SHIPMANX Documentation
Product Documentation

SHIPMANX
Complete User Guide

One platform. Every shipment. Zero panic. SHIPMANX connects every shipment, document and decision in one intelligent workspace—then turns live operations into actions your team can trust.

1
Connected Workspace
8
LIM Modules
30
Day Free Trial
$19
Per User/Mo
SHIPMANX live operations dashboard
Live SHIPMANX Workspace
Step 1 — Log In
  1. Ask your company Admin for the exact Company Name, Username, and temporary password created for you.
  2. Open the login page and enter all three values. Company Name identifies the workspace; Username identifies your account inside it.
  3. Click Sign In, then update temporary credentials from your profile if required.
  4. If MFA is enabled by your admin, you'll be prompted for a verification code from your authenticator app — enter the 6-digit code to proceed.
Step 2 — The App Layout

The main navigation is on the left sidebar. Click any section to expand it:

  • Dashboard — KPIs, active shipments summary, action items
  • Shipments — Browse/create Export, Import, Domestic, and Samples records
  • Documents — Manage CI, PL, BL, AWB, COO and quotation documents
  • Rates — Search rates and generate PDF quotations
  • Reports — Daily automated reports and saved exports
  • Action Center — Prioritized list of shipment issues and follow-up tasks
  • Intelligence — Carrier tracking, risk scoring, exception alerts
  • Settings — Company, users, notifications, document templates
Step 3 — Complete Company Setup

Before adding shipments, configure your company profile so all generated documents print correctly:

  1. Navigate to Settings → Company.
  2. Fill in: Company Name, Address, Phone, default Currency, and upload your Logo.
  3. Set your address blocks used in CI/PL headers.
  4. Click Save Changes.
Do This First
Set your timezone in Settings → General before anything else. All scheduled reports and Night Watch operate in your configured timezone. If you leave it at UTC, report delivery times will appear incorrect to your team.
Step 4 — Invite Your Team
  1. Go to Settings → Company → Users.
  2. Click Add Employee.
  3. Enter their Name and Email address.
  4. Select their Role: Admin (full control) or User (day-to-day access).
  5. Click Send Invite. They receive an email with an activation link and can log in immediately.

As Admin you can deactivate any user from the same screen to revoke access instantly.

Recommended Daily Operating Loop
Open Action CenterStart with critical and overdue work instead of checking every shipment.
Review the signalOpen the shipment and confirm milestones, tracking, documents, and owner.
Complete the actionContact the carrier, revise the document, update the milestone, or assign a teammate.
Confirm the outcomeSave the update and return to Action Center to continue with the next priority.
LIM Intelligence Modules

Risk & Health

Use when: deciding which active sea shipments need attention first.

  1. Open LIM → Risk & Health.
  2. Filter or scan for High and Critical scores.
  3. Open a shipment to review route, milestone, congestion, and data-quality factors.
  4. Correct missing data or assign the required operational follow-up.
Result: the team acts on the highest exposure before delays compound.

Milestone Alerts

Use when: an ETA, ETD, customs, loading, or document milestone is missed.

  1. Open LIM → Milestone Alerts.
  2. Sort alerts by severity and due date.
  3. Open the shipment and verify the recorded date against the latest source.
  4. Update the milestone, add a note, or assign an owner for external follow-up.
Result: overdue milestones become owned tasks instead of hidden exceptions.

Auto Tracking

Use when: monitoring carrier containers, bills of lading, or courier AWBs.

  1. Enter a valid BL, container, or AWB on the shipment.
  2. Open LIM → Auto Tracking and review the sync state.
  3. Use Sync Now when an immediate refresh is required.
  4. Review manual items, correct invalid references, then retry tracking.
Result: carrier events feed the shipment timeline without repeated portal checks.

Carrier Analytics

Use when: comparing service reliability before selecting a carrier.

  1. Keep carrier, POL, POD, ETD, and arrival data complete on each shipment.
  2. Open LIM → Carrier Analytics.
  3. Compare shipment volume, on-time rate, and average delay.
  4. Use the same lane and date range when evaluating alternatives.
Result: routing decisions use your actual operating history.
LIM Action & Document Modules

Action Center

Use when: planning the team's daily work and resolving shipment exceptions.

  1. Open Action Center from the lightning icon.
  2. Begin with Critical, then High priority items.
  3. Open the linked shipment and read the reason plus suggested next step.
  4. Assign an owner, complete the work, update the shipment, and dismiss only when resolved.
Result: logistics teams share one prioritized worklist and resolve exceptions faster.

Document Revision

Use when: a customer, carrier, bank, or customs document needs correction.

  1. Open Documents → Document Revision Upload.
  2. Select the shipment and document type.
  3. Upload the original and revised files with a clear revision note.
  4. Review the highlighted differences, approve the final version, and retain the revision log.
Result: corrections remain traceable and teams distribute the right version.

Freight Invoice Analysis

Use when: validating a forwarder or carrier invoice against agreed rates.

  1. Save the confirmed rate in Export or Import Rates first.
  2. Open Freight Invoice Analysis and upload the PDF, XLSX, or CSV.
  3. Check matched, mismatched, and no-rate charge lines.
  4. Review variances, add notes, and save or export the analysis report.
Result: overcharges and missing rate references are visible before approval.

Smart Document Creator

Use when: producing consistent CI, packing list, or quotation documents.

  1. Open Documents → Smart CI / PL and choose the shipment.
  2. Select the document template and populate it from shipment data.
  3. Review parties, goods, weights, values, currency, and totals.
  4. Preview the output, correct the source record if needed, then save or print the final document.
Result: documents are faster to create and stay consistent with shipment records.
Keep the intelligence reliable
LIM results depend on complete operational data. Always maintain shipment owner, carrier, route, references, milestone dates, and document status. Correct the source shipment rather than only dismissing an alert, so the next report and Action Center refresh remain accurate.
Settings → Company
Field What to Fill In Used On
Company Name Your legal trading name CI, PL, all documents
Address Full street address, city, country CI header, PL header
Phone / Email Primary contact details Document footers
Default Currency Your billing currency (USD, EUR, etc.) Rate quotes, invoices
Logo PNG or JPG, min 200px wide CI header, reports
Address Blocks Multiple named address snippets CI/BL issuer field, PL shipper field
Settings → General
  • Timezone — Controls when daily reports are generated and when Night Watch evaluates each shipment. Set this before any other configuration.
  • Display preferences — Date format, number format.
  • Notification fallback email — Used when the primary email is unreachable.
Settings → Documents
  • CI Template — Choose layout (full-page or A4), set default incoterm, signature block.
  • PL Template — Commodity table format, number formatting.
  • Quotation Template — Add your company tagline, payment terms default.
  • Numbering format — Set prefix, starting number, and padding for each document type.
Creating a New Export Shipment
  1. Go to Shipments → Export and click New Export Shipment.
  2. Fill in: Shipper, Consignee, Loading Port, Destination Port, ETD, ETA.
  3. Add the Carrier, MBL and HBL numbers once received from the forwarder.
  4. Set the Goods Description, Gross Weight, and Measurement.
  5. Assign the shipment to a Rate from the database if a quotation has been issued.
  6. Click Save Shipment. The record appears in Shipments → Browse Export.
Updating Milestones

As the shipment progresses, update milestone fields from Shipments → Browse Export by clicking the shipment row:

  • ETD / ETA — Update when the schedule changes.
  • ATA (Actual Time of Arrival) — Set once cargo arrives at destination.
  • Gate-In / Loading / Departure — Update as containers move through the terminal.
  • BL Release / Delivery — Mark when documents are released or cargo is delivered.
Why Milestones Matter
Night Watch monitors milestone dates to flag overdue ETAs, late BL releases, and customs delays. Without milestone dates, the Action Center cannot identify at-risk shipments automatically.
Editing / Deleting

From Shipments → Browse Export, click any shipment row to open it in edit mode. Use the Delete Export Shipment button to remove archived records. You cannot delete a shipment that has attached documents — remove documents first.

Creating a New Import Shipment
  1. Go to Shipments → Import and click New Import Shipment.
  2. Enter Shipper, Consignee, Loading Port, Destination Port, ETA.
  3. Add Carrier, MBL, HBL, Container Number(s).
  4. Set Gross Weight, CBM, and cargo description.
  5. Click Save Shipment.
Key Import Milestones

Import shipments track a different milestone sequence than exports. Update these from the shipment edit screen:

  • ETA — Estimated arrival at destination port.
  • Arrival (ATA) — Vessel arrives at port.
  • Gate-In — Container cleared into terminal / CFS.
  • Documents Received — BL, CI, packing list received from forwarder.
  • Customs Clearance — Importer or customs broker clears the cargo.
  • Delivery / Do Collected — Delivery order collected, cargo out-gated.
Import Daily Report

The Reports → Import Daily Report generates a daily snapshot of all active import shipments sorted by ETA. Scheduled recipients receive this automatically each morning. Configure recipients at Settings → Notifications → Import Report Recipients.

ATA Tracking
If your carriers support it, enable Tracking Portal → Shipping Line API to pull vessel ETAs automatically. Manually entered ETAs are still required as a fallback and for Night Watch to work correctly.
Creating a Domestic Shipment
  1. Go to Shipments → Domestic and click New Domestic Shipment.
  2. Enter Shipper, Consignee, Origin, Destination, ETD, ETA.
  3. Add Carrier, AWB / Tracking Number.
  4. Fill in Gross Weight and cargo details.
  5. Click Save Shipment.

Domestic shipments do not use CI/BL documents — they rely on the AWB or carrier tracking number as the primary reference. Use the Document Workflow for quotation or delivery-note generation if needed.

Milestones

Domestic milestones: ETD → Departure → Arrival (ATA) → Delivery. Update from the shipment edit screen or from the browse table's inline edit.

Domestic Daily Report
Configure recipients at Settings → Notifications → Domestic Report Recipients. The daily domestic report is generated at your configured schedule and sent by email with a PDF attachment.
Creating a Samples Shipment
  1. Go to Shipments → Samples and click New Sample Shipment.
  2. Enter Shipper, Consignee, Origin, Destination, ETD.
  3. Add Carrier / Courier and tracking number.
  4. Set the Description of Samples and weight.
  5. Click Save.
Workflow

Samples shipments use a simplified lifecycle: Created → ETD Set → Dispatched → Delivered. There are no BL/CI documents for samples — the courier tracking number is the primary reference. Night Watch flags samples that have passed their ETD with no delivery confirmation.

Commercial Invoice (CI) & Packing List (PL)
  1. Open the shipment from Shipments → Browse Export (or Import).
  2. Scroll to the Documents section and click Generate CI / PL.
  3. The system populates shipper, consignee, goods, weight, and values from the shipment record.
  4. Review the generated CI — edit values inline before saving if needed.
  5. Click Save & Preview to view the print layout.
  6. Use Print Summary to open a print-ready view. From the browser print dialog, choose Save as PDF.
Document Upload (BL / AWB / COO)
  1. Go to Shipments → Browse Export and click the shipment row.
  2. Click Upload Document and select the file (PDF, JPG, PNG).
  3. Choose the Document Type (Bill of Lading, AWB, Certificate of Origin, etc.).
  4. Click Upload. The document appears in the shipment's document list.
  5. Attach the uploaded BL or AWB to the Shipment Document field so Night Watch can track its release date.
Document Revision Workflow

If a document needs correction after submission to the bank or customs:

  1. Go to Documents → Document Revision Upload.
  2. Select the Shipment and Document Type.
  3. Upload the revised file and add a revision note.
  4. Click Submit Revision. The revised version replaces the previous one with a revision log.
Smart Documents
SHIPMANX also supports an advanced Smart Documents module accessible from the Documents section — use it to create templated CI/PL/quotation documents with dynamic field mapping to shipment data for faster bulk generation.
Storing a New Rate
  1. Go to Rates → Export Rates and click New Export Rate.
  2. Enter the Carrier, Route (origin port → destination port), 20GP, 40GP, 40HC rates.
  3. Set the Validity Start and Validity End dates.
  4. Add Transit Time, Free Time, and any notes.
  5. Click Save Rate. The rate appears in Rates → Browse Export Rates.

Import rates follow the same process via Rates → Import Rates → New Import Rate.

Searching Rates
  1. Navigate to Rates → Browse Export Rates (or Import Rates).
  2. Use the search/filter fields to filter by Carrier, Origin, Destination.
  3. Results update in real time. Click any rate row to view full details.
Generating a PDF Quotation
  1. With a shipment open, click Rate Quotation from the shipment's action menu.
  2. The system pre-fills the route, cargo details, and selected rate from the database.
  3. Review and adjust the total landfall, validity, and payment terms.
  4. Click Generate PDF. A print-ready quotation opens in a new tab.
  5. Save as PDF or print directly from the browser.
Validity Tracking
Expired rates are marked with a visual indicator in the browse list. Night Watch does not automatically flag expired rates — check the Rates browse list periodically or schedule a monthly rate review. Set reminders in your calendar for each rate's validity end date.
Configuring Report Schedule
  1. Go to Settings → Notifications.
  2. Scroll to Daily Reports.
  3. For each mode (Export, Import, Domestic), set the Delivery Time — the clock time at which the report is generated and emailed.
  4. Choose the Format: PDF, Excel, or Both.
  5. Add recipient email addresses in the Recipients field — use commas to separate multiple addresses.
  6. Click Save Notifications.
  7. Use the Test button to send a sample report immediately and verify delivery.
UTC Caveat
The report schedule is interpreted in your configured timezone (Settings → General), but the underlying scheduler runs in UTC. If your timezone offset changes (e.g., daylight saving), reports may shift by ±1 hour until you update the schedule. Always use the Test button after a timezone change to confirm delivery time.
Saved Reports

All generated reports are stored and accessible from Reports → Saved Reports. You can download any historical report as PDF or Excel. Reports are retained for 90 days.

PDF Report Generation

The PDF daily report includes a formatted table of all active shipments for the selected mode, sorted by ETD/ETA. The Excel export includes all data columns for import into other tools. Both are generated server-side and attached to the email at send time.

Main Tiles
Tile What It Shows
Active Shipments All in-progress shipments across all modes — live count
Closed Shipments Completed shipments within your configured visibility window
Departures Today Export and import shipments with ETD = today
Arrivals Today Import shipments with ETA or ATA = today
Freight KPI Panel

Below the KPI tiles, the Freight KPI panel shows month-to-date realized freight costs broken down by mode:

  • Export — Total invoiced ocean freight + local charges for export shipments this month
  • Import — Total charges for import shipments
  • Domestic — Domestic shipment costs
  • Total MTD — Sum across all modes
  • vs Prior Period — Percentage change vs last month (positive = cost increased)
Customizing the Dashboard

Admins can show/hide tiles and reorder them from Settings → Dashboard. Drag tiles to reorder, toggle visibility with the eye icon. Changes save automatically and apply to all users in the company.

Tab What You Configure
General Timezone, date/number format, notification fallback email. Set timezone first.
Company Company name, logo, address blocks, default currency for all documents
Documents CI/PL/quotation template layouts, incoterm defaults, numbering format
Dashboard Visible modules and tile arrangement order for all users
Notifications Daily report schedule, format (PDF/Excel/Both), recipient lists per mode
Custom Fields Company-specific additional fields that appear on shipment records
First Setup Tip
Set your timezone in General first — this ensures overnight reports arrive at the correct local time. Then configure Notifications → Daily Reports before adding your first shipments so your team receives the morning report from day one.
Adding a Team Member
  1. Go to Settings → Company → Users.
  2. Click Add Employee.
  3. Enter their Name and Email address.
  4. Set their Role: Admin (full access) or User (standard access).
  5. Click Send Invite. They receive an email with an activation link.
  6. They click the link, set their password, and can log in immediately.
Role Permissions
Role Can Do Cannot Do
Admin All of the below, plus: manage users, change settings, configure notifications, view billing
User Create/edit shipments, upload documents, generate reports, use rate database Add users, change company settings, access billing
Deactivating a User
  1. Go to Settings → Company → Users.
  2. Find the user row and click the Deactivate button (or the edit icon → Deactivate).
  3. The user's session is terminated immediately and they can no longer log in.
  4. All data they created remains intact.
Shared Live Data
All users in a company share the same live data — shipments, rates, and documents are visible to the entire team. Updates made by one user appear immediately for all others.
Symptom Likely Cause Resolution
Report emails not arriving Sender domain or recipient spam filter Check Settings → Notifications · verify inbox spam folder · use Test button
Night Watch not flagging expected items Threshold not yet met or shipment is closed Review shipment status and milestone dates · check Action Center Configuration
Scheduled report didn't run at expected time UTC timing mismatch in settings Verify timezone setting in Settings → General · use Test button to confirm
Document output looks wrong Template settings incomplete or required fields missing on shipment Check Settings → Documents · verify shipment fields are complete · use Print Preview
Shipment not appearing in Action Center Issue doesn't meet configured threshold Review flag condition thresholds in Action Center Configuration
Cannot upload a document Wrong file format or size over limit Use PDF, JPG, or PNG · max 10 MB per file
Rate not showing in quotation Rate expired or wrong mode (export vs import) Check rate validity dates in Rates → Browse · use Export Rate for export quotations
Invoice analysis shows "No Rate Found" No rate stored for this shipment's route/carrier Add the rate in Rates → Export/Import Rates before uploading the invoice
Email Support
help@shipmanx.com
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Website
shipmanx.com
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