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Units booked for a sailing do not always arrive, and units that arrive are not always ready to load. This article separates the two problems and the status signals that close the gap.

Written for: Commercial directors and operations leadership at RoRo carriers

Contents
  1. Two problems, not one
  2. What load-ready means
  3. Closing the gap
  4. Measure it
  5. Why this capability matters

On sailing day the booking list says one thing and the terminal says another. Some units never arrived. Some arrived but could not be loaded. Space planned for them sails empty, or is filled in a rush.

Terminals often call these units ghost cargo. The term is useful, but it hides two different problems.

Two problems, not one

The unit did not arrive. The cargo was booked but never delivered to the terminal: a production delay, a missed truck, a cancelled order nobody passed on.

The status did not arrive. The unit is at the terminal, but the carrier does not know: the gate-in was not reported, or the report did not reach the booking.

The first is a commercial and customer problem. The second is a data problem. They need different fixes.

What load-ready means

A unit is ready to load when three things are true:

  • It is physically at the terminal.
  • It is cleared for export where customs applies.
  • Its booking data matches what arrived.

Closing the gap

  • Earlier warning on non-arrival. Agree with customers when a booking must be confirmed or released, and chase unconfirmed units before cut-off.
  • Gate-in status to the carrier. The terminal's gate event should reach the booking, not stay in the terminal's system.
  • Customs release linked to the booking. A unit waiting for release is visible as waiting, not as ready.

Measure it

Compare booked, gated in, cleared and loaded for each sailing. The difference between booked and gated in shows the customer side. The difference between gated in and loaded shows the data and clearance side. See RoRo terminal pre-advice for the data terminals and carriers need to exchange.

Why this capability matters

Every unit that is booked but not ready to load is space that may sail empty. Knowing early which units will not make it, and which are waiting only for a status update, lets the carrier refill space or fix the data in time.

Related reading

Reconcile one sailing

Take the booking list for one recent sailing and compare it with what was gated in, cleared and loaded. Bring the differences to a conversation about load readiness.

Cartagena builds these capabilities together with each customer, as tailored solutions on the Microsoft platform.

Discuss load readiness