Containers and Cargo
Containers and Cargo
Two sections of the booking note form, covering the equipment the shipment needs and the goods traveling in it. Both repeat: add as many entries as the shipment requires.
Containers and cargo are independent. The number of cargo entries has nothing to do with the number of container entries — several cargo entries can travel in one container, and one cargo entry can fill several.
Containers
Each container entry has two fields, both mandatory:
| Field | Required | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Container Type | Yes | Dropdown | The type and size of container |
| Container Amount | Yes | Number | How many of that type |
Adding more container types
A booking note starts with one entry, headed Container Type 1. Add another with + Add New Container Type at the bottom right of the section. Each new entry is numbered in sequence.
Use one entry per distinct container type, with the amount for that type. A shipment of two 40ft high cubes and one 20ft standard is two entries, not three:
| Entry | Container Type | Container Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Container Type 1 | 40ft High Cube | 2 |
| Container Type 2 | 20ft Standard | 1 |
Do not create a separate entry for each physical container. Do not combine different types under one entry.
Containers and TEU
The Requests list shows a TEU column, calculated from the container types and amounts. TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit) expresses total container volume as a single number, so a booking note with mixed sizes can be compared against another at a glance. Getting the types and amounts right is what makes TEU meaningful, both in the list and in any export. See What Each Column Means.
Cargo
Each cargo entry has the following fields:
| Field | Required | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| PO | Yes | Text | Purchase order reference |
| Gross Weight (kgs) | Yes | Number | Weight of this cargo entry |
| Measurement (CBM) | Yes | Number | Volume of this cargo entry in cubic meters |
| Description of Goods | Yes | Selection | What the goods are |
| Package Type | Conditional | Dropdown | See Package Type and Package Amount below |
| Package Amount | Conditional | Number | See Package Type and Package Amount below |
| HS Code | No | Text | Harmonized System commodity code |
| BPO | No | Text | Blanket purchase order reference |
| Additional Reference 1 | No | Text | Free reference field |
| Additional Reference 2 | No | Text | Free reference field |
| Cost Center | No | Text | Internal cost center |
| Dangerous Goods | No | Dropdown | Defaults to No. Setting Yes adds required fields |
Adding more cargo entries
A booking note starts with one entry, headed Cargo Entry 1. Add another with + Add New Cargo Entry at the bottom right of the section.
Create a separate entry for each distinct set of goods — different commodities, different purchase orders, different HS codes, or goods that need to be declared separately. A single shipment of one commodity under one PO is one entry, however many packages it contains.
The clearest reason to split is dangerous goods. Because Dangerous Goods is set per entry, hazardous items go in their own entry with their own classification details, and the rest of the shipment stays in ordinary entries. See Dangerous Goods.
Package Type and Package Amount
These two are validated as a pair. Either give both or give neither:
| What is entered | Result |
|---|---|
| Package Type and Package Amount greater than 0 | Valid |
| Package Type but no Package Amount, or an amount of 0 | Blocked at submission |
| Package Amount but no Package Type | Blocked at submission |
| Neither | Valid |
Package data is optional, but half of it is not. "12" with no unit and "Cartons" with no count are both meaningless downstream, so the form does not accept either.
Running totals
The Cargo section header shows Total Weight (kgs) and Total Volume (CBM), summed across every cargo entry and updated as values are entered. The same totals appear in the Requests list as Total Gross Weight (kgs) and Total Measurement (CBM).
They are a useful check on a booking note created by extraction: a total that is obviously wrong for the shipment usually means a weight was read in the wrong unit, or a decimal was misplaced in one entry.
Descriptions and codes
Description of Goods is mandatory and is what most people read first. Make it specific enough to identify the goods.
HS Code is optional in the form but frequently required by customs. It should be completed whenever it is available. Getting it right at booking is cheaper than correcting it later.
BPO, Additional Reference 1, Additional Reference 2 and Cost Center are free fields for internal references. They are searchable in the Requests list, so they are a practical way to tie booking notes back to records held elsewhere.