Cutoffs control the workflow
Booking, Shipping Instruction and VGM deadlines create operational dependencies. The workflow must know which milestone is approaching, what information is missing and who owns the response.
Ocean operations
AI Operators for Ocean Freight
Ocean freight work unfolds across long shipment cycles, multiple parties and document-dependent milestones. A booking request, Shipping Instruction, carrier update or invoice may arrive in a different channel, yet each must stay connected to the same shipment and customer SOP.
Map your first workflowConfigured to your SOPs, permissions and human approval boundaries.
- Operating context
- Long-cycle workflows across carriers, shippers, consignees, agents and internal teams.
- Core dependencies
- Bookings, cutoffs, shipment documents, schedule changes and financial handoffs.
- Controlled outcome
- A verified update or completed action—or a contextual exception returned to the right person.
The operating context
Built around the realities of ocean operations.
Shipflow AI Operators coordinate defined parts of that work across email, documents, carrier channels and transportation management systems. They gather shipment context, apply configured rules, complete permitted actions and return decisions or exceptions to the responsible person.
Documents are connected
Shipping Orders, MBLs, HBLs, pre-alerts and arrival notices describe related parts of the shipment. Processing one file without validating the wider shipment context can move an error downstream.
Schedules can change after work is complete
A vessel roll or revised ETD can require customer communication, document updates, new cutoffs and a commercial review. The change must become coordinated action rather than another isolated alert.
Lifecycle workflows
Connect the work around the shipment.
Start with one bounded workflow and add adjacent steps when the operating rules, system access and completion criteria are ready.
01
Quotation and rate sourcing
Structure an inquiry, check approved pricing inputs and run permitted carrier or vendor outreach when a fresh rate is required.
Explore workflow 02Booking and shipment creation
Read the request, validate parties, routing, cargo and equipment details, and create the permitted record in the TMS. Internal creation and carrier space confirmation remain distinct milestones.
Explore workflow 03Document processing and comparison
Process Shipping Orders, Shipping Instructions, MBLs, HBLs, pre-alerts and arrival notices; validate the required fields and enter approved data into the operational workflow.
Explore workflow 04Milestones and exceptions
Monitor configured events, detect changes and coordinate the approved response across carriers, shippers, consignees and internal teams.
Explore workflow 05Invoice processing
Match carrier and vendor charges to shipment records and expected costs, post eligible invoices and route discrepancies with their supporting context.
Explore workflowIllustrative workflow
A carrier rolls a shipment to a later vessel.
The response is more than forwarding a delay notice. The operator must connect the carrier message to the shipment, understand what changed and follow the customer-specific handling policy.
- 01
Detect and match
Identify the carrier notice, match it to the shipment and compare the revised sailing with the current booking and milestones.
- 02
Assess the impact
Identify the new ETD or ETA, updated cutoffs, affected documents and any configured tolerance or commercial rule.
- 03
Prepare the response
Assemble the customer update and any permitted alternatives. If the next action requires a schedule or commercial decision, route it for approval.
- 04
Execute and verify
Complete the approved communication or system update, confirm the receiving system accepted the change and record the outcome.
- 05
Continue or escalate
Monitor the revised plan, or escalate when no suitable option exists, a customer decision is missing or the case falls outside policy.
Completion: The revised plan, customer communication and shipment record agree—or the responsible person receives the exception with the available options and evidence.
Documents and operational data
Use information in its shipment context.
| Document or data | Configured handling |
|---|---|
| Shipping Order | Match the carrier instruction to the shipment, identify schedule or cutoff revisions and retain the current approved version. |
| Shipping Instructions | Extract the required bill information, validate completeness and monitor the configured submission deadline. |
| MBL and HBL | Extract and compare the agreed fields, distinguish expected differences from exceptions and route discrepancies for review. |
| VGM | Track the required status and deadline, issue configured reminders and escalate a submission at risk. |
| Pre-alert and arrival notice | Match documents to the shipment, validate required information and distribute or enter approved data under the workflow. |
| Commercial invoice and packing list | Extract the fields required by the selected workflow and validate them against related shipment records or documents. |
Exception handling
Turn an operational change into the next controlled action.
Vessel roll or space change
Detect the revised schedule, assess configured tolerances, prepare customer options and update approved shipment information.
Late Shipping Instructions
Send proactive reminders, identify missing information and coordinate the approved late-submission or escalation path.
Document discrepancy
Surface the exact conflicting fields with their source documents instead of returning the entire file for manual review.
Container pickup delay
Gather the available depot or carrier context, coordinate the configured follow-up and escalate when rescheduling or commercial action is required.
Demurrage or detention risk
Monitor agreed free-time information, notify the responsible party and preserve the evidence needed for action or review.
Customs or manifest issue
Detect the notice, assemble the shipment and document context, prepare the permitted response and route regulated decisions to the authorized team.
Systems and control
Connect the channels. Keep the operating boundary clear.
An Ocean AI Operator can work across approved inboxes, documents, TMS records, rate sources, carrier portals and internal systems. The connection method, fields and permitted actions are confirmed for each deployment; an integration does not imply unrestricted access.
Your SOP defines authoritative sources, customer-specific rules, approval thresholds and the evidence required before an action is considered complete. Missing, conflicting or out-of-policy cases return to the named owner with the relevant shipment context.
- TMS and ERP records
- Microsoft 365 or Gmail
- Carrier portals and messages
- Market-rate sources
- Document repositories
- Custom-built internal systems
Relevant deployment evidence
Asia Shipping97%+Less time spent on the deployed document-comparison task
Asia Shipping uses Shipflow AI Operators to automate document comparison, including MBL and HBL checks.
This result applies to the defined document-comparison workflow. It does not represent every Ocean document or shipment process.
Read the case studyBefore deployment
Define the operation before the AI Operator goes to work.
Choose a bounded workflow
Start with a repeatable operation such as booking intake, MBL/HBL comparison, SI reminders or a defined exception playbook.
Bring representative cases
Include normal shipments, difficult documents, revisions, missing information and the exceptions your team handles most often.
Define systems and authority
Map the relevant inboxes, records, portals and destination fields. Agree what the operator may observe, prepare, execute or escalate.
Agree on completion
Identify the confirmation, system record or evidence that proves the workflow is finished—not merely that a message was drafted or a field extracted.
Questions, answered
What operations and technology teams need to know.
Can Shipflow submit bookings directly to ocean carriers?
It can support external booking actions when the relevant carrier channel, permissions, workflow and validation steps are included in the deployment. Creating an internal shipment record does not by itself confirm carrier space, so the completion point is defined separately.
Can Shipflow compare MBLs and HBLs?
Yes. MBL and HBL comparison is part of the document workflow deployed at Asia Shipping. The fields, expected differences, authoritative sources and exception rules are configured for each operation.
How are SI and VGM deadlines handled?
The workflow can monitor agreed deadlines, check whether required information has been received, send configured reminders and escalate a case at risk. Exact data sources, timing and submission actions are defined during deployment.
Can different customers or offices have different rules?
Yes. Authorized teams can configure shared standards and customer-, office- or team-specific rules. Access, approvals and escalation owners can vary where the operation requires them.
What happens when a carrier rolls a shipment?
The operator can detect the notice, connect it to the shipment, identify schedule and cutoff changes, prepare the approved customer response and update permitted records. Decisions outside the configured policy return to the responsible person.
Start with one workflow
Map the ocean operation your team repeats every day.
Bring a representative request, document or exception. We’ll define the workflow, systems, decisions and completion criteria with your team.
Book a working session