U.S. patent application number 12/894527 was filed with the patent office on 2011-01-27 for systems and methods for integrated global shipping and visibility.
This patent application is currently assigned to United Parcel Service of America, Inc.. Invention is credited to Alan Amling, Stuart D. Marcus, George R. Post, Kenneth T. Rankin, Bruce L. Woods, David S. Zamsky.
Application Number | 20110022534 12/894527 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 34748882 |
Filed Date | 2011-01-27 |
United States Patent
Application |
20110022534 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Amling; Alan ; et
al. |
January 27, 2011 |
SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR INTEGRATED GLOBAL SHIPPING AND
VISIBILITY
Abstract
Disclosed is an integrated global shipment system that provides
end-to-end visibility of the movement of a package. The integrated
global shipment system employs a shipment consolidating application
for integrating one or more freight tracking systems with one or
more end-delivery systems. As a result, shippers are provided with
complete visibility of the movement of their shipments of goods
from an origin country to a destination country and till the final
consignees. In addition, the integrated shipment system
significantly decreases the cost of managing inventories by
providing a virtual inventory solution. Under this virtual
inventory solution, suppliers are able to bypass distribution
centers and delay allocation of goods until after the importation
of goods into a destination country.
Inventors: |
Amling; Alan; (Marietta,
GA) ; Post; George R.; (Alpharetta, GA) ;
Zamsky; David S.; (Marietta, GA) ; Rankin; Kenneth
T.; (Alpharetta, GA) ; Marcus; Stuart D.;
(Atlanta, GA) ; Woods; Bruce L.; (Mesa,
AZ) |
Correspondence
Address: |
ALSTON & BIRD LLP
BANK OF AMERICA PLAZA, 101 SOUTH TRYON STREET, SUITE 4000
CHARLOTTE
NC
28280-4000
US
|
Assignee: |
United Parcel Service of America,
Inc.
|
Family ID: |
34748882 |
Appl. No.: |
12/894527 |
Filed: |
September 30, 2010 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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12506734 |
Jul 21, 2009 |
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12894527 |
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11026539 |
Dec 30, 2004 |
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12506734 |
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60533300 |
Dec 30, 2003 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
705/333 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 10/0833 20130101;
G06Q 10/083 20130101; G06Q 10/0831 20130101; G06Q 10/087 20130101;
G06Q 10/08 20130101; G06Q 30/0283 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/333 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 30/00 20060101
G06Q030/00 |
Claims
1. An integrated global shipment system providing visibility of
movement of goods in shipment, said system comprising: one or more
shipment databases; and a web portal having one or more processors,
one or more memory devices, and one or more displays; wherein said
web portal is configured to: (1) provide a web interface to said
web portal through which a user is enabled to enter criteria
defining a group of consolidated shipments; (2) in response to said
criteria entered by said user, identify, from said one or more
shipment databases, shipping data associated with said group of
consolidated shipments; (3) display to said user said shipping data
associated with said group of consolidated shipments; (4) receive a
first input from said user to select a particular consolidated
shipment from said group of consolidated shipments; (5) in response
to said selection in (4), retrieve, from said one or more shipment
databases, first-level shipment details associated with said
particular consolidated shipment and a list of child shipments that
are combined in said particular consolidated shipment, said
first-level shipment details including movement data of said
particular consolidated shipment; (6) display to said user said
first-level shipment details associated with said particular
consolidated shipment and said list of child shipments that are
combined in said particular consolidated shipment; (7) receive a
second input from said user to further select a particular child
shipment from said list of child shipments; (8) in response to said
selection in (7), retrieve, from said one or more shipment
databases, second-level shipment details associated with said
particular child shipments and a list of packages in said
particular child shipment, said second-level shipment details
including movement data of said particular child shipment; (9)
display to said user said second-level shipment details associated
with said particular child shipments and said list of packages in
said particular child shipment; (10) receive a third input from
said user to further select a particular package from said list of
packages; and (11) in response to said selection in (10), retrieve,
from said one or more shipment databases a movement status of said
particular package; and (12) display said movement status of said
particular package to said user.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein each of said group of
consolidated shipments is represented in said one or more shipment
databases by a shipment reference number that is associated with
one or more child shipment reference numbers or package tracking
numbers.
3. The system of claim 1, wherein said criteria in Step (1)
comprise an input of a particular shipment date or a particular
shipment period.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein said criteria in Step (1)
comprise an input of a particular destination country.
5. The system of claim 1, wherein said one or more shipment
databases are in a carrier's backend shipping system, said
carrier's backend shipping system configured to communicate with a
web server, said web server operating said web portal.
6. The system of claim 1, wherein said web portal is further
configured to verify, prior to allowing access to said web
interface at (1), a user's identity and for selectively permitting
access as far as inputs at (1), (4), (7), or (10) based on said
identity.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a Divisional of U.S. application Ser.
No. 12/506,734, entitled "Systems and Methods for Integrated Global
Shipping and Visibility" and filed Jul. 21, 2009, which claims the
benefit of U.S. Nonprovisional application Ser. No. 11/026,539,
entitled "Systems and Methods for Integrated Global Shipping and
Visibility" and filed Dec. 30, 2004, which claims the benefit of
U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/533,300, entitled "Integrated
Global Tracking and Virtual Inventory System," filed on Dec. 30,
2003, and incorporates such applications by reference in their
entirety.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates generally to an integrated
tracking system that provides enhanced visibility of the movement
of goods being shipped worldwide, and, as a result, enables a
virtual inventory system.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Globalization has introduced additional partners into the
supply chain, thus creating new challenges of distant vendors and
wide variances in the sophistication of systems. At the same time,
the ever-increasing cost pressures are forcing companies to do a
better job of managing expensive inventories. Under the macro-trend
of operating logistics worldwide, there are some specific problems,
as addressed below, which give rise to a need for an integrated
global shipment system that may avoid distribution center delays
and provide enhanced visibility in the movement of goods.
[0004] First of all, the current process for international
shipments involves numerous entities including carriers, brokers,
warehousemen and local cartage firms. As various components of
goods are sourced throughout various regions and buyers are
scattered around the globe, supply chains are far stretched and
growing extremely complex, thus extremely complicating the efforts
to provide accurate and timely data to customers. Such "piecemeal"
logistics invites a number of problems, such as lack of visibility,
absence of cost transparency, security concerns and unreliable
service. As opposed to the prior "piecemeal" approach, therefore, a
need exists for an "integrated" logistics solution from a single
source that allows one specialist to synchronize the end-to-end
supply-chain efforts and ensure the supply chain runs in a uniform,
seamless fashion.
[0005] Another problem is the delays and high costs associated with
distribution centers. Distribution centers have traditionally been
considered an essential component of a consumer goods supply chain,
and the reliance on distribution centers has increased in recent
years as companies have moved their manufacturing facilities to
overseas locations. In a traditional supply chain, distribution
centers serve as warehouses where companies store large inventories
of consumer goods as a safety stock cushion. Distribution centers
are preferably, but not always, centrally located in a geographic
region to allow the company to distribute the goods on an as-needed
basis to a plurality of retail outlets disposed throughout the
region. Depending on the size of the region and the immediacy of a
retailer's need for a good, a company can have one or many
distribution centers spread across a given geographic region. But
distribution centers are expensive to operate. In addition to the
cost of owning or leasing the space required to store goods,
companies that rely on distribution centers invest substantial
amounts of money on inventoried goods that just sit in one or more
warehouses.
[0006] In an effort to lower the expense associated with operating
multiple distribution centers, some companies have moved toward the
nationwide distribution center model. But the single distribution
center approach has its drawbacks, one of which is the
inefficiencies in the transport process. For example, a company
that uses a nationwide distribution center for its U.S. retailers
may receive a shipment of internationally manufactured goods on the
west coast. Once the goods clear customs, the goods are placed on a
transportation vehicle and transported across country to the
nationwide distribution center. At the distribution center, the
goods are labeled with store-ready labels and with package shipment
labels and the packages are picked up by a carrier such as the
United Parcel Service (UPS). If the importing company is, in fact,
a national chain, at least some of the imported goods are likely
destined for retail outlets on the west coast. In many cases,
companies will incur the time and expense to transport
recently-imported goods to a distribution center, and then
immediately turn-around and pay a package carrier to ship the
packages back to a retail outlet on the west cost. Given the
dynamic retail market, a distribution center bypass model shortens
product delivery cycle and keeps inventories in motion. A
recognized need therefore exists in the industry for a supply chain
system that bypasses the need for distribution centers.
[0007] In addition, the need to keep track of products and
information, from procurement through delivery to customers, has
never been greater. Therefore, there is a trend among logistics
service providers such as UPS to offer detailed status information
on shipments in transit. For example, UPS customers can go to the
UPS.com website and use package tracking numbers to track the
status of their items in shipment. As a result, advance
notification of incoming shipments can be provided to the intended
recipients. However, current business trends drive the need for
even heightened visibility. It relates not just to tracking
shipments on the ground, water, rail or in the air, but also to how
much inventory is on hand in a warehouse, where it is stored, and
when it has been allocated to fulfill an order--in other words, all
the activities involved in moving goods from maker to seller to
buyer. This type of insight is especially desirable in the global
supply chain where a company needs to respond quickly to unforeseen
circumstances, cut costs and speed delivery.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] The present invention seeks to provide an integrated global
shipment system that can provide end-to-end visibility of the
movement of goods. To that end, the present invention provides a
method integrating one or more freight shipping and tracking
systems with one or more end-delivery and tracking systems. Toward
that goal, the present invention enables various individual
shipments to be consolidated into a freight shipment so as to
facilitate the movement of goods during international shipment.
Moreover, the present invention seeks to provide a virtual
inventory system for enhanced inventory management. Such a virtual
inventory system preferably allows suppliers to bypass distribution
centers and delay allocation or distribution of goods. They can
initially provide a consignee location, or re-direct the goods,
after transferring possession of the goods to a carrier. For
example, the carrier may receive such instructions while the goods
are in transit, before or after they have arrived in a destination
country, including while the goods are in a carrier facility.
[0009] In accordance with the present invention, the above objects
and other objects, features, and advantages will be carried out by
systems and methods for providing integrated global shipment and
virtual inventory.
[0010] One embodiment of the present invention provides an
integrated global shipment system providing end-to-end visibility
of movement of goods in shipment. Specifically, the system
comprises: a first shipment visibility system for tracking movement
of a consolidated shipment from an origin country to a destination
country, the consolidated shipment comprising one or more child
shipments that need to be shipped to the destination country,
wherein at least one of the one or more child shipment consists of
multiple small packages; and a second shipment visibility system
for tracking movement of each of the multiple small packages within
said destination country; wherein, the first shipment visibility
system is associated with said second shipment visibility system so
as to provide an integrated visibility interface for tracking
movement of each of the multiple small packages from the origin
country to the destination country and within the destination
country.
[0011] In a preferred embodiment, the first shipment visibility
system comprises one or more databases accessible to a processor
that is configured for: receiving shipping data associated with the
one or more child shipments, the shipping data comprising at least
one or more child shipment reference numbers corresponding to the
one or more child shipments; generating a consolidated shipment
reference number for identifying the consolidated shipment;
associating the consolidated shipment reference number with each
one of the one or more child shipment reference numbers; creating a
data file to include the associations and the shipping data
associated with the one or more child shipments; and storing the
data file in the one or more databases. The processor is further
configured for: obtaining the consolidated shipment reference
number identifying the consolidated shipment; using the
consolidated shipment reference number to retrieve shipping data
associated with the one or more child shipments from the one or
more databases; using the consolidated shipment reference number to
retrieve movement data associated with the consolidated shipment
from a transportation management database; using the consolidated
shipment reference number to retrieve customs clearance data
associated with the consolidated shipment from a customs management
database; displaying the shipping data, the movement data, and the
customs clearance data to a user; and receiving input from the user
to update the one or more databases, the transportation management
database and the customs management database.
[0012] In another preferred embodiment, the second shipment
visibility system comprises one or more databases accessible to a
processor that is configured for: obtaining a package tracking
number identifying a small package; using the package tracking
number to retrieve package data associated with said small package
from a package database, said package data comprising information
of each item of goods enclosed in the small package; using the
package tracking number to retrieve movement data associated with
the small package from a transportation management database;
displaying the package data and said movement data to a user; and
receiving input from the user to update the package database and
the transportation management database.
[0013] Yet another preferred embodiment of the present invention
provides that the first shipment visibility system is associated
with the second shipment visibility system through: a repository
unit storing package data associated with the multiple packages,
the repository accessible to the first shipment visibility system
and said second shipment visibility system; and a server computer
having access to said repository unit, the server computer
configured for: using a consolidated shipment reference number to
identify multiple package reference numbers, each of the multiple
package numbers identifying one of the multiple packages; searching
a package database in said second shipment visibility system to
retrieve the package data associated with said multiple packages;
and loading the package data into the repository unit.
[0014] In accordance with an additional embodiment of the present
invention, an integrated global shipment system providing
visibility of movement of goods in shipment comprises one or more
databases accessible to at least a server computer. The one or more
databases stores shipping data for multiple shipments of goods,
wherein the shipping data is received from a carrier-customized
client shipping system or a web-based client shipping application.
The server computer is configured for: receiving, from a warehouse
management system, shipper-to-consignee transaction data associated
with a shipment of goods; receiving, from a transportation
management system, movement data associated with the shipment of
goods; receiving, from a customs management system, customs
clearance data associated with said shipment of goods; retrieving,
from the one or more databases, particular shipping data associated
with the shipment of goods; and generating a shipment output data
file based in part upon the shipper-to-consignee transaction data,
the movement data, the customs clearance data, and the particular
shipping data associated with the shipment of goods.
[0015] An alternative embodiment of the present invention provides
an integrated global shipment system providing end-to-end
visibility of movement of goods in shipment. The system comprises a
client interface for receiving a user query directed to one or more
specified shipments using specified criteria; a visibility system
comprising: one or more web servers capable of communicating with
the client interface over a communications network, and one or more
application servers capable of communicating with the one or more
web servers, the one or more application servers having access to
one or more application server databases, and configured to process
a user query received from said client interface; and a carrier's
shipping system comprising one or more mainframe servers, the one
or more mainframe servers having access to a shipment database that
stores shipping data associated with multiple shipments, the one or
more mainframe servers are configured to communicate with the one
or more application servers.
[0016] In another embodiment of the present invention, an
integrated global shipment system providing visibility of movement
of goods in shipment comprises one or more shipment databases and a
web portal that is configured for: (1) providing a web interface to
the web portal through which a user is enabled to enter criteria
defining a group of consolidated shipments; (2) in response to the
criteria entered by the user, identifying, from the one or more
shipment databases, shipping data associated with the group of
consolidated shipments; (3) displaying to the user the shipping
data associated with the group of consolidated shipments; (4)
receiving a first input from the user to select a particular
consolidated shipment from the group of consolidated shipments; (5)
in response to the selection in (4), retrieving, from the one or
more shipment databases, first-level shipment details associated
with the particular consolidated shipment and a list of child
shipments that are combined in the particular consolidated
shipment, the first-level shipment details including movement data
of the particular consolidated shipment; (6) displaying to the user
the first-level shipment details associated with the particular
consolidated shipment and the list of child shipments that are
combined in the particular consolidated shipment; (7) receiving a
second input from the user to further select a particular child
shipment from the list of child shipments; (8) in response to the
selection in (7), retrieving, from the one or more shipment
databases, second-level shipment details associated with the
particular child shipments and a list of packages in the particular
child shipment, the second-level shipment details including
movement data of the particular child shipment; (9) displaying to
the user the second-level shipment details associated with the
particular child shipments and the list of packages in said
particular child shipment; (10) receiving a third input from the
user to further select a particular package from the list of
packages; and (11) in response to the selection in (10),
retrieving, from the one or more shipment databases a movement
status of the particular package; and (12) displaying the movement
status of the particular package to said user.
[0017] In accordance with an alternative embodiment of the present
invention, there is an integrated global shipment system providing
visibility of movement of goods in shipment. The system comprises
one or more shipment databases and a web portal that is configured
for: (1) providing a web interface to said web portal through which
a user is enabled to query for a specific shipment or a specific
package by entering a particular identifier; (2) in response to
receiving said particular shipment identifier, determining whether
said particular identifier is a consolidated shipment reference
number; (3) in response to the determination that said particular
identifier is a consolidated shipment reference number,
identifying, from said one or more shipment databases, shipping
data associated with said specific shipment, and displaying said
shipping data to said user, said shipping data including at least
said consolidated shipment reference number; (4) in response to the
determination that said particular identifier is not a consolidated
shipment reference number, determining whether said particular
identifier is an LTL shipment reference number or a package
tracking number, (a) in response to the determination that said
particular identifier is an LTL shipment reference number, (i)
identifying, from said one or more shipment databases, shipping
data associated with a consolidated shipment in which said specific
shipment is included; (ii) identifying, from said one or more
shipment databases, shipping data associated with said specific
shipment; and (iii) displaying to said user said shipping data in
(i) if said specific shipment has not reached a destination
country, or said shipping data in (ii) if said specific shipment is
in delivery within said destination country; and (b) in response to
the determination that said particular identifier is a package
tracking number, (i) identifying, from said one or more shipment
databases, shipping data associated with a consolidated shipment in
which said specific package is included; (ii) identifying, from
said one or more shipment databases, shipping data associated with
said specific package; and (iii) displaying to said user said
shipping data in (i) if said specific package has not reached a
destination country, or said shipping data in (ii) if said specific
package is in delivery within said destination country.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)
[0018] Having thus described the invention in general terms,
reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are
not necessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:
[0019] FIG. 1 is a pictorial view of an integrated global shipment
system that illustrates how a good moves from an origin shipper to
a consignee in accordance with an embodiment of the present
invention;
[0020] FIG. 2 is a high-level block diagram of a process flow for
shipping goods through the integrated global shipment system of
FIG. 1 in accordance with an embodiment of the present
invention;
[0021] FIG. 3A-B illustrate different shipment levels as applied in
the integrated global shipment system of FIG. 1 in accordance with
an embodiment of the present invention;
[0022] FIGS. 4A-C are exemplary illustrations of different types of
shipping labels used in the integrated global shipment system of
FIG. 1 in accordance with an embodiment of the present
invention;
[0023] FIGS. 5A-B are a flow diagram that illustrates how shipments
are processed within the integrated global shipment system of FIG.
1 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
[0024] FIG. 6 illustrates data outputs regarding shipments
processed by the integrated global shipment system of FIG. 1 in
accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
[0025] FIG. 7 illustrates the shippers' allocation flexibility
provided by the integrated global shipment system of FIG. 1 in
accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
[0026] FIGS. 8A-C provide an overview of the end-to-end visibility
and various visibility events in the integrated global shipment
system of FIG. 1 in accordance with an embodiment of the present
invention;
[0027] FIG. 9 is a detailed view of the end-to-end visibility and
various sub-systems involved in the integrated global shipment
system of FIG. 1 in accordance with an embodiment of the present
invention;
[0028] FIG. 10 is a high-level architecture of the integrated
global shipment system of FIG. 1 that provides end-to-end
visibility in accordance with an embodiment of the present
invention;
[0029] FIG. 11 is a detailed system structure of the integrated
global shipment system of FIG. 1 that provides end-to-end
visibility in accordance with an embodiment of the present
invention;
[0030] FIG. 12 illustrates exemplary data structures of the
integrated global shipment system of FIG. 1 that provides
end-to-end visibility in accordance with an embodiment of the
present invention;
[0031] FIG. 13 illustrates one type of data flow between two
sub-systems of the integrated global shipment system in accordance
with an embodiment of the present invention;
[0032] FIG. 14 is a process flow block diagram that illustrates how
the integrated global shipment system of the present invention
provides end-to-end visibility of goods in transit;
[0033] FIG. 15 is a screen flow illustrating the end-to-end
visibility as viewed by a user of the integrated global shipment
system in accordance with an embodiment of the present
invention;
[0034] FIGS. 16-20 are exemplary screen displays as viewed by a
user of the integrated global shipment system in accordance with an
embodiment of the present invention.
[0035] FIGS. 21A-B show the computer hardware architecture that
implements the integrated global shipment system of FIG. 1 in
accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0036] The present inventions now will be described more fully
hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which
some, but not all embodiments of the inventions are shown. Indeed,
these inventions may be embodied in many different forms and should
not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein;
rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will
satisfy applicable legal requirements. Like numbers refer to like
elements throughout.
[0037] For the purpose of describing the present invention in
detail, certain terms used hereinafter are defined as follows:
[0038] "Carrier"--An individual, partnership or corporation engaged
in the business of transporting goods or persons.
[0039] "Consignee"--The person or organization to whom freight is
shipped.
[0040] "Shipper"--A company or individual who initiates the
transport of goods.
[0041] "Shipment"--One or more packages or pieces of freight being
transported together.
[0042] "Consolidation"--The combining of two or more items or
groups of items and transporting them as a single shipment.
[0043] "Consolidated Shipment"--The result of consolidation of
shipments.
[0044] "Child Shipment"--Any shipment that is part of the
consolidated shipment.
[0045] "LTL (Less-than-Truckload)"--A quantity of freight less than
that is required for the application of truckload rate.
[0046] "Cross-dock"--A carrier's terminal that is configured to
handle the consolidation or transfer of freight. This type of
facility provides the ability to unload on one side of the facility
and reload to the other side of the facility.
[0047] "Container Freight Station (CFS)"--An operation facility
where freight shipments are cross-docked and staged between
transport legs, sometimes referring to a facility used by ocean
carriers to load/unload cargo to and from containers.
[0048] "Line haul"--The movement of freight between cities or
carrier facilities, excluding pickup and delivery service.
[0049] "PRO"--A number issued to each shipment of freight by a
carrier and used for tracking or tracing of the shipment to its
destination.
[0050] Integrated Global Shipment
[0051] 1. Consolidated Shipment Movement v. Child Shipment
Movement
[0052] FIG. 1 is a supply chain flow that illustrates how goods
move from an origin shipper to a consignee in accordance with one
embodiment of the present invention. As seen in FIG. 1, such
movement of goods is comprised of two parts: (1) movement of a
consolidated freight shipment from an origin location to a
destination country and/or region and (2) movement of multiple
child shipments within the destination country and/or region till
reaching final consignees. In the case of a shipper who is shipping
manufactured goods from a factory to respective destination
consignees, the process typically begins when a manufacturer
receives a purchase order for a certain amount of products or
goods. In the illustrated supply chain 10, goods are picked up from
an origin shipper 12 by an origin pickup vehicle 14. In a typical
scenario, the manufacturer of the goods serves as the origin
shipper 12 and the origin pickup vehicle 14 is a freight forwarding
service that handles the transportation of the goods from the
manufacturing facility to the next stop in the supply chain 10.
Depending on the requirements of the purchase order, the freight
forwarding service may be selected by the manufacturer or by the
entity that is importing the goods. One of ordinary skill will
recognize that multiple, sometimes competing freight forwarding
service providers may be used to transport the manufactured goods
and, in fact, multiple origin shippers 12 may be used to
manufacture the goods that are being imported. Thus, while a single
origin shipper 12 and a single origin pickup vehicle 14 are
illustrated in FIG. 1, the present invention is not limited to this
embodiment.
[0053] Returning to the supply chain 10 illustrated in FIG. 1, the
origin pickup vehicle 14 transports the goods to an origin
container freight station (CFS) 16. As described in greater detail
below, a number of activities may occur at the origin container
freight station 16. One of these activities is to consolidate the
goods into a consolidated freight shipment. As one of ordinary
skill in the art will recognize, the consolidation process may be a
simple consolidation of pre-packaged goods into a container, or may
include a pick-and-pack process in which multiple goods are picked,
packaged and weighed in accordance with instructions from an
importer or a purchase order. In some cases, goods bound for a
single consignee arrive at the origin container freight station 16
from multiple origin shippers 12. An aspect of the present
invention is to achieve new levels of consolidation efficiencies
for these shipments at the point of the origin container freight
station 16. Thus, goods received from different origin shippers 12
may be consolidated in a single freight container bound for one or
more consignees in the same destination country or region.
[0054] Another activity that may occur at the origin container
freight station 16 is the labeling of packages or containers
containing goods for shipment. If the allocation is known at the
point that the goods are at the origin container freight station
16, then the goods may be labeled as part of the consolidation
process. In a preferred embodiment, the labeling processes that
occur at the origin and destination container freight stations
include the affixing of shipping labels used by the package
delivery company that transports the packages to the final
consignee, such as UPS, Federal Express and United States Postal
Services. Preferably, a single package delivery company such as UPS
handles the transportation of all packages in the supply chain 10.
But one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that multiple
package delivery companies may be used. As a result, the labeling
processes can involve the generation and application shipping
labels for multiple package carriers. Other types of labels that
may be added at this stage include store-ready labels (e.g., stock
or pricing information). As described in detail below, an advantage
of the present invention is the ability to delay the allocation,
that is, the determination of the ultimate destination for the
goods, until a later stage in the transportation process and
thereby allow greater management of the importers' inventory.
Therefore, in still another embodiment of the present invention,
some or all of the package labeling processes described above can
occur at the sortation hub 32 of the package delivery company.
[0055] The next steps illustrated in the supply chain 10 are to
process the goods through export customs 18 and to manage an origin
drayage 20 of the goods to an ocean vessel 22 docked in a shipyard.
As can be readily appreciated by a skilled artisan, alternative
transportation means including air or ground transportation can be
used to ship goods cross international boundaries. Typically, the
step of processing the goods for customs clearance at export
customs 18 occurs at the location of the origin container freight
station 16. During the consolidation and labeling processes, the
paperwork necessary to move the freight container through customs
is prepared. But one of ordinary skill will recognize that these
steps can occur at separate locations. Once the necessary paperwork
has been completed and the freight containers have satisfied the
customs requirements, the freight container containing the goods is
drayed through the origin drayage 20 to the ocean vessel 22.
[0056] When the ocean vessel 22 carrying the freight container
reaches the destination port, the original carrier arranges, or, if
necessary, a separate carrier is engaged to arrange to have the
freight container offloaded to the destination port, processed
through import customs 26 and drayed via a destination drayage 24
to a destination container freight station 28.
[0057] A deconsolidation process typically occurs at the container
freight station 28. In the deconsolidation process, goods that were
consolidated into one shipment would then be separated into
multiple child shipments, each of which is to be delivered to
respective consignee locations. One of ordinary skill in the art
will recognize that goods can be allocated in a variety of ways.
For example, in the case of small packages, the goods may be
transported via line haul 30 to any of several sortation hubs 32
operated by companies such as UPS, Federal Express or the United
States Postal Services. When the packages arrive in the sortation
hubs 32, they enter into the postal or package delivery networks
and are delivered by the transportation company to the consignee
36. The alternatives known in the art include transporting goods by
trucks 34 as truckload (TL) or less-than-truckload (LTL) shipments.
As will be apparent to one of ordinary skill, these and other
transportation alternatives can be combined for transporting goods
to a variety of consignee locations. Thus, for example, a given
allocation may require that half of the goods received at a
destination container freight station 28 be shipped to a UPS
sortation hub 32 for delivery to a first consignee, while some
other portion of the goods are moving by TL to a second consignee
and the balance of the goods are transported to a third consignee
via LTL movement.
[0058] In a preferred embodiment, a single entity, such as UPS,
controls the movement of the goods in each step of the supply chain
10. In some cases, this controlling entity (sometimes referred to
herein as the supply chain carrier) itself (or via a subsidiary
company) handles the movement of the goods such as, for example,
the movement of the goods from the origin shipper 12 to the ocean
vessel 22. In other steps in the supply chain 10, the supply chain
carrier does not itself move the goods and instead engages a
third-party to move the goods, and in so doing retains control of
the movement of the goods. Thus, for example, in one embodiment the
supply chain carrier is a non-vessel operating carrier and uses a
third-party to handle the movement of goods via ocean vessel 22. In
such an embodiment, the supply chain carrier will use known
tracking systems to obtain periodic updates about the movement and
anticipated arrival of the goods at various ports or waypoints in
the ocean movement.
[0059] To summarize the above-described movement of goods in the
supply chain 10, FIG. 2 shows a simplified process flow. In this
process flow, a carrier such as UPS would typically carry out or
engage other carriers to carry out the following steps in shipping
goods into various destination countries or regions:
[0060] Step 1: pick up or receives shipments from different
shippers;
[0061] Step 2: arrange a direct consolidation of different
shipments;
[0062] Step 3: transport the consolidated shipment across an
international boundary to the destination country or region;
[0063] Step 4: process the consolidated shipment through the export
and import customs to obtain necessary customs clearance paperwork
in coordination with Step 3;
[0064] Step 5: de-consolidate the consolidated shipment into
individual child shipments;
[0065] Step 6: put each child shipment into its small package
delivery network or LTL shipment network for final deliveries to
respective consignee locations.
[0066] As one of ordinary skill can appreciate, there are a number
of advantages of consolidating individual shipments in
international shipments. It significantly reduces the required
paperwork and time in customs processing. Furthermore, it lowers
individual shipment costs by decreasing brokerage fees,
transportation costs, taxes, duties and additional service fees. As
a result of the consolidation process, movement of goods in the
supply chain 10 is comprised of two levels of movements: a
consolidated freight movement that crossed the international
boundary and a child movement within the destination country or
region. These two movements are described in detail with reference
to FIGS. 3A-B.
[0067] FIG. 3A shows the relationship between a consolidated
freight shipment and child shipments. In general, a consolidated
freight shipment (parent shipment) 100 consists of one or many
child shipments 110. Such consolidated freight shipment (parent
shipment) 100 is represented by a unique shipment identifier, i.e.,
a consolidated shipment reference number 102, which can be a Bill
of Lading (BOL) number or a Pro number as widely used in the
transportation industry. By virtue of the consolidated shipment
reference number 102, the movement of consolidated shipment 100 can
be linked to movements of each of the individual child shipments
110 consolidated therein. Each child shipment 110 can be a shipment
comprising multiple small packages 110a or a LTL (Less-than
Truckload) shipment 110b or a TL (Truckload) shipment 110c. Each
small package 110a is identified by a package tracking number 112
as the lowest unit. The package tracking number 112 may be a lead
shipment number (for a defined shipment), or an individual carton
number. Each LTL shipment 110b or TL shipment 110c is represented
by a Sub-Pro number 114 as the lowest unit. In operation, the
consolidated shipment reference number 102 identifies the first
movement leg of the consolidated shipment, and is included in all
subsequent child transport legs that are each identified by a
Sub-Pro number 114 or a package tracking number 112. From
customers' perspective, the consolidated shipment reference number
102 and child movement identifiers, namely, Sub-Pro numbers 114 or
package tracking Numbers 112, are used in combination for tracking
the entire movement of goods, end-to-end.
[0068] To further illustrate the relationship between a
consolidated freight shipment (parent shipment) 100 and multiple
child shipments 110, FIG. 3B provides a specific example. In this
example, a freight order is identified by the consolidated shipment
reference number 102, i.e., a Pro number, that will be used as
referring to the entire consolidated shipment movement. The LTL/TL
child shipments are represented by Sub-Pro numbers 114 that
associate the LTL/TL child shipment movement to a specific
receiver. Each small package is represented by a package Tracking
Number 112. As illustrated in FIG. 3B, the origin of the
consolidated movement is Canada, and the destination is the U.S.
The destination container freight station (CFS) is located in
Buffalo, U.S., and the ultimate US consignees are located
respectively in Texas, New York, California and Arizona. The
consolidated shipment consists of 32 packages and 3 pallets, and
more specifically, the consolidated shipment movement is made up of
the following child shipment movements: [0069] Sub-Pro 1 is a LTL
child shipment consisting of 10 Pkgs/1 Pallet--Buffalo to Texas
(Ultimate Consignee) [0070] Sub-Pro 2 is a TL child shipment
consisting of 20 Pkgs/2 Pallets--Buffalo to New York (Ultimate
Consignee) [0071] 1 UPS Small Package with a package Tracking
Number--Buffalo (UPS Hub) to California (Ultimate Consignee) [0072]
1 UPS Small Package with a package Tracking Number--Buffalo (UPS
Hub) to Arizona (Ultimate Consignee)
[0073] In operation, the shipment identifier (e.g., consolidated
shipment reference number 102, Sub-Pro numbers 114, and package
tracking numbers 112) can be obtained by scanning a shipping label
that, pursuant to the above-described labeling process, is affixed
onto a package, a carton or a container, and thus identifies a
shipment of goods. FIGS. 4A-C show such exemplary shipping labels.
Specifically, FIG. 4A shows an exemplary shipping label for a LTL
shipment 110b that is printed with a Sub-Pro number 114. FIG. 4B
shows an exemplary pallet shipping label printed with a Pro number
102. FIG. 4C shows a small package shipping label printed with a
package tracking number 112. As shown in FIGS. 4A-C, a shipping
label is typically printed with one of the above-explained the
consolidated shipment reference number 102, a Sub-Pro number 114,
or a package Tracking Number 112. These numbers are usually printed
in both a machine-readable code for scanning purposes and a
human-readable text format.
[0074] Relating back to FIG. 2, the Step 2 of consolidation is
further illustrated in FIGS. 5A-B that show a process flow 500 of
an application for consolidating individual child shipments (LTL/TL
shipments and/or small packages). The process 500 starts with Step
501 when shippers request shipment of goods from a carrier such as
UPS. Step 501 requires a shipper to supply a shipping account
number established with the carrier. Typically, a carrier
establishes and maintains a client database that includes account
information of various shippers, especially its long-term customers
with large volume shipments and/or revolving needs for shipment of
goods. By means of such established accounts, the carrier can save
a lot of time in collecting customer information and shorten the
processes of receiving and authorizing shipment requests, preparing
and arranging for shipments and generating shipping bills for
customers. Especially, in accordance with one embodiment of the
present invention, the use of known customer information can be
maximized in the consolidated shipping process. For each
established customer, the carrier can consolidate multiple bills
including brokerage, transportation, duties, taxes, and additional
services. As can be appreciated by one of ordinary skill, a
consolidated bill or invoice would enhance the financial visibility
and management of a shipper-customer, particularly in the field of
shipping cost control.
[0075] Turning back to FIG. 5A, after a shipper's account
information is verified in Step 501, a shipper is provided with an
option whether to consolidate its shipments with other individual
shipments in Step 502. Sometimes a shipper may choose not to
consolidate its shipments with other shipments. This typically
occurs to shippers whose daily shipping volumes are so huge as to
render consolidation unnecessary or impractical. If consolidation
is not requested in Step 502, then the received shipments will be
processed separately as shown in Step 503. Otherwise, the received
shipments will be labeled for consolidation in Step 504. Depending
upon the destination country or region of received shipments, a
particular consolidated shipment reference number 102 will be
located from a database 550 that stores shipping data associated
with a number of consolidated shipments. Such shipping data
includes, but not limited to, a particular shipping lane (origin
country--destination country), a particular transportation means
(air, ocean, ground) and a particular shipment date. In the
database 550, each consolidated shipment is identified by a
consolidated shipment reference number 102, and in particular, one
consolidated shipment that is identified by the located particular
shipment reference number 102 will be shipped to the same
destination country or region of received shipments. With this
particular shipment reference number 102, Steps 506-509 will
process data of each received child shipment to be
consolidated.
[0076] In processing a particular child shipment, Step 506 first
determines whether such child shipment is a LTL child shipment. If
so, Step 507 processes data of the particular child shipment under
LTL-shipment-specific rules. For example, Step 507 first identifies
a Sub-Pro number 114 as identifier of the LTL shipment, establishes
a reference record including both the Sub-Pro number 114 and the
particular consolidated shipment reference number 102, and save the
reference record into the database 550 that stores the data of the
particular child shipment and the data of the consolidated
shipment. If the particular child shipment is not a LTL shipment,
Step 508 applies small-package-specific rules to that child
shipment. More specifically, each package of multiple packages
within the child shipment is identified by a package tracking
number 112. Thus, Step 508 obtains each package tracking number 112
and associates it with the particular consolidated shipment
reference number 102 by establishing data records including each
pair of a package tracking number 112 and the particular
consolidated shipment reference number 102. Such data records will
be stored into the above-mentioned database 550 as well. Step 509
queries whether there are additional child shipments to be
consolidated, and if so, it repeats the process from Step 506 to
Step 507 or 508. In Step 510, determination is made whether there
are any additional shipments to process until the entire daily
volume of shipments are exhausted at the end of a day in Step
511.
[0077] After all shipments are processed at the end of a day in
Step 511, some necessary actions will be taken as shown in FIG. 5B,
such as generating shipment outputs and, based upon the shipment
outputs, updating relevant information stored in various system
databases in accordance with one embodiment of the present
invention. Corresponding to the different processing steps as
applied to different types of shipments in FIG. 5B, the generated
shipment outputs include outputs for consolidated shipments as well
as outputs for non-consolidated shipments. Thus, at Step 512, the
process first determines whether an output for the consolidated
shipment is required. For non-consolidated shipment outputs, Step
513 generates a small package manifest. Based on this small package
manifest, Step 514 will update a carrier's small package shipment
management system. Meanwhile, outputs for the consolidated shipment
can be generated as at Step 515. Such outputs for the consolidated
shipment will be described in detail below with reference to FIG.
6. Step 516 will update a carrier's backend shipping system for
managing consolidated shipments. Because each consolidated shipment
can comprise multiple child shipments including LTL/TL shipments or
small packages, further steps are taken to update the carrier's LTL
shipment management system and small package management system
respectively. These steps include: Step 517 that determines whether
an individual child shipment is a LTL shipment, and if so, Step 518
that updates the LTL shipment management system, otherwise, Step
519 that determines whether the child shipment is a shipment
comprising multiple packages, and if so, Step 520 that updates the
small package management system accordingly, which more
specifically refers to a temporary PLD (Package Level Detail)
repository as will be described in detail below with reference to
FIG. 9.
[0078] Referring to FIG. 6, shipping system outputs will be
described. Again, what shipment outputs should be generated depends
on the determination in Step 601, i.e., whether the shipment for
which output is requested is a consolidated shipment. If so, Step
602 will first process the consolidated shipment records stored in
a database to obtain a consolidated manifest or House Bill of
Lading (HBOL) as shown in Step 603. An electronic form of the
consolidated manifest or a House Bill of Lading is generated in
Step 604. Then an electronic form of the invoice regarding the
consolidated shipment movement is generated in Step 605. Such
electronic manifest/HBOL and invoice will be emailed to the
original shippers for their reference, or optionally to a customs
agent, as shown in Step 606. Because the shipment reference number
102 is part of the consolidated shipment records, each individual
shipper will be provided with the consolidated shipment reference
number 102 that enables them to track their own individual
shipments that have been combined into this consolidated shipment.
In the prior art, a shipper would likely lose track of his shipment
of packages during the movement of consolidated shipments across an
international boundary. This is because the first-level of movement
is represented by consolidated shipments or parent shipments and
thus shippers' child shipments that are merged into a consolidated
shipment can no longer be tracked by what shippers are provided
with, namely, child shipment reference numbers (Sub-Pro numbers 114
or package numbers 112). In accordance with the present invention,
however, shippers are provided with a consolidated shipment
reference number 102 to track a particular consolidated shipment in
the first-level movement. Alternatively, given the association
between such consolidated shipment reference number 102 and
individual child shipment reference numbers (Sub-Pro numbers 114 or
package numbers 112) stored in a system database, shippers can also
use their child shipment reference numbers to obtain consolidated
shipment reference number 102 for tracking their own child
shipments.
[0079] When consolidated shipments reach the destination country,
the deconsolidation process in Step 5 as seen in FIG. 2 will be
performed. As a result of the deconsolidating process, each child
shipment can be identified and thus further shipment outputs can be
generated for each child shipment. For example, as the items of the
consolidated shipment are de-consolidated, the codes on their
labels can be scanned and decoded so that the resulting sub-pro
numbers or package tracking numbers are identified and transmitted
to a system database as described in detail below. As seen in FIG.
6, Step 607 processes data of a LTL child shipment and Step 608
generates an electronic document containing LTL PLD. Step 609
represents the time at which such LTL child shipment enters into
the carrier's end-delivery network, which means it will be
delivered to the ultimate consignee in the destination country. The
relevant entities (shipper, consignee) will be notified of the
arrival of such shipment via emails, faxes, phone calls, or any
other equivalent means as shown in Step 610. By analogy, a shipment
comprising multiple packages will be processed in Step 611 to
generate an electronic small package PLD document in Step 612.
After the Step 609 as explained above, the relevant entities
(shipper, consignees) will be notified of the arrival of packages
via emails, faxes, phone calls, or in any other equivalent manner
as shown in Step 613.
[0080] 2. Virtual Inventory: Distribution Center (DC) Bypass and
Allocation Delay
[0081] As described in detail below, an advantage of the present
invention is the ability to delay the allocation, that is, the
determination of the ultimate destination for the goods, until a
later stage in the transportation process and thereby allow
improved management of the importers' inventory. Sometimes when a
manufacturer or supplier receives a purchase order for goods or
products, the purchase order may not identify the allocation for
the manufactured goods, that is, the manufacturer may not know
where the goods will ultimately be shipped. In that case, the
ability to delay allocation allows shippers to avoid delaying
shipments until being certain about the ultimate consignee
locations. Even if the allocation is known initially, destinations
may be subject to re-direction depending upon the real-time market
demands. For example, a purchase order may be sent to one or more
international vendors requesting the production and shipment of an
amount of goods to the United States. At the time that the purchase
order is sent, the importer does not have to know how it will
allocate the goods among its various consignee locations (e.g.
retail outlets). Instead, the importer needs only to estimate its
anticipated need for the entire region using one of several demand
planning systems that are known in the art, and the importer can
wait until the goods arrive at the destination container freight
station 28, as seen in FIG. 7, before determining how to allocate
the goods between the various consignees. This wait may preferably
be a short time (e.g., 4-5 days) prior to, or even immediately
after the goods arrive at the destination container freight
station. In some cases, especially when the goods are moved by
ocean vessel, this means that importers may have an additional two
or three weeks before they have to determine the allocation. As
will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art, the ability
to delay the allocation gives the importer greater ability to
respond to changing supply and demand conditions and offers a
degree of flexibility not present in supply chain systems that are
known in the art.
[0082] FIG. 7 illustrates the advantage of providing such
flexibility in terms of specific timelines. For instance, if the
labeling and allocation activities did not occur at the origin
container freight station 16, these activities are performed at the
destination container freight station 28. That gives a manufacturer
or a supplier a grace period of typically at least 18 days to delay
final determination how to distribute goods. As can be readily
appreciated by a person of ordinary skill, such grace period may
vary in a wide range, depending on different origins and
destinations.
[0083] In addition, another advantage of the present invention is
to provide an integrated shipment solution that allows shippers
(i.e., goods suppliers, manufacturers, vendors, individual
customers, etc.) to bypass distribution centers by shipping
packages or goods across borders and directly to final consignees
(i.e., retail stores, individual customers, etc.) within the
destination country. As seen in FIG. 7, there is no need for
suppliers or manufacturers to maintain distribution centers in the
supply chain 10 because allocation of goods can be determined and
timely updated at any point from the origin container freight
station 16 to the destination container freight station 28. Both
stations are a carrier's operating facilities. In other words, by
using the transportation containers (e.g., ocean vessels, ground
trucks) as virtual inventory warehouses, the present invention
allows suppliers to bypass distribution centers used to be
necessary for storing goods awaiting final allocation in the supply
chain.
[0084] Enhanced End-to-End Visibility
[0085] 1. Overview of the End-to-End Visibility Concept
[0086] Another aspect of a preferred embodiment of the supply chain
system 10 of the present invention is an ability to deliver
end-to-end visibility. At present, the supply chains that are known
in the art are dominated by small freight forwarding companies that
have limited freight tracking capabilities and, typically, the
freight tracking that is presently available is most often reliant
on manual information transmitted via telephone, facsimile and
paper documents. And whatever limited tracking is available on the
freight or consolidated shipment movement leg of the supply chain
ends when the shipment leaves the destination container freight
facility 28 and enters the end-delivery systems (or child shipment
movement leg). In other words, prior attempts to provide end-to-end
visibility for shipping customers have been "piecemeal"
combinations of limited tracking information without an automated
integrated interface that provides all tracking information. A
benefit of an embodiment of the present invention is the ability to
track the shipment through both the consolidated shipment movement
leg and child shipment movement leg(s), and, moreover, to provide
this end-to-end tracking via a single interface.
[0087] As illustrated in FIGS. 8A-C, the movement of goods from the
origin to the destination country or region is governed by a
freight tracking system (including a system for tracking
consolidated shipments), and the movement within the destination
country or region till each respective consignee location is
governed by an end-delivery system (including a system for tracking
child shipments). A link between the freight tracking system and
the end-delivery system preferably occurs at the point when the
end-delivery package labels are added to the packages or goods,
which occurs after the allocation is determined either at the
origin or destination container freight stations. As part of the
integration of the various tracking systems, an end-delivery
tracking number (e.g., Sub-Pro number 114 or package tracking
number 112) is linked to a freight tracking reference number (e.g.,
consolidated shipment reference number 102) such as a house bill of
lading or a pro bill. Thus, when a user accesses the freight
tracking database with a freight tracking reference number, the
freight tracking system uses this link to access the end-delivery
tracking numbers that are associated with the shipment being
tracked. In the case of small goods, multiple end-delivery tracking
numbers, such as the package tracking number used by UPS to track
packages in its network, are typically associated with a single
freight tracking reference number. But one of ordinary skill will
recognize that the supply chain system 10 described herein is not
limited to small package movement and in the case of larger goods,
such as white goods, a single end-delivery tracking number may be
associated with a freight tracking reference number.
[0088] As shown in FIGS. 8A-C, this type of integration of the
freight tracking and end-delivery tracking systems provides the
user with end-to-end visibility through both a consolidated freight
movement leg and a child shipment leg of the supply chain 10. Thus,
when a shipment is in transit from the origin shipper 12 to the
destination container freight station 28, i.e., the consolidated
freight movement leg, the freight tracking system provides the
tracking data for the consolidated containers. When the shipment
reaches the destination container freight station 28 and the
packages are deconsolidated, the individual packages leave the
control of the freight companies, and the final movement from the
destination container freight station 28 to the ultimate
consignee(s), i.e., the child shipment leg, is tracked by the
end-delivery system (or systems).
[0089] In an alternative embodiment, the end-to-end visibility is
provided to the user through recording and reporting various
visibility events. These visibility events correspond to various
occurrences during the movement of goods in the consolidated
shipment as well as child shipments. In other words, the visibility
events altogether reflect the end-to-end visibility in terms of a
shipment timeline. In the case of a shipper who is shipping
manufactured goods from a factory to destination consignees (e.g.,
retail stores), there are a number of consolidated shipment events
710, including receiving purchaser order information of goods,
requesting for a pickup or notifying of a drop-off of shipments of
goods, arrival of shipment of goods at the origin container freight
station (CFS) 16, departure of shipment of goods from the origin
container freight station (CFS) 16, export clearance of shipment of
goods, departure of shipment of goods from the origin country,
arrival of shipment of goods in the destination country, import
clearance of shipment of goods, and arrival of shipment of goods at
the destination container freight station (CFS) 28. The child
shipment events 720 include uploading Package Level Data (PLD) or
LTL shipment data at the origin container freight station (CFS) 16
and the destination container freight station (CFS) 28
respectively, LTL shipment pickup, tender of goods to end-delivery
carriers such as UPS, and tracking movement of shipment within an
end-delivery network. In a preferred embodiment, the present
invention provides an ability to facilitate return of ordered goods
or products from a consignee in the destination country to the
origin country. The resulting child shipment return events 730 may
include, but not limited to, receiving returns for consolidation,
receiving returns for deposition, notification of returns, and
awaiting disposition. There are also exception events 740 that
govern exceptional instances during the movement of goods, such as
data file exception (e.g. data file not received), pickup
exception, change in estimated date of departure, change in
estimated data of arrival, general exceptions (e.g., damages,
fallout, hold, delay), hold at export customs or import customs.
All these exception events 740 can occur during either consolidated
shipment movement, or child shipment movement or both movements,
and need to be notified to shippers in a timely manner. Thus,
shipment notifications 750 include consolidated shipment exception
notifications, LTL shipment exception notifications and small
package exception notifications. In addition, the shipment
notifications 750 include consolidated shipment ship notification,
tender to LTL shipment notification, tender to a third party for
delivery notification, and tender to end-delivery of small packages
notification. From the standpoint of information management, each
visibility triggers a corresponding data update and/or data
report.
[0090] In a preferred embodiment, the tracking of the shipment
through the freight movement leg and the child shipment leg occurs
via a single web browser interface. A number of software
applications are known in the art for tracking shipments through
the freight movement leg of the supply chain, and one of these
applications is known as Flex Global View (FGV). As described in
detail with reference to FIGS. 9-11, in a preferred embodiment, the
FGV interface is adapted to allow users to drill down and obtain
child shipment data, which allows the user to track the various
packages in a shipment through the child shipment leg of the supply
chain.
[0091] In a preferred embodiment, the end-delivery tracking system
communicates via a network, such as the Internet, to update the
freight tracking system with updates about the movement of child
shipments in the end-delivery system or systems. In a preferred
embodiment, these updates occur at predetermined intervals, such
as, for example, once an hour. In an alternative embodiment, a link
is established on a transaction-by-transaction basis between the
freight tracking system and the end-delivery tracking system to
obtain a status update about one or more of the child shipments
whenever requested by a user. Or, in still another alternative
embodiment, the freight tracking system is updated on a
predetermined interval, but the user has the option of requesting
an immediate update for a selected package or child shipment. This
data loading process will be described in detail below with
reference to FIG. 13.
[0092] The diagram in FIG. 9 illustrates an implementation of an
integrated system 800 for providing end-to-end visibility of
movement of goods in international shipments. As aforementioned,
such movement is comprised of two levels: movement of a
consolidated freight shipment and movement of individual child
shipments. Typically, separate systems are employed to provide
visibility into different movements. For example, users can access
a freight movement visibility system that allows user to enter a
freight tracking number and view generic tracking events and
generic data elements specific to the tracking number that was
entered. This system does not provide PLD information of each
individual package or LTL shipment within a child shipment. In
addition, when a consolidated freight shipment is de-consolidated,
the tracking events of each individual child shipments, especially
each small package, are invisible to users in this system. The
child shipments may be performed by different carriers and as a
result, users have to access different systems for viewing the
movement of child shipments. The present invention provides an
integrated system 800 combining all these existing or non-existing
systems so that users have a single interface from which to view
the full life cycle of their shipments, including detailed tracking
events and data elements, from a shipping origin to a destination
country and to the ultimate consignees within the destination
country.
[0093] As seen in FIG. 9, to implement the end-to-end visibility
concept, the integrated system 800 requires operations and
communications of a number of sub-systems. These sub-systems
include, but not limited to, a visibility interface system 810, a
client shipping system 840, a small package visibility system 850,
a warehouse management system 860, a LTL shipment visibility system
870, a transportation management system 880, a customs management
system 890. While each of the above-listed systems may include one
or more databases for storing data, as can be readily appreciated
by a person of ordinary skill, the integrated system 800 utilizes
additional databases for facilitating transfer and frequent use of
certain types of data. Such databases include a PLD database 830, a
PLD extract database 820 and a customer shipment detail database
900.
[0094] Functionalities of each above-identified system components
and their contributions to the operation of the integrated system
800 are described in the following processes:
[0095] Process 1--Creating Shipping labels
[0096] Depending on the country of origin, a shipper may have
access to use the client shipping system 840 to produce a label.
Such client shipping system 840 can be customized by the carrier
and, as part of a programmable service application, integrated into
a shipper's internal system. Alternatively, the client shipping
system 840 can be hosted in an ASP (Application Service Provider)
environment, and thus can be accessible to any users over a
communications network, preferably the Internet. For any shipments
that are intended to be consolidated into a consolidated shipment,
the client shipping system 840 will assign to the corresponding
shipment data records stored in the database 830 an additional
reference field that will be used to store the House Bill of Lading
or the master PRO number. Meanwhile, an indication flag is set in
the database 830 for the data records of each small package within
a received shipment in the small package visibility system 850. At
the end of day processing, the small package visibility system 850
loads package information to the PLD database 830.
[0097] Process 2--Downloading Small Package data from the PLD
database 830
[0098] On a regular basis, the package information loaded into the
PLD database 830 is parsed and a subset of this data is extracted
and made available to the visibility tool(s). As seen in FIG. 9,
this subset of package data is stored in a PLD extract database
820. This process creates the link between the package identifiers,
i.e., package tracking numbers 112, and the consolidated freight
shipment identifier, i.e., consolidated shipment reference number
102, which is also stored in the database 820 as described
below.
[0099] Process 3--Warehousing of Shipments
[0100] Typically, the CFS/Cross Dock locations (See 16, 28 in FIG.
1) will use a warehouse management system 860 (e.g. Exceed, PKMS
MEPAW, etc). An interface between the warehouse management system
860 and the visibility interface system 810 (Flex Global View) has
been deployed. This will allow for visibility events to be captured
for inbound cross dock, outbound cross dock, and returns processing
for shipments. The warehouse management system 860 has the
capability to print packing lists. As can be readily appreciated to
one of ordinary skill, the warehouse management system 860 also
allows for shipment records to be loaded to the client shipping
system 840 for labeling of the individual packages as defined in
Process 1.
[0101] Process 4--Customs Brokerage
[0102] Shippers may submit a data file 900 with the shipment
details for customs brokerage. A shipment identifier (HBL or PRO
number) is supplied with the data file 900 to identify the shipment
when it arrives at the border. This data file 900 also includes
type of materials, destination, harmonized codes, and weight of
shipment. This file 900 is submitted to the customs management
system 890, which can be any off the shelf system (e.g., VASTERA,
Theta, or Main brokerage system). The customs management system 890
uses the API interface to collect brokerage events from the
customs. In the meantime, customs uses the file 900 to clear the
cargo upon entry into the destination country.
[0103] Process 5--Transportation Management (TM)
[0104] The origin CFS/Cross Dock locations 16 have access to a
transportation management system 880. This system is used to
collect and track the movement of a shipment after it leaves the
origin CFS/Cross Dock location 16. The events captured in the
transportation management system 880 are loaded into the visibility
interface system 810 (Flex Global View). The transportation
management system 880 can be GBS-TM that is typically used in ocean
and air transportation, or AlphaTruck that is typical of ground
transportation. When the customer is ready to have a shipment
transported, it either uses the client shipping system 840 or a web
portal connected to the transportation management system 880 to
prepare the shipment. A shipment identifier (HBL or PRO number) is
assigned to the shipment and tracked in the transportation
management system 880. When the shipment arrives at a CFS/Cross
Dock location, the arrival event is manually entered into the
transportation management system 880. When a shipment is ready to
leave the destination CFS/Cross Dock for either Small package or
LTL/FTL distribution, the departure (tendered to) event is manually
entered into the transportation management system 880.
[0105] Process 6--Visibility
[0106] All CFS/Cross Dock locations use the visibility interface
system 810 (such as Flex Global View) as the visibility tool. The
visibility interface system 810 allows a user to view visibility
events about a shipment or part of a shipment in one of the
following methods:
[0107] a. All Shipments for a Customer
[0108] A user is able to query for all shipments within a specified
date range by entering their customer shipper number and the
desired date range. The query will return a list of all shipments
for the customer that were picked up between the specified date
ranges. The user will then be able to select a specific shipment to
view visibility events related to that shipment.
[0109] b. Entire Shipment Query
[0110] A user is able to query for an entire shipment by entering a
PRO number 102 or a House Bill of Lading number 102. The query will
return the shipment level summary events. The events will stop at
the identification of any split in the shipment. This normally
occurs when the shipment arrives at and then departs from the
destination CFS/Cross Dock 28. The user will be able to select any
of the splits of the original shipment to drill down to the next
level when package detail data is uploaded at the destination
CFS/Cross Dock 28.
[0111] c. Shipment Split Query
[0112] A user is able to query for a specific child shipment of the
original consolidated shipment. The user will enter a Sub-Pro
number 114. The search will return the child shipment level
information. These events will show all movements from the time the
original consolidated shipment was split until the child shipment
is delivered, or is again split into smaller shipments. If the
split shipment is delivered as comprising only small packages, the
user will be able to select any of the package tracking numbers 112
to drill down to the next level. This functions the same as the
individual package tracking
[0113] d. Individual Package Search
[0114] A user is able to query for a specific package or a group of
packages being shipped to the same location. This query can only be
performed for small package shipments. The user will enter either
the package tracking number 112 of a specific package or the
reference field identifier, such as store number, purchase order
number, or HBL number. The query will pull data from the small
package visibility system 850 for matching records for the package
or reference field supplied.
[0115] 2. Specific Implementation of the End-to-End Visibility
Concept
[0116] With reference to FIGS. 10-21A-B, a specific web-based
application system providing end-to-end visibility will be
described.
[0117] a. System Architecture
[0118] FIG. 10 shows a high-level diagram of the architecture of
the visibility interface system 810 in accordance with one
embodiment of the present invention. The architecture is comprised
of three layers: a client interface 1010, a middle-ware application
1000 and a backend system server 1020. Typically, the client
interface 1010 comprises a web browser 1012 as a user-friendly
interface. The middle-ware application 1000 comprises one or more
web servers 1002 that process user requests received from the web
browser 1012 and one or more application servers 1004 that execute
specific programmable instructions in response to receiving data
processed by the web servers 1002. To make data easily accessible
to the application servers 1004, the middle-ware application 1000
preferably comprises a database for direct data access and
retrieval. In FIG. 10, the database is represented by the PLD
extract database 820 as explained above. The backend system server
1020 refers to all of the backend systems that communicate with and
support the middle-ware application 1000. As can be appreciated by
one of ordinary skill, this backend system server 1020 can comprise
a number of servers and databases. For illustration purposes, FIG.
10 shows that in the level of the backend system server 1020 there
are at least a central server 1022 and a database, i.e., the PLD
database 830.
[0119] FIG. 11 provides a detailed view of the system architecture
presented in FIG. 10 and how data flows between different servers
and databases of the visibility interface system 810 in operation.
The client interface 1010 (i.e., the web browser 1012) receives
user queries which are to be communicated to at least one of the
web servers 1002. The web server 1002 will process the user queries
to generate query data that triggers execution of certain
programmable instructions by at least one of the application
servers 1004. In executing the programmable instructions, the
application server 1004 will determine from which database to
retrieve response data. As seen in FIG. 11, the application server
1004 can access the PLD extract database 820 that stores a subset
of package data. Such subset of package data is updated by loading
information automatically from the PLD database 830 on an hourly
basis or daily basis. In a preferred embodiment, such data loading
can be performed by a FTP server 1028 that comprises a host server
1024 having access to the PLD database 830 and communicating with
an agent application server 1026. The agent application server 1026
transfers package data received from the host sever 1024 to a
database server 1006 that resides in the middle-ware application
1000. Then, the database server 1006 executes a load-script
application 1008 for storing loaded package data into the PLD
extract database 820. This loading process is further illustrated
in FIG. 13 as described below. If the PLD extract database 820 does
not contain the requested package data, the application server 1004
will generate a data request, which is preferably in the format of
a XML document, to the backend system server 1020. The XML Tools
1021 installed in the backend system server 1020 interprets the XML
data request so that the requested package data will be retrieved
from the PLD database 830 and transferred to the application server
1004.
[0120] b. Hardware Requirements
[0121] Turning to FIG. 21A, one embodiment of a computer is
illustrated that can be used to practice aspects of the present
invention. In FIG. 21A, a processor 901, such as a microprocessor,
is used to execute software instructions for carrying out the
defined steps. The processor receives power from a power supply 917
that also provide power to the other components as necessary. The
processor 901 communicates using a data bus 905 that is typically
16 or 32 bits wide (e.g., in parallel). The data bus 905 is used to
convey data and program instructions, typically, between the
processor and memory. In the present embodiment, memory can be
considered primary memory 902 that is RAM or other forms which
retain the contents only during operation, or it may be
non-volatile 903, such as ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, FLASH, or other types
of memory that retain the memory contents at all times. The memory
could also be secondary memory 904, such as disk storage, that
stores large amount of data. In some embodiments, the disk storage
may communicate with the processor using an I/O bus 906 instead or
a dedicated bus (not shown). The secondary memory may be a floppy
disk, hard disk, compact disk, DVD, or any other type of mass
storage type known to those skilled in the computer arts.
[0122] The processor 901 also communicates with various peripherals
or external devices using an I/O bus 906. In the present
embodiment, a peripheral I/O controller 907 is used to provide
standard interfaces, such as RS-232, RS422, DIN, USB, or other
interfaces as appropriate to interface various input/output
devices. Typical input/output devices include local printers 918, a
monitor 908, a keyboard 909, and a mouse 910 or other typical
pointing devices (e.g., rollerball, trackpad, joystick, etc.).
[0123] The processor 901 typically also communicates using a
communications I/O controller 911 with external communication
networks, and may use a variety of interfaces such as data
communication oriented protocols 912 such as X.25, ISDN, DSL, cable
modems, etc. The communications controller 911 may also incorporate
a modem (not shown) for interfacing and communicating with a
standard telephone line 913. Finally, the communications I/O
controller 911 may incorporate an Ethernet interface 914 for
communicating over a LAN. Any of these interfaces may be used to
access the Internet, intranets, LANs, or other data communication
facilities.
[0124] Finally, the processor 901 may communicate with a wireless
interface 916 that is operatively connected to an antenna 915 for
communicating wirelessly with another devices, using for example,
one of the IEEE 802.11 protocols, 802.15.4 protocol, or a standard
3G wireless telecommunications protocols, such as CDMA2000 1x
EV-DO, GPRS, W-CDMA, or other protocol.
[0125] An alternative embodiment of a processing system than may be
used is shown in FIG. 21B. In this embodiment, a distributed
communication and processing architecture is shown involving a
server 920 communicating with either a local client computer 926a
or a remote client computer 926b. The server 920 typically
comprises a processor 921 that communicates with a database 922,
which can be viewed as a form of secondary memory, as well as
primary memory 924. The processor also communicates with external
devices using an I/O controller 923 that typically interfaces with
a LAN 925. The LAN may provide local connectivity to a networked
printer 928 and the local client computer 926a. These may be
located in the same facility as the server, though not necessarily
in the same room. Communication with remote devices typically is
accomplished by routing data from the LAN 925 over a communications
facility to the Internet 927. A remote client computer 926b may
execute a web browser, so that the remote client 926b may interact
with the server as required by transmitted data through the
Internet 927, over the LAN 925, and to the server 920.
[0126] Those skilled in the art of data networking will realize
that many other alternatives and architectures are possible and can
be used to practice the principles of the present invention. The
embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 21A and 21B can be modified in
different ways and be within the scope of the present invention as
claimed.
[0127] c. Data Structures
[0128] As can be appreciated by a person of ordinary skill, the
visibility interface system 810 according to one embodiment of the
present invention involves all kinds of data, such as the
above-mentioned PLD data. To illustrate the data structures 1200 of
the system 810, FIG. 12 provides a set of data tables containing
various data elements. As shown in FIG. 12, each data record in the
table of Package 1210 is represented by a tracking number 1211,
referenced by a shipment number 1231, and described by the data
fields of a description 1212, a weight 1213 and a COD amount 1214.
Each data record in the table of Shipment 1230 is identified by the
shipment number 1231, and comprises data fields: Pickup_Date 1232,
Service_Level 1241, Consignee_Name 1251, Consignee_Attention Name
1252 and Shipper_Name 1261. The table of Service_Level 1240
includes different transportation means such as air, ocean, ground,
etc. The Consignee table 1250, identified by Consignee_Name 1251
and Consignee_Attention Name 1252, comprises data profiles of
different consignees. A consignee data profile includes information
such as Consignee_Address 1253, Consignee_City 1254,
Consignee_State 1255, Consignee_Country 1256 and
Consignee_Postal_Code 1257. Similarly, the Shipper table 1260,
identified by Shipper_Name 1261, comprises data profiles of
different shippers. A shipper data profile includes information
such as Shipper_Address 1262, Shipper_City 1263, Shipper_State
1264, Shipper_Country 1265 and Shipper_Postal_Code 1266. The
Package_Reference table 1220 reflects the links between packages
and shipments. Besides the data fields of tracking number 1211 and
shipment number 1231, a data record of the Package_Reference table
1220 also includes a Reference_Sequence field 1221 and a Reference
field 1222.
[0129] The relations between these data tables are explained
below:
[0130] R1: Package 1210 v. Shipment 1230
[0131] Because a shipment may comprise multiple packages, the
relation between Shipment 1230 and Package 1210 is 1:N.
[0132] R2: Package 1210 v. Package_Reference 1220
[0133] To facilitate information retrieval, the relations between
Shipment 1230 and Package 1210 are stored in a separate table,
namely, Package_Reference 1220. This table is identified by a
combination of the tracking number 1211 and shipment number 1231.
For each package, it can be associated with one child shipment or
one consolidated freight shipment. Therefore, the relation between
Package 1210 and Package_Reference 1220 is 1:N.
[0134] R3: Shipment 1230 v. Service-Level 1240
[0135] Each shipment may be transported via more than one
transportation means. For example, a consolidated shipment can be
shipped across the ocean before it is deconsolidated and the
enclosed child shipments enter into the ground transportation
network. Thus, the relation between Shipment 1230 and Service-Level
1240 is N:N.
[0136] R4: Shipment 1230 v. Consignee 1250
[0137] A shipment can comprise multiple packages, each intended to
be delivered to a different consignee. In turn, a consignee may
receive more than one shipment. As a result, the relation between
Shipment 1230 and Consignee 1250 is N:N.
[0138] R5: Shipment 1230 v. Shipper 1260
[0139] A shipment can comprise multiple packages, each received
from a different shipper. In turn, a shipper may request for more
than one shipment. Thus, the relation between Shipment 1230 and
Shipper 1260 is N:N.
[0140] d. Process Flow
[0141] FIG. 14 is a process flow block diagram that illustrates how
the present invention provides end-to-end visibility of the
movement of the goods from the origin shipper 12 to consignee 36 as
illustrated in the supply chain 10. Again, in one embodiment, each
step in the movement of the goods is preferably controlled by a
single entity referred to herein as a supply chain carrier. While
the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, an
advantage of having one supply chain carrier, such as UPS, is the
presentation of an end-to-end delivery solution with a one point of
contact for visibility and, preferably, a consolidated invoice (as
produced by Step 605 in FIG. 5B) that has one delivery price (in
one currency) that reflects the accumulated cost of each stage of
the delivery process (even if several of the movements in the
delivery process were performed by third-party entities and even if
several of these entities required payment in one or more different
currencies). Thus, an aspect of the present invention is the
combination of freight movement with end delivery processes and the
control and management of these systems by a single supply chain
carrier.
[0142] With reference to FIG. 14, the process flow is described
involving a user using the client interface 1010, middle-ware
application 1000 (represented in the figure as FGV) and backend
system server 1020 (represented in the figure as UPS.com).
[0143] The user logs on to the freight tracking system in Step 1402
and selects Track Shipment from a menu of options in Step 1404. At
Step 1406, the user enters an identifier that is used to query
specific shipment information stored in a database accessible to
the middle-ware application 1000. The identifier is preferably a
date or some other type of reference information. A number of data
filters can be used in this step and will be described below with
reference to the exemplary screen displays in FIGS. 16-20.
[0144] At Step 1408, the middle-ware application 1000 returns a
list of shipments that match the query criteria. The list of
shipments may take the form of a list of House Bills of Lading, a
list of Pro bills, or some other reference identifier that is known
or commonly-used in the freight forwarding industry.
[0145] At Step 1410, the user clicks on one of elements in the list
of shipments (e.g., clicks on one of the listed house bills of
lading or pro bills) to drill down into a screen that allows the
user to access request shipment details for goods associated with
the shipment.
[0146] At Step 1412, the middle-ware application 1000 returns and
displays the list of end-delivery shipments (e.g., UPS shipments)
that correspond to the shipment (house bill of lading/pro bill)
selected by the user. In a preferred embodiment, the end-delivery
shipment information is made available to the user at the point
that the packages are labeled for end-delivery, which, as indicated
above, preferably occurs at either the origin or destination
carrier freight stations.
[0147] At Step 1414, the user clicks on one of the child shipments.
At Step 1416, the middle-ware application 1000 returns and displays
a list of the packages associated with the selected shipment. In a
preferred embodiment, this information includes some or all of the
following: end-delivery tracking number, merchandise description,
service type, package weight, freight reference number (e.g., house
bill/pro bill number), additional reference fields and consignee
shipping information (name, address, city, state, zip, country) and
COD amount.
[0148] As explained above, such package data displayed in Step 1416
is stored in the PLD extract database 820 as a result of periodic
loading from the PLD database 830. FIG. 13 illustrates the loading
process as comprising Step 1301 that the backend system server 1020
sends PLD data to the middle-ware application 1000 on an hourly
basis, and Step 1302 that the middle-ware application 1000 receives
the PLD data into a server database, i.e., the PLD extract database
820. As seen below, the FGV communicates with the backend system by
use of XML requests. However, the existing XML interface for
retrieving PLD data is limited by the fact that it can only return
a maximum of 64 kb amount of data. To overcome this limitation to
data retrieval, using hourly data loading would facilitate
transferring of data over the amount of 64 kb.
[0149] Turning back to FIG. 14, at Step 1418, the user attempts to
drill down further into the end-delivery information by clicking on
a hypertext link that is associated with the end-delivery tracking
number. At Step 1420, the FGV receives this user request and
converts the request into an XML request to the backend system
server 1020 (end-delivery tracking system) for an updated status of
the requested package. At Step 1422, the backend system server 1020
(end-delivery tracking system) receives the XML tracking request
and returns the package status information for the requested
package. At Step 1424, the middle-ware application 1000 receives
the updated status from the end-delivery tracking system and
displays the updated status to the user. Finally, at Step 1426, the
user views the most recent status of the end-delivery shipping
process using the freight tracking system interface.
[0150] e. Exemplary Screens
[0151] FIGS. 15-20 illustrate the user interface designs in
accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 15
shows a screen flow that corresponds to the above-described process
flow in FIG. 14. This screen flow comprises a track shipments query
page 1510, a customize output page 1520, a track shipments result
list page 1530, a track shipment details page 1540, a shipment
details page 1550 and a package detail (XML) page 1560. Exemplary
screen displays corresponding to this screen flow are illustrated
in FIGS. 16-20 respectively.
[0152] Starting with FIG. 16, after a user logs on the web-based
browser interface, the track shipments query page 1510 will be
displayed. In this screen display, the user is allowed to enter one
or more criteria to query specific shipments. For example, in a
drop-down list 1600, a user can select what information to "Search
For". The user can choose, for example, to view all House Bills
associated with consolidated shipments. Other criteria include a
reference field of "Transportation" 1602 in which the user can
select to search for air, ocean or ground transportation, a
reference field of "Reference" 1604 in which the user can type in a
reference number such as House Air Waybills, a reference field of
"Date" 1606 by which the user can select a time period or a fixed
time point, a reference field of "Origin" 1608 and a reference
field of "Destination" 1610.
[0153] In response to the user query, the track shipments result
list page 1530 as exemplified in FIG. 17 returns and displays a
list of searched shipment results. Each shipment is represented by
a shipment reference number (102 as aforementioned), i.e.,
Housebill/Truckbill 1701 in FIG. 17. Each reference number is
provided with a hyperlink that allows the user to click on in order
to get more shipment details as shown in FIG. 18.
[0154] FIG. 18 shows shipment details regarding a consolidated
shipment identified by a house bill number (here referred as
"ACME-SURF-DEMO1"). The display is comprised of several detail
sections. Section 1801 shows general information of a consolidated
shipment such as the origin and destination. Section 1802 shows
routing information of the consolidated shipment. Section 1803
shows a list of LTL child shipments associated with the
consolidated shipment. Each LTL child shipment is identified by a
child shipment reference number 114 (Sub-Pro number) which is
provided with a hyperlink that allows the user to click on and
drill down for more details of a particular LTL child shipment.
Section 1804 shows a child shipment comprising a list of small
packages associated with the consolidated shipment. Similarly, each
package number 112 identifying each package is provided with a
hyperlink that allows the user to click on and drill down for more
details of a particular package. Section 1805 shows significant
tracking events of the movement of the consolidated shipment.
[0155] FIG. 19 provides a summary list of multiple small packages
contained by a child shipment. Each listed package is identified by
a package tracking number that is provided with a hyperlink
allowing the user to click on and drill down for more details of a
particular package.
[0156] When a user clicks on one particular package tracking number
in FIG. 19, the screen display in FIG. 20 will be shown to present
detailed moving status of the package identified by that particular
package tracking number.
[0157] Based on the above-explained system architecture, hardware
requirements, data structures, process flow and exemplary screen
displays, it will be readily appreciated by a person of ordinary
skill that the present invention provides end-to-end visibility for
any entity involved in shipment of goods. Specifically, shippers or
consignees are able to use an integrated interface to track status
of both freight shipments that include their individual child
shipments and their own shipment down to the package detail level.
Furthermore, by means of well-known user identity verifications,
such as verifying user names and user passwords, the present
invention allows for different levels of visibility available to
different users. For example, a consignee may be allowed to view
further details of his child shipments within a consolidated
shipment, but not details of other child shipments within the same
consolidated shipment.
[0158] As described above, the present invention provides
end-to-end visibility in the movement of a package. In addition, by
consolidating child shipments, the present invention allows for
shippers' flexibility in distributing goods in shipment. The
combination of end-to-end visibility and the ability to delay a
determination of the ultimate destination for goods in transit
provides a degree of flexibility in inventory management that is
not known in the art. As an example, goods that are moved by ocean
vessel often spend two or more weeks traveling in the cargo hold of
the vessel. Using the global visibility tracking system described
above, an importer can determine the arrival date of the ocean
vessel, commodity information, and in a preferred embodiment,
information describing the content of the packages in the cargo
hold of that vessel. This knowledge allows the ocean vessel to
serve as a de facto distribution center in that it provides the
importer with an inventory of goods that the importer can direct to
any number of different locations. In view of this example, a
virtual inventory system can be accomplished in accordance with one
embodiment of the present invention.
[0159] In concluding the detailed description, it should be noted
that it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that many
variations and modifications can be made to the preferred
embodiment without substantially departing from the principles of
the present invention. Also, such variations and modifications are
intended to be included herein within the scope of the present
invention as set forth in the appended claims. Further, in the
claims hereafter, the structures, materials, acts and equivalents
of all means or step-plus function elements are intended to include
any structure, materials or acts for performing their cited
functions.
[0160] Many modifications and other embodiments of the inventions
set forth herein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to
which these inventions pertain having the benefit of the teachings
presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated
drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that the inventions are
not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and that
modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included
within the scope of the appended claims. Although specific terms
are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive
sense only and not for purposes of limitation.
* * * * *