Registering a Container Early

Goal #

Register a container as soon as you have booking confirmation, so it is in Trackberry before any paperwork exists.

Before you start #

• A B/L, container or AWB number, exactly as it appears on the booking (for example MSCU1234567). This is what later documents match against.
• An ETA and port of discharge. Both are required.
• Nothing else. Creating a draft is free and consumes no plan quota.

When to use a draft #

A draft shipment registers a container before the packing list and other documents arrive. This is useful when:

• You know the container is on its way but documents haven’t been sent yet
• You want to track the vessel and its ETA immediately
• You need to allocate pallets or notify receivers ahead of document receipt

Draft shipments are marked with a Manual entry badge throughout the interface so they’re easy to distinguish from fully-processed shipments.

Creating a Draft Shipment #

1. Navigate to Shipments and click New Shipment
2. Click Create draft without documents (below the upload area)
3. Fill in the required fields and click Create Draft Shipment

Required fields #

Optional fields #

Starting tracking #

A draft you create by hand is not tracked until you ask, or until its transport document arrives. Tick Start tracking now on the form to register the number with the carrier when you create the draft. If you leave it unticked, the draft’s page shows a Tracking hasn’t started yet card with a Start tracking button, so you can start later. Road shipments are not tracked. The Shipments setting that makes emailed ocean shipments wait for their B/L doesn’t apply here: ticking the box or clicking the button always starts tracking. See Container Tracking.

What Happens Next #

When documents arrive by email #

When a supplier or freight forwarder emails the packing list to your Trackberry inbox, Trackberry automatically matches the incoming document to the draft shipment using the container number. The draft is then upgraded to a full shipment — packing list data is extracted, pallets are populated, and the manual badge is removed.

No manual action is needed. The document email is processed exactly the same way as if no draft had been created.

Tip: Make sure the container number on the draft matches the one on the packing list exactly (e.g., MSCU1234567 not MSC U 1234567). Trackberry normalizes spacing and casing, but an incorrect number will prevent automatic matching.

Uploading documents manually #

If you receive documents by another means (e.g., a shared folder or WhatsApp), you can attach them directly to the draft:

1. Open the draft shipment
2. Click Add more in the documents section
3. Upload the packing list under Add More Documents and click Save changes — extraction starts immediately

Billing #

Creating a draft shipment is free. Your plan usage is only counted when:

• Shipping documents are processed (packing list extraction)
• Container tracking is activated

A draft that is never matched to documents does not consume any plan quota.

Editing a Draft #

All fields on a draft shipment can be edited after creation on the shipment settings page, including the container number, ETA, and produce type. Changing the ETA sends the usual ETA-change notifications to your team members, but only if an ETA was already set and the change is meaningful.

Limitations #

• Draft shipments do not yet have pallet or quality data — only the container details you entered manually are shown.
• Container tracking (live position updates) starts only when you tick Start tracking now, click Start tracking on the draft’s page, or a transport document arrives.
• Drafts are not in the Active list. They have their own Drafts tab on the shipments list, with a count, and a search from Active still finds them. See Shipments List & Archiving.