Patent ID: 7752142

Claim:
A computer network comprising: a customer computer configured to enable a customer to create a first container booking request; a first carrier computer configured to receive said first container booking request over a first communication pathway and confirm the first container booking request over the first communication pathway, thereby creating a first container booking; and a shipping coordinator computer including a storage, the shipping coordinator computer configured to periodically receive and store information from said first carrier computer over a second communication pathway relating to said first container booking and other container bookings and to store the received information in the storage, the shipping coordinator computer further configured to receive from the customer computer a request for information relating to the first container booking, configured to search for a match between the request for information pertaining to the first container booking and the stored information from the first carrier computer, and configured to then provide said stored first container booking information to said customer computer upon receiving the request for said first container booking information, and prior to receiving the next periodic information from said first carrier computer, and the shipping coordinator computer configured to receive and store the information relating to said first container booking prior to receiving a first request from the customer computer for the information relating to said first container booking.