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What information should be included in the VGM submission?

Container NumberOcean Carrier Booking Number

Veri? ed WeightResponsible Party (Shipper named on the carrier’s BoL)

Unit of MeasurementAuthorized Person (Signature: physical or electronic) then weighs the container and sends the weight to the car- rier through normal means. From there, carriers combine the weight received from the terminal and the electronic signature received from the shipper to form complete VGM declaration.

The carrier transmits the terminal weight back to the shipper for record-keeping purposes.

With the addition of one of these simple approaches, the

VGM requirement can be effectively met without shippers and terminals entering into any kind of legal contractual rela- tion or terminals assuming liability.

While the main goal of this process is to meet the VGM requirement, there are additional bene? ts for both carriers and shippers. Using this type of online portal solution will lead to fewer booking exceptions for carriers, allowing them to know for certain which booked containers they will receive prior to their arrival at the terminal. As a result, carriers can plan accordingly. In addition, by using a cloud-based portal in combination with OCEMA’s TWA, shippers do not have to be directly involved with weighing the cargo containers and the extra handshake to capture the container weight, which hap- pens automatically in the background. This also gives ship- pers full visibility into cargo movement from the ? rst mile, and information ? ow is streamlined and faster.

The best practice of using OCEMA’s TWA, in conjunction with Trade Tech’s recommended VGM submission process, provides the most accurate container weight and ensures the

VGM requirements are met – all without slowing down the supply chain or adding extra manual steps. As the indus- try learns more about communication, liability and supply chain issues in the current process for VGM submission, it will become more important that this best practice is adopted throughout the industry to meet the VGM requirement.

Bryn Heimbeck is co-founder and president of Trade Tech (www.tradetech.net). Bryn can be reached at: [email protected].

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