NGFDS BDT Solution – User Guide for Shippers & Traders

Introduction

The online user guide below provides step-by-step instructions on how to use the NGFDS Barge Digital Transformation (BDT) Solution – covering key user actions and capabilities for Shippers & Traders.

If you are not acting as a Shipper and/or Trader in the system, you can access our Carrier user guide here.

You can also download a PDF version of the below Shippers & Traders User Guide by clicking here

Key Features / Actions for Shippers & Traders

Click on any of the links below to access guides on the following key system features & actions:

1. Inbox and Main Features
    
2. How to Change Settings for the My Filtered Actions Filter
    
3. How to Filter Transactions by Commodity
    
4. How to Create a Barge
    
5. How to Delete a Barge
    
6. How to Perform any Action & Multi-selection
    
7. How to Access / Perform Actions on the Barge Info Page
    
8. How to Edit Barge Information
    
9. How to Upload a Certificate
    
10. How to Apply Out a Barge
     
11. How to Accept and/or Reject a Barge Application, Revoke Barge & Propose Destination
     
12. How to Propose Destination and select 'Care Of'
     
13. How to Request a BOL
     
14. How to Endorse/Transfer a BOL
     
15. How to Complete a Trip
     
16. How to Bust in the Main string, Return BOL & Request BOL Correction
     
17. How to Reconsign a Barge & Request Reconsignment
     
18. How to Bust in the Reconsignment String & Request for Reconsignment after Busting
     

Inbox & Main Features

Once you log into the Solution, you will be taken to the Inbox. Your Inbox is filtered by default to ‘My Filtered Actions’, to reveal any transactions requiring an action on your part. 

You can always filter on the sidebar to any other status category (e.g. Barge Created, Application Sent etc. as well as All items).

Search
Search can be used for the following fields: Barge ID, Commodity, Shipper, Carrier, Origin and Destination.

Hide/Show
You can hide/show any relevant field types in your inbox view

How to Change Settings for the My Filtered Actions Filter

‘My Filtered Actions’ filter settings are set by default to all transactions requiring an action on a user’s part, excluding Internal Shipments. You can select/deselect different statuses to tailor the filter to your needs, as follows: 

1. Click on the icon outlined below to change filter settings

   

2. Select/deselect the required statuses and click ‘Save’

   

How to Filter Transactions by Commodity

1. Click on ‘Search Options’

   

2. Pick the commodities you want to filter and click ‘Save’

   

3. Filtered commodities will be displayed at the top of your transactions as outlined below:

   

How to Create a Barge

To Create a Barge, click on the green ‘Create Barge’ button at the top right corner.
Note: this action can be taken if the user is a Shipper.

1. Click on the 'Create Barge' button

1. Barge ID field: Start typing and choose your Barge ID (e.g. IN) from the dropdown list
    
2. Carrier field: The Carrier auto-populates based on your Barge ID
    
3. Commodity field: Choose your Commodity type from the dropdown list
    
4. Quantity Unit field: The Quantity Unit auto-populates based on your Commodity-type selection
    
5. BL Date: Choose a BL date from the Calendar, or type in a date directly
    
6. Quantity Field: Enter your cargo Quantity (up to 3 decimal places)
    
7. Origin Field: Choose an Origin from the dropdown list
    

2. Click 'Create' to Create your Barge, as depicted above. The barge has now been created and the status will change to 'Barge Created’. You can access your Barge data by clicking on the icon outlined below.
   Note: the solution automatically prevents you from creating a Barge Transaction with the same Barge ID and BOL Date.

How to Delete a Barge

Note: this action can be taken if the user is a Shipper.
A Shipper can delete a Barge if the BOL has not been issued, in addition to the following scenarios:

• The Barge is created and it has not been applied to anyone yet
• The Barge is back to the Shipper’s ownership after Application Rejection or Busting

If the Barge has a BOL issued, the Shipper will have to request for the BOL to be Void, after which the transaction will be moved to the Archive folder (as outlined below).

1. Single click on a transaction to reveal key user actions. Click the delete icon per below

   

2. A confirmation message will pop up, and once confirmed, the barge will be moved to the Archive folder

3. If the Barge has a BOL issued and the Shipper is the only party in the string, a BOL Void will need to be requested. Single click on a transaction to reveal key user actions. Click on ‘Request BOL Void’ as outlined below

   

4. The Carrier will have to Accept the BOL Void Request. Once accepted, the transaction will be moved to the Archive folder

How to perform any Action & Multi-Selection

To perform any action, single click on a transaction to reveal key user actions. Note that you can hold Ctrl while clicking to select several transactions, or hold Shift and select all of your transactions for one single action.

​​​​​(Note: your transactions need to share one common action for multi-selection to work).

Multi-selection is not available for 'Request BOL' and 'Propose Destination', as the BOL is requested to different Carriers and Proposing Destination requires choosing Care of/or Consignee.

How to Access / Perform Actions on the Barge Info Page

Double click on a transaction to access the Barge Info page, where you can view Barge Information, Documents and the Trade String. Alternatively, you can click on the icon outlined below.

Note: if a transaction is in ‘Barge Created’ Status, you can only use the icon to access the Barge Info page, as double clicking will navigate you to Barge Editing dialog instead.

You can also perform all your actions from the Barge Info page, as outlined below

How to Edit Barge Information

Shippers can Edit Barge Information, provided it is still in the ‘Barge Created’ Status or when the Shipper is Requesting a BOL. 

Note: Shippers can edit Barge ID, Commodity, BOL Date, Quantity, Origin and Carrier. 
The Destination can be changed by the End Receiver who Proposed Destination, provided that the BOL has not been Requested yet. After the BOL has been Issued, the Carrier can Upload the BOL Correction Document to capture all the necessary corrections.

Editing in ‘Barge Created’ Status

1. Single click on a transaction to reveal key user actions

2. Click on the Edit Icon as outlined below

   

3. You will be navigated to Edit Barge dialog. Edit your details and click ‘Save’

   

Editing when Requesting a BOL

Shippers can also edit Barge info when requesting a BOL as outlined below.

1. Single click on a transaction to reveal key user actions

2. Click on ‘Request BOL’ to Request a BOL and edit Barge info

   

How to Upload a Certificate

1. Single-click on a transaction to reveal key user actions

2. Click 'Upload'.
   Note: this action can be taken by any party in a trade string, i.e. whether you are a Shipper, Trader or Trade Admin

   

3. Once you click upload, you will be prompted to select the type of certificate you would like to upload (e.g. ‘State Official’).
   Note: you can only upload one document per certificate-type

   

4. Once the document is uploaded you will be navigated to the Barge Info page where you can view it

   

5. You can delete your certificate and upload a new one at any time, provided that the document was uploaded by you and not another user​​​​​

   

How to Apply Out a Barge

1. Single-click on a transaction to reveal key user actions. Click 'Apply Out'

   

2. Search or pick a counterparty from the dropdown

   

3. The status will change to 'Application Sent'

How to Accept and/or Reject a Barge Application, Revoke Barge & Propose Destination

1. Single-click on a transaction to reveal key user actions. Click ‘Accept’ or ‘Reject’
   
   Note: if you Reject an application, the Barge will be back in the ownership of the previous owner, and the transaction will not appear in your Inbox.
   Note: you can hold Ctrl while clicking to select several transactions or hold Shift and select all of your transactions to accept a few applications in one go. 

   The status will change to ‘Application Accepted’ or ‘Rejected’

   

2. After accepting the barge application, you can ‘Apply Out’ to another counterparty in the trade string, or ‘Propose Destination’

3. You can 'Reject' a previously Accepted transaction, provided that it is still under the ‘Application Accepted’ status

   

How to Propose Destination and select 'Care Of'

Note: ‘Care Of’ is the Unloading Party of a Barge if they are not the same as the End Receiver.

1. Single click on a transaction to reveal key user actions. Click ‘Propose Destination’

   

2. You can pick the ‘Care Of’ Party from the dropdown list or type it in

3. The ‘Care Of’ Party will be displayed on the BOL and on the Barge Info page

   

How to Request a BOL

1. You can request a BOL if you are acting as a Shipper in the trade string and you have Trade Admin capability, provided that transaction status is ‘Destination Proposed’.
   Note: multi-selection is not available for when Requesting a BOL, as the BOL is requested to different Carriers

   

2. The BOL can be consigned to the Shipper or a second party in the trade string.
   Note: if you are consigning to a second party, the BOL will not require an endorsement stamp from the Shipper to the second party

   

3. The status will change to ‘BOL Requested’

How to Endorse / Transfer a BOL

1. To view the BOL before Endorsing and Transferring, double click on a transaction to navigate to the Barge Info page

2. Click on 'Bill of Lading' to view it

   

3. You can Endorse/Transfer the BOL if you are acting as a Trade Admin in the trade string

   

   Note: Once transferred, the BOL will have a COPY watermark, since it was transferred to another party who now holds the original BOL

4. The status will change to ‘BOL Transferred’

How to Complete a Trip

1. You can Complete a trip if you are acting as a Trade Admin in the trade string.
   Note: The solution will not prevent you from Completing a Trip without a weight or grade cert being populated, but it will pop up a warning message

   

2. The status will change to ‘Completed’

How to Bust in the Main string, Return BOL & Request BOL Correction after Busting

1. Double click on a transaction to access the Barge Info page
   Note: You can find all your barges by selecting the ‘All’ filter

2. To Bust, click on ‘Other Actions’ and choose ‘Bust’ from the dropdown menu as outlined below

   

   The status will change to ‘Busted’

3. If the BOL has been transferred to the Traders who were Busted, the Traders will have to return the BOL so that the Trader who Busted can become the Title Holder, in order to perform further actions.
   Otherwise, the Busted parties will be erased from the String immediately as they do not have to return the BOL, and the transaction will be moved to the ‘Archive’ folder for the Busted parties

4. To Return the BOL, single click on a transaction and click on ‘Return BOL’

   

   Note: Once the BOL is returned, the transaction will be moved to the ‘Archive’ folder for the Busted parties.

5. Once the BOL is returned to the Trader who Busted, the Trader will now have two options: either to ‘Apply Out’ or ‘Propose Destination’

   

6. If the user chooses to ‘Propose Destination’, then the next step will be to ‘Request BOL Correction’. If the user decides to ‘Apply Out’, then the user will have to wait for a Destination to be proposed by the new End Receiver, and thereafter, the BOL Correction will have to be requested. Please see the next step for further details

7. Once the Destination is proposed, the Trader who holds the original BOL will have to request a BOL Correction. Click ‘Request BOL Correction’ as outlined below

   

8. Another window will pop up, for you to enter the BOL Correction details

   

9. Once the BOL Correction is requested, the Shipper will need to review this

   

10. Once Corrections are reviewed, the Carrier will need to upload their ‘BOL Correction Requested’ Document and Approve corrections. The document will be available for everyone in the Trade String in their document section within the Barge Info page.
    
    The Status will change to ‘BOL Correction Requested’.

How to Reconsign a Barge & Request Reconsignment

1. You can Reconsign a Barge after you Proposed a Destination. Click on ‘Apply Out’ to Reconsign a Barge. 
   Note: a Barge can be Reconsigned before or after the BOL is Issued for the Main String

   

   Note: You will now have two records for your transaction. One is for the Main String and another is for the Reconsignment String. You will need to perform your actions from the respective record

2. Once the new End Receiver proposes destination, you will need to send a Reconsignment Request to the Carrier. Click ‘Request Reconsignment’

   

3. The Carrier will upload a Reconsignment Document and Approve Destination. Once the document is uploaded, it will be available for all the parties in the Reconsignment String, accessed via the Barge Info page

   

How to Bust in the Reconsignment String & Request for Reconsignment after Busting

1. Double click on a transaction to go to the Barge Info page. 
   Note: You can find all your Barges by selecting the ‘All’ filter

2. To Bust, click on ‘Other Actions’ and choose ‘Bust’ from the dropdown menu as outlined below

   

3. If the BOL was not transferred to the Busted parties, they will be erased from the String immediately. Otherwise they will have to Return the BOL

4. The party who Busted will now have two options, either to ‘Apply Out’ or ‘Propose Destination’

   

5. If the user chooses to ‘Propose Destination’, then the Requester (the Trader who started the Reconsignment String) will need to send a Reconsignment Request to the Carrier.
   If the user decides to ‘Apply Out,’ then the user will have to wait for a Destination to be proposed by the new End Receiver, and then the Requester will need to send a Reconsignment Request to the Carrier