Parcels/goods are often shipped together. They can be put on a pallet and be put on a truck together with other pallets. If the truck is delayed, all parcels in that container will be delayed.
With the Container feature in Scan App Pro, you can make a grouping called a "container" which contains many shipments. It can be virtual container or a physical item like a pallet. The container acts as the "parent shipment" while all the shipments added to it will act as "children". When you add an event to the container ("parent shipment"), all "child shipments" will automatically inherit the same event.
There can be several levels of containers, e.g. a parcel is placed in a box (container), the box is placed in a cage (container) and the cage is placed on a truck (container). Events can be added on all levels.
Topics in this article:
- Enabling Containers in Action Center
- Adding shipments to a container in Scan App
- Assigning and delivering content in a container
Enabling Containers in Action Center
- Log in to Consignor Portal and go to Scan App > Settings > Scan App Events.
- Click the edit icon
on an event to open Event settings.
- Click Advanced to open extra options.
- Check the box next to Container Id required and click Save.
- You're now ready to start using Containers in Scan App Pro
Adding shipments to a Container in Scan App Pro
Follow the steps below to add a shipment to a container in Scan App. The container can be an ordinary shipment in Consignor which can be pre-printed or you can create a virtual one with a name you choose. It will be the "parent shipment" while all the shipments added to this will act as "children".
- Tap the event box and choose an event from the list of possible events, e.g. Loaded on truck
- Scan one or more barcodes that you want to add to a container ("parent shipment") and tap Next.
- Scan App will now validate if this event has the property Container required. If a Container is required, a new screen will ask the agent to add a container. The Container type will be set to Container Id as default. Scan or enter a barcode to use Container Id.
- If you want to use a name for the container instead of a barcode, tap the Container type field and choose Container Name.
- Choose a container from the list of available containers.
- If there are no available containers or if you want to create a new container, tap the New container button.
- Enter a name for your new container and tap Save.
- Your new container will now be available on the list. Use the edit or delete icons if you want to edit or delete a container.
- Tap Complete when you have selected a container. Activate the Remember selection if you want to use the same container for the next scan.
Assigning and delivering content in a container
After shipments have been added to a container you can see it in the Containers screen.
- Open the Containers screen by tapping the menu icon
in the top left corner.
- Choose Container under the Containers section.
- Tap All Available to see the complete list of containers with shipments created for your current Action Center.
- Tap a container that is not assigned to any agents. This will make the Assign to me button active and you can tap it and assign the container to yourself. Tap Ok to proceed.
- You will be redirected to the Assigned to me tab where the assigned container will be displayed. Tap on the arrow next to the container to navigate to the content of the container.
- Add an event to a shipment in the container by tapping on the shipment to select it and then tap the + icon.
- The selected barcode will now appear in the main screen. Select the desired event, fill in information if required and tap Complete.
Containers in Consignor Portal
- When you have added a shipment to a container, you will be able to see the container ID or name on the connected shipments ("children") in Consignor Portal.
- If you want to add more shipments to a container at a later point in time, simply go through the steps described above in Adding shipments to a container in Scan App Pro.
- When you add a new event to the container ( "parent shipment"), all "child shipments" will automatically inherit this event.