Abstract:
A shipment management system and method for shippers to conduct activities related to shipments is provided. The shipment management system comprises a shipper&#39;s management information system ( 10 ), and it comprises a vessel management module ( 100 ) for managing vessel ordering tasks, and for generating a bill of loading according to an ordering list; a loading spot management module ( 110 ) for managing loading spot tasks and informing shipping agent information system to provide containers and checking container bills; a document management module ( 120 ) for generating a provisional B/L and sending to shipping agent; a transportation management module ( 130 ) for searching for transportation information and managing transference case; and a payment management module ( 140 ) for managing invoices and payment related to the shipment.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The present invention relates to shipment management systems and methods, and more particularly, to conducting and managing activities such as transference related to shipment via a computer system.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    Shipment plays an important role in modem commercial goods logistics systems. The processes of ordering, loading, unloading and payment relating to shipment traditionally relies on paper-based documentation such as bills of ordering, bills of lading (B/L) and invoices. In the computer age, the shortcomings of traditional shipment management are stark. For example, manual compilation and checking of the documentation takes an unduly long time. This retards turnover and profitability of organizations such as shipping agents. In addition, it is difficult for a shipper to get timely information on a status of a shipment and a status of payment. The shipper must communicate with the shipping agent and the financial institution respectively to ascertain whether goods have arrived and whether payment has been made.  
           [0003]    With widespread usage of the Internet, computerized shipment management systems overcome most of the above-described shortcomings of traditional shipment. The relevant technology is continually improving. U.S. Pat. No. 5,910,896 granted on Jun. 8, 1999 and entitled “Shipment Transaction System And An Arrangement Thereof” discloses a computer processing system for a shipment transaction involving a shipper and a shipping agent. The system is particularly suited to automating payment of a shipment transaction and providing access to relevant shipment information. The system includes a shipper processor, which receives purchase order information and assists in generating a B/L for the transaction. A shipper access terminal interfaces between the shipper processor and a central processor to control the quantity, quality, and timeliness of information transferred to the central processor. The central processor stores selective shipment information, and generates reports regarding the transactions. A carrier processor provides certification of delivery to the central processor. The central processor communicates with one or more financial institutions so that the shipper is billed and the carrier is paid for the relevant transaction.  
           [0004]    Said computer processing system overcomes some shortcomings of traditional shipment. For example, a shipper can search for relevant information quickly and conveniently via the central processor, and can balance relevant fees easily by the transmitting electronic bills. However, with the development of modern commercial goods logistics, many shipments involve not only a shipper and shipping agent, but also a land transportation company, a container depot company and other companies as well. In addition, a shipper may require a change in transference during shipment. This may occur when the shipper&#39;s client wants to change a final destination for goods. Said computer processing system does not provide means to adequately deal with these matters. It is desired to provide a shipment management system and method that enables a shipper to manage shipment efficiently under almost any circumstances.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0005]    An object of the present invention is to provide a shipment management system which enables a shipper to efficiently manage shipment and transference.  
           [0006]    Another object of the present invention is to provide a shipment management method which enables a shipper to efficiently manage shipment and transference.  
           [0007]    The present invention provides a shipment management system and method for use by a shipper, especially regarding transference. A preferred embodiment of the shipment management system comprises a shipper&#39;s management information system. The shipper&#39;s management information system is connected with a shipping agent information system, a distribution center information system, a container depot information system and a carrier information system via the Internet, for information exchange among any and all of said information systems. The shipper&#39;s management information system comprises: a vessel management module, which is used for the shipper to manage ordering of vessels and generation of bills of loading according to ordering lists; a loading spot management module, which is used for the shipper to manage shipment loading spots, to request a shipping agent information system to provide containers, and to check container bills sent by a shipping agent information system according to shipment information stored in the shipper&#39;s management information system; a document management module, which is used to generate provisional bills of lading, to send the provisional bills of lading to a shipping agent, to receive bills of lading from the shipping agent information system, and send the bills of lading to a buyer; a transportation management module, which is used to search for transportation information during shipment and to manage transference; and a payment management module, which is used to manage invoices and payment related to shipment.  
           [0008]    A preferred embodiment of the shipment management method comprises the following steps: (a) a vessel management module receiving a shipment schedule and generating an ordering list accordingly; (b) the vessel management module generating a bill of loading according to the ordering list, and sending the bill of loading to a shipping agent information system; (c) the vessel management module receiving feedback information of the bill of loading from the shipping agent information system; (d) a document management module generating a provisional bill of lading (B/L) according to stored shipment documents, and sending the provisional B/L to the shipping agent information system; and (e) the shipping agent information system generating a B/L according to the provisional B/L, and sending the B/L to the loading spot management module, and the loading spot management module generating an invoice and a packing list, and sending the B/L, the invoice and the packing list to a buyer.  
           [0009]    Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will be drawn from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments of the present invention with the attached drawings, in which: 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0010]    [0010]FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a shipment management system in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 2 is an exemplary flowchart of ordering shipment in accordance with the present invention;  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 3 is an exemplary flowchart of loading spot management in accordance with the present invention;  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 4 is an exemplary flowchart of document management in accordance with the present invention; and  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 5 is an exemplary flowchart of transference of goods in accordance with the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0015]    [0015]FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a shipment management system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The shipment management system comprises a shipper&#39;s management information system  10 . The shipper&#39;s management information system  10  is connected with a shipping agent information system  30 , a distribution center information system  40 , a container depot information system  50  and a carrier information system  60  via the Internet  20 , for information exchange among any and all of said information systems. Following the development of modern logistics, most large manufacturing enterprises establish distribution centers in regions separate from their production facilities, for convenient distribution of their goods. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, a shipping agent is defined as a sea transportation company, and a carrier is defined as a land transportation company. Carriers transport goods from production facilities to ports of loading for transportation by shipping agents.  
         [0016]    The shipper&#39;s management information system  10  comprises a vessel management module  100 , a loading spot management module  110 , a document management module  120 , a transportation management module  130 , and a payment management module  140 . The vessel management module  100  is used to manage shipment vessel orders. The vessel management module  100  generates an ordering list according to shipment information provided by a product branch of a manufacturing enterprise, generates a bill of loading according to the ordering list, and sends the bill of loading to the shipping agent information system  30  for checking. The loading spot management module  110  is used to manage shipment loading spots, after the loading spot management module  110  has checked relevant shipment information. The document management module  120  is used to generate and maintain relevant invoices, and send the invoices to buyers. The transportation management module  130  is used to search for transportation information related to shipments and to manage transference. The transportation management module  130  comprises a transportation information searching sub-module  1310  and a transference sub-module  1320 . The transportation information searching sub-module  1310  is used for the shipper to manage shipment by instantly searching for transportation information related to shipment. The transference sub-module  1320  is used to evaluate the feasibility of transference, and to conduct transference. The payment management module  140  is used for the shipper to balance payments related to shipment.  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 2 is an exemplary flowchart of ordering shipment in accordance with the present invention. In step S 202 , the vessel management module  100  of the shipper&#39;s management information system  10  receives a shipment schedule provided by the product branch of a manufacturing enterprise, and stores the shipment schedule in the shipper&#39;s management information system  10 . The product branch first draws up the shipment schedule during a production run at the production facilities, to arrange shipment systematically according to relevant current and future production runs and production schedules. In step S 204 , the vessel management module  100  generates an ordering list according to the shipment schedule, and confirms a shipping agent. The ordering list comprises fields including: item, group, customer, buyer, port of loading, port of discharge, final destination, closing date, net weight, gross weight, volume, forwarder, line, freight payable, and remark. In step S 206 , the vessel management module  100  generates a shipping order according to each item in the ordering list. If the ordering list contains a plurality of items having the same group, port of loading, port of discharge, final destination, customer, buyer, container type, carrier and line, the vessel management module  100  can combine the items and generate a gross volume in the corresponding bill of loading. In step S 208 , the vessel management module  100  sends the shipping order and bills of loading to the shipping agent information system  30 . In the shipping order, some fields are blank, including: name of vessel, number of voyage, estimated time of departure (ETD), and estimated time of arrival (ETA). In step S 210 , the shipping agent information system  30  receives the shipping order and bills of loading, and confirms a berth, a number of the shipping order, the name of the vessel, the number of the voyage, the estimated time of departure and the estimated time of arrival. These details are confirmed according to actual prevailing operating conditions such as the capability of various shipping lines to perform the transportation. The shipping agent. information system  30  then sends the shipping order and bills of loading to the shipper&#39;s management information system  10 . In step S 212 , the vessel management module  100  receives the shipping order and bills of loading and stores them in the shipper&#39;s management information system  10 .  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 3 is an exemplary flowchart of loading spot management in accordance with the present invention. In step S 302 , the loading spot management module  110  receives a shipment list provided by the product branch, and stores the shipment list in the shipper&#39;s management information system  10 . The shipment list is drawn up by the product branch according to the shipment schedule. In step S 304 , goods are placed in a dispatch area of the production facilities ready for transportation. The loading spot management module  110  checks shipment information, container information and ordering information (including the ordering list and the shipping order), and confirms the correctness of said information. In step S 306 , the loading spot management module  10  sends a request and relevant information to the carrier information system  60  for the carrier to provide containerized transportation. In step S 308 , the carrier appoints a vehicle to the dispatch area, and sends a container bill to the shipper&#39;s management information system  10 . To ensure security of shipment, the carrier can print out a hardcopy container bill for the driver of the vehicle to present at the dispatch area. In step S 310 , the loading spot management module  110  receives the container bill sent by the carrier information system  60 , and checks the container bill against the ordering information to confirm the correctness thereof. In step S 312 , the loading spot management module  110  stores information in the container bill to the shipper&#39;s management information system  10 . Such information includes: number of container, number of container bill, number of driver, number of vehicle, beginning time of loading, completion time of loading, and number of container seal. In step S 314 , the loading spot management module  110  generates a detailed container list according to the information recorded in step S 312  after the goods have been taken away from the dispatch area by the vehicle.  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 4 is an exemplary flowchart of document management in accordance with the present invention. In step S 402 , the document management module  120  checks the shipment documents generated by the loading spot management module  110  and the shipment information stored in the shipper&#39;s management information system  10  to confirm whether the shipment documents are correct. The shipment documents checked include the shipment list, the container bill, and a loading list. The loading list is a detailed bill of information on goods loaded. If the shipment documents are not correct, in step S 404 , the document management module  120  returns them to the loading spot management module  110  for re-checking and amendment. If the shipment documents are correct, in step S 406 , the document management module  120  generates a provisional bill of lading (B/L) according to the relevant shipment information (such as the container bill and the loading list) stored in the shipper&#39;s management information system  10 , and sends the provisional B/L to the shipping agent information system  30 . In step S 408 , the shipping agent draws up a B/L according to the provisional B/L, and sends the B/L to the shipper&#39;s management information system  10 . In step S 410 , the shipper&#39;s management information system  10  checks the contents of the B/L against the information stored in the shipper&#39;s management information system  110  itself, to ensure the correctness of the B/L. In step S 412 , the document management module  120  generates an invoice and a packing list according to the contents of the B/L. In step S 414 , the shipper&#39;s management information system  10  sends the B/L, the invoice, the packing list and other relevant information to the buyer, so that the buyer can monitor related activities thereafter.  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 5 is an exemplary flowchart of transference of goods in accordance with the present invention. In step S 502 , a shipper receives a request for transference of goods. In step S 504 , the shipper evaluates the feasibility of the transference. For example, the cost and timing of the transference is evaluated. If the transference is not feasible, the procedure is ended. If the transference is feasible, in step S 508 , the transference sub-module  1320  draws up a feasibility report and sends the report to the shipping agent information system  30 . In step S 510 , the shipping agent evaluates the feasibility report according to actual prevailing operating conditions such as the capability of various shipping lines to perform the necessary transportation. The shipping agent thus determines whether the transference is feasible. If the transference is not feasible, the procedure is ended. If the transference is feasible, in step S 512 , the shipping agent sends relevant transference cost information to the shipper&#39;s management information system  10 . In step S 514 , the transference sub-module  1320  evaluates the transference cost information, and determines whether to accept the transference cost information. If the transference cost information is not accepted, the procedure is ended. If transference cost information is accepted, in step S 516 , the transference sub-module  1320  sends a transference notice to the shipping agent for transference of the goods.  
         [0021]    The shipper can use the transportation information searching sub-module  1310  to search the shipping agent information system  30  for transportation information, to search the container depot information system  50  for reports on inbound and outbound movement of goods, and to search the distribution center information system  40  for real-time stock information.  
         [0022]    After delivery of the goods to the buyer, the payment management module  140  of the shipper&#39;s management information system  10  receives relevant invoices from the shipping agent information system  30  and from the carrier information system  60 . The shipper&#39;s management information system  10  processes transference payments according to the contents of the invoices.  
         [0023]    In general, the shipment management system and method of the present invention may take forms other than what is described above. While the preferred embodiment for carrying out the invention has been described in detail, those familiar with the art to which the invention relates will recognize various alternative designs and embodiments for practicing the invention. These alternative embodiments are also within the scope of the present invention. The scope of the present invention is defined by the claims appended hereto and allowable equivalents thereof.