Once you have your booking confirmation, you will need to submit your shipping instructions by sending all the information related to the cargo to ensure that the carrier handles the shipment correctly. This guide will help you understand the steps involved in submitting your shipping instructions online.
What is the submission process to submit my Shipping Instructions?
Note: In cases where the Shipping Instruction module is not available, you may submit your shipping instructions via EDI or API channels. If your company does not have access to these channels, please contact your local agency, whose contact details can be found at this link. Alternatively, you can reach us through the web contact form by clicking here.
1. Booking reference
Start by entering the booking reference number(s). If you have multiple bookings, separate the numbers with a comma. If you don’t know your booking reference, you can use the option Pick reference(s) from your booking. This will display a list of bookings that require shipping instructions.
Next, you need to provide details about the voyage and routing:
Routing details: The Port of Loading (POL) and Port of Discharge (POD) are usually completed at the booking stage.
Printed on B/L fields: You can make slight syntax changes to the values fetched from the booking. This is useful for making minor adjustments to how the port names and other details will appear on the Bill of Lading (B/L).
Other details: Occasionally, there may be non-mandatory fields that you need to fill out. Depending on the point of departure or arrival, specific fields may be required.
3. Shipment parties
In this step, you will provide information about the parties involved in the shipment:
Requestor: This is generally already selected.
Add parties: There are three ways to add parties:
Search by name: Enter the first three letters of the partner's name to find and select them. If the partner does not exist in the system, you can click the link to create a new party.
Search by country/region or favorite: You can search by country or region, or choose from your favorite partners.
Most used partners: Select your partner directly.
Assign roles: For each shipment, you need to assign roles to the parties. At a minimum, you need a shipper (the sender), a notify party (the receiver of the B/L or notification), and a consignee (the final receiver).
Edit address to be printed on B/L: This field allows you to customize address and contact data to display the information relevant to you on the B/L document. If the following conditions are not met, an error message will be displayed:
Only Latin characters are allowed.
A maximum of 35 characters per line.
50% similarity between the initial address and the customized address.
Customer’s reference: This optional field is used to provide the partner's reference known in your information system. Each partner must always have an assigned role in the shipment.
4. Container & cargo
In this section, you will provide details about the containers and cargo:
Units: By default, the units are set to kilograms and cubic meters.
Container details: You can enter details manually or use a table/spreadsheet mode. The container number is a mandatory field. For CMA CGM containers, the tare weight is automatically completed.
Marks & description: This is a free text field where you can enter a description of the goods. You can choose to apply this description to all containers. When the description is defined for all containers, it will appear only on the first container on the B/L but will apply to all containers.
Save description: Click on Save to store the description for future shipping instructions. This will be available in a dropdown list for easy access.
Package details: Enter the Code Commodity (from 4 digits up to 10), then choose from a pick list. Provide the cargo gross weight, volume, and number of packages. Start typing the type of package (e.g., PAL for pallet) and select from the suggestions. For multiple packages, click add package and description. You can use the copy or duplicate functions to avoid rewriting the same information multiple times. Copy/Paste to All applies the details to all containers. If you have multiple containers, you need to fill out as many forms as there are containers.
5. Payment
Provide payment details for the shipment:
Payment terms: Choose between Collect (payment upon arrival) or Prepaid (payment before departure). Select the partner who will pay the charge.
Freight charges: You can add terms of payment for optional charges.
6. Shipping Instructions details
Finally, complete the shipping instructions details:
B/L details: Specify the Place of Issue, which is the city where the B/L will be published. Select the type of B/L (negotiable commercial with VAS, number of originals, number of copies). For a Waybill (non-commercial transaction), indicate the number of copies (freighted/unfreighted).
B/L instructions: Select any additional information required for processing the SI.
B/L comments: Include any remarks if necessary.
Clauses: These are non-mandatory fields that will appear at the end of the B/L.
VAS (Value-Added Services): If eligible, select value-added services based on the conditions chosen in the SI.
Autosave feature
The Autosave feature ensures that any data you provide from step 2 is automatically saved. This means that if your session times out, your browser refreshes, or you accidentally close the window, your information is not lost. You can retrieve any saved shipping instruction (SI) from the SI start screen on the Shipment dashboard. Additionally, you can still save your draft manually by clicking on the Save icon:
Please note:
Your saved SI is available for 2 weeks.
You need to upload your documents again when you resume your saved SI.
When you click in the Booking reference field, it shows you the saved SIs with a floppy disk icon. Resume by clicking on the booking reference with this icon.
If you use Pick reference(s) from your booking, the table will identify SI drafts with the SI Saved status. You can resume the SI by selecting the checkbox and clicking the Confirm selection button.
Finalizing your submission
Once all the information is filled out, review it carefully:
Summary: Review all the information entered. If you need to make changes, click on Edit to return to the corresponding step and make the necessary adjustments.
Submit: Click on Submit to finalize and send your shipping instructions.
Save as Template: You can save this submission as a template for future use by clicking on Save as template. This will help you save time when submitting similar shipping instructions in the future.
Interactive tutorial
Click on the link below to discover an online, interactive walk-through on “How to submit my shipping instructions?”:
