Start tracking without waiting for the transport document

Tracking only ever needed the B/L, container or AWB number. The transport document is just where we usually find it. So a shipment whose document never arrived was never tracked, even when someone knew the number.

Not any more. A shipment with a reference but no tracking now shows a Start tracking card: pick the mode, confirm the number, and it’s registered.

• The mode is detected as you type: an AWB switches it to air and a container number switches it to ocean. The dropdown never stays stuck on a mode left over from an old reference.
• The manual shipment form gained a Start tracking now checkbox, hidden for road freight.
• The whole thing is one line on a clean card rather than the old blue notice. The tracking number is collected in the card itself instead of sending you elsewhere to enter it.

This pairs with registering a container early: create the shipment from the booking confirmation, start tracking the moment you have a number, and add the documents when they arrive.

Which number we track on #

When we hold both a container number and a bill of lading for the same shipment, the tracking is now registered on the B/L.

The two references do not get you the same answer. A carrier’s container feed is event-driven, so for a box that has just been loaded it returns a single event, with no port of discharge and no route at all. The B/L is linked to the booking, so it returns the discharge port, an ETA and the whole voyage on the first call. It is the same shipment and the same carrier, but only the B/L answer is useful.

We only ever switch to a number we already hold on the shipment. A reference you typed in by hand is never overridden, and a B/L you gave us is never replaced by one found in a document.

The map now draws the route the carrier gave us, rather than the two end points and a guess between them.

Where a port name came from is labelled. If the carrier has published no discharge port and your transport document names one, the progress bar uses that name and captions it “From your documents”. That way you never confuse a port name from your documents with one the carrier published.

FAQ #

Do I still need the transport document afterwards? #

For tracking, no. For the rest of Trackberry, yes — the packing list and invoice are what fill in produce, quantities and weights, and what the quality checks compare.

What if I enter the wrong number? #

The mode detection will usually catch a mistyped reference, since container numbers and IATA air waybills have different shapes and check digits. If a number is not recognised at all, the shipment shows Untracked instead of tracking the wrong box.

I gave you a container number. Why is the shipment tracked on a bill of lading? #

Because the B/L was already on the shipment and it returns more information. A container number asks the carrier where one box is. A bill of lading asks what the booking is, and that answer carries the discharge port, the ETA and the route. We only ever switch to a reference already recorded on the shipment.

Does this work for road freight? #

No. The Start tracking now checkbox is hidden for road, because there is no carrier feed to register against.