Outbound

This guide explains how to use the Outbound module to manage outgoing shipments and ensure timely deliveries.

What is Outbound?

In a Transportation Management System (TMS), Outbound means all the activities involved in sending goods out from your warehouse or facility to customers, stores, or other places.

It includes everything from making shipment orders to packing, loading, and finally dispatching the goods.

Note: The Outbound section is mostly used by Dock Managers (DMs) who work at the shipping area. They create shipments, keep track of them, and make sure everything is ready to send out.

How Outbound Module Works?

With the Outbound module, you can:
In TMS, you can manage all your outgoing shipments from creation to dispatch. The Outbound section is primarily used by Dock Managers (DMs) at the shipping facility to create and manage loads for dispatch.

It provides a central view of all your outgoing shipments, allowing you to track their progress, manage their status, and perform related actions.

Create new loads: Define shipment details such as origin, destination, and freight information.
Manage load status: Track the progress of shipments from creation to arrival.
Allocate loads: Assign shipments to transporters for dispatch.
Upload related documents: Upload invoices and load details in bulk.

Accessing Outbound

1. From the left navigation, go to Center Manager and select Outbound.

2. This opens the Outbound screen.

3. Select the facility from the dropdown on which you are doing shipment.

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Note: You need to set up the facility only once.

Viewing Outbound loads

The Outbound page lists all your outbound shipments (loads).

LOAD ID: A unique identifier for the load.
ROUTE: The origin and destination of the load.
TRUCK TYPE: The type of truck assigned to the load.
ORDER ID: The associated order ID (if applicable).
WEIGHT/QTY: The weight or quantity of the load.
LOAD STATUS: The current status of the load.
ACTIONS: Options to perform actions on the load (these will vary depending on the load's status and your user permissions).

Filtering by status

Tabs for Filtering by Status: Use the tabs at the top (To Allocate, Expected, Arrived) to filter the list based on the shipment's current status:
- To Allocate: Lists the loads that have been created but not yet assigned to a transporter. DMs will primarily work with loads in this status.
- Expected: Lists the loads that have been assigned to a transporter and are en route.
- Arrived: Lists the loads that have reached their destination.

Searching for shipments

Search by Ids:
Use the dropdown menus to filter shipments based on specific information:
Search for shipments based on the following:
- By Load ID: Select it and enter one or more Load IDs (separated by commas) in the search box.
- By Truck Number: Select it and enter one or more truck numbers (separated by commas) in the search box.
- By LR Number: Select it and enter one or more LR numbers (separated by commas) in the search box.
- By Invoice Number: Select it and enter one or more invoice numbers (separated by commas) in the search box.
- By Order Number: Select it and enter one or more order numbers (separated by commas) in the search box.
Search for shipments by SLA:
Use this dropdown to filter loads based on their SLA. SLAs define agreed-upon service levels between you and your transporters, often related to delivery timeframes. A list of available SLAs will appear:
- Acceptance Delay: The time elapsed between when a load is offered to a transporter and when they accept it.
- Placement Delay: The time elapsed between when a transporter accepts a load and when they place a truck (assign a vehicle) to it.
- Transit Delay: The difference between the planned transit time and the actual transit time of a shipment.

Search by destination Center: Filter by the destination of the load.

Search by Service Type: Filter by the type of service used (e.g., FTL, LTL).

Search by Truck Type: Filter by the type of truck used for the load.

Status: Filter by the load's status (e.g., In Transit, Delivered).

Shipment List (Loads List): The main table displays the following information for each load:
- LOAD ID: A unique identifier for the load.
- ROUTE: The origin and destination of the load.
- TRUCK TYPE: The type of truck assigned to the load.
- ORDER ID: The associated order ID (if applicable).
- WEIGHT/QTY: The weight or quantity of the load.
- LOAD STATUS: The current status of the load.
- ACTIONS: Options to perform actions on the load (these will vary depending on the load's status and your user permissions).

Creating a Single Load

To create a single load, you will need to follow the below steps.

From the left navigation menu, go to Center Manager and select Outbound.
On the top right side, click to create a single load for your shipment.

3. Fill in the required details in the form and click Submit. Click Submit.

4. A confirmation message will appear: "New Load is created". Refresh the page to view the newly created load under the To Allocate tab.

Unallocated contracts will be listed in the To Allocate tab.

Uploading bulk loads

A bulk load upload allows users to upload multiple loads at once by importing data from an external source, such as a spreadsheet (CSV). This is an efficient way to manage large volumes of shipments. Bulk uploads allow you to quickly add several loads without manually entering each shipment's information one by one.

To perform a bulk load upload, you'll typically:

Prepare a file with all the necessary load data (e.g., load number, shipment details, route information).
Import the file into the TMS, which automatically creates multiple loads based on the provided data.

This feature is particularly useful for organizations handling large numbers of shipments at once or when there are repeated, bulk data uploads from other systems.

When to Use:

When handling multiple loads at once.
For large shipments or recurring shipments that can be grouped.
When integrating data from external sources to automate the load creation process.

To create a bulk Upload, follow the below steps:

From the Load screen, click to create a bulk load.
Download the template to understand how to fill in load details.
Upload a CSV file with all the shipment data.

4. After uploading, your load details will appear in the To Allocate tab.

Allocating Loads

To allocate the load, follow the below steps:

If you know the market rates, then continue with the Indent process.

Or, if you want to get competitive bids from multiple transporters, click the "Send for Bidding" button. This will:

Create and launch a spot auction.
The load will remain in the "To Allocate" tab while the auction is live. To understand how to send a bid, refer to the Send for Bidding section.

Indent the load

Click Indent and allocate the contract to the transporter.
Once you allocate a contract to the transporter, it sends a request to the transporter for accepting or rejecting the contract.

3. Assign a transporter and click Confirm.

4. Upon acceptance, the transporter assigns the contract and provides truck details.

Info: At this stage, you can still cancel load or indent, and clear the selection as well as shown in the image below.

5. The load status changes to Accepted, and then Assigned, and will appear in the Expected tab.

In the Expected tab, you can filter shipments with more filter options:

LOAD ID: A unique identifier for each load.
ROUTE: The origin and destination of the load's journey.
TRUCK TYPE/NUMBER: The type of truck assigned to the load, along with its identification number (if available).
TRANSPORTER: The name of the transporter responsible for the load.
LOAD STATUS: The current status of the load (e.g., Requested).
ORDER ID: The associated order ID, if applicable.
WEIGHT/QTY: The weight or quantity of the items being shipped.
ACTIONS: Available actions you can perform on the load. These options may change depending on the load's current status and your user permissions.

Reporting and Inspection

Using the Outbound, DMs can handle load details, inspections, dispatches, and deliveries efficiently.

After the contract is Accepted and Assigned, you can:

Go to the Actions tab and click Mark Reported. Fill in the required details to mark the load as reported.
Click Inspect Truck, fill out the inspection form, and submit.

Or, You can inspect it from the next screen (Expected or Indent) after submitting the details.

2. Review the inspection details and mark it as either:

Inspection Success or
Inspection Failed

3. Once the inspection is completed:

The load moves to the Arrived tab and is marked as In State.
You can click on the load to view its details and verify all information.

In Arrived tab, you can filter shipments with more options:

You can use this tab to review details of shipments and perform any necessary post-delivery actions.

The main table displays the following information for each arrived load:

LOAD ID: A unique identifier for each load.
ROUTE: The origin and destination of the load's journey.
TRUCK TYPE/NUMBER: The type of truck used for the load and its identification number.
TRANSPORTER: The name of the transporter responsible for the load.
LOAD STATUS: The current status of the load, which will be something indicating arrival or completion (e.g., "Marked In," "Delivered," "Completed").
ORDER ID: The associated order ID, if applicable.
WEIGHT/QTY: The weight or quantity of the items shipped.
ACTIONS: Available actions you can perform on the load.

Uploading Invoice

You can upload invoices as well. To do so, follow these steps:

Click .

Click Download Template to understand how you will fill the invoice information.
Fill in the required information as per the template format.
Save the file in CSV.
Upload the file.
Click Process.

6. The invoice will be uploaded and you can view the uploaded invoice in the Tasks module.

Dispatching the Load

On the Load Details page:

Upload required information, including material details, LR details, or invoice details.

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Note: You can add an invoice on the details page as well if you haven’t uploaded yet.

2. Once all details are completed, click Dispatch.

3. Enter the Dispatch Date & Time, and Confirm.

4. After dispatch, the load moves to the Indents screen, and the load status updates to In Transit.

Marking Delivery and Completion

From the Actions tab, click Mark Reported and enter the required details.

2. Then click Mark Delivered to confirm delivery.

3. After the delivery is confirmed, click Marked Out to indicate the shipment is completed.

Cancelling load

To cancel the load, choose the load and click “Cancel load”.

Reassigning load

To re-assign a load or cancel load, go to “Indents” screen.
To re-assign a load to another transporter, choose the load and click “Cancel Indent”. The load shall appear under “To allocate” tab in Center Manager > Outbound screen.

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Note: Select all loads to cancel loads at once, and clear selection.

Send for Bidding

If you want to get competitive bids from multiple transporters, you can use the Spot Auction feature. This creates an auction where transporters can submit their bids for your shipment. While the auction is active, the load will remain in the "To Allocate" tab.

To do so, follow these steps:

On the To Allocate tab, click the "Send for Bidding" button for the load you want to auction.
Click Send for Bidding button.
This will open the Spot Auction creation screen. Follow the steps outlined in the Spot Auction documentation to set up your auction
Once the auction is live, you can monitor the bids directly from the To Allocate tab by clicking View Auction.
Once you click View Auction, you will be redirected to the Spot Auction's Published tab, you can review bids submitted by different transporters. This includes the bid amount, the transporter's name, and potentially other information like their rating or estimated delivery time. See Spot Auction documentation for the detailed information on reviewing and accepting bids.