Shireburn Freight System

Shireburn Solutions for the Freight Industry


Operating a shipping or freight forward agency has traditionally been a very paper intensive and laborious process with a significant proportion of back room processing of data. Utilizing information contained on manifests, clerks would create notices of arrival, delivery orders, shipment release documents, invoices/cash sales as well as compiling performance statistics and reports. Accounting related information is also very exhaustive with posting of transactions to the accounting system and maintenance of information for disbursement accounting. Container movements tracking and reconciliation of container depot charges as well as the management of container demurrage presents its own challenges.

The Shireburn Freight System (SFS) is a complete integrated freight forwarding software providing facilities for processing of import and export consignments related to containers, trailers, Ro-Ro and conventional vessels as well as the provision of container tracking facilities and container demurrage control.

The Shireburn Freight System provides facilities for the importing and exporting of electronic information through electronic data interchange (EDI) interfaces. While the industry standard Edifact standard is supported, Shireburn shipping software is also able to build custom interfaces.
    All these modules may be linked to Shireburn Financial Manager which manages the complete financial accounting operation including voyage accounting.

    The Shireburn Freight System is a complete freight solution that addresses the complete range of business processing to meet the needs of a modern shipping and/or forwarding agency. The product is modular allowing implementation of just the relevant modules and is able to handle multiple principals and multiple operating companies with opportunities for configuration to meet the specific needs of the individual principals being handled. It is able to address the needs of both full load and groupage consignments.

    The Shireburn Freight System is built upon Shireburn Software’s years of experience of implementing business solutions for the shipping industry developed since 1985 and is implemented in the majority of shipping and forwarding agencies in Malta.

    The Shireburn Freight System consists of the following modules which are then described in detail below:
    • Imports module
    • Exports module
    • Container Control
    • Container Demurrage & Receipting
    • Manifest EDI module
    • MMA manifest reporting
    • eCustoms Module


Imports Module


The imports module is designed to be able to handle containers, trailers as well as general cargo including vehicles, trucks etc. Some support for air freight and parcel post consignments is also available within this module. Both full load and groupage consignments are able to be handled. Each voyage is defined with its own voyage reference and data related to the transport type. In the case of a container vessel bringing a number of containers then the system allows recording of the vessel name, voyage number, arrival and departure dates, principal, last port of call, rotation number etc. In the case of trailers then the system also records trailer numbers, ware-housing date etc.

Manifest Processing


The import manifest is entered into the manifest process allowing creation of the details of the bill of lading, descriptions of the cargo and charges associated with the bill of lading. Bill of lading information provides support for maintaining details of the shipper, consignee, notify party and invoice party allowing invoicing for an import consignment to be effected to a 3rd party rather than the consignee thus supporting consignments being routed for consignees through other agents.

The cargo information entered into the system depends upon the voyage type (i.e. FCL container, LCL container, trailer, vehicles, general etc.). Container details include container type, weight, volume, seal number, temperature, dangerous cargo codes (IMCO). The cargo description itself is unlimited in size while no limits exist as to the number of containers on a bill of lading.

The system supports both foreign and local charges and the charges are able entered in any currency. Rates of exchange are entered globally for the voyage. Bills of lading are able to be entered without the rate of exchange information thus enabling bills of lading from distant ports to be entered well before the arrival of the vessel. Full support is provided both for pre-paid and collect charges.

The system allows definition of charges for each principal, separately for import and export consignments. This ensures that the correct charge description is used for that principal and also allows configuration of each individual charge to analyzed in the financial accounting system according to the needs of that principal.

The Shireburn shipping software also provides facilities for the maintenance of standard rates for charges which are automatically applied to a bill of lading. Standard charges are able to be defined based on the weight or measurement of the consignment, based on the number and type of containers on the bill of lading or per bill of lading. Therefore based on the contents of a bill of lading, the system will automatically apply a set of standard charges in addition to any variable charges entered onto the manifest. The automatically applied charges can also be modified and/or removed completely by the user if they are not applicable to this particular bill of lading. These charges are able to be applied based on the principal allowing a different set of standard charges dependent upon the service.

The Shireburn Freight System also caters for electronic manifest exchange with the ability to import manifest details from electronic files submitted by the load port agent or the principal. This feature usually requires customisation to the principal's chosen EDI format although a move towards the standard UN EDIFACT format is currently underway. See description of the Manifest EDI module.


Documentation


The main objective of entering manifest details into the Shireburn Freight System is the creation of the various items of documentation, statistics and reports required to support this function. Examples of documentation produced by the system, applicable dependent on the transport type, are shown below:
  • notice of arrival - with or without charges
  • delivery order - with or without charges
  • invoices/cash sales – optionally linked to Shireburn Financial Manager’s voyage ledger
  • gate pass out
  • discharging list
  • form 1C
  • import manifest - with or without freights, with or without consignee/shipper details
  • freight book - this report allows analysis of charges per bill of lading of all the bills of lading on the selected voyage with bills of lading down the vertical axis of the report and charge types across the horizontal axis of the report. Totals of bills of lading and of charge types are shown within the report.
  • charges audit trail - this report shows a list of the various charges included on all bills of lading of the selected voyage. The report can be produced either in local or foreign currency for either pre-paid or collect charges. The report is able to list all bills of lading using a particular charge and analysis can also be provided by port of loading.
  • other administrative reports e.g. lists of consignees for a selected vessel, ship's bag and port entry passes.

    Client Import Statistics


    The data entered into the manifest process, as well as being used for generation of documentation and reporting is also used for the generation of performance statistics.

    The Shireburn Freight System provides facilities for the analysis of all shipments received by a particular consignee, showing the weight, volume and TEU's where relevant as well as loadings in weight, measure and TEU's per port of loading for a particular service. This analysis is able to be provided for one or a range of clients, for a particular principal and between 2 dates of arrival. Statistics relating to imports are maintained separately from those relating to exports.


    Links to Other Modules


    Link to Container Tracking


    In the case of container shipments, the data entered into the manifest process is automatically used as the basis for the container tracking module. Containers received for those principals identified as requiring container tracking is automatically shown as being received at the quay using the container movement appropriate for the principal in question. See the Container Tracking section below for more details.

    Link to Shireburn Financial Manager


    As defined in the Shireburn Financial Manager product brief, SFM contains a voyage ledger designed to allow analysis of income and expenditure per voyage. Charges invoiced to the client will be posted automatically to the debtors account of the client (or cash account for cash sales) as well as the voyage card of the voyage in question within the Ship's Ledger of SFM with each charge type being able to be sub-analysed. Configuration of the "destination" of each charge within the Ships Ledger is effected once at the level of each charge for each principal. Direct posting to the voyage account in the Voyage Ledger is then possible in SFM through either the sales, purchase and nominal ledgers including the cash book. This voyage card is then used for the preparation of the disbursement account. See SFM Product Brief for more information.


    Link to EDI Module


    The volume of data exchanged between operators in the shipping business is staggering. Lines and their agents are continually transferring information relating to consignments on different vessels.

    The EDI module of the Shireburn Freight System is specifically designed to allow electronic exchange of manifest information between the agency and the line and the automated updating of the SSS from the Edifact industry standard file format. Import manifests are able to be read into the SSS through this module and Edifact documents are also created by the module related to export consignments. See the EDI module section below for further

    Links to Authorities


    The Shireburn Freight System provides the required links to automate the sending of shipping statistics to the Malta Maritime Authority in electronic format. This time consuming and low value added task would otherwise be required to be undertaken manually. SFS automates this process. Linkage to Customs Department data via XML file uploads is also available.

    Exports Module


    The core functionality of the export module is the same as the imports module with obviously the reverse effect upon processing and different reporting needs. Below we define the differences from the imports.

    As charges are able to be defined for each principal separately for imports and exports, the system allows the loading of charges for export according to the needs of the export function. For container transport types relating to principals for whom container tracking is affected, the Shireburn freight solution validates the existence of export containers within the container tracking system. In addition however, full support exists for shipper owned containers.

    Client export statistics are maintained in the same manner as the import statistics. The appropriate links to container tracking and to the Shireburn Financial Manager are maintained for exports as they are for imports. Facilities for the generation of export manifest in EDI electronic format for onward submission to discharge agent and/or principal are provided by means of the Manifest EDI module.

    Documentation


    The area of largest difference between the imports and exports module is that relating to documentation. The available elements of documentation and reports consist of:
    • bill of lading – customised principal waybills.
    • invoices/cash sales
    • Freeport gate in
    • loading list
    • export manifest - with or without freights, with or without consignee/shipper details. This is available both in A3 and A4 format.
    • freight book - this report allows analysis of charges per bill of lading of all the bills of lading on the selected voyage with bills of lading down the vertical axis of the report and charge types across the horizontal axis of the report. Totals of bills of lading and of charge types are shown within the report.
    • charges audit trail - this report shows a list of the various charges included on all bills of lading of the selected voyage. The report can be produced either in local or foreign currency for either pre-paid or collect charges. The report is able to list all bills of lading using a particular charge and analysis can also be provided by port of loading.

    Container Tracking Module


    For agents representing principals involved in container operations, the Container Tracking module provides facilities for the recording of all container movements and the generation of the appropriate reports. A separate view for all domestic and transshipment containers also exists. This module replaces a tedious and error prone aspect of manual container operations.
    The module is supported by a file of container movement codes. These movement codes define the status of a container at a point in time and are able to be configured to meet the coding system appropriate to the agency.

    The system provides facilities for the recording of container movements. These are usually between the ship, consignee, depot and shipper. A history of all movements per container is maintained and used for movement reporting. The history of a container's movements is maintained for all visits to Malta for an unlimited period of time. On-line access to information relating to each history of a container to Malta is stored including the vessel that it came to Malta and departed Malta on, the consignee and shipper, arrival and departure dates etc.

    Through the link between the Imports module and the Exports module, containers processed through these modules automatically result in the first and last movement of the container. Movements into depot link with the Demurrage module (see below) for the calculation of any demurrage amounts due by the consignee.

    The Container Tracking system provides facilities for the following reports:

    The Container Tracking system provides facilities for the following reports:
    • containers in stock - this report may be listed in various orders such as by container number, location and status for various conditions
    • report of containers at shipper or in depot for more than a user entered number of days
    • report of empty containers
    • reserved containers

    Demurrage & Receipting Module


    Agencies charging demurrage on containers involve themselves in maintaining a massive manual system to keep track of amounts due and deposit information. The Demurrage module allows collection and recording of demurrage deposits, the automatic calculation of demurrage amounts due by the client as well as by the agency to the principal and the effecting of refunds on demurrage deposit or charging for demurrage over and above the demurrage deposit.

    The system allows recording of the demurrage rates that the agency will be charged by the principal as well as the standard demurrage charges and deposits levied on the client. These charges and deposit amounts can be specified per container type and separately for 20' and 40' containers. Rates are able to be defined for different periods of days overdue (3 administrator defined periods) as well as for the number of free days. Demurrage charges are able to be recorded in a foreign currency.

    An exceptions file allows recording of those clients with whom special negotiated rates have been fixed for the demurrage deposit amount, the demurrage amounts and/or the free days. Again these rates are recorded per container type and separately for 20' and 40' containers. This exception file is used for those clients for whom special arrangements have been made or alternatively the standard rates would apply. The system provides great flexibility for the setting of special rates for one particular container type and standard rates for the other types or an exception on demurrage deposit but not on rates etc.

    Container movements into the depot within the Container Tracking module automatically result in the calculation of the demurrage amount chargeable to the client and the liability for demurrage incurred from the principal taking into account the different rates and free days applicable to the client as opposed to the principal.

    Having calculated the demurrage due (if any) the system will then allow generation of a refund of demurrage deposit in full or in part or the generation of a cash sale or invoice for the demurrage incurred over and above the deposit. All appropriate accounting entries for demurrage calculations, refunds etc. are automatically updated to the Shireburn Financial Manager.

    In addition, this module provides cash receipting functionality at the front-office which provides facilities for the entering of a voyage code and bill of lading number and the collection of the charges due. This module allows generation of a receipt to the customer and posting of the accounting entries to the Shireburn Financial Manager. Cash reconciliation facilities are provided to manage the cash movements.

    EDI Module


    As the volume of shipments grow in a company, a significant cost benefit can be obtained from implementing electronic exchange of manifest information between a principal's agencies. This avoids the need for the load port agent to fax a copy of the manifest to the discharge agent identifying all bills of lading and then for the discharge agent to manually enter all the bill of lading details into his system.

    Electronic data Interchange (EDI) is the process through which different systems "talk" to each other to exchange data. The Shireburn Freight System is geared to enable exchange of manifest details both for import and export consignments in accordance with the United Nations Edifact standard format. For companies not utilising standard Edifact documents, Shireburn is able to customise this module to generate the appropriate routines to create the necessary files for exchanging with the agency's trading partners.

    eCustoms Module


    Since 2004, Ship agencies and forwarders have been obliged to transmit electronic copies of their manifest information to the Department of Customs prior to the arrival of the vessel, container or trailer in Malta. A specific file format is required to be generated by and uploaded to the Department’s web site, following which a SD reference is allocated to a voyage and a TD reference is allocated to each bill of lading. These references need to be communicated to the consignee or his agent on notice of arrivals and delivery orders so as to allow clearance of good.

    The eCustoms module provides the facilities for the generation of the necessary eCustoms file from the manifest information and for the automation of updating of client details with the required references.

    The main benefits of the module are its removal of the need to manually re-enter all manifest data for each shipment into the Customs Department’s web site.

    Software Support


    Clients who implement information systems to manage their core operations become significantly dependent upon their continued operation. Reliability and stability of the system is crucial both to our clients as well as to Shireburn. As a result, reliability of operations was a core design objective which has been achieved.

    However, our clients also require Shireburn’s support in the use of our systems to ensure that their evolving needs are addressed by the solution on an on-going basis.

    Shireburn offers its clients a support agreement through which we provide assistance to our clients and which also caters for enhancements and new versions being introduced within the Shireburn solutions.

    The support agreement is available at an annual % rate of the software module cost and provides free upgrades to new versions of the standard software as developed by Shireburn Software Limited. We offer a 90 day warranty period commencing from commissioning after which the support scheme would normally start to operate.

    Why choose Shireburn for your freight solution?


    The Shireburn Freight System is a fully functional system designed to cater for the needs of the modern shipping agency and provides facilities to automate the time consuming aspects of the agency leaving your staff to concentrate on the customer and business development.
    • The system increases the efficiency of the agency’s operations by automating repetitive tasks and reducing posting errors while also incorporating the necessary audit and control mechanisms.
    • The system is tried and tested and currently implemented in the majority of major shipping and forwarding agencies in Malta. The system provides a level of reliability which allows reliance on the system. The system is secure allowing authorised users to define the access control of groups of users.
    • The system uses modern techniques both in terms of its user interface as well as the development environment.
    • Shireburn Software Ltd is committed to providing ongoing support for its users of the Shireburn Freight System and in providing a continuous process of development of systems to cater for increasing needs.
    • The integration with accounts, EDI systems, Malta Maritime Authority and eCustoms systems streamlines operations.
    • Shireburn’s Freight System is the most widely used in the market in Malta. This means that not only is Shireburn interested to keep developing the solution with evolving needs as these arise but also that the cost of implementation of new modules such as the MMA reporting module or the eCustoms module is able to be shared across a wider number of organisations.