Overview
Freight consolidation (LCL/groupage) is operationally demanding: multiple shippers deliver cargo to the CFS on different days, the forwarder must track each customer shipment independently, then bundle them into a single master booking with the carrier, fill containers, and cascade status updates back to every customer.
Without dedicated tooling this relies on spreadsheets, phone calls, and manual status updates-leading to missed CFS cutoffs, overloaded containers, and delayed billing. Charges get mixed up between the buy side (ocean freight from the carrier, billed on the master) and the sell side (local fees invoiced to each shipper on their house shipment).
This module extends Freight Management with a complete LCL consolidation layer: house and master shipment roles, CFS cargo-receipt tracking, a one-step consolidation wizard, a container fill-up wizard, and automatic state cascades.
Key Features
Shipment Roles
- Classify each shipment as Direct, House LCL, or Master (Consol).
- House shipments are created directly by operations or from confirmed sale orders; Masters aggregate houses.
- Separate menu entries for Direct, House, and Master shipments under Operations.
Consolidation Wizard
- Multi-select house shipments in list view → Action → Create Master Shipment.
- Wizard validates POD consistency across selected houses before creating the master.
- Master inherits POL, POD, and carrier from the selected houses.
CFS Tracking
- CFS Cutoff deadline field on each master shipment.
- One-click Cargo Received at CFS button per house shipment; records a timestamp.
- Search filters: Awaiting Cargo and Cargo Received across house shipments.
Load House Package Wizard
- Opens from the master shipment header once containers are added.
- Lists all unloaded cargo from linked houses with weights, volumes, and remaining quantities.
- Assigns cargo lines to containers; remaining quantity on each house cargo line is updated automatically.
State Cascade
- Master going In Transit cascades to all linked house shipments.
- Master going Done does NOT cascade to houses - each house completes its own import workflow independently (customs, CFS release, on-carriage to individual consignees).
Dedicated Shipment Menus
- Three focused views under Operations → Shipments: Direct, House, Master.
- Each view opens in Kanban by default with role-aware search filters.
Benefits
- Operational accuracy: CFS cutoff and cargo-receipt timestamps prevent missed cargo and container overloads.
- Time savings: Consolidation wizard replaces manual master creation; state cascade eliminates per-house updates when the vessel moves.
- Billing clarity: Sell charges on each house shipment (invoiced to shippers); buy charges on the master (payable to carrier). Margins tracked at both levels.
Who Should Use This Module
- LCL export forwarders managing CFS operations and container consolidation.
- Operations teams coordinating multi-shipper groupage shipments.
- Accounting teams needing clear house/master charge separation for billing.
Supported Editions
- Community Edition
- Enterprise Edition
End-to-End Demo Scenario
The following walkthrough covers a typical LCL export consolidation from house shipment creation through vessel departure and completion.
Actors
- Sales / Customer Service - receives booking requests from shippers.
- Operations - manages CFS, consolidation, and container loading.
Step 1 - Create House Shipments
- Go to Shipments → House Shipments and create a new house shipment for each shipper.
- Set the shipper, POL/POD (e.g. Ho Chi Minh Port → Singapore), Load Mode = LCL, and Direction = Export.
- Add cargo lines: commodity, HS code, number of packages, weight (kg), and volume (CBM).
- Click Confirm → status moves to Confirmed.
- Repeat for each shipper sending cargo in this consolidation cycle.
Step 2 - Cargo Arrives at CFS
- Open each House Shipment as physical cargo arrives at the warehouse.
- Click Cargo Received at CFS → a timestamp is recorded on the house shipment.
- Use the Awaiting Cargo filter on Shipments → House Shipments to see which houses are still outstanding before the CFS cutoff.
Step 3 - Create Master Shipment
- Go to Shipments → House Shipments.
- Select all house shipments destined for the same POD that are ready to consolidate (filter by Cargo Received).
- Click Action → Create Master Shipment (Consol).
- Review the wizard - POD consistency is validated automatically; set carrier and ETD in this step.
- Click Create → a Master Shipment is created with shipment_role = 'master' and all selected houses linked under it.
Step 4 - Prepare Containers
- Open the Master Shipment.
- On the Packages tab, add the booked containers (e.g. 1 × 20GP).
- Set the CFS Cutoff date if not already filled.
- Click Confirm on the Master Shipment.
Step 5 - Load Cargo into Containers
- On the Master Shipment header, click Load House Package.
- The wizard lists all unloaded cargo from linked house shipments: commodity, package count, weight, volume, and remaining quantity.
- Assign cargo lines to a container; adjust quantities if a house shipment is split across containers.
- Click Load to Container → packages are created on the Master Shipment referencing the original house cargo lines. Remaining quantities on each house cargo line are decremented automatically.
Step 6 - Vessel Departure
- Click Start Transit on the Master Shipment.
- All linked House Shipments automatically move to In Transit.
- Monitor progress in the Kanban view under Shipments → House Shipments.
Step 7 - Arrival and Completion
- Click Set Done on the Master Shipment upon vessel arrival (ocean leg complete).
- House Shipments remain In Transit - each must be completed independently.
- Per house: release cargo at CFS, issue D/O, arrange on-carriage delivery, then click Set Done on each House Shipment individually.
- Issue sell charges (CFS handling, local fees) on each House Shipment to the respective shippers → customer invoices.
- Issue buy charges (ocean freight, THC) on the Master Shipment to the carrier → vendor bill.
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