponding set of
information is displayed. On the right is Done Button 729. At the bottom of
the screen FIG. 51 are notes
Fields 730 and 731, for data entered by the user pertaining to the displayed
shipment. A light colored note
field with black writing, Field 730, is for information regarding the user's
customer. The dark colored note
field with light colored writing, Field 731, is for internal notes.
In this case, F1G. 51 displays a set of shipper information. The time and date
the file was generated
is displayed in Field 732. In the case of a new shipment, the current time and
date in Field 732 will be
displayed. After a new shipment has been by saved by the user in Freight
Forwarding Providers Computer
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WO 98/58303 PCT/US98/13063
System 55, as either a quote or a booking, the quote or booking is assigned a
number in Field 733. (The
example here being a new shipment, the quote or booking number Field 733 is
dark.) The shipper name
and address are displayed in Field 734, and in the case of previously saved
shipments, the shipper name
and address are chosen from a list of clients on file. If the required shipper
is not displayed in the list of
clients on file, then the user may either enter a name of a new client in
Field 734 or click an Enter a New
Customer Button 735 to go to the Client Manager FIG. 39. Any handling notes in
Field 603 are displayed in
Field 737. If the user finds any of the information displayed about the
shipper in Box 734 to be inaccurate,
the user may click an Edit Customer Details Button 738 to bring up the
shipper's data in the Client Manager
FIG. 39 for editing. The default warehouse location as entered in the Further
Revised Client Manager FIG.
42, Field 636, is displayed in Field 736. If the location displayed in Field
736 is not the correct pickup
location for this shipment, the user may select another location from the list
of locations on file for Field 736.
If the required location is not in the list of locations on file in Field 736,
the user may enter the name of a new
location in Field 736 and proceed to the Location Edit FIG. 43 in order to
enter the details of a new location.
If the user finds any of the information displayed about the warehouse
location to be inaccurate, the user
may click on a location edit Button 740 to bring up the record for the
warehouse location for editing (with FIG.
43). The user can complete FIG. 51 by entering the Shipper's Reference Number
in Field 741 for the
shipment and the date in Field 742 and the time in Field 743 that the shipment
is to be picked up from the
shipper's warehouse. If a "drop" (discussed earlier) is required for a full
container shipment, Box 744 is
checked.
Clicking the Consignee Button 723 causes a display of FIG. 52 (Second Shipment
Details). The
color of the Buttons 722-728 are updated by the Freight Forwarding Providers
Computer System 55 to
reflect the status of the corresponding information sets. Shaded buttons
(e.~c.., Consignee Button 723 in FIG.
52) signify that the corresponding information set is currently displayed,
yellow buttons (e.~c ., Shipper Button
722 in FIG. 52) signify that the corresponding information set is completed,
and black buttons (e.,gg, Bill-To
Button 724 in FIG. 52) signify that the corresponding information is not
completed.
In this case, FIG. 52 displays a set of consignee information. If the shipper
selected in Box 734 has
a default shipping partner, assigned the Default Shipping Partner data would
be displayed in Field 752.
Otherwise the Consignee is chosen from the list of existing clients on file.
If the required consignee is not
displayed in the list of clients on file, then the user may either enter a
name of a new client in Field 752 or
click an Enter New Customer Button 753 to go to the Client Manager FIG. 39.
Any handling notes in Field
603 are displayed in Field 754. If the user finds any of the information
displayed about the consignee in Field
752 to be inaccurate, the user may click an edit customer details Button 755
to bring up the consignee's data
in the Client Manager FIG. 39 for editing. The default warehouse location as
entered in the Further Revised
Client Manager FIG. 42 Field 636 is displayed in Field 756. If the location
displayed in Field 756 is not the
correct delivery location for this shipment, the user may select another
location from the list of locations on
file for Field 756. If the required location is not on file, the user may
enter the name of a new location in Field
756 and proceed to the Location Edit FIG. 43 in order to enter the details of
new location. If the user finds
any of the information displayed about the warehouse location to be
inaccurate, the user may click on a
location edit Button 758 to bring up the record for the warehouse location for
editing with FIG. 43. The user
can complete FIG. 52 by entering the consignee's reference number in Field
759. If a 'drop' (discussed
earlier) is required for a fult container shipment Box 760 is checked.
The Freight Forwarding Providers Computer System 55 determines the estimated
delivery date by
adding the estimated transit time to the pick up date entered in Field 742.
The estimated transit time is
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calculated by the Freight Forwarding Providers Computer System 55 by adding
the following: the transit
time from the pick-up location to the port of service as entered in Fields 639
of FIG. 43, the estimated port-to-
port transit time entered in Field 450 of FIG. 37, and the transit time from
the port of service to the
consignee's warehouse location as entered in Fields 639 of FIG. 43.
Clicking the Bill-To Button 724 causes a display of FIG. 53 (Third Shipment
Details) which is a set of
bill-to party information. The pre-paid bill-to party information is displayed
in Field 764. Any pre-paid
charges would be billed by the Freight Forwarding Providers Computer System 55
to the party displayed.
The collect bill-to party is displayed in Field 765. Any collect charges would
be billed by the Freight
Forwarding Providers Computer System 55 to the party displayed. The Freight
Forwarding Providers
Computer System 55 determines the bill-to party based on information
previously entered by the user in
Field 617 of FIG. 40. If the bill-to party other than the default bill-to
party's displayed is to be billed, then the
user can select another from the lists) on file in Field 764 and Field 765.
Clicking the Transit Button 725 causes a display of FIG. 54 (Fourth Shipment
Details) which is a set
of information pertaining to transit details. In Field 771 the origin terminal
port is displayed from shipper
information entered by the user in Fields 639 of FIG. 43. In Field 772 the
destination port is displayed from
consignee information entered by the user in Fields 639 of FIG. 43. When the
user enters the pick-up date
in Field 742, the Freight Forwarding Providers Computer System 55 can
automatically determine the "eta"
(estimated time of arrival) at port of departure by adding the transit time
from the shipper's warehouse to the
origin terminal port as entered in Fields 639 of FIG. 43 to the pick-up date.
The user can override the ports
displayed in Field 771 and Field 772 with other port codes on file if
necessary.
Information regarding insurance is displayed in Box 778. The user may click
mark for insurance
Button 779 to indicate that insurance is required for the value of goods
shipped. In addition, the user may
also choose to insure the cost of the freight by marking the Box 780. The user
may also add an additional
ten percent coverage by marking the Box 781. The value of the goods to be
insured is displayed in Box 782.
The value may be entered manually or the Freight Forwarding Providers Computer
System 55 will determine
the value based on information entered in FIG. 56 (discussed later). The
freight charges displayed in Box
783 can be entered manually or the Freight Forwarding Providers Computer
System 55 will determine the
amount based on calculations performed in FIG. 61 (discussed later). The
insured amount to be displayed
in Field 784 is the value of the goods plus the freight charges (if Box 780 is
marked) increased by 10% (if
Box 781 is marked). The commodity class displayed in Field 785 is determined
in FIG. 58 (discussed later)
and the country class as displayed in Field 786 is entered in Field 501 in
FIG. 30.
If the goods being shipped are considered dangerous by international shipping
standards, the Box
774 is marked. In Box 777 a column of buttons is displayed which correspond
with various modes of
transportation. The buttons displayed are as follows: Scheduled Air
Consolidation Button 766, Direct Air
Button 767, Urgent Air Button 768, and Ocean Button 769. By clicking one of
these buttons the user selects
a mode of transport for the shipment and therefore designates which type of
tariff applies to the current
shipment. The Freight Forwarding Providers Computer System 55 uses this
information to determine
carriers, to detemline documentary requirements, and to calculate freight
charges (in FIG. 61 discussed
later). When a mode of transport is selected, Box 787 displays a description
of the corresponding mode.
In Box 788, a column of buttons is displayed which correspond with methods of
payment for freight-
reiated charges. For example, when a letter of credit is not involved, there
are usually two kinds of charges:
freight and ancillary, and each of these kinds of charges can be prepaid (PPD)
or collect (CSS). Freight
Forwarding Providers Computer System 55 has default buttons for each of these
alternatives: A Freight
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WO 98/58303 PCT/US98/13063
Prepaid/Anciliaries Prepaid Sutton 745, Freight Prepaid/Ancillaries Collect
Button 746; Freight
Coilect/Ancillaries Prepaid Button 747, Freight Collect/Ancillaries Collect
Button 748. A letter of credit (LC) is
used to portion the shipping charges in accordance with the particular terms
of a shipment. Prepaid Per
Terms of the Letter of Credit Button 749 and Prepaid Collect Per Terms of the
Letter of Credit Button 750
can be used as defaults for these letter of credit shipments. By clicking of
the buttons (745-750) the user
selects a method of payment for the shipment. The Freight Forwarding Providers
Computer System 55 uses
this selection to generate billing invoices as in FIG.'s 65, 72 and 73
(discussed later). When a method of
payment is selected, Box 789 displays a description of the method of payment
selected.
In Box 790, a column of buttons is displayed and these buttons correspond to
the various default
types of service applied to the shipment. The buttons displayed are: Door-to-
Terminal Button 680, Door-to-
Door Duties Unpaid Button 681, Door-to-Door Duties Paid Button 682. Terminal-
to-Terminal Button 683,
Terminal-to-Door Duties Unpaid Button 684, and Terminal-to-Door Duties Paid
Button 685. Door-to-
Terminal Button 680 is for designation that the transport company
(user/freight forwarder) picks up the
shipment at the shipper's door and transports the shipment to a terminal. Door-
to-Door (DDU) Duties
Unpaid Button 682 is for the user to transport the shipment from the shipper's
door to the consignee's door
without the shipper arranging for payment of duties. Door-to-Door (DDP) Button
682 is for the same except
that the shipper pays the duties. Terminal-to-terminal Button 683 is for the
shipper moving a shipment from
one named terminal to another. Terminal-to-Door (DDU) Button 684 is for the
shipper moving the shipment
from a named terminal to the consignee's door, with duties unpaid by the
shipper. And Terminal-to-Door
(DDP) Paid Button 685 is for the same except with the shipper paying the
duties.
By clicking a Buttons 680-685 the user selects the type of service to be
applied to the shipment.
The Freight Forwarding Providers Computer System 55 uses this selection in
determining what charges and
documentation apply to the shipment. When a type of service is selected Box
791 displays a description of
the type of service selected.
Clicking a Pkg Details Button 726 causes a display of FIG. 55 (Fifth Shipment
Viewer screen) which
is a set of packing details information. Packing pertains to how a shipper
packages merchandise for
shipment. Generally, individual items(entered in FIG. 56) would be packed
together in a master carton for
ease of handling. Details of each master carton are entered in the screen
displayed in FIG. 55 in the
following fields: A length, in Field 795; a width, in Field 796; a height, in
Field 797; a weight of the master
carton, in Field 798; a number of cartons shipped matching these details, in
Field 794; and marks printed on
these cartons, in Field 799. The user may opt to enter weight information in
pounds or kilos by choosing an
appropriate Button 809. Clicking an Add-to-Total Button 800 causes the details
entered in Fields 794-799 to
be displayed in Box 801 along with any previously entered details in Fields
794-799. Clicking Button 800
also causes the following fields to be updated: A Total-Piece Count Field 802
which displays the sum of
pieces individually displayed in Box 801; A Total Pound Weight Field 803
displays in pounds the sum of the
weights individually displayed in Box 801; A Total Kilo Weight Field 804
displays in kilos the sum of the
weights individually displayed in Box 801; A Total Chargeable Kilo Weight
Field 807, which displays the total
chargeable weight (an industry standard calculation based on weights and
dimensions) from the details
displayed individually in Box 801; A Total CFT in Field 805, which displays
the sum of cubic feet individually
displayed in Box 801; and A Total CBM in Field 806, which displays the sum in
cubic meters of the cubic feet
displayed in Box 801.
The user (freight forwarder) will receive the cargo at the user's warehouse. A
Button 810 displays
the number of packages that have been received to date at the user's warehouse
(i.e., "on-hand"). The user
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may click Button 810 to revise the number of pieces on hand. The Colored
Background 811 Behind Button
810 remains red until the number of pieces on hand matches the number of
pieces shipped, in which case
the Colored Background 811 becomes green.
Clicking an Invoice Button 727, causes a display of FIG. 56 (Sixth Shipment
Details) which is a set
of invoice information for items being shipped. The screen FIG. 56 layout is
similar to a standard commercial
invoice. FIG. 56 should be contrasted with such documents as Master Bill of
Lading, House Bill of Lading,
etc. Many documents used in transportation have standardized format
requirements, and known prior art
approaches follow these formats in gathering and distributing information. The
inventors herein have
discovered that this prior art approach is ill-advised. This documentation is
repetitious, and thus it is more
efficient to gather the data in screens that do not correspond to such
standardized transportation documents,
and then use the efficiently gathered data to generate the standardized
documents, which is the approach
generally used in the present invention. FIG. 56 shows that the date can
alternatively still be gathered in the
standardized manner, though this is not preferable. Still better would be to
communicate this transportation
data electrically between any of the aforesaid users to replace at least one,
and preferably more or all of
those standardized documents with electronic communication. Shipper details
are displayed in Field 813 as
they were entered previously (FIG. 51, Box 734). Consignee details are
displayed in Field 814 as they were
entered previously (FIG. 52. Field 752). The user signifies that the shipper
and consignee are related by
marking Box 815. The package details are displayed in Box 793 as they were
previously entered (FIG. 55
Fields 802, 804, and 805). The user may enter a commercial invoice number in
Field 671, an invoice date in
Field 672, a purchase order number in Field 673, other reference numbers in
Field 672, sold-to details in
Field 675 (if the details on the commercial invoice are to differ from those
in the consignee Field 814), terms
of sale in Field 676, currency of the safe in Field 812, the agreed rate of
exchange in Field 677, the license
under which the goods are being shipped in Field 686, the U.S. Customs-issued
ECCN number in Field 686
for regulated goods, and an overall description of the goods in Field 816.
Details entered in FIG. 56 will be
printed on a commercial invoice document generated by Freight Forwarding
Providers Computer System 55
at FIG. 75.
A detailed list of the goods being shipped is displayed in Box 817. The items
displayed in Box 817
are pulled from an inventory shown in FIG. 57 (Shipper Inventory) screen which
is specific to each client.
The user may click an inventory item edit and add Button 818 to access the
screen displayed in FIG. 57 in
order to view and edit the inventory (discussed later). For each item being
shipped, the user enters in Field
819 the carton numbers in which the goods were packed. The user then enters in
Field 820 the appropriate
item from a fist of item numbers on file. The item's description is displayed
in Field 821 and unit price is
displayed in Field 822. Each was entered in the Shipper Inventory screen FIG.
57 (discussed later). The
user enters the quantity ordered in Field 823 and quantity shipped in Field
824. The cost of the goods is
calculated as the unit price in Field 822 multiplied by the quantity shipped
in Field 824. The cost of the goods
is displayed in Field 825.
The enter Shipper Inventory screen FIG. 57 is displayed when the inventory
item edit and add
Button 818 is clicked. The screen FIG. 57 allows the user to add and edit all
of the inventory on file for the
shipper. A shipper's unique item number used to identify the goods is entered
in Field 826. A description of
each item is entered in Field 827. The unit description for each item is
entered in Field 828. The price per
unit is entered in Field 829. Goods are classified by insurance providers for
the purpose of determining
insurance premiums. The insurance class for each item is entered in Field 830.
For ease of reference, the
user may double Gick on Field 830 to display a list of commodities and their
corresponding classes. The
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country of origin is entered in Field 831 from the list of countries on file.
The customs-assigned Schedule B
Number is entered in Field 832. The user may click an Add Button 833 to add a
new item, or the user may
click a Return Button 834 to return to a Revised Sixth Shipment Details screen
FIG. 58.
FIG. 58 shows a Revised Sixth Shipment Details screen. A subtotal (FOB) is
calculated as the sum
of the cost of the goods displayed in Column 836. The subtotal (FOG) is
displayed in Field 835. If the user
wants the freight charges as calculated in FIG. 61 (discussed later) to be
included on the commercial
invoice, the user clicks an Include Freight Charges Box 839. If the Box 839 is
marked, the freight charge as
calculated by FIG. 61 (discussed later) is displayed in Field 840. The user
may also enter the name for an
additional charge in Field 841 and an amount of the additional charge in Field
842. The additional charge
name and amount will be shown on the invoice generated FIG. 75 (discussed
later). The invoice total is
calculated as the sum of the subtotal FOB displayed in Field 835, the total
freight charge displayed in Field
840 (if Box 839 is marked), and the amount of an additional charge entered in
Field 842 (if entered). The
invoice total is displayed in Field 843.
Often the user will want phrases to appear on the printed commercial invoices.
The user may save
often-used phrases to be recalled when needed. If the user clicks a new phrase
Button 844 the Freight
Forwarding Providers Computer System 55 will display an Edit Phrases screen
FIG. 59 (discussed later). A
user defined ID for the new phrase is entered in Column 845. A phrase as it is
to appear o the printed
invoice is entered in Column 846. Double clicking the left top corner returns
to the screen in FIG. 58.
When the user enters an ID for a previously stored phrase in the entry Field
847 on the screen of
FIG. 58, the corresponding phrase appears in Field 848. Phrases need not be
stored; the user may enter a
phrase directly into display Field 849. Phrases entered directly into the
display Field 849 are not stored for
future use. The user enters a signatory name in Field 850 and a signatory
title in Field 851.
When the user clicks the AutoCalc Button 728 in FIG. 58, an AutoCalc routine
or function computes
billing and costing details which are displayed in FIG. 60 screen (Seventh
Shipment Details). Billing pertains
to the user's charges for providing transportation services. Costing pertains
to the costs paid by the user to
the vendors for providing transportation services. AutoCalc is a routine used
by the Freight Forwarding
Providers Computer System 55. The AutoCalc routine determines the cost to the
user for providing the
services sold. the AutoCalc routine also determines the price at which these
services are sold to the user's
clients.
Intemationai shipments are comprised in whole or in part by the service
components displayed in
FIG. 60, Column 853. The AutoCaic routine determines (based on transit details
entered in FIG. 54) which
service components are applicable to the shipment entered. In FIG. 37 Fields
443-447 the user has
specified default vendors for each service component. The AutoCalc routine
refers to these vendors and
their tariffs (entered in FIG.'S 18, 20, 23, etc.) to determine the cost for
the various components. These costs
are stored as estimated payables linked to the shipment record.
Generally, the AutoCalc routine determines the price at which these services
are sold in one of three
ways. If the tariff sell rates has been entered for the customer in FIG. 45-
46, this is applied. Otherwise, if a
default sell tariff has been entered for the routing in FIG. 38, this is
applied. Otherwise, the cost is increased
by the client's default profit margin as entered in FIG. 45.
More particularly, once costing has been determined, the charge to the client
will be determined. As
described previously, the charge to the client is done one of three ways.
First, the AutoCalc function will
determine if the primary bill-to party FIG. 45 has a tariff in FIG. 46
applicable to the shipment entered FIG.'s.
51 - 59 and, if applicable, calculate the charge based on the tariff. The
primary bill-to party for a prepaid
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shipment is the shipper's bill-to record FIG. 53, Field 764, while the primary
biA-to party for collect shipments
is the consignee's bill-to party FIG. 53, Fiefd 765. The Freight Forwarding
Providers Computer System 55
recognizes that there is not a primary bill-to-party and a secondary bill-to
party. If the primary bill-to party
does not have a tariff entered in FIG. 46, the AutoCalc function will check
whether the secondary bill-to party
has a tariff entered in FIG. 46 and, if there is such a tariff, calculate the
charges, the charges are displayed
in Column 853, and in Field 854 informs the user that a tariff was used.
If there is not a tariff applicable, the AutoCalc function determines whether
there is an applicable
default sell tariff entered in FIG. 38, and there is such a tariff the
AutoCalc routine calculates the charges
based on the tariff.
Failing the applicability of any tariffs, the AutoCalc routine will utilize a
third method of calculating
charges. The third method entails increasing the cost by set profit margin
FIG. 39, Field 604, on file for the
client in FIG. 39, Box 589, corresponding to the shipper FIG. 51, Box 734, if
the shipment is prepaid or
corresponding to the consignee FIG. 52, Field 752, if the shipment is collect.
The user has the option to override the charges displayed in Column 853. Any
quote containing
charges in Column 853 other than what was displayed by the AutoCalc function
is called a "spot quote." The
user releases the fields in Column 853 for editing by clicking a Create Spot
Quote Button 855.
FIG. 61 (Revised Seventh Shipment Details) screen shows Button 855 and a
caption on the Button
855 changes to "Spot Quote Applied" to signify that the charges calculated by
the AutoCalc routine indicated
in Column 853 have been (or are being) overridden. In spot quote mode, Freight
Forwarding Providers
Computer System 55 permits editing the charges displayed in Field 857. As
changes are made, the total
charge in Field 858 is automatically revised.
The user may have the costs displayed by clicking a Display Costs Button 859,
which causes a
display of screen FIG. 62 (Second Revised Seventh Shipment Details). FIG. 62
displays costs in Column
853, the total cost in Field 861, the profit margin in Field 862 (the
difference between the charges Column
860 and the Column 860). If the default port-to-port carrier (in FIG. 37,
Carrier Commission Percentage
Field 445) on whom the cost in Column 860 was based offers a commission in
FIG. 25, Field 439, then the
calculated commission amount determined as the port-to-port cost in Field 863
times the commission
percent. The resulting commission amount is displayed in Fiefd 864. The
caption on Button 865 changes to
"Hide Costs" when Button 865 is clicked. When the Button 865 is displaying the
caption "Hide Costs", the
costs in Column 860, the total cost in Field 861, the profit margin in Field
862, and the commission amount
in Field 864 are hidden, i.e., not displayed in screen FIG. 62. A profit-loss
report for this shipment may be
generated by clicking a Print Protit/Loss Button 866.
Freight Forwarding Providers Computer System 55 has been described as being
used by a freight
forwarder, but as previously mentioned, in a preferred embodiment there are
analogous versions of Freight
Forwarding Providers Computer System 55 for other users. (See FIG. 1 ) Another
approach is a version for
a shipper. Each such version would most efficiently not be identical to
another, but due to the generic
organization of the logic of the invention, different versions would require
minimal changes. So, for example,
for a shipper version, freight forwarding costs and "sells" would not be
appropriate. However, the invention is
made by components that can be readily modified to be suitable for different
kinds of users, for example, by
changing the output so that the shipper will instead have "buy" rates, which
would be the rates shown in a
white color in Column 853, etc. The shipper will have an option to use as many
carriers as desired for entry
into the corresponding shipper version. Accordingly, the shipper version will
permit clicking on buttons to
use different carriers - but still follow the same logic as in the freight
forwarder version. The shipper will thus
CA 02294038 1999-12-17
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have access to various rates with various carriers for various modes of
transport. (Preferably, this
functionality also would be incorporated in the freight forwarder version.)
Then after the shipper has selected
from among the carriers, the shipper version facilitates a booking for the
shipment with the selected carrier.
In any case, returning to the freight forwarder version, the user clicks a
Done Button 867 when
finished entering shipment details and calculating the applicable charges. The
user is then provided with
displayed options FIG. 63 (Save Record) screen for saving (or not saving) the
changes made in FIG.'s 51 -
62. The user may mark a Print Confirmation Box 868 to generate a printed
confirmation of the details
entered FIG.'s 51 - 62. The user may mark a Fax Confirmation Box 869 to send a
confirmation of the details
entered FIG.'s 51 - 62 to another user's fax Device 20. The user may mark an
Exit After Save Box 870 to
exit the screen FIG. 62. Leaving this Box 870 unchecked will return to the
Shipment Details screen (FIG. 51-
62) that was displayed before entering FIG. 63.
A "quote" Button 871 can be used to save the information as entered or edited
in FIG.'s 51 - 62 in
the Database 30 as a quote. A Booking Button 872 is selected to save the
information as entered or edited
in FIG.'s 51 - 62 in the Database 30 as a booking. A Do Not Save Button 873
does not save the information
entered or the edits made in FIG.'s 51 - 62.
A quote is merely a rate presented to a client, and no further processing of
quote data is done other
than subsequently editing and/or saving the quote as a booking. A booking is a
quote that has been
accepted by the client and is processed further by the Freight Forwarding
Providers Computer System 55.
The further processing of a booking is discussed with reference to following
FIG.'s., apply to bookings.
After selecting Booking Button 872, the first operation (FIG. 64, House Bill
Number Assign screen) is
to assign a house bill number to the shipment. The house bill number is a
unique number that identifies the
booking. The user is presented with an automatically generated number at
Location 874, which the user
may accept via Button 875 or may override with a number entered in Field 876.
Based on the payment terms (FIG. 54, Box 788), billing in FIG. 65 (Billing
Creation) is handled such
that, if a "Yes" Option Button 877 is chosen, billing is generated
automatically by Freight Forwarding
Providers Computer System 55. If the user wants manual control over which
charges (FIG. 60, Column 853)
are billed prepaid and which are collect, or if the user wants to generate a
third-party invoice for some of the
charges (FIG. 60, Column 853), the "No" Option Button 878 is selected.
The following FIG.'S guide the user in routing the booking to its destination
(see FIG. 54, Field 772).
A masterbill (master} is a collection of bookings going to the same
destination, as indicated in Field 772,
which are scheduled to move together as one unit. Bookings can be assigned to
a master in one of three
ways. Bookings can be assigned to a flight; bookings can be assigned to
masters that have already been
generated; and bookings can be assigned "unscheduled".
FIG. 66 (Booking Assign to Flight) allows the user to assign the booking to a
flight. This screen FIG.
66 would be used if the booking needs to be shipped via a particular air
carrier and/or needs to arrive by a
particular date. The housebill number in Field 879 of the booking being
processed is displayed. The carriers
in Box 880 that have flight schedule details (entered in FIG. 32) covering
service between the booking's
origin in Field 881 and destination in Field 882 and FIG. 33 on file are
displayed.
When the user selects a carrier from the list of carriers in Box 880, the
screen FiG. 66 is updated to
produce FIG. 67 (Revised Booking Assign to Flight) to display the next
available routing in Box 883 for the
carrier chosen highlighted in Box 880. A carrier code in Field 885 is
displayed, as is a cutoff date in Field
886. Details for each of the flights used to transport the goods to a final
destination in Field 882 are listed.
These details include the carrier code Column 887; the flight number or vessel
name and voyage identifier in
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Column 888; the departure date in Column 889 of the flight/vessel
corresponding to the identifier in Column
888; and the destination in Column 890 of each flight; and the estimated time
in Field 892 and date in Field
891 of the arrival at the final destination in Field 882. The Master Field 893
would show the masterbill
number of the master created for the transit displayed in Box 883 if one was
created. Otherwise, no master
exists for this transit in Box 883. The user may click an Assign to this
Routing Button 894 to have the
booking assigned to either the existing master Field 893 or to have a master
created for this routing and
have the booking assigned to this newly created master. The user may click a
Next Available Button 895 to
view a next transit schedule in Box 883 for the same carrier in highlighted
Box 880. The user may click a
First Available Button 896 to display the first transit option in Box 883
available for the current date.
The user may at any time decide to book the shipment according to a second
method of booking
(i.e., book on an existing master) by clicking a View Button 897 adjacent to a
Field 898 displaying the next
existing master. (Masters are discussed here chronologically by cut-off date.
Masters are also commonly
referred to as "consolidations".)
A FIG. 68 (Booking Assign View Masters) screen displays all the masters in Box
899 that currently
exist between the origin in Field 900 and the destination Field 901 of this
house bill displayed in Location Box
902. Displayed are the masterbill number in Field 903, origin and destination
of the master in Field 904, the
origin agent in Field 905, the destination agent in Field 906, the cutoff date
in Field 907 and the time in Field
908, the estimated departure date in Field 909, the arrival time in Field 910,
and the estimated buy rate or
cost per kilo in Field 911. The user selects the master in Box 899 that is
most appropriate for the booking at
Location Box 902. Generally, the first available master is the most
appropriate. The user assigns the
Booking at Location Box 902 to the Master in Box 899 by clicking a Button 912
marked "Book this Consol". A
Button 913 marked "Return to Schedule" displays the Booking Assign To Flight
FIG. 67.
If the user clicks a "Book Unsched" Button 915, another screen -- Open
MasterBill FIG. 69 -- allows
the user to book the shipment according to a third method of booking i.e.,
book unscheduled). This method
is generally used for bookings that must move independent of any other
bookings, or for bookings that must
be shipped on a carrier which does not have a flight schedule on file entered
in FIG. 32. The carrier name is
entered in Field 916. A masterbill number is entered in Field 917, or an
AutoAssign Button 918 is used to
display in Field 917 the next available masterbill on file for the carrier
name in Field 916. The user is
required to contact the carrier named in Field 916 in order to get scheduling
information, either in electronic
form or manual form for data entry. In cases where electronic data such as
carrier scheduling information is
voluminous and is not all needed, a filter is used to weed out unneeded data.
The scheduling information the
carrier will provide may include a booking number in Field 919, a cut-off time
in Field 920 and a date in Field
921, the vessellvoyage/flight number in Column 922, a departure date in Column
923, and an arrival date in
Column 924 for each flight on which the cargo is booked, an arrival date at
the final destination in Field 925,
and/or the buy rate per kilo in Field 926. The shipper for the masterbill is
selected from List Box 927 showing
the agents on file. The shipper in List Box 927 on the masterbill is the party
coordinating the
masterlconsolidation. The issuing agent in List Box 928 for the masterbill is
selected from a list of agents on
file. (The issuing agent in List Box 928 is the party to whom the masterbill
number displayed in Field 917
was issued, which in most cases will be the same as the masterbill shipper in
the List Box 927.) The
masterbill consignee in List Box 929 is selected from the fist of agents on
file. (The masterbill consignee in
List Box 929 on the masterbill is the party whom the shipper in List Box 927
has hired to handle the
masterlconsofidation at the final destination.) In the case of a direct
shipment, the masterbill shipper in List
Box 927 and the master bill consignee in List Box 929 would be selected from a
list of customers on file. An
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origin terminal in Field 930 is selected from the list of terminals on file.
(The origin terminal in Field 930 is the
location where the master/consolidation is assembled.) A destination terminal
in Field 931 is selected from
the list of terminals on file. (The destination terminal in Field 931 is the
location where the
master/consoiidation is broken down into the individual bookings.) The user
enters the origin port in Field
932, the destination port in Field 933, and marks a Prepaid Box 934 if the
charges on the masterbill are paid
by the masterbill shipper in List Box 927, rather than the masterbill
consignee in List Box 929. When
finished, the user clicks an Assign Button 935. The master will be created,
and the booking will be assigned
to that master.
All bookings must be assigned to a master in order to be transported to
destination. The Revised
Main Map FIG. 70 displays a warning Sign 936 if ever a booking is not assigned
to a master. The user may
click on the warning Sign 936 to view the bookings) that need to be assigned
to masters in View House Bill
screen FIG. 71. Much of the information for a booking cannot be edited without
completely re-
generating the booking. (Alternately, choosing Housebills Button 719 from the
Booking Pop-up screen FIG.
49 or clicking a View Button 173 in the Shipments in Progress Screen FIG. 5
leads to this screen FIG. 71.)
The masterbill number assigned to the booking is displayed in Field 939. The
booking number GCI-454
displayed in Field 914, is not assigned to any master, therefore no masterbill
number appears in Field 939.
The name, address, telephone and fax numbers and contact person for the
shipper are displayed in Box
937. Corresponding information for the consignee is displayed in Box 938. The
airport of departure is
shown in Fietd 940, and the airport destination is displayed in Field 941.
Sometimes documents need to be generated showing details that differ from the
previously entered
default details on file. A prime example is a shipment governed by a letter of
credit, the terms of which must
be followed precisely in order to secure payment to the seller. The Freight.
Forwarding Providers Computer
System 55 allows the user to create and store details that will override the
previously entered default details
on printed documents. Entry fields for these override details are shaded and
correspond to the previously
entered default details displayed in FIG.71. For example, when the house bill
for the booking displayed in
FIG. 71 is printed, the previously entered default's details in shipper Box
937 will be overridden by the
override details entered in Box 942. Similarly, consignee override details
would be entered in Box 943, origin
port override details would be entered in Field 944, destination override
details would be entered in Field
945, and handling override details would be entered in Field 946. This
override capability preferably is
available for all documents generated by the Freight Forwarding Providers
Computer System 55.
The Internal notes are displayed in Field 947 as entered in the Field 731 in
the shipment screen F1G.
51 and are available for editing. Fields 948 would show each flight or vessel
used in the booking, including
the number/name, departure date and destination. If the cargo is confirmed on
board, Boxes 951 are
rechecked. If the cargo has been delivered to the consignee, the date of
delivery is shown in Field 956, and
the name of the person who signed for the cargo is displayed in Field 957.
Package details are displayed in
Box 958 including the number of cartons, the dimensions of the cartons in
inches, the weight of each carton
in kilos, the total cubic feet of the cartons, and the sum totals for pieces,
weight, cubic feet, and chargeable
weight for the booking. The number of pieces confirmed as received in the
user's warehouse are displayed
in Field 966. The number of pieces received in the warehouse can be entered by
clicking Button 1026
(discussed later). In the present example, the cargo has not yet been
received, and therefore has not yet
been exported. Options to the user are displayed in buttons along the right
side of the present screen FIG.
71 and include a Return Button 967 which allows a display of the previous
screen, a Print Button 968 which
allows the user to print documents for the booking (discussed later) FIG. 75,
a Delete Button 969 which
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allows the user to delete the booking (available only prior to the shipment
being confirmed on board a
vessel), and a Billing Sutton 970 which allows a display of House Billing
screen FIG. 72.
The House Billing screen FIG. 72 shows accounting details for the booking. The
house bill number
assigned to the booking in Field 971 is displayed along with the shipper's
reference number Field 972 (as
entered in Field 741 in FIG. 51 ) and the consignee's reference number in
Field 973 (as entered in Field 759
in FIG. 52). An invoices issued summary is displayed in Box 974. This invoices
issued summary includes
the invoice number, the date the invoice was issued, the bill-to party to whom
the invoice was issued, the
amount of the invoice: If the invoice is still active Box 979 is checked.
Cancel Option Button 980 appears for
each invoice (discussed later). Each service item or charge in Field 981, with
the corresponding cost details
and the invoice number. For example, Field 981 shows a description of the
service item or charge for each
item, the amount billed to the bill-to party, the estimated cost to be paid,
the vendor providing the service,
the vendor's reference number for this transaction (used at a later date when
the vendor's invoice is received
in order to locate this transaction), the vendor's invoice number used (when
received by the user), and the
actual amount paid. Only the vendor reference number are editable. Totals for
the amount billed in Field
990, the estimated amount to pay in Field 991, and the actual amount paid to
date in Field 992 are also
displayed.
Accounting information cannot be altered. The revision capabilities available
to the user include a
Cancel Option Button 980 and a Generate Additional Billing Option Button 993.
When the user clicks the
Cancel Option Button 980, the corresponding invoice is negated by reversing
each charge on the invoice in
Field 981, resulting in a zero total. The invoice is then made inactive in
Field 979. The Generate Additional
Billing Option Button 993 allows the user to create an additional invoice for
the booking.
The Revised House Billing Updated screen FIG. 73 permits generating an
additional bill, which in
this example has resulted in the generation of a new active invoice in Box
995. The user enters in Box 995 a
bill-to party for the new invoice, each service item, the service item
description, the amount billed to the bill-to
party, the estimated cost to be paid, the vendor providing the service, and
the vendor's reference number for
this transaction. When finished, the user clicks on a New Invoice Entry
Complete Button 1003. Other
options in the House Billing screen FIG. 73 include Print Invoice Button 1004
which generates hard copy
invoices, View House Bill Button 1005 which displays the booking, and Return
Button 1006 which returns to
the previous screen.
(In a preferred embodiment, after assigning a booking to a master the user is
presented with a
similar version of the House Billing screen FIG. 72 for use in confirming or
editing billing details before they
are saved for use as defaults.)
FIG. 74~(View House Bill Lookup) screen is a search tool to find one of many
house bills. FIG. 74
can be reached by licking the Edit House Bill Button 719 in FIG. 49. A search
is carried out by entering
search criteria in Box 1008 and clicking Search Button 1007. If the search
results in only one match, that
matching house bill data is displayed in the View House Bill screen FIG. 71.
Otherwise, the user is
presented with a summary list of matdzes from which a match is chosen. The
user may abort the search at
any time by licking Button 1009 to return to FIG. 49.
Aftematively, the user may be brought to this screen FIG. 75 after assigning a
booking to a master in
FIG. 69 by licking the Button 935, or by selecting the Print Button 968 from
the View House Bill FIG. 71.
After the user has completed entering a new shipment with Button 716, editing
or viewing 2 quotes
Button 717, Bookings Button 718, and House Bill Button 719, the user could
click Cancel Button 720 to
display FIG. 48. From FIG. 48, the user can click Generate Documents Button
703 to display the screen of
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FIG. 75. FIG. 75 the (Generate Documents) screen assists the user by
generating and printing documents
required to effect shipment of a booking. The house bill number is shown in
Field 1010 which is used by
Freight Forwarding Providers Computer System 55 in recognizing what documents
can/should/must be
printed. Each document available for printing being represented by a button.
The button is color-coded
according the need for the document in a particular booking corresponding to
the house bill number. Buttons
for documents that are not required (but are nonetheless available for
printing) have black writing. Buttons
for documents that are required and have not yet been printed have red
writing. Buttons for documents that
are required and have already been printed (but are nonetheless available for
printing again) have green
writing. A Sign Button 1012 tells the user which Output Device 15 will print
(or fax) the document will be
sent. Clicking the Sign Button 1012 rotates selection through the options (see
FIG. 1 ). Representative
buttons used to generate and/or print documents are shown in FIG. 75 s
follows: Pickup Request Sutton
1013 is to print a request to the inland service provider to pickup the cargo
under the booking number in
Field 1010; Warehouse Advice Button 1014 to print an advice directing the
warehouse to release the goods;
House Bill Button 1015 to print the main shipping document; Pro Forma Invoice
Button 1016 to print an
invoice for an unconfirmed order; House Bill Labels Button 1017 to print
labels affixed to the cargo itself,
allowing the various carriers and vendors to identify the cargo when handling
it; Shippers' Export Declaration
Button 1018 to print a document required by U. S. Customs for all cargo being
exported over $2,500;
Certificate of Origin Button 1019 to print a document required by the customs
agencies of certain countries
to certify the origin country of the goods; NAFTA Certificate Button 1020 to
print a document required for
goods moving between NAFTA countries; Arrival Notice Button 1021 to print a
document informing a
consignee that a shipment has arrived for custom's clearance; Delivery Order
Button 1022 to print a
document authorizing an inland carrier to deliver a shipment; IT/T&E Button
1023 to print a document that
allows inbound movement of cargo(IT means immediate transport for cargo
movement between U.S. ports,
and the T&E means transportation and export for cargo movement between a U.S.
and a foreign port;
Delivery Pro Button 1024 to print a transport document used by an inland
carrier for a delivery. These
buttons/documents are representative of those needed and/or used for cargo
transport, which to a degree
relate to the particular kind of user, a g, freight forwarder, customs broker,
shipper, etc. Still, the particular
buttonsldocuments are employed generically in the present invention by changes
local to the general
structure of Freight Forwarding Providers Computer System 55. Buttons 1011 can
be used to consolidate
multiple documents into a single package.
For example, presently the Certificate of Origin and the NAFTA Certificates
are attached to the
House Bill and accompany the shipment. The Export Declaration is also attached
to the documents but is
retained by U.S. customs prior to export. The Arrival Notice is a notice to
the parties concerned that a
shipment has come into the country and needs action. The Arrival Notice would
go to the importer or to the
importer's broker. The Delivery Order is an import document used by an inland
vendor to obtain goods from
a bonded warehouse in order to deliver them to the customer. ITs and TE's are
documents used by US
Customs to move cargo from one customs port to another customs port in bond.
The Delivery Pro is a
document used by an inland vendor as instructions for delivering goods. In a
preferred embodiment, the
System 55 will generate documents required for cust0oms clearance in the
various countries involved in the
shipment. Such forms include, for example, U.S. Customs form 7501 (also known
as an entry summary)
and U.S. Customs form 3461 (also known as an immediate release). To produce
such documents, fields
for storing certain data such as duty classifications, exchange rates, and
other customs-related data would
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be included in tables of the data in Database 30. The data stored in these
fields allow the System 55 to
generate customs documents without intervention by the user.
Although the transportation industry presently prefers hard copy documents,
the preferred
embodiment is to instead use electronic data communication as illustrated in
FIG. 1. The electronic data
communication can be electronic versions of these kinds of routine
transportation documents, but better still
is the data in a different format, to be less repetitive.
Turning now to tracking cargo shipments, generally, tracking details for
bookings need to be
updated. Updating may also be done automatically utilizing a Linking Device
78, or (as shown here) the
updating may be done manually. One example of tracking information which
requires updating is the "on-
hand" status. The "on-hand" status refers to how much of the cargo under a
particular booking is on hand at
the user's cargo facility. As previously mentioned, this status may be updated
by the user by clicking Button
810 in FIG. 55, or by clicking Button 1026 in the View House Bill FIG. 71.
When the Button 810 or Button
1026 is clicked, the user is prompted in (Warehouse Pieces Received) screen
FIG. 76 to enter the number of
pieces being reported as received in Field 1027. The user enters the number of
pieces that were confirmed
received in the warehouse and clicks an OK Button 1028. The on-hand status is
then updated to include the
additional pieces reported in Field 1027, and FIG. 77 (Revised Warehouse Data
Received) screen is
displayed. The user is next prompted in FIG. 77 to enter a date in Field 1026
that the cargo was received.
This is used primarily by a tracking mechanism in Freight Forwarding Providers
Computer System 55 to
determine when cargo has been received and how long it has been on hand, and
also to generate quality
performance reports. Clicking OK Button 1028 again, the Freight Forwarding
Providers Computer System
55 displays the screen used to call FIG. 76.
After a shipment has been confirmed on hand at the user's warehouse, the user
may process the
master to which the shipment is assigned. This may be done from the Main Map
FIG. 13 by clicking the
Work with Master And Consolidations Button 272, which causes a display of a
Pending Masters screen FIG.
78 (again, the terms "master", "consolidation", and "consol" are all
interchangeable). A list of open masters is
shown in Box 1029. A master is open until the cut-off time, at which point the
master is closed, processed,
and tendered to the carrier. Recently closed masters are shown in Box 1030 and
these masters have not
been confirmed on board any flight or voyage. These masters may be reopened
and re-manipulated until a
carrier confirms that the master is on a flight or voyage. When the user
clicks on a Recently Closed Master
in Box 1030, the master is re-opened and becomes listed as an Open Master in
Box 1029. When the user
selects an open master from the Open Master Box 1029, the selected master is
displayed in the (Master Bill
Table) screen FIG. 79. The masterbill number of the consolidation selected is
displayed in Fields 1031. The
master bill shipper details are in Box 1032, master bill consignee details in
Box 1033, the name of the origin
terminal in Field 1034, the consolidation's origin port in Field 1035, the
consolidation's Tina! destination port in
Field 1036, the estimated arrival date in Field 1037, and the name of the
destination terminal in Field 1038
are all displayed. Also presented is Check Box 1039, which indicates whether
the masterbill is pre-paid.
Check Box 1040 indicates whether the masterbill is an express bill of lading.
Express bills of lading release
the transportation company of an obligation to release goods at destination
against presentation of an
original bill of lading document; by Freight Forwarding Providers Computer
System 55 all bills of lading are
original by default. Box 1042 shows an estimated buy rate, a vessel or flight
name/number, a departure
date, and a destination port for each flight/voyage. The information displayed
in Box 1042 was determined
when the master was created in FIG.'s. 67, 69, or 96 (discussed later). The
user may override details that
are inaccurate. The user may opt to change the carrier of the consolidation by
clicking a New Carrier Button
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1045. The user may also opt to use a Delete the Master Button 1046 which will
delete the consolidation
record from the Database 30 and, if the masterbill number came from the
Masterbill Manager FIG. 47, return
the masterbill number to masterbill manager to be used in the future.
All the bookings that are assigned to the master are listed in Box 1047. In
this example there is only
one booking, GCI-807. Each booking is listed in Box 1047 with a housebill
number, a shipper name, a
consignee name, an origin port code, a destination port code, a number of
pieces, the weight in kilos, the
volume in kilos, (which is an industry standard for weight that is equivalent
to an amount of space that the
cargo displaces), and a flag showing whether the house bill has been printed.
Box 1057 displays the total
number of pieces, the total kilo weight, and the total volume in kilos for the
consolidation.
The user has five options. First, the user may click a Cancel Button 1064 to
cancel processing the
master, leave the master open, and return to the Main Map FIG. 13. Second, the
user may highlight one of
the bookings in Box 1047 and click a View House Bill Button 1060 to view the
complete housebill details in
the View Housebill FIG. 71. Third, in FIG. 79, the user may click a Manifest
Button 1061 to confirm the list
of bookings assigned in Box 1047 to close the master (discussed later).
Fourth, the user may highlight one
of the bookings with Box 1047 and click the Remove Button 1062 to remove the
booking from the master.
(In this case the user is prompted to enter a reason for the removal, the
reason becomes part of the internal
notes in FIG. 71, Field 947; the removed booking no longer has a master
assigned, thereby causing the
warning in FIG. 70, Sign 936, to be displayed.) Fifth, the user may click a
Search Button 1063 to view a
summary of all bookings not assigned to masters in FIG. 80 (Bookings Not
Assigned to Masters).
For each booking listed in FIG. 80, Box 1065 shows the housebill number, a
shipper name, a
consignee name, a transit type, a port of origin, an estimated time of arrival
at port of origin, and a port of
destination code. The user may click one of the respective Assign Buttons 1073
to have the corresponding
booking assigned to the master displayed in FIG. 79 and to proceed to the
Master Bill Table FIG. 83. The
user may instead click a Return Button 1074 to return to FIG. 79 without
assigning any of the bookings to the
master.
The New Carrier Button 1045 in FIG. 79 allows the user to change the carrier
for a consolidation.
Each carrier issues different masterbill numbers to the user; therefore to
changing carriers requires changing
the masterbill number to a masterbill number issued by the new carrier (FIG.
81 (Process Master Change
Carrier)). The new carrier is chosen from a list of carriers in Field 1075. If
a carrier in the list of carriers in
Field 1075 has masterbills in the MasterBill Manager, FIG. 47, the user can
click an AutoAssign MAWS
Buttan 1076 which will cause a display of the next available masterbill in Box
1077. Otherwise, the user is
required to manually enter the masterbill number in Box 1077. Only valid
masterbill numbers are accepted
(see FIG. 47). The user may proceed by clicking the Proceed Button 1070, or by
clicking Cancel Button
1078 to cancel the change.
In the present example, the user has clicked Proceed Button 1070, which leads
to a display of
screen FIG. 82 (Process Master Populate New). The user is provided with all
the details of master in Box
1079 and entry fields for confirmation in Box 1080. The information from Box
1079 are the default values for
the information in Box 1080. When the user has finished editing the
information in Box 1080, the user may
update the record by clicking an Accept Button 1081, or may cancel the change
by clicking a Cancel Button
1082.
By clicking Accept Button 1081 (Revised Master Bill Table) screen FIG. 83
shows an updated
after the addition of the booking information from FIG. 80 and the change of
carrier in FIG.'s 81 - 82. A new
list of bookings is shown in Box , which now shows two housebills. The
masterbill number in Fields
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1031 shows the masterbili revised number. The user is required to update the
flight details accordingly, in
Box 1042.
When the details in the Revised Master Bill Table screen FIG. 83 have been
confirmed and the user
has opted to proceed with closing the master by clicking a Manifest Button
1061, the user determines the
cost of the master with the Process Master Cost Analysis screen FIG. 84. FIG.
84 lists the following: a
carrier code in Field 1087, a masterbill number in Field 1088, the number of
pieces in the consolidation in
Field 1089, an actual weight in kilos of the consolidation in Field 1090, a
volume weight in kilos of the
consolidation in Field 1091, and a total cubic feet of the consolidation in
Field 1092. The user will, based on
that information in fields 1087 - 1092, enter override information in a Detail
Box 1093 concerning how the
cargo specifics are to be displayed on the printed masterbill. These specifics
include the number of loose
pieces in Field 1094, the actual weight of the loose pieces in Field 1095, the
volume weight of the loose
pieces in Field 1096 and information about any containers including the
container type in Field 1097,
container number in Field 1098, container seal number in Field 1099, number of
pieces loaded in the
container in Field 1100, Weight loaded in the container in Field 1101, tare
weight of the container in Field
1102, and the number of cubic feet loaded in the container in Field 103.
A Calculate Now Button 1104, when clicked, will cause a display of the
masterbill cost in Field 1105
based on the cargo specifics in Detail Box 1093 and the Tariff on file in FIG.
27 for the carrier in Field 1087.
If the carrier does not have a tariff on file in FIG. 27, or if the user is
moving the cargo at a rate other than the
standard carrier tariff on file in FIG. 27, the user may have the Freight
Forwarding Providers Computer
System 55 determine cost based on manually entered rating details in FIG. 85,
with the result displayed in
Field 1005.
If the user has clicked a Spot Rate Button 1106, the user is prompted by FIG.
85 (Loose Rate Enter)
screen to enter a negotiated Buy Rate in Field 1107 with the carrier for loose
cargo (if applicable). FIG. 85 is
a pop-up screen used to enter information regarding the loose cargo buy rate,
and similar pop-up screens
are used to enter other information needed to compute the costs displayed in
Field 1005. Thus, for example,
there are pop-up screens (not shown) for container rates, container pivots
weights, and container over pivot
charges. When all the prompts of FIG. 85 and other such pop-up screens have
been completed, the user is
returned to FIG. 84, which displays the calculated masterbill cost in Field
1105. Also displayed on the
Process Master Cost Analysis screen FIG. 84, is a summary in Box 1108 of all
the bookings assigned to the
master, the freight revenue generated by each booking, and the summed (ig.,
total revenue) for the master.
A comparison between the total revenue of the master and the total cost in
Field 1105 gives the user an
accurate understanding of the profitability of the consolidation. The user may
click a Cancel Button 1112 to
cancel processing the master (save the master open and return to the Main Map
FIG. 13. Otherwise the
user may proceed by clicking an Assign Costs Button 1113 which distributes the
cost of the master in Field
1105 based on the chargeable weight of each house bill thereby overriding any
previous estimates.
After the costs have been determined and distributed, the user is presented
with a Generate Master
Documents screen FIG. 86. FIG. 86 is similar to the Generate Documents FIG.
75, except that FIG. 86
generates documents based on closed masters as opposed to individual bookings.
Displayed is the
masterbiil number in Field 1114, which the Freight Forwarding Providers
Computer System 55 uses to
determine which documents wiil/should be generated. Each of the documents
available for generation are
represented by a respective Buttons. Again, the buttons are color coded based
on the need for the
document as previously discussed: black being not required, red being required
and not printed, and green
being required and having been printed. Representative buttons for documents
include a master Bill Button
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1116, which is for the main shipping document and tendered to the carrier; a
manifest document Button 1117
which is for summarizing all of the bookings assigned to the master and is
tendered with the masterbill;
master bill labels Button 1118 which is for labels that contain master bill
information affixed to the cartons; a
pre-alert document Button 1119 which is a notification to the destination
agent with information about the
shipment; (sent to the destination agent); a Warehouse Instruction Document
Button 1120 which is for
instructing the warehouse on handling the consolidation; a Transfer Manifest
Document Button 1121 which is
a document used by the inland carrier transferring the consolidation from the
origin terminal to shipside; a
Security Endorsement Document Button 1122 which is for endorsement required by
the FAA that endorses
that nothing in the consolidation is hazardous or dangerous (tendered with the
masterbill); an Arrival Notice
Document Button 1123 which is similar to the house bill Arrival Notice in FIG.
75, Button 1021 for covering a
consolidation rather than a single shipment and is sent to any carriers,
vendors, or agents handling the
consolidation; a Segregation Document Button 1124 which is for an instruction
to the destination terminal as
to how to break down a consolidation into the separate house bills and
possible further instructions on
breaking down house bills into individual lots (preferably also in FIG. 75);
(sent to the destination terminal);
the Warehouse Transfer Document Button 1125 which is for instructing an inland
vendor to move the cargo
from shipside to a bonded warehouse or from one bonded warehouse to another
bonded warehouse (sent to
the inland vendor). Again, the user rotates through the output device options
using an Output Button 1126
(as analogously described in FIG. 75, Button 1012). After generating and
printing the desired documents,
the user may exit the screen FIG. 86 leaving the master open by clicking
Button 1127 or closed by clicking
Button 1128. Once closed, the master cannot be edited or have additional
bookings assigned to it until the
master is re-opened via FIG. 78 , Box 1030. Both Buttons, if clicked, lead to
FIG. 87.
The Revised Main Map FiG. 87 displays buttons 1129 - 1131 which replace the
Tracking Button 274
(now not shown) after the Tracking Button 274 has been clicked. A Pending
Shipments Button 1129 causes
a display of shipments in progress, screen FIG. 5. A Confirmed on Board Button
1130 and a Proof of
Delivery Button 1131 are each discussed subsequently.
A Confirmed on Board screen FIG. 88 is displayed after the Confirmed on Board
Button 1130 is
clicked. The screen FIG. 88 lists all the masters in Box 1132 that have been
closed but are not confirmed on
board all the flights to the final destination. Box 1132 shows the masterbill
number, each flight
number/vessel name on which the master is booked, the date of departure for
each flight/vessel on which
the master is booked, and a carrier to which the master cargo was tendered.
Highlighting a flight in the Box
1132 displays various details about the master in the Display Box 1137. The
Display Box 1137 shows the
masterbill number chosen, the flight number/vessel name on which the master is
booked, the date and time
of departure for each flighbvessel booked, the destination for each flight
vessel, whether or not the master
was confirmed on board (in Check Boxes 1142), each flight/vessel, an arrival
date and time at final
destination, a carrier to which the master was tendered, and a phone number to
use to reach the carrier in
order to obtain COB information. The user contacts the carrier and updates the
flight information in Box
1137. The user also marks the Check Box 1142 if the master was confirmed on
board the flight/voyage.
The user may also enter the time and Date that the master has arrival at the
final destination. The user may
make any notations in Field 1146 regarding the transit. The information is
stored by clicking a Save and Fax
Button 1147.
When the user clicks the Save and Fax Button 1147, the user is prompted by
FIG. 89 (Option to
Fax) whether or not to fax updated COB details displayed in Box 1137 to each
shipper who had a booking
on the master. For each shipper, the user chooses yes Button 1148 to have a
COB report faxed to the
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shipper or no Button 1149 not to fax a COB report to the shipper. Lastly, the
user is asked in the same
manner if a COB report is to be faxed to the destination agent. In a preferred
embodiment the Freight
Forwarding Providers Computer System 55 would electronically and automatically
confirm COB data from
the carrier, would update any underlying records, and notify involved
customers and agents.
A Proof of Delivery (POD) screen FIG. 90 is displayed after a Proof of
Delivery Button 1131 is
clicked in FIG. 87. The screen Fig. 90 shows all the bookings that need to be
confirmed as arrived at the
final destination. A summary of each booking is displayed in Box 1152,
including the house bill number, a
shipper name, a consignee name, a master bill number, an arrival date at final
destination, and a name of
the destination agent handling the master bill. The user has an option for
each individual booking to Fax a
P.O.D. request to the destination agent by clicking Button 1158, or to print a
request to the destination agent
by clicking Button 1159. The user also has an option to click a Fax Button
1160 to fax (or to click a Print All
Button 1161 to print) POD requests for every pending booking to each
respective destination agent in Box
1152. When the user receives a response to the P.O.D. request, i.e., a
response from a destination agent,
the user enters a date in Fields 1151. After a date is entered in Fields 1151,
the user is prompted by FIG. 91
(Time and Signature Entry) screen to enter in Field 1163 the name of a person
who signed for the shipment,
and the time that the shipment were delivered (clicking OK Button 1155 causes
a display of FIG. 90, and
clicking Return Button 1157 causes a display of FIG. 92.
The Further Revised Main Map FIG. 92 displays the Buttons 1164 - 1166 which
replace the Reports
Button 276 (now not shown) when the Reports Button 276 has been clicked.
Clicking a CASS Report Button
1164 causes a display of a CASS Report screen FIG. 93 (discussed later). A
Consol Schedule Button 1165
causes a display of the Consol Schedule screen FIG. 94 (discussed later). A
Monthly Sales Button 1166
causes a display of the Monthly Sales screen FIG. 98 (discussed later).
The CASS Report screen FIG. 93 is used to generate and confirm the CASS
report. As previously
discussed, masterbill numbers issued by carriers are accountable and must
either be used and reported, or
voided and returned. In a preferred embodiment this report electronic funds
transfer is employed for
payment handling. An electronic signature, encryption, or another such
security system is used to protect
the integrity of such electronic communication and electronic funds transfers.
Due to the Masterbill Manager
FIG. 47, there is never a need to void a bill because unused numbers are
automatically returned to the
Masterbill Manager FIG. 47 for later use. CASS is a freight payment clearing
house for all but a small
number of air carriers. The user does not report to the carriers directly, but
instead reports to this clearing
house by means of a standardized report.
in any case, the CASS Report screen FIG. 93 generates a report of all the
master bills used during
the report period: The user enters the report ending date in Field 1167.
Report periods are the first through
the fifteenth of each month, and the sixteenth through the end of each month.
Every masterbill issued during
the period is listed in Field 1168. Details of the masterbills (as required by
CASS) are displayed as follows:
a masterbill number in Field 1169, whether or not the Masterbill is Prepaid in
Check Box 1170, prepaid
freight charge in Field 1171, other prepaid charges due the air carrier in
Field 1172, an Amount of collect
agency fees the airline collected on behalf of (and therefore owed to) the
user in Field 1173, a commission
percent in Field 1174 the carrier agreed to pay the user on the masterbili,
and the calculated commission
amount in Field 1175 (calculated as the freight charge whether prepaid or
collect, times the commission
percent). When a Print Button 1176 is clicked, the CASS report is output to
the output Device 15. Return
Button 1168 leads to FIG. 92.
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A Consolidation Schedule screen FIG. 94 opens of masters for a particular
originldestination pair.
FIG. 94 also prints a schedule based on the opened masters, when the user
enters an origin in Field 1177
and a destination in Field 1178. Based on the information entered in the
default carrier screen FIG. 37 using
the origin in Field 1177, the destination in Field 1178, and the service type
"consolidated air" as the criteria.
The Freight Forwarding Providers Computer System 55 determines and displays
destination agent details in
Box 1179, a carrier name in Field 1180, cut-off days marked in Check Boxes
1181, and cut-off times in
Fields 1182. The user enters a month in Field 1183 to create a schedule.
If a consolidation schedule already exists, the user is prompted in FIG. 95
(Consolidation Exists
Warning) screen to choose between the Print Option Button 1184 which sends the
current schedule to the
Output Device 15, a View Option Button 1185 which displays the current
schedule for viewing but not editing,
and a New Option Button 1186 which deletes the existing schedule and creates a
new schedule (starting no
earlier than the present date). Note that text above the Buttons 1184-1186
within Box 1162 in FIG. 95. The
user can return to the Main Map FIG. 13 by clicking Return Button 1187.
When a new schedule is created (Revised Consolidation Schedule FIG. 96), a
consolidation is
created for each cut-off day in Check Boxes 1181 during the month chosen in
Field 1183, and all the
consolidations are displayed in Box 1191. Each consolidation showing a cut-off
date in Field 1193 and cut-
off time in Field 1194. Based on the carrier schedule (FIG. 32), the Freight
Forwarding Providers Computer
System 55 determines and displays in FIG. 96 flight numbers in Fields 1195,
flight date in Fields 1196 and
estimated arrivals in Fields 1197 at final destination. The masterbill numbers
in Fields 1198 may be entered
manually or may be assigned by the Masterbill Manager (F1G. 47) by clicking
Button 1199. When the
schedule is saved via clicking Button 1200, the schedule is sent to the Output
Device 15, and thereby
creating open masters. Again, electronic communication in FIG. 1 is preferred.
The Monthly Detail (FIG. 97) screen lists all the shipments for a selected
Month entered in Field
1201. The Monthly Detail (FIG. 97) screen displays each masterbilf number in
Column 1202, each housebill
number in Column 1203, the freight revenue in Column 1204 for each housebill,
other revenue in Column
1205 for each housebill, the freight cost in Column 1206 for each housebill,
other costs in Column 1207 for
each housebill, the profrt in Column 1208 on each housebiil, and the
commission in Column 1209 paid by the
carrier on each of the housebills. The user may click Button 1210 to print via
the Output Device 15. Return
Button 1194 causes a display of the Revised Main Map FIG. 48, where the user
can click Button 702 to
display FIG. 98.
The Billing Lookup screen (FIG. 98) is similar to the screen used to view
house bills (FIG. 74) in that
the user may complete as much criteria as possible to narrow a search through
records in the Database 30.
The result of using the Billing Lookup screen FIG. 98 is a list of matching
billing records from which the user
may choose a record to view. If only one record fits the criteria entered, the
matching billing record is
displayed in FIG. 99. This screen FIG. 98 is particularly useful for
accounting activities that are prompted by
vendor invoices. Optimally, the user wilt enter a vendor reference number in
Field 1211 and click a Show
Matches Button 1212 to view the record to which the vendors invoice belongs.
Preferably the Freight
Forwarding Providers Computer System 55 receives the invoice data
electronically via FIG. 1, the criteria in
FIG. 98 will automatically be matched to the data; for a matching reference, a
comparison is made between
the estimated payable and the invoice data, and (if the amount is within a
predefined variance) payment is
automatically carried out electronically, via FIG. 1. Auditing Reports are
also automatically generated.
A House Billing (FIG. 99) screen displays the record matching the criteria
entered by the user in the
Billing Lookup screen FIG. 98. The user may record payment details as
discussed with reference to FIG. 72.
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FIG. 100 illustrates the high level logic of System 2. FIG. 100 reflects how
imports and exports are
always related. Although the relationship is not quite perfect, there is
somewhat of a mirror image between
of each other. The inventor's observation of this mirror image was critical to
inventing a generic
computerized approach that meets the needs of users on both the export and the
import sides of a
transaction.
FIG.'s. 101-104 show a summary of the tables of data stored in the Relational
Database 30. The
data items in tables of data in FIG.'s 101-104 were obtained from a user
working through the screens
previously discussed.
FIG.'s. 105-110 show details of each table from FIG.'S 101-104, along with a
graphic depiction of
how the data in the Databases 30 is related. Generally, FIG.'s 105-110 show
relationships between
temporary storage areas and relationships between the tables used to store
information temporarily while
being manipulated by the user. There are links among tables of data to
efficiently use the same data in more
than one application.
Turning from temporary storage workspace of FIG. 105, there are two similarly
configured
organizations of the tables in FIG.'S 106 and 107. Organizations are displayed
for Quotation Storage FIG.
106 and House Bill storage FIG. 107. Quotation Storage FIG. 106 is permanent
storage for the information
temporarily stored in the Temporary Storage Workspace 105. Once the user is
finished manipulating the
data, the quote data is stored in Quotation Storage FIG. 106 for permanent
storage. The design of the
Quotation Storage FIG. 106 is nearly identical to the Temporary Storage
Workspace FIG. 105. The House
Bill Storage FIG. 107 is set up very similar to the Temporary Storage
Workspace FIG. 105 and Quotation
Storage FIG. 106, but some additional information is stored in House Bill
Storage FIG. 107. House Bill
Storage FIG. 107 stores information about bookings which require additional
information for example
tracking and billing information.
The Master Bill Storage Table, FIG. 108, is based on the Master Bill Table
1224 which includes a collection
of pointers to tables containing specific information.
Turning to FIG. 109, Routing and Rating Determination is based primarily on
information from the
shipment forms store until saved in a table. But rather than diagramming
storage of information about the
shipment, this FIG. 109 shows the relationships that are used to determine
routing information (which flights
or vessels a shipment will use to get from one origin to destination) and
rating information (the tables and
relationships used to determine costs and also to determine sell charges for
shipments).
FIG. 110 User Utilities shows other user related utilities and how they are
linked to the User Table
1127.
More particularly, as regards FIG.'s 101-110, the relational Databases 30 can
be viewed as being
comprised of tables of data fields that are linked to make multiple uses of
the data. The tables of data
fields can be organized to be topically related. The tables can include the
following: Shippers Table
1300, which generally involves fields of data pertaining to clients; Billing
Info Table 1301,which generally
includes fields of data pertaining to billing details of clients; Pickup
Delivery Location Table 1302, which
generally includes fields of data pertaining to warehouse details of clients;
Shipment Form Store Til Save
Table 1303, which generally is used to temporarily store fields of data
pertaining to shipments while the
user views and edits the details; Country Code Table 1304, which generally
includes fields of data
pertaining to country details; Shipment Forms Cartons Store Til Save Table
1305, which generally is used
to temporarily store fields of data pertaining to carton details of shipments
while the user views and edits
the details; Transit Type Table 1306, which generally includes fields of data
pertaining to the types of
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transit; Service Type Table 1307, v.~hich generally includes fields of data
pertaining to the types of service;
Terms Table 1308, which generally includes fields of data pertaining to
payment terms: 3 Letter Port Code
Table 1309, which generally includes fields of data pertaining to airports and
seaports; Shipment Form
Containers Store Til Save Table 1310, which generally is used to temporarily
store fields of data
pertaining to shipper - loaded carrier- issued container details of shipments
while the user views and edits
the details; Container Type Table 1311, which generally includes fields of
data pertaining to the types of
carrier-issued containers; Special Vendors Base Table 1312, which generally
includes fields of data
pertaining to vendors of a type other than the 5 basic vendor types (agent,
broker, carrier, inland,
terminal); Brokers Base Table 1313, which generally includes fields of data
pertaining to vendor details
specific to brokers; Inland Vendors Base Table 1314, which generally includes
fields of data pertaining to
vendor details specific to inland vendors; Commercial InvoiceISED Store Til
Save Table 1315, which
generally is used to temporarily store fields of data pertaining to the
details of the sale of the goods being
shipped while the user views and edits the details; Commercial Invoice Line
Items Store Til Save Table
1316, which generally is used to temporarily store fields of data pertaining
to details of the goods being
shipped while the user views and edits the details; Shipper invoice Phrase
Table 1317, which generally
includes fields of data pertaining to computer-generated phrases printed on
commercial invoices;
Shipper inventory Item Table 1318, which generally includes fields of data
pertaining to the inventory of a
client; Vendor Directory 1319, which generally includes fields of data
pertaining to vendors which are
common to all vendor types; Vendor Type List 1320, which generally includes
fields of data pertaining to
the types of vendors; Shipment Form Store Charges Til Save 1321, which
generally is used to temporarily
store fields of data pertaining to the charges sold to the client by the user
to execute a shipment; Quote
Table 1322, which generally includes fields of data pertaining to a shipment
which has not yet been
effected by the client; Quote Carton Details Table 1323, which generally
includes fields of data pertaining
to carton details of a shipment that has not yet been effected by the client;
Containerization Table 1324,
which generally includes fields of data pertaining to shipper loaded carrier
issued container details of a
shipment which has not yet been effected by the client; Commercial Invoice/SED
Table 1325, which
generally includes fields of data pertaining to the details of the sale of the
goods being shipped in a
shipment which has not yet been effected by the client; Commercial invoice
Line Item Table 1326, which
generally includes fields of data pertaining to the details of the goods being
shipped in a shipment which
has not yet been effected by the client; Quote Charges 1327, which generally
includes fields of data
pertaining to the charges sold to the client by the user to execute a shipment
which has not yet been
effected by the client; HouseBill Table 1328, which generally includes fields
of data pertaining to a
shipment; HouseBill Carton Details Table 1329, which generally includes fields
of data pertaining to
carton details of a shipment; HouseBill Containerization Table 1330, which
generally includes fields of
data pertaining to shipper loaded carrier issued container details of a
shipment; Agent Broker Base Table
1331, which generally includes fields of data pertaining to vendor details
specific to agents; HouseBill
Commercial InvoiceISED Table 1332, which generally includes fields of data
pertaining to the details of
the sale of the goods being shipped; Terminal Location Base Table 1333, which
generally includes fields
of data pertaining to vendor details specific to terminals; HouseBill
Commercial Invoice Line item Table
1334, which generally includes fields of data pertaining to details of the
goods being shipped; Billing
Invoice Table 1335, which generally includes fields of data pertaining to the
user's invoicing of the client to
execute a shipment; Billing Invoice items Table 1336, which generally includes
fields of data pertaining to
charges to the client by the user and costs to the user by the vendors related
to the execution of a
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shipment; Charge Description Table 1337, which generally includes fields of
data pertaining to the
charges billed; HouseBill Print Override table 1338, which generally includes
fields of data pertaining to
information to override default computer-generated information for printing on
shipment related
documents: HouseBill Forms Printed Table 1339, which generally includes fields
of data pertaining to
which shipment related documents are required and how many times each document
has been printed;
HouseBill Transit Record Table 1340, which generally includes fields of data
pertaining to the transit
status of each shipment; Doc Regs Table 1341, which generally includes fields
of data pertaining to which
shipment-related documents are required on a per country per mode basis;
Carrier Specification Base
Table 1342, which generally includes fields of data pertaining to vendor
details specific to carriers;
MasterBill Table 1343, which generally includes fields of data pertaining to
consolidations; MasterBill
Containerization Table 1344, which generally includes fields of data
pertaining to user loaded carrier
issued container details of a consolidation; MasterBill Forms Printed Table
1345, which generally includes
fields of data pertaining to how many times each consolidation related
document has been printed;
MasterBill Print Override Table 1346, which generally includes fields of data
pertaining to information to
override default computer-generated information for printing on consolidation
related documents; Carrier
Schedule Table 1347, which generally includes fields of data pertaining to the
schedule flight details and
scheduled sailing details of carriers; Carrier Routing Table 1348, which
generally includes fields of data
pertaining to which flights and which sailings a carrier uses to move
shipments between points of service;
Customer Rate Table 1349, which generally includes fields of data pertaining
to rates sold to a specific
client covering shipments from a specific point to a specific point via a
specific transit type; Consolidation
Vendor Table 1350, which generally includes fields of data pertaining to user
defined carrier defaults for
shipments from a specific port to a specific port via a specific transit type;
Insurance Rate Table 1351,
which generally includes fields of data pertaining to the cost to insure goods
of a specific commodity class
to a county of a specific country class; Inland Rate Table 1352, which
generally includes fields of data
pertaining to costs to the user from specific inland vendors for providing
inland service from specific points
(defined by postal code IDs); Default Rate Table 1353, which generally
includes fields of data pertaining
to user defined default charges sold to clients covering the execution of
shipments from a specific port to
a specific port via a specific transit type; Carrier Rate Table 1354, which
generally includes fields of data
pertaining to costs to the user from specific carriers for providing port-to-
port service from specific ports to
specific ports; Consol Schedule Table 1355, which generally includes fields of
data pertaining to user
defined default consolidation details; MasterBill Number Pool Table 1356,
which generally includes fields
of data pertaining to carrier issued MasterBill numbers and the status of each
of these MasterBill
numbers; User Scheduled Events Table 1357, which generally includes fields of
data pertaining to user
defined 'to-do' events; User Scheduled Memos Table 1358, which generally
includes fields of data
pertaining to user generated memos addressed to other users; User Table 1359,
which generally includes
fields of data pertaining to names, passwords, and the like for authorized
users; Comments table 1360,
which generally includes fields of data pertaining to user generated or system
generated messages
regarding errors, bugs, deficiencies, or other system related comments.
Link 1400 links matching shipper ID Fields between Shippers Table 1300 and
Shipment Form
Store Til Save Table 1303. Link 1400 allows the data in Shippers Table 1300 to
become part of the
record (specifically in regards to shipper details) in Shipment Form Store Til
Save Table 1303 without the
user having to reenter shipper related details. Also Link 1400 allows the
system direct access to all
records in Shipment Form Store Ti! Save Table 1303 based on a selected record
in Shippers Table 1300.
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Link 1401 links a consignee JD Field in Shipment Form Store Til Save Table
1303 with a matching
shipper ID Field in Shippers Table 1300 allowing the data in Shippers Table
1300 to become part of the
record (specifically in regards to consignee details) in Shipment Form Store
Til Save Table 1303 without
the user having to reenter consignee related details. Link 1401 allows direct
access to all records in
Shipment Form Store Til Save Table 1303 based on a selected record in Shippers
Table 1300.
Link 1402 links matching location ID Fields between Pickup Delivery Location
Table 1302 and
Shipment Form Store Til Save Table 1303. Link 1402 allows data in Pickup
Delivery Location Table 1302
to become part of the record (specifically in regards to pickup location) in
Shipment Form Store Til Save
Table 1303 without the user having to reenter pickup location related details.
Link 1402 allows the system
direct access to all records in Shipment Form Store Til Save Table 1303 based
on a selected record in
Pickup Delivery Location Table 1302.
Link 1403 links a primary bill to Field in Shipment Form Store Til Save Table
1303 with a
matching billing customer ID Field in Billing Info Table 1301 allowing data in
Billing Info Table 1301 to
become part of the record (specifically in regards to prepaid bill-to details)
in Shipment Form Store Til
Save Table 1303 without the user having to reenter prepaid bill-to details.
Additionally, Link 1403 allows
direct access to all records in Shipment Form Store Til Save Table 1303 based
on a selected record in
Billing Info Table 1301.
Link 1404 links a consignee location ID Field in Shipment Form Store Til Save
Table 1303 with a
matching location ID Field in Pickup Delivery Location Table 1302 allowing
data in Pickup Delivery
Location Table 1302 to become part of the record (specifically in regards to
delivery location) in Shipment
Form Store Til Save Table 1303 without the user having to reenter delivery
location related details. Link
1404 allows direct access to all records in Shipment Form Store Til Save Table
1303 based on a selected
record in Pickup Delivery Location Table 1302.
Link 1405 links a secondary bill to ID Field in Shipment Form Store Til Save
Table 1303 with a
matching billing customer ID Field in Billing Info Table 1301 allowing data in
Billing Info Table 1301 to
become part of the record (specifically in regards to collect bill-to details)
in Shipment Form Store Til Save
Table 1303 without the user having to reenter collect bill to details. Link
1405 allows the system direct
access to all records in Shipment Form Store Til Save Table 1303 based on a
selected record in Billing
Info Table 1301.
Link 1406 links a country Field in Shippers Table 1300 with a matching country
two-letter code
field in Country Code Table 1304 allowing data in Country Code Table 1304 to
become part of the record
in Shippers Table 1300 without the user having to reenter country related
details.
Link 140.7 links a billing ID Field in Shippers Table 1300 with a matching
billing customer iD Field
in Billing Info Table 1301 allowing data in Billing Info Table 1301 to become
part of the record in Shippers
Tabfe 1300 without the user having to reenter billing related details.
Link 1408 links a matching location lD Fields between Shippers Table 1300 and
Pickup Delivery
Location Table 1302 allowing data in Pickup Delivery Location Table 1302 to
become part of the record in
Shippers Table 1300 without the user having to reenter location related
details.
Link 1409 links a shipper special charge vendor ID Field in Shippers Table
1300 with a matching
special vendor ID Field in Special Vendors Base Tabfe 1312 allowing an
automated determination of
which record in Special Vendors Base Table 1312 contains information about the
vendor providing a
special service for each record in Shippers Table 1300.
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Link 1410 links matching broker ID Fields between Shippers Table 1300 and
Brokers Base Table
1313 allowing an automated determination of which record in Brokers Base Table
1313 contains
information about the broker providing brokerage service for each record in
Shippers Table 1300.
Link 1411 links a billing address country Field in Billing Info Table 1301
with a matching country 2
letter code Field in County Code Table 1304 allowing data in Country Code
Table 1304 to become part of
the record in Billing Info Table 1301 without the user having to reenter
country related details.
Link 1412 links a location country Field in Pickup Delivery Location Table
1302 with a matching
country 2 letter code Field in Country Code Table 1304 allowing data in
Country Code Table 1304 to
become part of the record in Pickup Delivery Location Table 1302 without the
user having to reenter
country related details.
Link 1413 links a terminal of service Field in Pickup Delivery Location Table
1302 with a matching
port three-letter code Field in 3 Letter Port Code Table 1309 allowing an
automated determination of
which record in 3 Letter Port Code Table 1309 contains information about the
port servicing the location
detailed in each record of Pickup Delivery Location Table 1302.
Link 1414 links an inland service provider Field in Pickup Delivery Location
Table 1302 with a
matching vendor ID Field in Inland Vendors Base Table 1314 allowing an
automated determination of
which records in Inland Vendors Base Table 1314 contain information about the
vendor providing inland
service for the location detailed in each record of Pickup Delivery Location
Table 1302.
Link 1415 links matching store ID Fields between Shipment Form Store Til Save
Table 1303 and
Shipment Form Cartons Store Til Save Table 1305 which allows an unlimited
amount of carton
information stored in records in Shipment Form Cartons Store Til Save Table
1305 to become part of the
record in Shipment Form Store Til Save Table 1303.
Link 1416 links a transit requirements Field in Shipment Form Store Til Save
Table 1303 with a
matching transit type ID Field in Transit Type Table 1306 allowing screen
displays of user-friendly
information about the transit type assigned to a Shipment Form Store Til Save
Table 1303 record.
Link 1417 links a type of service Field in Shipment Form Store Til Save Table
1303 with a
matching service type ID Field in Service Type Table 1307 allowing screen
displays of user-friendly
information about the service type assigned to a Shipment From Store Til Save
Table 1303 record.
Link 1418 links a payment terms Field in Shipment Form Store Til Save Table
1303 with a
matching terms ID Field in Terms Table 1308 allowing screen displays of user-
friendly information about
the payment terms assigned to a Shipment Form Store Til Save Table 1303
record.
Link 1419 links an origin port Field in Shipment Form Store Til Save Table
1303 with a matching
port 3 letter code.field in 3 Letter Port Code Table 1309 allowing an
automated determination of which
record in 3 Letter Port Code Table 1309 contains information about the origin
port of the shipment
detailed in each record of the Shipment Form Store Til Save Table 1303.
Link 1420 links a destination port Field in Shipment Form Store Til Save Table
1303 with a
matching port three letter code field in 3 Letter Port Code Table 1309
allowing an automated
determination of which record in 3 Letter Port Code Table 1309 contains
information about the destination
port of the shipment detailed in each record of the Shipment Form Store Til
Save Table 1303.
Link 1421 links an insurance commodity class Field in Shipment Form Store Til
Save Table 1303
with a matching insurance class Field in Shipper Inventory Item Table 1318
allowing an automated
determination of the commodity classification for insurance purposes based on
the goods shipped (i.e.,
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each record in Shipper Inventory Item Table 1318 that is linked to the
Shipment Form Store Til Save
Table via Link 1430 and Link 1431 ).
Link 1422 finks a country Field in 3 Letter Port Code Table 1309 with a
matching country 2 letter
code Field in Country Code Table 1304 allowing the data in Country Code Table
1304 to become part of
the record in 3 Letter Port Code Table 1309 without the user having to reenter
country information.
Link 1423 links a vendor country Field in Vendor Directory Table 1319 with a
matching country 2
letter code Field in Country Code Table 1304 allowing the data in Country Code
Table 1304 to become
part of the record in Vendor Directory Table 1319 without the user having to
reenter country information.
Link 1424 links matching store ID Fields between Table Shipment Form
Containers Store Til
Save Table 1310 and Shipment Form Store Til Save Table 1303 which allows an
unlimited amount of
shipper loaded carrier issued container information stored in records in
Shipment Form Containers Store
Til Save Table 1310 to become part of the record in Shipment Form Store Til
Save Table 1303.
Link 1425 links a container type Field in Shipment Form Containers Store Til
Save Table 1310
with a matching container type ID number Field in Container Type Table 1311
allowing the data in
Container Type Table 1311 to become part of the record in Shipment Form
Containers Store Til Save
Table 1310 without the user having to reenter information about the container
type.
Link 1426 links matching store ID Fields between Commercial invoice/SED Store
Til Save Table
1315 and Shipment Form Store Til Save Table 1303 allowing an automated
determination of which record
in Commercial Invoice/SED Store Til Save Table 1315 contains detailed
information about the goods
constituting a shipment detailed in each record of Shipment Form Store Til
Save Table 1303.
Link 1427 links a phrase1 Field in Commercial invoice/SED Store Til Save Table
1315 with a
matching phrase iD Field in Shipper Invoice Phrase Table 1317 allowing the
user to make an entry in
phrase1 Field in Commercial InvoiceISED Store Til Save Table 1315 from an
existing record in Shipper
Invoice Phrase Table 1317.
Link 1428 links a phrase2 Field in Commercial InvoiceISED Store Til Save Table
1315 with a
matching phrase ID Field in Shipper Invoice Phrase Table 1317 allowing the
user to make an entry in
phrase2 Field in Commercial InvoiceISED Store Til Save Table 1315 from an
existing record in Shipper
Invoice Phrase Table 1317.
Link 1429 links a phrase3 Field in Commercial Invoice/SED Store Til Save Table
1315 with a
matching phrase ID Field in Shipper Invoice Phrase Table 1317 allowing the
user to make an entry in
phrase3 Field in Commercial Invoice/SED Store Til Save Table 1315 from an
existing record in Shipper
Invoice Phrase Tabte 1317.
Link 1430 links matching store ID Fields between Commercial Invoice Line Items
Store Til Save
Table 1316 and Shipment Form Store Til Save Table 1303 allowing details of an
unlimited number of
items to be stored in records in Commercial Invoice Line Items Store Til Save
Table 1316 and become
part of the record in Shipment Form Store Til Save Table 1303.
Link 1431 links matching shipper inventory item record number Fields between
Commercial
Invoice Line Items Store Til Save Table 1316 and Shipper Inventory Item Table
1318 allowing the data in
Shipper Inventory Item Table 1318 to become part of the record in invoice Line
Items Store Til Save
Table 1316 without the user having to reenter inventory details.
Link 1432 links matching shipper ID Fields between Shipper Invoice Phrase
Table 1317 and
Shipment Form Store Til Save Table 1303 allowing entry options only those
records in Shipper invoice
Phrase Table 1317 belonging to the shipper noted in Shipment Form Store Til
Save Table 1303.
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Link 1433 links matching shipper ID Fields between Shipper Inventory Item
Table 1318 and
Shipment Form Store Til Save Table 1303 allowing entry options only those
records in Shipper Inventory
Item Table 1318 belonging to the shipper noted in Shipment Form Store Tii Save
Table 1303.
Link 1434 links matching quote ID Fields between Shipment Form Store Charges
Til Save Table
1321 and Shipment Form Store Til Save Table 1303 allowing an automated
determination of which record
in Shipment Form Store Charges Til Save Table 1321 contains billing and
costing information about a
shipment detailed in each record of Shipment Form Store Til Save Table 1303.
Link 1435 links a special vendor ID Field in Special Vendors Base Table 1312
with a matching
vendor ID Field in Vendor Directory Table 1319 allowing data in the Vendor
Directory Table 1319 to
become part of the record in Special Vendors Base Table 1312 without the user
having to reenter
duplicate vendor information.
Link 1436 links a broker ID Field in Brokers Base Table 1313 with a matching
vendor ID Field in
Vendor Directory Table 1319 allowing data in the Vendor Directory Table 1319
to become part of the
record in Brokers Base Table 1313 without the user having to reenter duplicate
vendor information.
Link 1437 links a vendor ID Field in Inland Vendors Base Table 1314 with a
matching vendor ID
Field in Vendor Directory Table 1319 allowing data in the Vendor Directory
Table 1319 to become part of
the record in Inland Vendors Base Table 1314 without the user having to
reenter duplicate vendor
information..
Link 1438 links a vendor table source field in Vendor Directory Table 1319
with a matching table
Field in Vendor Type List Table 1320 allowing the System 55 to group and
display records in Vendor
Directory Table 1319 in a user-friendly manner.
Link 1439 links matching shipper ID Fields between Quote Table 1322 and
Shippers Table 1300
allowing data in Shippers Table 1300 to become part of the record
(specifically in regards to shipper
details) in quote Table 1322 without having to duplicate shipper related
details, and also Link 1439 allows
the System 55 direct access to all records in Quote Table 1322 based on a
selected record in Shippers
Table 1300.
Link 1440 links a consignee ID Field in Quote Table 1322 with a matching
shipper ID Field in
Shippers Table 1300 allowing data in Shippers Table 1300 to become part of the
record (specifically in
regards to consignee details) in Cluote Table 1322 without having to create
duplicate consignee related
details, and also Link 1440 allows direct access to all records in Quote Table
1322 based on a selected
record in Shippers Table 1300.
Link 1441 links matching location ID Fields between Quote Table 1322 and
Pickup Delivery
Location Table 1302 allowing data in Pickup Delivery Location Table 1302 to
become part of the record
(specifically in regards to pickup location details) in Quote Table 1322
without having to create duplicate
pickup location related details, and also Link 1441 allows direct access to
all records in G7uote Table 1322
based on a selected record in Pickup Delivery Location Table 1302.
Link 1442 links a primary bill to party ID Field in G~uote Table 1322 with a
matching billing
customer ID Field in Billing Info Table 1301 allowing data in Billing Info
Table 1301 to become part of the
record (specifically in regards to prepaid bill-to details) in Quote Table
1322 without having to create
duplicate prepaid bill-to details, and also Link 1442 allows direct access to
all records in Quote Table
1322 based on a selected record in Billing Info Table 1301.
Link 1443 links a consignee location ID Field in Quote Table 1322 with a
matching location ID
Field in Pickup Delivery Location Table 1302 allowing data in Pickup Delivery
Location Table 1302 to
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become part of the record (specifically in regards to delivery location
details) in Quote Table 1322 without
having to create duplicate delivery Location related details. Link 1443 allows
direct access to all records
in Quote Table 1322 based on a selected record in Pickup Delivery Location
Table 1302.
Link 1444 links a secondary bill to party ID Field in Quote Table 1322 with a
matching billing
customer ID Field in Billing Info Table 1301 allowing data in Billing Info
Table 1301 to become part of the
record (specifically in regards to collect bill-to details) in Quote Table
1322 without having to create
duplicate collect bill-to related details. Link 1444 allows direct access to
all records in Quote Table 1322
based on a selected record in Billing Info Table 1301.
Link 1445 links matching quote ID Fields between Quote Carton Details Table
1323 and Quote
Table 1322 which aNow an unlimited amount of carton information stored in
records in Quote Carton
Details Table 1323 to become part of the record in Quote Table 1322.
Link 1446 links a transit requirements Field in Quote Table 1322 with a
matching transit type ID
Field in Transit Type Table 1306 allowing screen displays of user-friendly
information about the transit
type assigned to a Quote Table 1322 record.
Link 1447 links a type of service Field in Quote Table 1322 with a matching
service type ID Field in
Service Type Table 1307 allowing screen displays of user-friendly information
about the service type
assigned to a Quote Table 1322 record.
Link 1448 links a payment terms Field in Quote Table 1322 with a matching
terms ID Field in
Terms Table 1308 allowing screen displays of user-friendly information about
the payment terms
assigned to a Quote Table 1322 record.
Link 1449 links an origin port Field in Quote Table 1322 with a matching port
3 letter code Field in
3 Letter Port Code Table 1309 allowing an automated determination of which
record in 3 Letter Port Code
Table 1309 contains information about the origin port of the shipment detailed
in each record of the Quote
Table 1322.
Link 1450 links a destination port Field in Quote Table 1322 with a matching
port three-letter code
Field in 3 Letter Port Code Table 1309 allowing an automated determination of
which record in 3 Letter
Port Code Table 1309 contains information about the destination port of the
shipment detailed in each
record of the Quote Table 1322.
Link 1451 links an insurance commodity class Field in Quote Table 1322 with a
matching
insurance class field in Shipper Inventory Item Table 1318 allowing an
automated determination of the
commodity classification for insurance purposes based on the goods shipped
(i.e., each record in Shipper
Inventory Item Table 1318 is linked to the Quote Table 1322 via Link 1455 and
Link 1461 ).
Link 1452 links matching quote ID Fields between Containerization Table 1324
and Quote Tabfe
1322 which allow an unlimited amount of shipper loaded carrier issued
container information stored in
records in Containerization Table 1324 to become part of the record in Quote
Table 1322.
Link 1453 links a container type Field in Containerization Table 1324 with a
matching container
type ID number Field in Container Type Table 1311 allowing the data in
Container Type Table 1311 to
become part of the record in Containerization Table 1324 without the user
having to reenter information
about the container type.
Link 1454 links matching quote ID Fields between Commercial Invoice/SED Table
1325 and
Quote Table 1322 allowing an automated determination of which record in
Commercial InvoiceISED
Table 1325 contains detailed information about the goods constituting a
shipment detailed in each record
of Quote Table 1322.
54
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Link 1455 links a commercial invoice/SED record number Field in Commercial
Invoice Line Item
Table 1326 with a matching quote ID Field in Quote Table 1322 allowing details
of an unlimited number of
items to be stored in records in Commercial Invoice Line Item Table 1326 and
become part of the record
in Quote Table 1322.
Link 1456 links matching shipper ID Fields between Shipper Invoice Phrase
Table 1317 and
Quote Table 1322 allowing entry options only for those records in Shipper
Inventory Phrase Tale 1317
belonging to the shipper noted in Quote Table 1322.
Link 1457 links a phrasel Field in Commercial Invoice/SED Table 1325 with a
matching phrase
ID Field in Shipper Invoice Phrase Table 1317 allowing the user to make an
entry in phrase 1 Field in
Commercial Invoice/SED Table 1325 from an existing record in Shipper Invoice
Phrase Table 1317.
Link 1458 links a phrase2 Field in Commercial invoice/SED Table 1325 with a
matching phrase
ID Field in Shipper Invoice Phrase Table 1317 allowing the user to make an
entry in phrase2 Field in
Commercial Invoice/SED Table 1325 from an existing record in Shipper Invoice
Phrase Table 1317.
Link 1459 links a phrase3 Field in Commercial InvoiceISED Table 1325 with a
matching phrase
ID Fiefd in Shipper Invoice Phrase Table 1317 allowing the user to make an
entry in phrase3 Field in
Commercial Invoice/SED Table 1325 from an existing record in Shipper Invoice
Phrase Table 1317.
Link 1460 links matching shipper ID Fields between Shipper inventory Item
Table 1318 and
Quote Table 1322 allowing entry options only for those records in Shipper
Inventory Item Table 1318
belonging to the shipper noted in Quote Table 1322.
Link 1461 links matching shipper inventory item record number fields between
Commercial Invoice Line
Item Table 1326 and Shipper inventory item Table 1318 allowing the data in
Shipper Inventory Item Table
1318 to become part of the record in Commercial Invoice Line Item Table 1326
without the user having to
reenter inventory details.
Link 1462 links matching quote ID Fields between Quote Charges Table 1327 and
Quote Table
1322 allowing an automated determination of which record in Quote Charges
Table 1327 contains billing
and costing information about a shipment detailed in each record of Quote
Table 1322.
Link 1463 links matching shipper ID Fields between HouseBill Table 1328 and
Shipper Table
1300 allowing the data in Shippers Table 1300 to become part of the record
(specifically in regards to
shipper details) in HouseBill Table 1328 without having to duplicate shipper
related details. Link 1463
allows direct access to all records in HouseBill Table 1328 based on a
selected record in Shippers Table
1300.
Link 1464 links a consignee ID Field in HouseBill Table 1328 with a matching
shipper 1D field in
Shippers Table 1300 allowing the data in Shippers Table 1300 to become part of
the record (specifically
in regards to consignee related details) in HouseBill Table 1328 without
having to duplicate consignee
related details. Link 1464 allows direct access to all records in HouseBill
Table 1328 based on a selected
record in Shipper Table 1300.
Link 1465 links matching location ID Fields between HouseBill Table 1328 and
Pickup Delivery
Location Table 1302 allowing the data in Pickup Delivery Location Table 1302
to become pan of the
record (specifically in regards to pickup location details) in HouseBifl Table
1328 without having to
duplicate pickup related details. Link 1465 allows direct access to all
records in HouseBill Table 1328
based on a selected record in Pickup Delivery Location Table 1302.
Link 1466 links a primary bill to party ID Field in HouseBill Table 1328 with
a matching billing
customer ID Field in Billing Info Table 1301 allowing the data in Billing Info
Table 1301 to become part of
CA 02294038 1999-12-17
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the record (specifically in regards to prepaid bill-to details) in HouseBill
Table 1328 without having to
duplicate pickup related details. Link 1466 allows direct access to all
records in HouseBill Table 1328
based on a selected record in Billing Info Table 1301.
Link 1467 links a consignee location ID Field in HouseBill Table 1328 with a
matching location ID
Field in Pickup Delivery Location Table 1302 allowing the data in Pickup
Delivery Location Table 1302 to
become part of the record (specifically in regards to delivery location
details) in HouseBill Table 1328
without having to duplicate delivery location related details. Link 1467
allows direct access to all records
in HouseBill Table 1328 based on a selected record in Pickup Delivery Location
Table 1302.
Link 1468 links a secondary bill to party ID Field in HouseBill Table 1328
with a matching billing
customer ID Field in Billing Info Table 1301 allowing the data in Billing Info
Table 1301 to become part of
the record (specifically in regards to collect bill-to details) in HouseBill
Table 1328 without having to
duplicate collect bill-to details. Link 1468 allows direct access to all
records in HouseBill Table 1328
based on a selected record in Billing Info Table 1301.
Link 1469 links a transit requirement Field in HouseBill Table 1328 with a
matching transit type ID
Field in Transit Type Table 1306, which allows screen displays of user-
friendly information about the
transit type assigned to a HouseBill Table 1328 record.
Link 1470 links a type of service Field in HouseBill Table 1328 with a service
type ID Field in
Service Type Table 1307 allowing screen displays of user-friendly information
about the service type
assigned to a HouseBill Table 1328 record.
Link 1471 links a payment terms field in HouseBilf Table 1328 with a matching
terms ID Field in
Terms Table 1308 allowing screen displays of user-friendly information about
the payment terms
assigned to a HouseBill Table 1328 record displayed.
Link 1472 links an origin port Field in HouseBill Table 1328 with a matching
port three letter code
field in 3 Letter Port Code Table 1309 allowing an automated determination of
which record in 3 Letter
Port Code Table 1309 contains information about the origin port of the
shipment detailed in each record of
the HouseBill Table 1328.
Link 1473 links a destination port Field in HouseBill Table 1328 with a
matching port 3 letter code
Field in Table 1309 allowing an determination of which record in 3 Letter Port
Code Table 1309 contains
information about the destination port of the shipment detailed in each record
of the HouseBill Table 1328.
Link 1475 finks matching HouseBill Fields between HouseBill Carton Details
Table 1329 and
HouseBill Table 1328 allowing an unlimited amount of carton information stored
in records in HouseBill
Carton Details Table 1329 to become part of the record in HouseBill Table
1328.
Link 1476 links matching HouseBill Fields between HouseBill Containerization
Table 1330 and
HouseBill Table 1328 allowing an unlimited amount of shipper loaded carrier
issued container information
stored in records in HouseBill Containerization Table 1330 to become part of
the record in HouseBill
Table 1328.
Link 1477 links a container type Field in HouseBill Containerization Table
1330 with a matching
container type ID number Field in Container Type Table 1311 allowing data in
Container Type Table 1311
to become part of the record in HouseBill Containerization Table 1330 without
the user having to reenter
information about the container type.
Link 1478 links matching Hill fields between HouseBill Commercial Invoice/SED
Table 1332 and
HouseBill Table 1328 allowing an automated determination of which record in
HouseBlll Commercial
56
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InvoiceISED Table 1322 contains detailed information about the goods
constituting a shipment detailed in
each record of HouseBill Table 1328.
Link 1479 links a house bill commercial invoice/SED record number Field in
HouseBill
Commercial Invoice Line Item Table 1334 with a matching Hill Field in
HouseBill Commercial InvoiceISED
Table 1332 allowing details of an unlimited number of items stored in records
in HouseBill Commercial
Invoice Line Item Table 1334 to become part of the record in HouseBill
Commercial InvoiceISED Table
1332.
Link 1480 links matching shipper ID Fields between Shipper Invoice Phrase
Table 1317 and
HouseBill Table 1328 allowing the entry options only for those records in
Shipper Inventory Phrase Table
1317 belonging to the shipper noted in HouseBill Table 1328.
Link 1481 links a phrase1 Field in HouseBill Commercial InvoiceISED Table 1332
with a matching
phrase ID Field in Shipper Inventory Phrase Table 1317 allowing the user to
make an entry in phrasel
Field in HouseBill Commercial Invoice/SED Table from an existing record in
Shipper Invoice Phrase Table
1317.
Link 1482 finks a phrase2 Field in HouseBill Commercial InvoiceISED Table 1332
with a matching
phrase ID Field in Shipper Invoice Phrase Table 1317 allowing the user to make
an entry in phrase2 Field
in Housel3ill Commercial Invoice/SED Table from an existing record in Shipper
invoice Phrase Table
1317.
Link 1483 links a phrase3 Field in HouseBill Commercial InvoiceISED Table 1332
with a matching
phrase ID Field in Shipper Invoice Phrase Table 1317 allowing the user to make
an entry in phrase3 Field
in House8ill Commercial InvoiceISED Table from an existing record in Shipper
Invoice Phrase Table
1317.
Link 1484 links matching shipper inventory item record number Fields between
HouseBill
Commercial Invoice Line item Table 1334 and Shipper Inventory Item Table 1318
allowing the data in
Shipper Inventory Item Tale 1318 to become part of the record in House8ill
Commercial invoice Line Item
Table 1334 without the user having to reenter inventory details.
Link 1485 links matching shipper ID Fields between Shipper Inventory Item
Table 1318 and
HouseBill Table 1328 allowing entry options only for those records in Shipper
Inventory Item Table 1318
belonging to the shipper noted in HouseBill Table 1328.
Link 1486 links matching Hill Fields between HouseBill Print Override Table
1338 and HouseBill
Table 1328 allowing an automated determination of which record in HouseBill
Print Override Table 1338
contains print override information for a shipment detailed in each record of
HouseBill Table 1328.
Link 1487 links matching Hill Fields between HouseBill Forms Printed Table
1339 and HouseBill
Table 1328 allowing an automated determination of which record in HouseBill
Forms Printed Table 1339
contains information about which forms have been printed for each record in
HouseBill Table 1328.
Link 1488 links matching Hill Fields between HouseBill Transit Record Table
1340 and House8ill
Table 1328 allowing an automated determination of which record in HouseBill
Transit Record Table 1340
contains transit information for a shipment detailed in each record of
HouseBill Table 1328.
Link 1489 links matching Hill Fields between Billing Invoice Table 1335 and
HouseBill Table 1328
allowing an automated determination of which records) in Billing Invoice Table
1335 contain billing and
costing information for a shipment detailed in each record of HouseBill Table
1328. Link 1486 allows
direct access to all records in Billing Invoice Table 1335 based on a selected
record in HouseBill Table
1328.
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Link 1490 finks a bill to party Field in Billing Invoice Table 1335 with a
matching billing customer
ID Field in Billing Info Table 1301 allowing the data in Billing Info Table
1301 to become part of the record
in Billing Invoice Table 1335 without the user having to reenter bill-to
information.
Link 1491 links matching invoice number Fields between Billing Invoice Items
Table 1336 and
Billing Invoice Table 1335 allowing details of an unlimited number of billing
and costing items stored in
records in Billing Invoice Items Table 1336 to become part of the record in
Billing Invoice Table 1335.
Link 1492 finks a cost item code Field in Billing Invoice Items Table 1336
with a matching
description number Field in Charge Description Table 1337 allowing an
automated determination of which
record in Charge Description Table 1337 contains a description of the charge
noted in each record of
Billing Invoice Items Table 1336.
Link 1493 links a description Field in Charge Description Table 1337 with a
matching charge description
Field in Billing invoice Items Table 1336 allowing an appropriate description
for each charge noted in each
record of Billing Invoice Items Table 1336 as a default entry.
Link 1494 links a vendor lD Field in Billing Invoice items Table 1336 with a
matching directory ID
Field in Vendor Directory Table 1319 allowing the data in Vendor Directory
Table 1319 to become part of
the record in Billing Invoice Items Table 1336 without the user having to
reenter vendor details.
Link 1495 links a terminal ID Field in Terminal Location Base Table 1333 with
a matching vendor
ID Field in Vendor Directory Table 1319 allowing data in the Vendor Directory
Table 1319 to become part
of the record in Terminal Location Base Table 1333 without the user having to
reenter duplicate vendor
information.
Link 1496 links a transfer carrier ID Field in Terminal Location Base Table
1333 with a matching
vendor ID Field in Vendor Directory Table 1319 allowing an automated
determination of which record in
Vendor Directory Table 1319 contains vendor information about the transfer
carrier assigned to the
terminal location stored in each record of the Terminal Location Base Table
1333 without the user having
to reenter vendor information.
Link 1497 links an agent broker ID Field in Agent Broker Base Table 1331 with
a matching vendor
ID Field in Vendor Directory Table 1319 allowing data in the Vendor Directory
Table 1319 to become part
of the record in Agent Broker Base Table 1331 without the user having to
reenter duplicate vendor
information.
Link 1498 links a record number Field in Carrier Specification Base Table 1342
with a matching
vendor ID Field in Vendor Directory Table 1319 allowing data in the Vendor
Directory Table 1319 to
become part of the record in Carrier Specification Base Table 1342 without the
user having to reenter
duplicate vendor~information.
Link 1499 links matching country Fields between Country Code Table 1304 and
Doc Regs Table
1341 allowing an automated determination of which record in Doc Regs Table
1341 contains
documentation regulation information for the country listed in each record of
the Country Code Table
1304. (Link 1499 in conjunction with Link 1422, which links a country record
to a port code record, and
Link 1473, which links a port code record to the destination field of a
shipment record allows an
automated determination of documentary requirements for each shipment.)
Link 1500 links a broker Field in Agent Broker Base Table 1331 with a matching
broker ID Field in
Brokers Base Table 1313 allows data in Brokers Base Tabfe 1313 to become part
of the record in Agent
Broker Base Table 1331 without the user having to reenter duplicate broker
information.
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Link 1501 links a carrier Field in MasterBill Table 1343 with a matching
carrier ID Field in Carrier
Specification Table 1342 allowing an automated determination of which record
in Carrier Specification
Table 1342 contains information about the carrier assigned to the
consolidation stored in each record of
the MasterBill Table 1343.
Link 1502 links a carrier Field in Carrier Schedule Table 1347 with a matching
carrier ID Field in
Carrier Specification Base Table 1342 allowing an automated determination of
which record in Carrier
Specification Table contains information about the carrier to whom the flight
detailed in each record of
Carrier Schedule Table 1347 belongs.
Link 1503 links a MBLShipper Field in MasterBill Table 1343 with a matching
agentlbroker ID
Field in Agent Broker Base Table 1331 allowing the data in Agent Broker Base
Table 1331 to become
part of the record (specifically in regards to shipper details) in MasterBill
Table 1343 without the user
having to reenter shipper related details. Link 1503 allows direct access to
ail records in MasterBill Table
1343 based on a selected record in Agent Broker Table 1331. (In a preferred
embodiment, a link would
also exist linking a MBLShipper Field in MasterBill Table 1343 with a matching
shipper lD Field in
Shippers Table 1300 allowing the same functionality described above to exist
between the MasterBill
Table 1343 and the Shippers Table 1300.)
Link 1504 links a MBLConsignee Field in MasterBill Table 1343 with a matching
agentlbroker ID
Field in Agent Broker Base Table 1331 allowing the data in Agent Broker Base
Table 1331 to become
part of the record (specifically in regards to consignee details) in
MasterBill Table 1343 without the user
having to reenter consignee related details. Link 1504 allows direct access to
all records in MasterBill
table 1343 based on a selected record in Agent Broker Base Table 1331. (In a
preferred embodiment, a
link would also exist linking a MBLConsignee Field in MasterBill Table 1343
with a matching shipper ID
Field in Shipper Table 1300 allowing the same functionality described above to
exist between the
MasterBill Table 1343 and the Shippers Table 1300.)
Link 1505 links an issuing agent Field in MasterBill Table 1343 with a
matching agentlbroker ID
Field in Agent Broker Base Table 1331 allowing the data in Agent Broker Base
Table 1331 to become
part of the record (specifically in regards to issuing agent details) in
MasterBiil Table 1343 without the
user having to reenter issuing agent related details. Link 1505 allows direct
access to all records in
MasterBill Table 1343 based on a selected record in Agent Broker Base Table
1331.
Link 1506 links an origin terminal Field in MasterBill Table 1343 with a
matching terminal ID Field
in Terminal Location Base Table 1333 allowing data in Terminal Location Base
Table 1333 to become
part of the record (specifically in regards to origin terminal details) in
MasterBill Tabie 1343 without the
user having to reenter origin terminal details. Link 1506 allows direct access
to ali records in MasterBill
Table 1343 based on a selected record in Terminal Location Base Table 1333.
Link 1507 links a freight location Field in MasterBill Table 1343 with a
matching terminal ID Field
in Terminal Location Base Table 1333 allowing data in Terminal Location Base
Table 1333 to become
part of the record (specifically in regards to destination terminal details)
in MasterBill Table 1343 without
the user having to reenter destination terminal details. Link 1507 allows
direct access to all records in
MasterBitl Table 1343 based on a selected record in Terminal Location Base
Table 1333.
Link 1508 links an origin Field in MasterBill Table 1343 with a matching port
three-fetter code
Field in 3 Letter Port Code Table 1309 allowing an automated determination of
which record in 3 Letter
Port Code Table 1309 contains information about the origin port of the
shipment detailed in each record of
the MasterBill Table 1343.
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Link 1509 links a vessel/vovage/flight1 Field in MasterBill Table 1343 with a
matching record
number Field in Carrier Schedule Table 1347 allowing an automated
determination of which record in
Carrier Schedule Table 1347 contains details about the fiight/vessel noted in
the vessel/voyage/flight1
Field of each record in MasterBill Table 1343.
Link 1510 links a destination1 Field in MasterBill Table 1343 with a matching
port 3 letter code
Field in 3 Letter Port Code Table 1309 allowing an automated determination of
which record in 3 Letter
Port Code Table 1309 contains information about the destination port noted in
the destinationl Field of
each record in MasterBill Table 1343.
Link 1511 links a flight2 Field in MasterBill Table 1343 with a matching
record number Field in
Carrier Schedule Table 1347 allowing an automated determination of which
record in Carrier Schedule
Table 1347 contains details about the flight/vessel noted in the flight2 Field
of each record in MasterBill
Table i 343.
Link 1512 links a destination2 Fiefd in MasterBill Table 1343 with a matching
port three-letter
code Field in 3 Letter Port Code Table 1309 allowing an automated
determination of which record in 3
Letter Port Code Table 1309 contains information about the destination port
noted in the destination2
Field of each record in MasterBill Table 1343.
Link 1513 links a flight3 Field in MasterBill Table 1343 with a matching
record number Field in
Carrier Schedule Table 1347 allomng an automated determination of which record
in Carrier Schedule
Table 1347 contains details about the flight/vessel noted in the flight3 Field
of each record in MasterBill
Table 1343.
Link 1514 links a destination3 Field in MasterBill Tabfe 1343 with a matching
port three-letter
code Field in 3 Letter Port Code Table 1309 allowing an automated
determination of which record in 3
Letter Port Code Table 1309 contains information about the destination port
noted in the destination3
Field in each record in MasterBill Table 1343.
Link 1515 links a flight4 Field in MasterBill Table 1343 with a matching
record number Field in
Carrier Schedule Table 1347 allowing an automated determination of which
record in Carrier Schedule
Table 1347 contains details about the flightlvessel noted in the flight4 Field
of each record in MasterBill
Table 1343.
Link 1516 links a destination4 Field in MasterBill Table 1343 with a matching
port 3 letter code
Field in 3 Letter Port Code Table 1309 allowing an automated determination of
which record in 3 Letter
Port Code Table 1309 contains information about the destination port noted in
the destination4 Field in
each record in MasterBill Table 1343.
Link 1512 links a final destination Field in MasterBill Table 1343 with a
matching port three-letter
code Field in 3 Letter Port Code Table 1309 allowing an automated
determination of which record in 3
Letter Port Code Table 1309 contains information about the destination port of
the consolidation detailed
in each record of the MasterBill Table 1343.
Link 1518 links a vendor country Field in Inland Vendors Base Table 1314 with
a matching
country two-letter code Field in Country Code Table 1304 allowing data in
Country Code Table 1304 to
become part of the record in Inland Vendors Base Table 1314 without the user
having to reenter country
related details.
Link 1519 links matching carrier ID Fields between MasterBill Containerization
Table 1344 and
MasterBill Table 1343. (Link 1519 works only in conjunction with Link 1520.)
CA 02294038 1999-12-17
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Link 1520 links matching MBLNumber Fields between MasterBill Containerization
Table 1344 and
MasterBill Table 1343 allowing (in conjunction with Link 1519) an unlimited
amount of user loaded carrier
issued container information stored in records in MasterBill Containerization
Table 1344 to become part of
the record in MasterBill Table 1343.
Link 1521 links a container number Field in MasterBill Containerization Table
1344 with a
matching container type ID number Field in Container Type Table 1311 allowing
the data in Container
Type Table 1311 to become part of the record in MasterBill Containerization
Table 1344 without the user
having to reenter information about the container type.
Link 1522 links matching carrier Fields between MasterBill Forms Printed Table
1345 and
MasterBill Table 1343. (Link 1522 works only in conjunction with Link 1523.)
Link 1523 links matching carrier Fields between MasterBill Forms Printed Table
1345 and MasterBill
Table 1343 allowing (in conjunction with Link 1343) an automated determination
of which record in
MasterBill Forms Printed Table 1345 contains information about which forms
have been printed for each
record in MasterBill Table 1343.
Link 1524 links matching carrier Fields between MasterBill Print Override
Table 1346 and
MasterBill Table 1343. Link 1524 works only in conjunction with Link 1525.
Link 1525 links matching carrier Fields between MasterBill Print Override
Table 1346 and
MasterBill Table 1343 allowing (in conjunction with Link 1524) an automated
determination of which
record in MasterBill Print Override Table 1346 contains print override
information for a shipment detailed
in each record of MasterBili Table 1343.
Link 1526 links matching carrier Fields between HouseBill Table 1328 and
MasterBill Table 1343. Link
1526 works only in conjunction with Link 1527.
Link 1527 finks a masterbill Field in HouseBill table 1328 with a matching
MBLNumber Field in MasterBill
Table 1343 allowing (in conjunction with Link 1526) an unlimited number of
shipments stored in records in
HouseBill Table 1328 to become part of the record in MasterBill Table 1343.
Link 1528 links an origin Field in Carrier Schedule Table 1347 with a matching
port three-letter
code Field in 3 Letter Port Code Table 1309 allowing an automated
determination of which record in 3
Letter Port Code Table 1309 contains information about the port noted in the
origin Field of each record in
Carrier Schedule Table 1347.
Link 1529 links a destination Field in Carrier Schedule Table 1347 with a
matching port three-
letter code Field in 3 Letter Port Code Table 1309 allowing an automated
determination of which record in
3 Letter Port Code Table 1309 contains information about the port noted in the
destination Field of each
record in Carrier Schedule Table 1347.
Link 1530 links matching quote ID Fields between Shipment Form Store TII Save
Table 1303 and
Quote Table 1322 allowing automated recreation of records from Quote Table
1322 in Shipment Form
Store Til Save Table 1303, which in turn allows the user to edit a temporary
version of the record without
effecting the original version of the record. Link 1530 allows the user to
trigger an automated replacement
of the original version of the record located in Quote Table 1322 with the
temporary version of the same
record located in Shipment Form Store Til Save Table 1303.
Link 1531 links matching Hill Fields between Shipment Form Store Til Save
Table 1303 and
HouseBill Table 1328 allowing creation of records in the HouseBill Table 1328
from records in the
Shipment Form Store Til Save Table 1303 without the user having to reenter
shipment details.
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Link 1532 links a location ID Field in Shipment Form Store Til Save Table 1303
with a matching
origin warehouse ID in Customer Rate Table 1349. Link 1532 works only in
conjunction with Link 1533 or
Link 1535, Link 1534, and Link 1536.
Link 1533 links a primary bill to party Field in Shipment Form Store Til Save
Table 1303 with a
matching bill to ID Field in Customer Rate Table 1349. Link 1533 works only in
conjunction with Link
1532, Link 1534 and Link 1536.
Link 1534 links a consignee location ID Field in Shipment Form Store Til Save
Table 1303 with a
matching destination warehouse ID Field in Customer Rate Table 1349. Link 1534
works only in
conjunction with Link 1532, Link 1533 or Link 1535, and Link 1536.
Link 1535 links a secondary bill to party Field in Shipment Form Store Til
Save Table 1303 with a
matching bill to ID Field in Customer Rate Table 1349. Link 1535 works only in
conjunction with Link
1532, Link 1534, and Link 1536.
Link 1536 links a type of service Field in Shipment Form Store Til Save Table
1303 with a
matching service type Field in Customer Rate Table 1349 allowing (in
conjunction with Link 1523, Link
1533 or Link 1535, and Link 1534) an automated determination of which rate
tariff stored in a record in
Customer Rate Table 1349 applies to a shipment stored in each record of
Shipment Form Store Til Save
Table 1303.
Link 1537 links a type of service Field in Shipment Form Store Til Save Table
1303 with a
matching service type Field in Default Rate Table 1353. Link 1537 works only
in conjunction with Link
1540 and Link 1541.
Link 1538 links a transit requirements Field in Shipment Form Store Til Save
Table 1303 with a
matching transit type Field in Consolidation Vendor Table 1350. Link 1538
works only in conjunction with
Link 1544 and Link 1545.
Link 1539 links an "eta" at port of origin Field in Shipment Form Store Til
Save Table 1303 with an
estimated port to port transit time Field in Consolidation Vendor Table 1350
based on matching criteria
mentioned in regards to Link 1538, Link 1544, and Link 1545 allow calculation
and entry of an "eta" at port
of origin Field in each record of the Shipment Forms Store Til Save Table 1303
of an appropriate
estimated date of arrival.
Link 1540 links matching origin port Fields between Shipment Form Store Til
Save Table 1303
and Default Rate Table 1353. Link 1540 works only in conjunction with Link
1537 and Link 1541.
Link 1541 links matching destination port Fields between Shipment Form Store
Til Save Table
1303 and Default Rate Table 1353 allowing (in conjunction with Link 1537 and
Link 1540) an automated
determination of which rate tariff stored in a record in Default Rate Table
1353 applies to a shipment
stored in each record of Shipment Form Store Til Save Table 1303.
Link 1542 links matching origin port Fields between Shipment Form Store Til
Save Table 1303
and Carrier Rate Table 1354. Link 1542 works only in conjunc#ion with Link
1543 and Link 1567 - see
Link 1567.
Link 1543 links matching destination port Fields between Shipment Form Store
Til Save Table
1303 and Carrier Rate Table 1354. Link 1543 works only in conjunction with
Link 1542 and Link 1567
see Link 1567.
Link 1544 links matching origin port Fields between Shipment Form Store Til
Save Table 1303
and Consolidation Vendor Table 1350. Link 1544 works only in conjunction with
Link 1538 and Link 1545.
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Link 1545 links matching destination port Fields between Shipment Form Store
Til Save Table
1303 and Consolidation Vendor Table 1350 allowing the System 55 (in
conjunction with Link 1538 and
Link 1544) to determine which record in Consolidation Vendor Table 1350
contains a listing of user
assigned default vendors that match the criteria set forth by a shipment
stored in each record of the
Shipment Form Store Til Save Table 1303 .
Link 1546 links an origin port Field in Consolidation Vendor Table 1350 with a
matching origin
Field in Carrier Routing Table 1348. Link 1546 works only in conjunction with
Link 1547 and Link 1548.
Link 1547 links a destination port field in Consolidation Vendor Table 1350
with a matching
destination Field in Carrier Routing Table 1348. Link 1547 works only in
conjunction with Link 1546 and
Link 1548.
Link 1548 links a carrier ID Field in Consolidation Vendor Table 1350 with a
matching carrier Field
in Carrier Routing Table 1348 allowing (in conjunction with Link 1546 and Link
1547) an automated
determination of which record in Carrier Routing Table 1348 contains a listing
of user assigned default
flights/vessels that match the criteria set forth by each record of the
Consolidation Vendor Table 1350.
Link 1549 links an insurance commodity class Field in Shipment Form Store Til
Save Table 1303
with a matching commodity class Field in Insurance Rate Table 1351. Link 1549
works only in conjunction
with Link 1550.
Link 1550 links an insurance class Field in 3 Letter Port Code Table 1309
which is linked to the
Shipment Form Store Til Save Table via Link 1420 with a matching country class
Field in Insurance Rate
Table 1351 allowing (in conjunction with Link 1549) an automated determination
of which record in
Insurance Rate Table 1351 contains a tariff of insurance rates that match the
criteria set fourth by a
shipment stored in each record of Shipment Form Store Til Save Table 1303.
Link 1551 links a special vendor ID Field in Insurance Rate Table 1351 with a
matching vendor ID
Field in Vendor Directory Table 1319 allowing an automated determination of
which record in Vendor
Directory Table 1319 contains information about the vendor providing insurance
service.
Link 1552 links matching special vendor ID Fields between Insurance Rate Table
1351 and
Special Vendors Base Table 1312 allowing an automated determination of which
record in Special
Vendors Base Table 1312 contains information about the vendor providing
insurance service.
Link 1553 links a transit record1 Field in Carrier Routing Table 1348 with a
matching record
number Field in Carrier Schedule Table 1347 allowing the data in Carrier
Schedule Table 1347 to become
part of the record in Carrier Routing Table 1348 without the user having to
reenter flight details.
Link 1554 links a transit record2 Field in Carrier Routing Table 1348 with a
matching record
number Field in Carrier Schedule Table 1347 allowing the data in Carrier
Schedule Table 1347 to become
part of the record in Carrier Routing Table 1348 without the user having to
reenter flight details.
Link 1555 finks a transit record3 Field in Carrier Routing Table 1348 with a
matching record
number Field in Carrier Schedule Table 1347 allowing the data in Carrier
Schedule Table 1347 to become
part of the record in Carrier Routing Table 1348 without the user having to
reenter flight details.
Link 1556 links a transit record4 Field in Carrier Routing Table 1348 with a
matching record
number Field in Carrier Schedule Table 1347 allowing the data in Carrier
Schedule Table 1347 to become
part of the record in Carrier Routing Table 1348 without the user having to
reenter flight details.
Link 1557 links matching terminal ID Fields between Consolidation Vendor Table
1350 and
Terminal Location Base Table 1333 allowing the data in Terminal Location Base
Table to become part of
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the record in Consolidation Vendor Table 1350 without the user having to
reenter origin terminal
information.
Link 1558 links matching carrier ID Fields between Consolidation Vendor Table
1350 and Carrier
Specification Base Table 1342 allowing the data in Carrier Specification Base
Table 1342 to become part
of the record in Consolidation Vendor Table 1350 without the user having to
reenter carrier information.
Link 1559 links a destination agent/broker ID Field in Consolidation Vendor
Table 1350 with a
matching agent/broker ID Field in Agent Broker Base Table 1331 allowing the
data in Agent Broker Base
Table 1331 to become part of the record in Consolidation Vendor Table 1350
without the user having to
reenter destination agent information.
Link 1560 links a destination terminal ID Field in Consolidation Vendor Table
1350 with a
matching terminal ID Field in Terminal Location Base Table 1333 allowing the
data in Terminal Location
Base Table 1333 to become part of the record in Consolidation Vendor Tabte
1350 without the user
having to reenter destination terminal information.
Link 1561 links an origin agent/broker ID Field in Consolidation Vendor Table
1350 with a
matching terminal ID Field in Agent Broker Base Table 1331 allowing the data
in Agent Broker Base
Table 1331 to become part of the record in Consolidation Vendor Table 1350
without the user having to
reenter origin agent information.
Link 1562 links a postal code significant digits Field in Country Code Table
1304 with a location
postal code Field in Pickup Delivery Location Table 1302 allowing an automated
extraction from the
location postal code Field in each record of Pickup Delivery Location Table
1302 for only the significant
digits as noted in the postal code significant digits Field of the record in
Country Code Table 1304, as
linked by Link 1412 to said record in Pickup Delivery Location Table 1302.
Link 1563 links a country two-letter code Field in Country Code Table 1304
appended with the
location postal code Field of the same record in Pickup Delivery Location
Table 1302 reduced to its
significant digits via Link 1562 with a matching postal code ID Field in
Inland Rate Table 1352 allowing an
automated determination of which record in Inland Rate Table 1352 contains an
inland tariff applicable to
a location based on the location country Field and the location postal code
Field of each record in Pickup
Delivery Location Table 1302.
Link 1564 links an LTL vendor ID Field in Inland Rate Table 1352 with a
matching vendor ID Field
in Inland Vendors Base Table 1314 allowing the data in Inland Vendors Base
Table 1314 to become part
of the record in Inland Rate Table 1352 without the user having to reenter
vendor details.
Link 1565 links an air container vendor ID Field in Inland Rate Table 1352
with a matching vendor
ID Field in Vendors Base Table 1314 allowing the data in Inland Vendors Base
Table 1314 to become
part of the record in Inland Rate Table 1352 without the user having to
reenter vendor information.
Link 1566 links a drayman vendor ID Field in Inland Rate Table 1352 with a
matching vendor ID
Field in Vendors Base Table 1314 allowing the data in Inland Vendors Base
Table 1314 to become part of
the record in Inland Rate Table 1352 without the user having to reenter vendor
information.
Link 1567 links matching carrier ID Fields between Carrier Specification Base
Table 1342 and
Carrier Rate Table 1354 allowing (in conjunction with Link 1542 and Link 1543)
an automated
determination of which rate tariff stored in a record in Carrier Rate Table
1354 matches the criteria set
forth in a shipment stored in each record of Shipment Form Store Til Save
Table 1303 (and by other Links
the appropriate record in Carrier Specification Base Table 1342).
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Link 1568 links a user Field in User Scheduled Events Table 1357 with a
matching user name
Field in User Table 1359 allowing screen displays of events stored in User
Scheduled Events Table 1357
to the appropriate authorized user(s).
Link 1569 links matching user name fields between User Schedule Memos Table
1358 and User
Table 1359 allowing screen displays of memos stored in User Schedule Memos
Table 1358 to the
appropriate authorized user(s).
_ Turning now to Shippers Table 1300, there are the following data fields or
elements: shipper ID is
a System 55-generated unique ID number displayed in Field 593; current? Field
1600 is set as "yes" until
the user clicks Buttons 590 or 591, which causes the value of Field 1600 to
change to "no' ; shipper name
is entered by the user in Field 594; address, address line2, city, state,
postal code, and country are
entered by the user in Fields 595; contact name, shippers telephone, telephone
extension, contact2
name, contact2 telephone, fax number, and e-mail address are entered by the
user in Fields 602; billing
ID is entered by the user in Field 617; EIN# is entered by the user in Field
601; profit margin is entered by
the user in Field 604; handling comments are entered by the user in Field 603;
location ID is entered by
the user in Field 636; consignee ID in entered by the user in Field 659;
shipper special charge name,
special charge per shipment, special charge per kilo, special charge per wlm,
special charge minimum,
and special charge vendor are entered by the user in Editing Box 605; broker
Field 1601 is reserved for
any future use that may be needed.
Billing info Table 1301 contains the following elements: billing customer ID
Field 1602 is a
System 55-generated unique ID number; bill to company name, billing address,
billing address city, billing
address state, billing address postal code, billing address country, billing
contact name, billing contact
telephone, billing contact telephone extension, and billing notes are entered
by the user in Editing Box
620.
Pickup Delivery Location Table 1302 contains the following elements: location
ID Field 1603 is a
System 55-generated unique ID number; current? Field 1604 is set by the System
55 as 'yes' until a
future functionality causes the system to change the value of Field 1600 to
'no'; location name, location
contact name, location address, location city, location state, location postal
code, location country,
location telephone, location telephone extension, location fax, location e-
mail address, location open time,
location close time, location terminal of service, and location transit time
to terminal are entered by the
user in Fields 639; inland service provider Field 1605 allows future
functionality of assigning a default
inland service provider to a location.
Shipment Form Store Til Save Table 1303 includes the following elements:
store ID Field 1606 is a System 55-generated unique ID number; quote ID Field
1607 is a System 55-
generated entry which stores the contents of a quote ID Field 1675 designating
a preexisting record in
hTable 1322 of which the record in Table 1303 is a copy; Hill is entered by
the user in Field 876 or is
assigned by the System 55; shipper iD is entered by the user in Field 734;
location ID is entered by the
user in Field 736; primary bill to party ID is entered by the user in Field
764; consignee ID is entered by
the user in Field 752; consignee location ID is entered by the user in Field
756;
_ secondary bill to ID is entered by the user in Field 765; request date is
the date the record is created as
recorded by the System 55 and displayed in Field 733; request time is the time
the record is created as
recorded by the System 55 and displayed in Field 733; transit requirements are
entered by the user in
Box 777; type of service is entered by the user in Box 788; payment terms is
entered by the user in Box
790; pickup date is entered by the user in Field 742; pickup time is entered
by the user in Field 743; drop?
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is entered by the user in Box 744; "eta" at port of origin is entered by the
user in Field 773; delivery date
and delivery time are calculated by the System 55 and displayed in Field 761;
delivery drop? is entered by
the user in Box 760; origin port is determined by the System 55 and displayed
in Field 771; destination
port is determined by the System 55 and displayed in Field 772; hazard is
entered by the user in Box 774;
insurance is 'no' by default and set to 'yes' when the user clicks Button 779;
insurance amount is
determined by the System 55 and displayed in Field 782; insurance to cover
freight is entered by the user
in Box 780: last Auto Calc result Field 1608 is used by the system to store
calculated charges; ins + 10%
is entered by the user in Box 781; insurance commodity class is determined by
the System 55 and
displayed in Field 785; shippers reference number is entered by the user in
Field 741; consignee
reference number is entered by the user in Field 759; notes are entered by the
user in Field 730; internal
notes are entered by the user in Field 731; received in warehouse is entered
by the user by clicking
button 810; chargeable weight is calculated by the System 55 and stored in
Field 1609; freight rate is
calculated by the System 55 and stored in Field 1610; pieces on hand are
calculated by the System 55
and stored in Field 1611.
Country Code Table 1304 includes the following elements: country name is
entered by the user in
Field 483, country two-letter code is entered by the user in Field 484; postal
code significant digits is
entered by the user in Field 485.
Shipment Form Cartons Store Til Save Table 1305 includes the following
elements: carton ID
Field 1612 is a System 55-generated unique ID number; store ID Field 1613 is a
System 55-generated
entry which links each record in Shipment Form Cartons Store Til Save Table
1305 to a record in
Shipment Form Store Til Save Table 1303; quote ID field 1614 is a System 55-
generated entry which
stores the contents of a quote ID Field 1707 in a preexisting record in Table
1323 designated by the quote
table carton ID Field 1615; quote table carton ID Field 1615 is a System 55-
generated entry which stores
the contents of an ID Field 1707 designating a preexisting record in Table
1323 of which the record in
Table 1305 is a copy; piece count is entered by the user in Field 794; marks
is entered by the user in
Field 795; length is entered by the user in Field 796; wide is entered by the
user in Field 797; height is
entered by the user in Field 798; weight per piece is entered by the user in
Field 799; container ID number
Field 1616 is for future functionality where records in Table 1305 will be
linked to records in Table 1310.
Transit Type Table 1306 includes the following elements: transit type ID Field
1617 is a
preprogrammed ID number for each record in Table 1306; transit type Field 1618
is a preprogrammed
name for each transit type available in the System 55; description Field 1619
is a preprogrammed
description for each transit type available in the System 55.
Service Type Table 1307 includes the following elements: service type ID Field
1620 is a
preprogrammed ID number for each record in Table 1307; service type Field 1621
is a preprogrammed
name for each service type available in the System 55; description Field 1622
is a preprogrammed
description for each service type available in the System 55.
Terms Table 1308 includes the following elements: terms ID Field 1623 is a
preprogrammed ID
number for each record in Table 1308; terms Field 1624 is a preprogrammed name
for each payment
term available in the System 55; description Field 1625 is a preprogrammed
description for each payment
term available in the System 55.
3 Letter Port Code Table 1309 includes the following elements: port three-
letter code is entered
by the user in Field 497; airport name is entered by the user in Field 498;
seaport name is entered by the
user in Field 499; customs port code is entered by the user in Field 500;
insurance class is entered by the
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user in Field 501; port special charge name is entered by the user in Field
508: special charge minimum,
special charge per shipment, special charge per kilo, and special charge per
w/m are entered by the user
in Special Charge Column 510; port charge vendor is entered by the user in
Field 509; country is entered
by the user in Country Name Field 483.
As to Shipment Form Container Store Til Save Table 1310, this table is for
future functionality
which will allow the user to enter and store information about shipments of
full liner containers. Fields
entered by the user are not displayed in the preceding figures but are
nonetheless mentioned here. The
elements include: container ID number 1626 is a System 55-generated unique ID
number; store ID Field
1627 is a System 55-generated entry which links each record in Shipment Form
Containers Store Til
Save Table 1310 to a record in Shipment Form Store Til Save Table 1303; quote
!D field 1628 is a
System 55-generated entry which stores the contents of a quote ID Field 1717
in a preexisting record in
Table 1324 designated by the quote table container ID number in Field 1629;
quote table container ID
number Field 1629 is a System 55-generated entry which stores the contents of
a container ID number
Field 1716 designating a preexisting record in Table 1324 of which the record
in Table 1310 is a copy;
container type Field 1630 is reserved for user entry in future functionality;
container number Field 1631 is
reserved for user entry in future functionality; seal number Field 1632 is
reserved for user entry in future
functionality; total tare weight loaded Field 1633 is reserved for user entry
in future functionality; actual
tare Field 1634 is reserved for user entry in future functionality; total
"cft" loaded Field 1635 is reserved for
user entry in future functionality; total piece count loaded Field 1636 is
reserved for user entry in future
functionality; base rate Field 1637 is reserved for user entry in future
functionality; pivot Field 1638 is
reserved for user entry in future functionality; over pivot Field 1639 is
reserved for user entry in future
functionality.
Container Type Table 1311 includes the following elements: container type ID
number Field 1640
is a preprogrammed ID number for each record in Table 1311; container type air
sea flag Field 1641 is a
preprogrammed flag signifying if the record pertains to and air container
(flag 'yes') or a sea container
(flag 'no'); container type name Field 1642 is a preprogrammed name for each
container type available in
System 55; max cft Field 1643 is a preprogrammed value reflecting the maximum
volume in cubic feet
able to be loaded in each container type available in System 55; max weight
Field 1644 is a
preprogrammed value reflecting the maximum amount of weight in kilos able to
be loaded in each
container type available in System 55; tare weight Field 1645 is a
preprogrammed value reflecting the
empty weight of each container type available in System 55; container picture
Field 1646 is a
preprogrammed picture image of each container type available in System 55; max
internal length Field
1647 is a preprogrammed value reflecting the internal length at the longest
point of each container
available in System 55; max internal width Field 1648 is a preprogrammed value
reflecting the internal
width at the widest point of each container available in System 55; max
internal height Field 1649 is a
preprogrammed value reflecting the internal height at the highest point of
each container available in
System 55; max door width Field 1650 is a preprogrammed value reflecting the
door width at its widest
point for each container available in System 55; max door height Field 1651 is
a preprogrammed value
reflecting the door height at its highest point for each container available
in System 55.
Special Vendors Base Table 1312 includes the following elements: special
vendor ID displayed
in Vendor ID Number Field 495 is a System 55-generated unique ID number;
description of special
service is entered by the user in Field 494; special vendor rate minimum is
entered by the user in Field
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492; special vendor rate per shipment is entered by the user in Field 489;
special vendor rate per kilo is
entered by the user in Field 490; special vendor rate per w/m is entered by
the user in Field 491.
Brokers Base Table 1313 includes the following elements: broker ID Field 1652
is a System 55-
generated unique ID number; clearance cost is entered by the user in Field
351; active Field 1653 is set
initially by System 55 as 'yes' and is reset to 'no' when the user clicks the
Oelete This Broker Button 354
or 'yes' when the user clicks the Undelete A Broker Button 356.
Inland Vendors Base Table 1314 includes the following elements: vendor ID
Field 1654 is a
System 55-generated unique ID number; vendor name, vendor address, vendor
city, vendor state, vendor
postal code, vendor country, vendor phone, vendor fax are entered by the user
in Editing Box 400.
Commercial fnvoice/SED Store Til Save Table 1315 includes the following
elements: store ID
Field 1655 is a System 55-generated entry which links each record in
Commercial InvoicelSED Store Til
Save Table 1315 to a record in Shipment Form Store Til Save Table 1303; quote
ID Field 1656 is a
System 55-generated entry which stores the contents of a quote ID Field 1728
of a preexisting record in
table 1325 of which the record in Table 1315 is a copy; invoice date is
entered by the user in Field 672;
invoice# is entered by the user in Field 671; PO number is entered by the user
in Field 673; other shipper
references is entered by the user in Field 674; sold to name, sold to address,
sold to city, sold to state,
and sold to zip code are entered by the user in Field 675: terms of sale is
entered by the user in Field
676; currency of sale is entered by the user in Field 812; phrase1, phrase2,
and phrase3 are entered by
the user in Fields 847; current rate of exchange (ROE) is entered by the user
in Field 677;
overall description is entered by the user in Field 816; related flag is
entered by the user in Box 815;
license# is entered by the user in Field 686; ECCN# is entered by the user in
Field 687; include freight
charges is entered by the user in Box 839; other cost name is entered by the
user in Field 841; other cost
amount is entered by the user in Field 842; signatory name is entered by the
user in Field 850; signatory
title is entered by the user in Field 851.
Commercial Invoice Line Items Store Til Save Table 1316 includes the following
elements:
commercial invoice item record number Field 1657 is a System 55-generated
unique ID number; store ID
Field 1658 is a System 55-generated entry which links each record in
Commercial Invoice Line Items
Store Til Save Table 1316 to a record in Shipment Form Store Til Save Table
1303; quote commercial
invoice item record number Field 1659 is a System 55-generated entry which
stores the contents of a
commercial invoice item record number Field 1747 designating a preexisting
record in Table 1326 of
which the record in Table 1316 is a copy; commercial invoice/SED record number
Field 1660 is a System
55-generated entry which stores the contents of a commercial invoice/SED
record number Field 1748 in a
preexisting record in Table 1326 designated by the quote commercial invoice
item record number Field
1659; shipper inventory item record number is entered by the user in Field
820; quantity ordered is
entered by the user in Field 823; quantity shipped is entered by the user in
Field 824; B-units shipped is
reserved for future functionality which will allow the user to enter the
quantity shipped in Harmonized
Code defined Schedule B-Units; carton number marks is entered by the user in
Field 819.
Shipper Invoice Phrase Table 1317 includes the following elements: phrase
number Field 1662 is
a System 55-generated unique lD number; shipper ID is a System 55-generated
entry which links each
record to a shipper (record) in Table 1300; phrase iD is entered by the user
in Field 845; phrase is
entered by the user in Field 846.
Shipper Inventory Item Table 1318 includes the following: shipper inventory
item record number
Field 1664 is a System 55-generated unique ID number; shipper ID is a System
55-generated entry which
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links each record in Shipper Inventory item Table 1318 to a record in Shippers
Table 1300; item # is
entered by the user in Field 826;
item description is entered by the user in Field 827: item unit description is
entered by the user in Field
828; item unit price is entered by the user in Field 829; country of origin is
entered by the user in Field
831; schedule-B number is entered by the user in Field 832; insurance class is
entered by the user in
Field 830.
Vendor Directory Table 1319 includes the following: directory ID Field 1666 is
a System 55-
generated unique ID number; vendor table source Field 1667 is a System 55-
generated entry recording in
which table (1312, 1313, 1314, 1331, 1333, or 1341) a linked record (via
vendor ID Field 1668) is located;
vendor iD Field 1668 is a System 55-generated entry which links each record in
Vendor Directory Table
1319 to a record in the table noted in vendor table source Field 1667; vendor
name, vendor address,
vendor city, vendor state, vendor post code, vendor country, vendor phone, and
vendor fax Fields 1669
are entered by the user in one of the following ways depending on the table
noted in vendor table source
Field 1667: if Field 1667 notes Table 1312, Fields 1669 are entered by the
user in Edit Box 326; if Field
1667 notes Table 1313, Fields 1669 are entered by the user in Edit Box 350; if
Field 1667 notes Table
1314, Fields 1669 are entered by the user in Edit Box 400; if Field 1667 notes
Table 1331, Fields 1669
are entered by the user in Carrier Name And Address Fields 441; if Field 1667
notes Table 1333, Fields
1669 are entered by the user in Edit Box 466; if Field 1667 notes Table 1342,
Fields 1669 are entered by
the user in Fields 522.
Vendor Type List Table 1320 includes the following elements: type name Field
1670 is a
preprogrammed name for each type of vendor stored in System 55; table Field
1671 is a preprogrammed
entry which identifies to which table the type name Field 1670 applies.
Shipment Form Store Charges Til Save Table 1321 includes the following
elements: quote ID
Field 1672 is a System 55-generated entry which links each record in Shipment
Form Store Charges TiI
Save Table 1321 to a record in Shipment Form Store Til Save Table 1303;
container delivery charge ,
container pickup charge, destination clearance charge, destination DDP outlay
charge, destination
delivery charge, destination handling charge, destination terminal charge,
destination transfer charge,
handling charge, hazardous charge, insurance charge, LIC charge, pickup
charge, port to port charge,
special consignee charge, special destination charge, special origin charge,
special shipper charge,
terminal charge, and transfer charge are calculated by the System 55 and
displayed in Column 853; port
to port rate Field 1673 is a System 55-generated entry which stores the value
used to determine a port to
port charge; special consignee charge name, special destination charge name,
special origin charge
name, and special chipper charge name Fields 1674 are System 55-generated
entries which stores
names of applicable special charges.
Quote Table 1322 includes the following elements: quote ID Field 1675 is a
System 55-
generated unique ID number; shipper ID Field 1676 is used by System 55 to
permanently store the data
entered in Field 734; location ID Field 1677 is used by System 55 to
permanently store the data entered in
Field 736; primary bill to party ID Field 1678 is used by System 55 to
permanently store the data entered
in Field 764; consignee ID Field 1679 is used by System 55 to permanently
store the data entered in Field
752; consignee location ID Field 1680 is used by System 55 to permanently
store the data entered in
Field 756; secondary bill to party ID Field 1681 is used by System 55 to
permanently store the data
entered in Field 765; request date and request time Field 1682 is used by
System 55 to permanently store
the data entered in Field 733; transit requirements Field 1683 is used by
System 55 to permanently store
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the data entered in Box 777; type of service Field 1684 is used by System 55
to permanently store the
data entered in Box 788; payment terms Field 1685 is used by System 55 to
permanently store the data
entered in Box 790; pickup date Field 1686 is used by System 55 to permanently
store the data entered in
Field 742; pickup time Field 1687 is used by System 55 to permanently store
the data entered in Field
743; drop? Field 1688 is used by System 55 to permanently store the data
entered in Box 744; "eta" at
port of origin Field 1689 is used by System 55 to permanently store the data
entered in Field 773; delivery
date and delivery time Field 1690 is used by System 55 to permanently store
the data entered in Field
761; delivery drop? Field 1691 is used by System 55 to permanently store the
data entered in Box 760;
origin port Field 1692 is used by System 55 to permanently store the data
entered in Field 771;
destination port Field 1693 is used by System 55 to permanently store the data
entered in Field 772;
hazard Field 1694 is used by System 55 to permanently store the data entered
in Box 774; insurance
Field 1695 is used by System 55 to permanently store the data related to
Button 779; insurance amount
Field 1696 is used by System 55 to permanently store the data entered in Box
782; insurance to cover
freight Field 1697 is used by System 55 to permanently store the data entered
in Box 780; insurance
+10% Field 1698 is used by System 55 to permanently store the data entered in
Box 781; insurance
commodity class Field 1699 is used by System 55 to permanently store the data
entered in Field 785;
shippers reference # Field 1700 is used by System 55 to permanently store the
data entered in Field 741;
consignees reference # Field 1701 is used by System 55 to permanently store
the data entered in Field
759; notes Field 1702 is used by System 55 to permanently store the data
entered in Field 730; internal
notes Field 1703 is used by System 55 to permanently store the data entered in
Field 731; chargeable
weight Field 1704 is used by System 55 to permanently store the data entered
in Field 1609: freight rate
Field 1705 is used by System 55 to permanently store the data entered in Field
1610; pieces on hand
Field 1706 is used by System 55 to permanently store the data entered in Field
1611.
Quote Carton Details Table 1323 includes the following elements: id Field 1707
is a System 55-
generated unique ID number; quote id Field 1708 is a System 55-generated entry
which links each record
in Quote Carton Details Table 1323 to a record in Quote Table 1322; piece
count Field 1709 is used by
System 55 to permanently store the data entered in Field 794; marks Field 1710
is used by System 55 to
permanently store the data entered in Field 795; length Field 1711 is used by
System 55 to permanently
store the data entered in Field 796; wide Field 1712 is used by System 55 to
permanently store the data
entered in Field 797; height Field 1713 is used by System 55 to permanently
store the data entered in
Field 798; weight per piece Field 1714 is used by System 55 to permanently
store the data entered in
Field 799; container iD Field 1715 number is used by System 55 to permanently
store the data entered in
Field 1616.
Containerization Table 1324 includes the following elements: container ID
number Field 1716 is
a System 55-generated unique ID number; quote ID Field 1717 is a System 55-
generated entry which
links each record in Containerization Table 1324 to a record in Quote Table
1322; container type Field
1718 is used by System 55 to permanently store the data entered in Field 1630;
container number Field
1719 is used by System 55 to permanently store the data entered in Field 1631;
seal number Field 1720
is used by System 55 to permanently store the data entered in Field 1632;
total weight loaded Field 1721
is used by System 55 to permanently store the data entered in Field 1633;
actual tare Field 1722 is used
by System 55 to permanently store the data entered in Field 1634; total cft
loaded Field 1723 is used by
System 55 to permanently store the data entered in Field 1635; total piece
count loaded Field 1724 is
used by System 55 to permanently store the data entered in Field 1636; base
rate Field 1725 is used by
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System 55 to permanently store the data entered in Field 1637; pivot Field
1726 is used by System 55 to
permanently store the data entered in Field 1638;
over pivot Field 1727 is used by System 55 to permanently store the data
entered in Field 1639.
Commercial Invoice/SED Table Field 1325 includes the following elements: quote
ID Field 1728
is a System 55-generated entry which links each record in Commercial
Invoice/SED Table 1325 to a
record in Quote Table 1322; invoice date Field 1729 is used by System 55 to
permanently store the data
entered in Field 672; invoice # Field 1730 is used by System 55 to permanently
store the data entered in
Field 671; PO number Field 1731 is used by System 55 to permanently store the
data entered in Field
673; other shipper reference Field 1732 is used by System 55 to permanently
store the data entered in
Field 674; sold to name, sold to address, sold to city, sold to state, sold to
zip Fields 1733 are used by
System 55 to permanently store the data entered in Field 675; terms of sale
Field 1734 is used by System
55 to permanently store the data entered in Field 676; currency of sale Field
1735 is used by System 55
to permanently store the data entered in Field 812; phrase1, phrase2, and
phrase3 Fields 1736 are used
to permanently store the data entered in Fields 847; current rate of exchange
Field 1737 is used to
permanently store the data entered in Field 677; overall description Field
1738 is used to permanently
store the data entered in Field 816; related flag Field 1739 is used by System
55 to permanently store the
data entered in Box 815; license # Field 1740 is used by System 55 to
permanently store the data entered
in Field 686; ECCN# Field 1741 is used by System 55 to permanently store the
data entered in Field 687;
include freight charges Field 1742 is used by System 55 to permanently store
the data entered in Box
839; other cost name Field 1743 is used by System 55 to permanently store the
data entered in Field 841;
other cost amount Field 1744 is used by System 55 to permanently store the
data entered in Field 842;
signatory name Field 1745 is used by System 55 to permanently store the data
entered in Field 850;
signatory title Field 1746 is used by System 55 to permanently store the data
entered in Field 851.
Commercial Invoice Line Item Table 1326 includes the following elements:
commercial invoice
item record number Field 1747 is a System 55-generated unique ID number;
Commercial invoice/SED
record number Field 1748 is a System 55-generated entry which links each
record in Commercial Invoice
Line Item Table 1326 to a record in Table 1325; shipper inventory item record
number Field 1749 is used
by System 55 to permanently store the data entered in Field 820; quantity
ordered Field 1750 is used by
System 55 to permanently store the data entered in Field 823; quantity shipped
Field 1751 is used by
System 55 to permanently store the data entered in Field 824; B-units shipped
Field 1752 is used by
System 55 to permanently store the data entered in Field 1661; carton number
marks Field 1753 is used
by System 55 to permanently store the data entered in Field 819.
Quote Charges Table 1327 includes the following elements: quote ID Field 1672
is a System 55-
generated entry which links each record in Gluote Charges Table 1327 to a
record in Quote Table 1322;
container delivery charge , container pickup charge, destination clearance
charge, destination DDP outlay
charge, destination delivery charge, destination handling charge, destination
terminal charge, destination
transfer charge, handling charge, hazardous charge, insurance charge, LIC
charge, pickup charge, port
to port charge, special consignee charge, special destination charge, special
origin charge, special
shipper charge, terminal charge, and transfer charge Fields 1755 are used by
System 55 to permanently
store the data entered in Column 853; port to port rate Field 1756 is used by
System 55 to permanently
store the data entered in Field 1673; special consignee charge name, special
destination charge name,
special origin charge name, and special chipper charge name Fields 1757 are
use by System 55 to
permanently store the data entered in Fields 1674.
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HouseBill Table 1328 includes the following elements: Hill Field 1758 is a
System 55-generated
unique ID number; quote ID Field 1759 is used by System 55 to permanently
store the data entered in
Field 1607; shipper ID Field 1760 is used by System 55 to permanently store
the data entered in Field
734; location ID Field 1761 is used by System 55 to permanently store the data
entered in Field 736;
primary bill to party ID Field 1762 is used by System 55 to permanently store
the data entered in Field
764; consignee ID Field 1763 is used by System 55 to permanently store the
data entered in Field 752;
consignee location ID Field 1764 is used by System 55 to permanently store the
data entered in Field
756; secondary bill to party ID Field 1765 is used by System 55 to permanently
store the data entered in
Field 765; request date and request time Field 1766 is used by System 55 to
permanently store the data
entered in Field 733; transit requirements Field 1767 is used by System 55 to
permanently store the data
entered in Box 777; type of service Field 1768 is used by System 55 to
permanently store the data
entered in Box 788; payment terms Field 1769 is used by System 55 to
permanently store the data
entered in Box 790; pickup date Field 1770 is used by System 55 to permanently
store the data entered in
Field 742; pickup time Field 1771 is used by System 55 to permanently store
the data entered in Field
743; drop? Field 1772 is used by System 55 to permanently store the data
entered in Box 744; "eta" at
port of origin Field 1773 is used by System 55 to permanently store the data
entered in Field 773; delivery
date and delivery time Field 1774 is used by System 55 to permanently store
the data entered in Field
761; delivery drop? Field 1775 is used by System 55 to permanently store the
data entered in Box 760;
origin port Field 1776 is used by System 55 to permanently store the data
entered in Field 771;
destination port Field 1777 is used by System 55 to permanently store the data
entered in Field 772;
hazard Field 1778 is used by System 55 to permanently store the data entered
in Box 774; insurance
Field 1779 is used by System 55 to permanently store the data related to
Button 779; insurance amount
Field 1780 is used by System 55 to permanently store the data entered in Box
782; insurance to cover
freight Field 1781 is used by System 55 to permanently store the data entered
in Box 780; insurance
+10% Field 1782 is used by System 55 to permanently store the data entered in
Box 781; insurance
commodity class Field 1783 is used by System 55 to permanently store the data
entered in Field 785;
shippers reference # Field 1784 is used by System 55 to permanently store the
data entered in Field 741;
consignees reference # Field 1785 is used by System 55 to permanently store
the data entered in Field
759; notes Field 1786 is used by System 55 to permanently store the data
entered in Field 730; internal
notes Field 1787 is used by System 55 to permanently store the data entered in
Field 731; carrier Field
1788 is entered by the user in Field 916 or by the System 55 in the event the
user clicks Button 912;
masterbill Field 1789 is entered by the user in Field 917 or by the System 55
in the event the user clicks
Button 912; chargeable weight Field 1790 is used by System 55 to permanently
store the data entered in
Field 1609; freight rate Field 1791 is used by System 55 to permanently store
the data entered in Field
1610: housebill date Field 1792 is a System 55-generated entry which is the
date the record was
generated; record status Field 1793 is reserved for future functionality.
Housebill Carton Details Table 1329 includes the following elements: ID Field
1794 is a System
55-generated unique ID number; Hill Field 1795 is a System 55-generated entry
which finks each record
in HouseBill Carton Details Table 1329 to a record in HouseBill Table 1328;
piece count Field 1796 is
used by System 55 to permanently store the data entered in Field 794; marks
Field 1797 is used by
System 55 to permanently store the data entered in Field 795; length Field
1798 is used by System 55 to
permanently store the data entered in Field 796; wide Field 1799 is used by
System 55 to permanently
store the data entered in Field 797; height Field 1800 is used by System 55 to
permanently store the data
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entered in Field 798; weight per piece Field 1801 is used by System 55 to
permanently store the data
entered in Field 799.
Housebill Containerization Table 1330 includes the following elements:
container ID number Field
1802 is a System 55-generated unique ID number: Hill Field 1803 is a System 55-
generated entry which
links each record in HouseBill Containerization Table 1330 to a record in
HouseBill Table 1328; container
type Field 1804 is used by System 55 to permanently store the data entered in
Field 1630; container
number Field 1805 is used by System 55 to permanently store the data entered
in Field 1631; seal
number Field 1806 is used by System 55 to permanently store the data entered
in Field 1632; total weight
loaded Field 1807 is used by System 55 to permanently store the data entered
in Field 1633; actual tare
Field 1808 is used by System 55 to permanently store the data entered in Field
1634; total cft loaded
Field 1809 is used by System 55 to permanently store the data entered in Field
1635; total piece count
loaded Field 1810 is used by System 55 to permanently store the data entered
in Field 1636; base rate
Field 1811 is used by System 55 to permanently store the data entered in Field
1637; pivot Field 1812 is
used by System 55 to permanently store the data entered in Field 1638; over
pivot Field 1813 is used by
System 55 to permanently store the data entered in Field 1639.
Agent Broker Base Table 1331 includes the following elements: agentlbroker ID
Field 1814 is a
System 55-generated unique ID number; clearance cost is entered by user in
Clearance Cost Field 340;
turnover fee Field 1815 is reserved for future functionality; clearance per $
additional Field 1816 is
reserved for future functionality; agent handling fee is entered by the user
in Agent Handling Field 336;
cost? flag is set initially to "no" and may be set to 'yes' by the user by
marking Box 338; broker is entered
by the user in Broker Drop Down Box 334; active Field 1817 is set initially by
System 55 as "yes" and is
reset to "no" when the user clicks the Delete This Agent Button 328 or "yes"
when the user clicks the
Undelete Agent Button 330.
HouseBill Commercial Invoice/SED Table 1332 includes the following elements:
Hill Field 1818 is a System 55-generated entry which links each record in
HouseBill Commercial
InvoiceISED Table 1332 to a record in HouseBill Table 1328; invoice date Field
1819 is used by System
55 to permanently store the data entered in Field 672; invoice # Field 1820 is
used by System 55 to
permanently store the data entered in Field 671; PO number Field 1821 is used
by System 55 to
permanently store the data entered in Field 673; other shipper reference Field
1822 is used by System 55
to permanently store the data entered in Field 674; sold to name, sold to
address, sold to city, sold to
state, sold to zip Fields 1823 are used by System 55 to permanently store the
data entered in Field 675;
terms of sale Field 1824 is used by System 55 to permanently store the data
entered in Field 676;
currency of sale Field 1825 is used by System 55 to permanently store the data
entered in Field 812;
phrase1, phrase2, and phrase3 Fields 1826 are used by System 55 to permanently
store the data entered
in Fields 847; current rate of exchange Field 1827 is used by System 55 to
permanently store the data
entered in Field 677; overall description Field 1828 is used by System 55 to
permanently store the data
entered in Field 816; related flag Field 1829 is used by System 55 to
permanently store the data entered
in Box 815; license # Field 1830 is used by System 55 to permanently store the
data entered in Field 686;
ECCN# Field 1831 is used by System 55 to permanently store the data entered in
Field 687; include
freight charges Field 1832 is used by System 55 to permanently store the data
entered in Box 839; other
cost name Field 1833 is used by System 55 to permanently store the data
entered in Field 841; other cost
amount Field 1834 is used by System 55 to permanently store the data entered
in Field 842; signatory
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name Field 1835 is used by System 55 to permanently store the data entered in
Field 850; signatory title
Field 1836 is used by System 55 to permanently store the data entered in Field
851.
Terminal Location Base Table 1333 includes the following elements: terminal ID
Field 1837 is a
System 55-generated unique ID number; terminal contact is entered by the user
in Field 469; terminal
open time is entered by the user in Field 470; terminal close time is entered
by the user in Field 471;
terminal notes are entered by the user in Field 472; terminal minimum is
entered by the user in Field 478;
terminal cost per shipment is entered by the user in Field 474; terminal cost
per pound is entered by the
user in Field 475; terminal cost per "cbm" is entered by the user in Field
476; terminal cost per wlm is
entered by the user in Field 477; free days Field 1838 is reserved for future
functionality; transfer carrier
ID is entered by the user in Field 479; transfer minimum, transfer cost per
shipment, transfer cost per
pound, transfer cost per CBM, and transfer cost per w/m are entered by the
user in Column 480; active
Field 1839 is set initially by System 55 to "yes" and is reset to "no" when
the user clicks the Delete This
Terminal Button 481 or 'yes' when the user clicks the Undelete A Terminal
Button 482.
HouseBill Commercial Invoice Line Item Table 1334 includes the following
elements: commercial
invoice item record number Field 1840 is a System 55-generated unique ID
number; housebill commercial
invoice/SED record number Field 1841 is a System 55-generated entry which
links each record in
HouseBill Commercial Invoice Line Item Table 1334 to a record in HouseBill
Commercial Invoice/SED
Table 1332; shipper inventory item record number Field 1842 is used by System
55 to permanently store
the data entered in Field 820; quantity ordered Field 1843 is used by System
55 to permanently store the
data entered in Field 823; quantity shipped Field 1844 is used by System 55 to
permanently store the
data entered in Field 824; B-units shipped Field 1845 is used by System 55 to
permanently store the data
entered in Field 1661; carton number marks Field 1846 is used by System 55 to
permanently store the
data entered in Field 819.
Billing Invoice Table 1335 includes the following elements: invoice number
Field 1847 is a
System 55-generated unique ID number; invoice date Field 1848 is used by
System 55 to record the date
on which the record was created: Hill Field 1849 is used by System 55 to link
each record in Table 1335
to a record in housebill table 1328; bill to party Field 1850 is used by
System 55 to link each record in
Table 1335 to a record in Table 1301; date last amended Field 1851 is used by
System 55 to record the
latest date on which the record was edited; active field 1852 is set initially
by System 55 to 'yes' and is
reset to 'no' when the user clicks Option Button 974; invoice note field 1853
is reserved for future
functionality where notes generated by the user or by System 55 will be
stored.
Billing Invoice Items Table 1336 includes the following elements: invoice line
item number Field
1854 is a System 55-generated unique ID number; invoice number Field 1855 is
used by System 55 to
link each record in Table 1336 to a record in Table 1335; charge description,
charge amount, and cost
amount estimate are determined by the System 55 and displayed in Box 981: cost
item code Field 1856 is
used by the System 55 to link each record in Table 1336 to a record in Table
1337; vendor ID Field 1857
is used by the System 55 to link each record in Table 1336 to a record in
Table 1319; vendor reference,
vendor invoice number, and vendor invoice amount are entered by the user in
Box 981; vendor invoice
received Field 1858 is set initially by the System 55 to "no" and is reset to
"yes" when the user enters
information in Box 981;
date vendor invoice received Field 1859 is used by the System 55 to record the
date the user enters
vendor invoice information.
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Charge Description Table 1337 includes the following elements: description
number Field 1860 is
a preprogrammed ID number; description Field 1861 is a preprogrammed
description for charges billed by
the System 55.
HouseBill Print Override Table 1338 includes the following elements: Hill
Field 1862 is a System
55-generated entry which links each record in HouseBill Print Override Table
1338 to a record in
HouseBill Table 1328; shipper override is entered by the shipper in Field 942;
consignee override is
entered by the user in Field 943; notify party, for delivery apply to, arks
and numbers, number of
packages override. Lbs/Kgs, gross weight override, chargeable weight override,
cubic meter override,
rate charge override, description override, laden on board date override,
other charges text override, due
agent override, and due carrier override Fields 1863 are for future
functionality which will store user
entered information to override System 55-determined information on printed
documents; origin override
is entered by the user in Field 944;
destination override is entered by the user in Field 945; handling information
is entered by the user in
Field 946.
HouseBill Forms Printed Table 1339 includes the following elements: Hill Field
1864 is a System
55-generated entry which links each record in HouseBill Forms Printed Table
1339 to a record in
HouseBill Table 1328; pickup request Field 1865 is a System 55-generated entry
which records if a
pickup request document is required and, if so, how many times it has been
printed; warehouse advise
Field 1866 is a System 55-generated entry which records if a warehouse advise
document in required
and, if so, how many times it has been printed; booking confirmation Field
1867 is a System 55-generated
entry which records if a booking confirmation document is required and, if so,
how many times it has been
printed; housebill Field 1868 is a System 55-generated entry which records if
a housebill document is
required and, if so, how many times is has been printed; proforma Field 1869
is a System 55-generated
entry which records if a proforma invoice document is required and, if so, how
many times it has been
printed; SED Field 1870 is a System 55-generated entry which records if an SED
document is required
and, if so, how many times it has been printed; certificate of origin Field
1871 is a System 55-generated
entry which records if a certificate origin document is required and, if so,
how many times it has been
printed; housebifl labels Field 1872 is a System 55-generated entry which
records if housebill labels are
required and, if so, how many times they have been printed; NAFTA certificate
Field 1873 is a System 55-
generated entry which records if a NAFTA certificate document is required and,
if so, how many times it
has been printed; arrival notice Field 1874 is a System 55-generated entry
which records if an arrival
notice document is required and, if so, how many times it has been printed;
delivery notice Field 1875 is a
System 55-generated entry which records if a delivery notice document is
required and, if so, how many
times it has been printed;
ITIT&E Field 1876 is a System 55-generated entry which records if an IT or if
a T&E document is required
and, if so, how many times it has been printed; delivery pro Field 1877 is a
System 55-generated entry
which records if a delivery pro document is required and, if so, how many
times it has been printed.
Future functionality allows for the creation of additional fields pertaining
to additional documents
as they become required by the international shipping industry.
HouseBill Transit Record Table 1340 includes the following elements: Hill
Field 1878 is a System
55-generated entry which links each record in Housebill Transit Record Table
1340 to a record in
HouseBill Table 1328; pickup date is displayed in Field 158 and is used by
System 55 to record the date a
pickup request document was generated; warehouse in is entered by the user in
Warehouse In Column
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160 and is displayed in *?* Button 1026; number of pieces on hand is entered
by the user in Field 1027;
complete is displayed in All ? Column 162 and is set initially by the System
55 to "no" but is revised to
"yes" when the value of the number of pieces on hand Field 1027 equals the sum
of all the piece count
Fields 1796 linked to the same Hill record; master date Field 1881 is used by
the System 55 to record the
date the user clicks Button 894, Button 912, or Button 935 resulting in the
establishment of a Link 1526
and a Link 1527 for the record in HouseBill table 1328 to which the record in
Table 1340 is linked (via Link
1488); reassign note Field 1882 is reserved for future functionality of
storing reason entered by the user
by means of a pop-up prompt for clicking Button 1064 thus deleting a Link 1526
and a Link 1527:
warehouse out is displayed in Warehouse Out Column 166 and is used by System
55 to record the date a
transfer manifest document was generated; clear date Field 1883 is reserved
for future functionality of
storing a date entered by the user noting a customs clearance date:
availability date is displayed in Avail
Date Column 190 and is reserved for future functionality of storing a date
entered by the user noting a
date cargo is available for delivery; delivery date is entered by the user in
Field 1151; delivery notes are
entered by the user in Field 1163: temp COB Field 1884 is used by the System
55 to store the value of
the appropriate depart date field of the first confirmed on board (in order:
Depart Date1 and COB1, Depart
Date2 and COB2, Depart Date3 and C083, Depart Date4 and COB4 Fields 1899 and
Fields 1142 in
Table 1343) which is linked to the record (via Link 1488 to Link 1526 and Link
1527) and has a value of
"no".
Doc Regs Table 1341 includes the following elements: mode of transport Field
1885 is a System
55-generated entry which notes whether the record pertains to air shipments (1
) or sea shipments (0),
one record for each being created by the system for each record in Country
Code Table 1304; country
Field 1886 is a System 55-generated entry which links each record in Doc Regs
Table 1341 to a record in
Country Code Table 1304; pickup request, pickup request at, warehouse advice,
warehouse advice at,
booking confirmation, booking confirmation at, HouseBill, HouseBill at, house
bill of lading, house bill of
lading at, proforma invoice, proforma invoice at, SED, SED at, certificate of
origin, certificate of origin at,
HouseBill labels, HouseBill labels at, arrival notice, arrival notice at,
delivery notice, delivery notice at,
IT/T&E, 1TIT&E at, delivery pro, delivery pro at, commercial invoice,
commercial invoice at, inland pro,
inland pro at, packing list, packing list at, segregation, segregation at, SGS
request, SGS request at,
legalization request, and legalization request at are all entered by the user
in either Fields 486 if mode
Field 1885 is air (1 ) or are entered in Fields 487 if mode Field 1885 is sea
(0).
Carrier Specification Base Table 1342 includes the following elements: carrier
ID is entered by
the user in Carrier ID Field 435; record number Field 1887 is a System 55-
generated unique ID number;
carrier IATA is entered by the user in Check Box 438; carrier commission
percent is entered by the user
in Carrier Commission Percentage Field 439; carrier terms are entered by the
user in Carrier Payment
Terms Field 440; air? is entered by the user in Check Box 437; carrier prefix
is entered by the user in
MAWB Prefix Field 436; surcharge per kilo is entered by the user in Carrier
Surcharge Per Kilo Field 449;
surcharge percent Field 1888 is not used by the System 55 but is available for
future functionality as a
user entered charge analogous to Carrier Surcharge Per Kilo Field 449 except
that the value entered
would a percentage of freight charges.
MasterBill Table 1343 includes the following elements: Carrier Field 1889 is
either entered by the
user in Field 916 if the user clicks Button 935, or is a System 55-generated
entry from the value displayed
in Field 903 if the user clicks Button 894 or Button 912; MasterBill Number
Field 1890 is either entered
(manually by the user or by the system when the user clic :,~tton 918) in
Field 917 if the user clicks
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Sutton 935, or is a System 55-generated entry from the value displayed in
Field 903 if the user clicks
Button 894 or Button 912; carrier booking number is entered by the user in
Field 919; MasterBill shipper
Field 1891 is either entered by the user in List Box 927 if the user clicks
Button 935, or is a System 55-
generated entry based on an origin agent broker ID Field 443 of a record in
Consolidation Vendor Table
1350 with an origin port Field 1923 matching the origin Field 1897 in Table
1343, a destination port Field
1924 matching the final destination Field 1901 in Table 1343, and a transit
type Field 1925 with a value of
'consolidation' (1 ) if the user clicks Button 894 or Button 912; MasterBill
consignee Field 1892 is either
entered by the user in List Box 929 if the user clicks Button 935, or is a
System 55-generated entry based
on a destination agent broker 1D Field 446 of a record in Consolidation Vendor
Table 1350 with an origin
port Field 1923 matching the origin Field 1897 in Table 1343, a destination
port Field 1924 matching the
final destination Field 1901 in Table 1343, and a transit type Field 1925 with
a value of 'consolidation' (1 ) if
the user clicks Button 894 or Button 912; issuing agent Field 1893 is either
entered by the user in List Box
928 if the user clicks Button 935, or is a System 55-generated entry based on
an origin agent broker lD
Field 443 of a record in Consolidation Vendor Table 1350 with an origin port
Field 1923 matching the
origin Field 1897 in Table 1343, a destination port Field 1924 matching the
final destination Field 1901 in
Table 1343, and a transit type Field 1925 with a value of 'consolidation' (1 )
if the user clicks Button 894 or
Button 912; cutoff Field 1894 is either entered by the user in Field 920 if
the user clicks button 935, or is a
System 55-generated entry based on Check Boxes 1181 if the user clicks Button
894 or Button 912; cut-
off time Field 1895 is either entered by the user in Field 921 if the user
clicks button 935, or is a System
55-generated entry based on Fields 1182 if the user clicks Button 894 or
Button 912; origin terminal Field
1896 is either entered by the user in Field 930 if the user clicks button 935,
or is a System 55-generated
entry base on a value stored in a terminal ID Field 444 of a record in
Consolidation Vendor Table 1350
with an origin port Field 1923 matching the origin Field 1897 in Table 1343, a
destination port Field 1924
matching the final destination Field 1901 in Table 1343, and a transit type
Field 1925 with a value of
'consolidation' (1 ) if the user clicks Button 894 or Button 912; origin Field
1897 is either entered by the
user in Field 932 if the user clicks Button 935, or is a System 55-generated
entry based on the value
entered by the user in Field 1177 if the user clicks Button 894 or Button 912;
vessel voyagelflightl , flight2,
flight3, flight4 Fields 1898 are either entered by the user in Column 922 if
the user clicks Button 935, or
are System 55-generated entries based on the values in flight1, flight2,
flight3, and flight4 (respectively)
Fields 1195 of a record in Consol Schedule Table 1355 with a carrier Field
1180 matching carrier Field
1889 and a MasterBill number Field 1198 matching MasterBill number Field 1890
if the user clicks Button
894 or Button 912; depart date1, depart date2, depart date3, depart date3,
depart date4 Fields 1899 are
either entered by the user in Column 923 if the user clicks Button 935, or are
System 55-generated
entries based on the values in date1, date2, date3, and date4 {respectively)
Fields 1196 of a record in
Consol Schedule Table 1355 with a carrier Field 1180 matching carrier Field
1889 and a MasterBill
number Field 1198 matching MasterBill number Field 1890 if the user clicks
Button 894 or Button 912;
destination1, destination2, destination3, destination4 Fields 1900 are either
entered by the user in Column
924 if the user clicks Button 935, or are System 55-generated entries on the
values in destinationl ,
destination2, destination3, and destination4 (respectively) Fields 1938 of a
record in Consol Schedule
Table 1355 with a carrier Field 1180 matching carrier Field 1889 and a
MasterBill number Field 1198
matching MasterBill number Field 1890 if the user clicks Button 894 or Button
912; COB1, COB2, COB3,
and COB4 are entered by the user in Check Boxes 1142; final destination Field
1901 is either entered by
the user in Field 933 if the user clicks Button 935, or is a System 55-
generated entry based on the value
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entered by the user in Field 1178 if the user clicks Button 894 or Button 912;
freight location Field 1902 is
either entered by the user in Field 931 if the user clicks button 935, or is a
System 55-generated entry
based on a destination terminal ID Field 447 of a record in Consolidation
Vendor Table 1350 with an
origin port Field 1923 matching the origin Field 1897 in Table 1343, a
destination port Field 1924 matching
the final destination Field 1901 in Table 1343, and a transit type Field 1925
with a value of 'consolidation'
(1 ) if the user clicks Button 894 or Button 912; arrival date Field 1903 is
either entered by the user in Field
925 if the user clicks button 935, or is a System 55-generated entry based on
a value stored in an ETA
Field 1197 of a record in Consol Schedule Table 1355 with a carrier Field 1180
matching carrier Field
1889 and a MasterBili number Field 1198 matching MasterBill number Field 1890
if the user clicks Button
894 or Button 912; prepaid? Field 1904 is either entered by the user in Box
934 if the user clicks button
935 or is set by the System 55 to 'yes' by default if the user clicks Button
894 or Button 912, and is in
either case confirmed by the user in Checkbox 1039; express B/L? is entered by
the user in Checkbox
1040; loose pieces is entered by the user in Field 1094; gross weight is
entered by the user in Field 1095;
chargeable weight is entered by the user in Field 1096; buy rate Field 1905 is
either entered by the user in
Field 1107 if the user clicks button 1106, or is a System 55-generated entry
based on the value of the
appropriate field (corresponding to chargeable weight Field 1096) of a record
in Carrier Rate Table 1354
with a carrier ID Field 1935 matching carrier Field 1889 in MasterBill Table
1343, an origin port Field 1936
matching origin Field 1897 in MasterBill Table 1343, and a destination port
Field 1937 matching final
destination Field 1901 in MasterBill Table 1343; closed? Field 1906 is set
initially by System 55 to 'no' and
revised by System 55 to 'yes' when the user clicks Button 1128; notes are
entered by the user in Field
1146 and is also used by the System 55 to store for display to the user
information about the processing
of the record; MasterBill date Field 1907 is used by the System 55 to record
the date the record was
created; reported freight amount is calculated by the system and displayed in
Field 1105; report due
carrier amount Field 1908 is a System 55-generated entry based on the
chargeable weight Field 1096
multiplied by the surcharge per kilo Field 449 of the record linked by Link
1501; report due agent amount
Field 1909 is reserved for future functionality which will allow the user to
instruct the carrier on the
MasterBili to collect charges on the user's behalf.
Master Containerization Table 1344 includes the following elements: carrier
Field 1910 (in
conjunction with Field 1855) is used by System 55 to link each record in
Master Containerization Table
1344 with a record in MasterBill Table 1343; MasterBill number Field 1911 (in
conjunction with Field 1854)
is used by System 55 to link each record in Master Containerization Table 1344
with a record in
MasterBill Table 1343; container number is entered by the user in Field 1098;
container type is entered by
the user in Field 1097; seal number is entered by the user in Field 1099;
total weight loaded is entered by
the user in Field 1101; actual tare is entered by the user in Field 1102;
total cubic feet loaded is entered by the user in Fiefd 1103; total piece
count loaded is entered by the user
in Field 1100; base rate, pivot weight, and overpivot rate Fields 1912 are
entered by the user in prompts
analogous to the prompt displayed in Fig 85.
MasterBill Forms Printed Table 1345 includes the following elements: carrier
Field 1913 (in
conjunction with Field 1858) is used by System 55 to link each record in
MasterBill Forms Printed Table
1345 with a record in MasterBill Table 1343; MasterBill number Field 1914 (in
conjunction with Field 1857)
is used by System 55 to link each record in MasterBill Forms Printed Table
1345 with a record in
MasterBill Table 1343; MasterBill, manifest, MasterBill labels, pre-alert,
warehouse instructions, transfer
manifest, security endorsement, arrival notice, segregation, warehouse
transfer Fields 1915 are initially
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set by the System 55 to a value of 0 and are increased by a value of "1" each
time the user clicks Button
1116, Button 1117, Button 1118, Button 1119, Button 1120, Button 1121, Button
1122, Button 1123,
Button 1124, or Button 1125 respectively.
MasterBill Print Override Table 1346 includes the following elements: carrier
Field 1916 (in
conjunction with Field 1861 ) is used by System 55 to link each record in
MasterBill Print Override Table
1346 with a record in MasterBill Table 1343; MasterBill number Field 1917 (in
conjunction with Field 1860)
is used by System 55 to link each record in MasterBlll Print Override Table
1346 with a record in
MasterBill Table 1343; shipper override is reserved for future functionality
of user entry in Field 1032;
consignee override is reserved for future functionality of user entry in Field
1033; notify party, for delivery
apply to, handling information, marks and numbers, pounds/kilos, cubic meter
override, rate charge
override, description override, laden on board date override, other charges
text, due agent override, and
due carrier override Fields 1918 are reserved for future functionality where
the user will enter values into
these fields; origin override is reserved for future functionality of user
entry in Field 1035; destination
override is reserved for future functionality of user entry in Field 1036;
number of packages override is
entered by the user in Field 1094; gross weight override is entered by the
user in Field 1095; chargeable
weight override is entered by the user in Field 1096.
Carrier Schedule Table 1347 includes the following elements: record number
Field 1919 is a
System 55-generated unique ID number; origin as displayed in Field 538 is a
System 55-generated entry
based on choices made by the user in the screens displayed prior to the screen
displayed in Fig 33;
destination as displayed in Field 539 is a System 55-generated entry based on
choices made by the user
in the screens displayed prior to the screen displayed in Fig. 33; carrier as
displayed in Field 526 is a
System 55-generated entry based on choices made by the user in the screens
displayed prior to the
screen displayed in Fig. 32; flight is entered by the user in Field 537; cut
off time is entered by the user in
Field 542; cut off date is entered by the user in Field 543; departure time is
entered by the user in Field
544; arrival time is entered by the user in Field 545; transit time is entered
by the user in Field 546;
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday are set by
the user in Days of
the Week Row 547; effective date is entered by the user in Field 540; end date
is entered by the user in
Field 541; container type1, container type2, container type3, and container
type 4 are entered by the user
in Check Box Column 548; vessell , vessel2, vessel3, vessel4, vessels,
vessel6, and vessel? are entered
by the user in Row 551.
Carrier Routing Table 1348 includes the following elements: carrier as
displayed in Field 526 is a
System 55-generated entry based on choices made by the user in the screens
prior to the screen
displayed in Fig..32; origin as displayed in Field 527 is a System 55-
generated entry based on choices
made by the user in the screens prior to the screen displayed in Fig. 32;
destination as displayed in Field
528 is a System 55-generated entry based on choices made by the user in the
screens prior to the screen
displayed in Fig. 32; air? is entered by the user in Box 529; transit record 1
is entered by the user in Field
530; transit record 2 is entered by the user in Field 531; transit record 3 is
entered by the user in Field
532; transit record 4 is entered by the user in Field 533; Sunday transit
time, Monday transit time,
Tuesday transit time, Wednesday transit time, Thursday transit time, Friday
transit time, and Saturday
transit time Fields 1920 are System 55-generated entries based on the number
of days between the
field's namesake day and the day corresponding with the next marked field in
the Days of The Week Row
547 of a linked record in Carrier Schedule Table 1347, plus the transit time
Field 546 of the linked record
in Carrier Schedule Table 1347.
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Customer Rate Table 1349 includes the following elements: rate table ID Field
1921 is a System
55-generated unique ID number; bill to ID is entered by the user in Field 617;
origin warehouse ID is
entered by the user in Field 665; destination warehouse ID is entered by the
user in Field 666; service
type is entered by the user in Field 667; date updated Field 1922 is used by
the System 55 to record the
date the record was last edited; all the remaining data in Customer Rate Table
1349 are entered by the
user in the fields displayed in Fig. 46, for example pickup minimum, pickup
+100, pickup +500, pickup
+1000, pickup +2000, pickup +3000, pickup +5000, pickup +10000, pickup LD3,
pickup LD7, pickup
LD11, pickup MD1, air container drop charge, pickup 20', pickup 40', and sea
container drop charge are
entered in Fields 678.
Consolidation Vendor Table 1350 includes the following elements: origin port
Field 1923 is a
System 55-generated entry based on entries made by the user in the screens
displayed in Fig. 30 and
Fig. 36; destination port Field 1924 is a System 55-generated entry based on
entries made by the user in
the screens displayed in Fig. 30 and Fig. 36; transit time Field 1925 is a
System 55-generated entry
based on the entry made by the user in Field 512 in Fig. 36; estimated port to
port transit time is entered
by the user in Field 450; terminal ID is entered by the user in Field 444;
carrier ID is entered by the user in
Field 445; destination agenUbroker ID is entered by the user in Field 446; cut-
off date and cut-off time are
entered by the user in Fields 448; destination terminal ID is entered by the
user in Field 447; origin
agent/broker ID is entered by the user in Field 443.
Insurance Rate Table 1351 includes the following elements: commodity class
Field 1926 is a
preprogrammed entry used to establish the commodity class to which each record
applies (future
functionality will allow user entry of this data); country class Field 1927 is
a preprogrammed entry used to
establish the country class to which each record applies (future functionality
will allow user entry of this
data); future functionality will include a transport class Field which will be
a preprogrammed and/or user
entry used to establish the mode of transport to which each record applies;
rate Field 1928 is a
preprogrammed insurance rate covering goods under the commodity classification
stored in Field 1926
being shipped to or from countries covered under the country classification
stored in Field 1927 (future
functionality will allow user entry of this data); special vendor ID Field
1929 is a preprogrammed entry
used to link each record in Insurance Rate Table 1351 to a record in Special
Vendors Base Table 1312
(future functionality will allow user entry of this data).
Inland Rate Table 1352 includes the following elements: Postal Code ID Field
392 is a
combination of the data entered by the user in the Country Location ID Box 386
and the information
entered by the user in the Postal Code ID Field 390; LTL vendor ID is entered
by the user in the Loose
Cargo Vendor Field 394; LTL port of service is entered by the user in the
Terminal Field 402; transit time
to port is entered by the user in the Time Field 404; LTL rates stored in the
Inland rate Table 1352 are
entered by the user in the user in FIG. 23 as discussed previously, for
example a minimum charge is
entered and stored in the Minimum Charge Field 406, a +100 pound rate is
entered and stored in the
+100 Pound Rate Field 408, a +500 pound rate is entered and stored in the +500
Pound Rate Field 410,
etc.; air container vendor ID is entered by the user in the Air Container
Vendor Field 396; LD3, LD7,
LD11, and MD1 rates are entered by the user in Fields 414; air container drop
charge is entered by the
user in Air Container Drop Charge Field 412; drayman vendor ID is entered by
the user in Dray Container
Vendor Field 398; drayman port of service is entered by the user in Dray
Terminal Field 418; transit time
to container port is entered by the user in Dray Time Field 432; 20' rate is
entered by the user in 20'
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Container Rate Field 418; 40' rate is entered by the user in 40' Container
Rate Field 427; sea container
drop charge is entered by the user in Sea Container Drop Charge Field 422.
Default Rate Table 1353 includes the following elements: rate table ID Field
1930 is a System
55-generated unique ID number; origin port Field 1931 is a System 55-generated
entry based entries
made by the user in the screens displayed in FIG. 30 and Fig. 36; destination
port Field 1932 is a System
55-generated entry based on entries made by the user in the screens displayed
in FIG. 30 and FIG. 36;
service type Field 1933 is a System 55-generated entry based on entries made
by the user in the screen
displayed in Fig, 36; date updated Field 1934 is used by System 55 to record
the date on which the
record was last updated; all the remaining data in Default Rate Table 1353 are
entered by the user in the
fields displayed in FIG. 38, for example terminal minimum, terminal per
shipment, terminal per pound,
terminal per cubic meter, and terminal per w/m are entered in Fields 554.
Carrier Rate Table 1354 includes the following elements: carrier ID Field 1935
is entered by the
user either in Carrier List 429 or Carrier To Display Box 521; origin port
Field 1936 is either entered by the
user in Origin Port Column 433 or is a System 55-generated entry based on
entries made by the user in
the screen displayed in FiG. 30; destination port Field 1937 is either entered
by the user in Destination
Column 451 or is a System 55-generated entry based on entries made by the user
in the screen
displayed in Fig. 30; all the remaining data in Carrier Rate Table 1354 (for
example minimum charge, +1 k,
+45k, +100k, +300k, +500k, etc.) are entered by the user in the Rate Tariff
Box 455.
Consol Schedule Table 1355 includes the following elements: cutoff is entered
by the user or
determined by the System 55 and displayed in Field 1193; origin is entered by
the user in Field 1177;
destination is entered by the user in Field 1178; carrier is a System 55-
generated entry based on the
information entered by the user in Fields 1198; MasterBill prefix and
MasterBill number are entered by the
user in Fields 1198; fiightl , flight2, flight3, and flight4 are entered by
the user in Fields 1195;
date1, date2, date3, and date4 are entered by the user in Fields 1196;
destination1, destination2,
destination3, and destination4 are System 55-generated entries based on
destination Field 539 of a
record in Carrier Schedule Table 1347 which has a flight Field 537 matching
the respective flight field
(flightlldesintation1, flight2/destination2, etc.) in Consol Schedule Table
1355; "eta" is entered by the user
in Fields 1197; lockout is entered by the user in Fields 1194.
MasterBill Number Pool Table 1356 includes the following elements: carrier is
entered by the
user in Field 711; MasterBill number Field 1938 is an entry generated by
System 55 based on an entry
made by the user in Field 712, an entry made by the user in either Field 713
or Field 714, and a
programmed method for determining valid MasterBill numbers {as discussed
earlier in the text); used
Field 1939 is set~initially by the System 55 to "no" but is set by the System
55 to "'yes" for a record when
the value in a MasterBill number Field 1890 of a record in MasterBill Table
1343 has the same value as
the MasterBill number Field 1938 of said record.
User Scheduled Events Table 1357 includes the following elements: user is
entered by the user
in Name Field 140; event date is a System 55-generated entry based on the
value of Date 146; event
time, description, and notes are entered by the user in Fields 212; done is
entered by the user in Done
Button 260.
User Scheduled Memos Table 1358 includes the following elements: user name is
a System 55-
generated entry the value of Name 144; from user is entered by the user in
Field 228; date is a System
55-generated entry the value of the current date as displayed in Field 230:
memo is entered by the user in
Field 232; read is entered by the user in Box 234.
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User Table 1359 includes the following elements: user name Field 1940 is a
preprogrammed
entry which stores the name of each user allowed access to System 55; password
Field 1941 is a
preprogrammed entry which stores the password of each user allowed access to
System 55; (future
functionality will allow manipulation of these fields by authorized users).
Comments Table 1360 includes the following elements: comment number Field 1942
is a System
55-generated unique ID number; user name is entered by the user in Field 280;
date Field 1943 is used
by the System 55 to record the date on which the record was created: where is
entered by the user in
Field 282; what is entered by the user in Field 284; comments are entered by
the user in Field 286; read?
Field 1944 is available to individuals who have access to the code of Program
26 to mark records in 1360
as read for future reference.
With regard to computer-generated output, attention is drawn to representative
computer-generated
documents for a freight forwarder and for a shipper. Such representative
documents include those listed in
the following Document Table: Arrival Notice; Billing Invoice; Booking
Request; Cass Report; Certificate Of
Origin; COB Confirmation (Agent); COB Confirmation (Client); COB Request;
Commercial Invoice;
Consolidation Schedule: Cut Off Report; Shipments In Progress Report; User
Scheduled Events Report;
House Air Waybill; (House Bill of Lading); HouseBill Labels: Inland Pro;
Inland Rate Request; Manifest
(Long); Manifest (Short); Master Air Waybill; Monthly Profit/Loss Report;
NAFTA Certificate; Packing List;
Pickup Request; POD Request; Pre-Alert; Proforma invoice; Quote; Shippers
Export Declaration;
Shipment Activity Report; Shipment Profit/Loss: Shipper Profile; Tariff;
Transfer Manifest; Warehouse
Advice; Quote Request; Caricom Invoice; Zambia Invoice; Spanish invoice; South
Africa Invoice;
Portuguese Invoice; New Zealand Certificate of Origin; Mexico Commercial
Invoice; Brazilian Commercial
Invoice: Canadian Commercial Invoice; CanadaJU.S. General Uniform Export
Declaration; Insurance
certificate; Arrival Notice; COB Confirmation (Agent); Housebill Labels;
Inland rate request; Master Air
Waybill; Shipment Profit Loss; Shipment Profile.
In a preferred embodiment, the System 55 will use Programmed Logic 25, such an
artificial
intelligence override, to make many of the decisions and to initiate many of
the tasks which have been left
to the user -- even in a partially user-defined default approach, such as that
otherwise discussed herein.
The extent to which the Programmed Logic 25 will override to take control of
the System 55 is specified
by the user. The Programmed Logic 25 pertorms or assist the user in performing
virtually every task
included in the Computer Program 26. Some examples for the embodiment
described include the
following:
The Programmed Logic 25 can be directed to assign shipments to masters (FIG.
67 & FIG. 68)
without user intervention based on user-defined criteria and to notify any
other of the Computer Systems
55 - 76 via the Output Device 15 and the Linking Device 78 that the assignment
has been done in the
form of a service request or a pre-advice;
The Programmed Logic 25 can be directed to determine which services are
required to execute the
shipment as entered in the screen displayed in FIG. 54 (as discussed in FIG.
60), to select which carriers
to use based on user-defined criteria, to get current rate and route schedule
from carriers, and to send
shipping instructions to the chosen carriers via the Input Device 5 andlor the
Output Device 15 and the
Linking Device 78;
The Programmed Logic 25 can be directed to obtain current documentary
requirements from the
Expert Regulations Provider's Computer System 72 via the Input Device 5 andJor
the Output Device 15
and the Linking Device 78, to determine which documents are required (as
discussed in FIG. 75), and to
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set parameters automatically for generating these documents without use
intervention via the screen
displayed in FIG.75.
The Programmed Logic 25 can, according to user-set parameters, initiate any
communication with
any other of the Computer Systems 55 - 78 via the Input Device 5 and/or the
Output Device 15 and the
Linking Device 79, such as is done when the user clicks Generate Rate Request
Button 426, Button
1148, Button 1158, Button 1159, Button 1160, or Button 1161.
The Programmed Logic 25 can, according to user-set parameters, analyze the
business aspects of
the user's operations and run regular reports such as is done when the user
clicks Button 1166 or can
present the user with business-related warnings based on parameters set by the
user (e..~c ., credit limits,
unprofitable transactions, projected goals, etc.).
The Programmed Logic 25 can also be directed to update inventory based on the
processing
carried out by the Program 26, receive and send updated inventory status from
the Inventory Provider's
Computer System 62 via the Input Device Linking Device 78, warn the user of
low inventory, and perform
other such inventory control tasks.
The Programmed Logic 25 can receive requests for payment from vendors, locate
applicable files
as discussed regarding FIG. 98, determine if the payment requested is within
user-defined parameters of
the amount estimated and, if so, record the payment as illustrated in FIG. 99
and arrange with the
Banking Provider's Computer System 78 via the Output Device 15 and the Linking
Device 78 to
electronically transfer funds to settle the debt; (conversely for users who
are vendors, the Programmed
Logic 25 can send requests for payment to a Customer's Computer System 64 via
the Output Device 15
and the Linking Device 78, receive electronic payment from clients via the
Input Device 5 and the Linking
Device 78, locate applicable user files, and determine if the payment
requested is within user-defined
parameters of the amount requested, send account statements and past due
notices to Customer's
Computer System 64 via the Output Device 15 and the Linking Device 78, and run
the required module
The Programmed Logic 25 can additionally be directed to have decision-making
control of the
user improved based on learning experiences from prior shipments. That is, the
default parameters will
be adjusted based on the artificial intelligence learning, as controlled by
user-defined parameters.
While a particular embodiment of the present invention has been disclosed, it
is to be understood
that various different modifications are possible and are within the true
spirit of the invention, the scope of
which is to be determined with reference to the claims set forth below. There
is no intention, therefore, to
limit the invention to the exact disclosure presented herein as a teaching of
one embodiment of the
invention.
83
