Universal Business Language Version 2.3

The VICS Collaborative Planning, Forecasting, and Replenishment (CPFR®) guidelines [CPFR] formalize the processes by which two trading partners agree upon a joint plan to forecast and monitor sales through replenishment and to recognize and respond to any exceptions.

In the UBL context of use, these CPFR processes between the retailer and the manufacturer have been extended to cover the planning process between other parties such as the manufacturer and the supplier. These binary collaboration definitions are the template guidelines for implementers to build their own collaboration process based on their supply chain topology and requirements.

As shown in Figure 2-2 of [CPFR], the seller and the buyer engage in three main activities in order to improve the overall performance of the supply chain:

A fourth collaborative activity, Analysis, involves monitoring the execution of activities for exceptions that are identified during the strategy and planning phase. Calculation of key performance metrics and plan adjustments for improving results also take place in Analysis. This activity is represented in the CPFR diagram by the arrows labeled “Exception Triggers” and the process called “Resolve/Collaborate on Exception Items” in the Forecasting phase.

While these collaboration activities are presented in logical order, most companies are involved in all of them at any moment in time. There is no predefined sequence of steps. Execution issues can impact strategy, and analysis can lead to adjustments in forecasts.

The Collaboration Arrangement is the preparatory step that defines the scope of the project, assigns roles, establishes procedures for data interchange, and issues identification and resolution. The following actions are performed through meetings and agreements:

Figure 5. CPFR Steps 1 and 2

The first step of the CPFR Process continues with the exchange of messages containing purchase conditions. (UBL does not standardize the format of such messages.) Afterwards, for determining the exception criteria that should be monitored and handled during the execution, Exception Criteria messages are exchanged. Exchange of revised Exception Criteria messages continues until the criteria are accepted by both sides.

Figure 6. Establish Collaborative Relationships

In CPFR Step 2 (the Joint Business Planning phase) there are two messages that should be exchanged and agreed upon: Retail Event and Trade Item Location Profile. Revisions are exchanged until an agreement is achieved.

Figure 7. Create Joint Business Plan

CPFR Step 2 helps the buyer and seller agree to the event details and calendar that meet their joint business and collaboration objectives. The objective of the event calendar is to ensure that events are planned to achieve the optimal results and to enable both parties to plan the execution of the event more accurately, from the preparation of advertising and displays to the production and delivery of the promotional stock.

In CPFR Step 3, the Sales Forecast is generated. Following Option A, Conventional Order Management, from the CPFR implementation scenarios (see [CPFRoverview], Table 3), the responsible partner for the generation of Sales Forecast is the Seller. Having Event Calendar information and the Delivery Plan already in their system, there are two more kinds of information that the Seller needs for an effective Sales Forecast: POS Data and DC Data. As shown in Figure 8, “CPFR Steps 3, 4, and 5” and Figure 9, “Create Sales Forecast”, both of these pieces of information are sent within a Product Activity message. This time there is no revision of the messages because these messages contain statistical and historical information collected previously by the Buyer.

Figure 8. CPFR Steps 3, 4, and 5

Based on the event details (dates, products, tactics, etc.) and using the available data source(s), a volume estimate/forecast is created for each product/store combination included in the scope of the event by the Seller. During the calculation, sales forecasting algorithms make use of the coefficients for causal factors based on the event history. Once the Sales Forecast suggestion is generated and sent to the Buyer, the Buyer revises it and might recommend some changes on the Forecast. The Forecast Revision message exchange continues until the forecast is agreed by both sides.

Figure 9. Create Sales Forecast

In many cases some time may elapse between Sales Forecast Generation and Order Generation. During this period, both sides observe changes to the conditions. If one of the partners detects an exception invalidating the exception criteria defined in CPFR Step 1, it sends an Exception Notification message to the other party. Exceptional circumstances that may be communicated between trading partners include deviations between planned impacts (either between buyer and seller, or between subsequent generations of planned impacts from the same trading partner), as well as deviations between planned and actual impacts. It should be noted that both sides might detect an exception, and therefore both sides should be capable of sending and receiving exceptions. Of course, for specific implementations if the collaborating parties want to change this behaviour, they can customize the process so that one partner will be responsible for the generation of the Exception Notifications.

CPFR Step 4 is solely composed of the exception generation and receiving activity. CPFR Step 5, on the other hand, is the resolution of the Exceptions.

Figure 10. Exception Handling

If there is no Exception Notification Message within the defined period, the process continues with Order Forecast Generation (CPFR Step 6).

In the supply chain process, it is important for sales forecasts that are created to be converted into the shipment (order) forecasts that can then be used in the production planning processes at the manufacturing locations and be incorporated into the ordering processes at the retailer. As shown in Figure 11, “CPFR Steps 6, 7, 8 and 9”, the responsibility for creating Order Forecast belongs to the Seller per Option A of the CPFR implementation scenarios (see [CPFRoverview], Table 3). Sales forecasts can be transformed into order forecasts by incorporating inventory status information, possible retail event plans, and current point of sale data. Therefore, Buyer sends the updated versions of the Retail Event, Inventory Status, and POS Data to the Seller.

Figure 11. CPFR Steps 6, 7, 8 and 9

After the Seller creates the Order Forecast using the obtained data, it sends the forecast to the Buyer. The Buyer checks the order forecast and sends back a revision document which includes update requests if necessary. The exchange of Order Forecast Revisions continues until there are no further update requests and the Order Forecast is agreed by both sides. Document types used in this process are Retail Event, Product Activity, Forecast, and Forecast Revision.

Figure 12. Create Order Forecast

After the Order Forecast is frozen, the process continues with the exception detection activity (CPFR Step 7). The exception detection process that follows Order Forecast is similar to process described earlier for exception detection following Sales Forecast (see Section 2.3.2.1.3, “Sales Forecast Generation and Exception Handling”). The only difference between the Order Forecast and Sales Forecast exceptions is the content of the exceptions.

CPFR Step 8, Order Forecast Exception Resolution activity, is handled similarly to Sales Forecast Exception Resolution.

Figure 13. Identifying and Resolving Exceptions for Order Forecast

Figure 14. Exception Monitor During Execution

If there is no exception during a period of time, the process continues with the Order Generation Step.

From the technical point of view, the exception monitoring and its resolution are exactly same as in the case of Order Forecast Exception Handling and Sales Forecast Exception Handling. The difference is in the content of the exceptions. The actual events and orders are compared to the Forecasted Sales and Forecasted Orders. When there is a situation violating the normal exception criteria, one of the sides might generate an exception notification. Besides comparison of forecasts, other information gathered during the execution is observed (e.g., event dates, POS data, etc.). The resolution of the exceptions is the same as the process carried out for Sales Forecast Exception resolution.

The procurement process is mainly performed by 3 roles: the buyer (ie contracting authority), the economic operator and in case of public procurement the publication body. It starts with the identification of the procurement need and ends with the final payment of a contract. The process is traditionally split between the pre-award phase and the post-award phase. The Contract signature is the event that creates the separation of the two phases as depicts the figure below:

Figure 15. Procurement Process

The most used pre-award processes in public procurement are schematized below. This schema reflects only some possible scenarios. In particular, several sourcing patterns are possible to find tenderers and receive tenders.

Figure 16. Pre-award Process

The tendering subprocess aims at buyers receiving tenders from potential suppliers generally starting from a publication of a notice and where the interest of economic operators drives the sourcing. A similar but less formally defined process than tendering is quotation (see Section 2.3.3.3, “Quotation”).

The Tendering process optionally begins with publication of a Prior Information Notice prepared by a Contracting Authority to declare the intention to buy goods, services, or works during a specified period. The purpose of this step (if implemented) is to reduce preparation time when an actual Contract Notice is published (see Section 2.3.3.1.3, “Contract Information Notification”).

Figure 17. Contract Information Preparation

The process of Notification includes the publication by the Contracting Authority of a Contract Notice to announce the project to buy goods, services, or works. The details shown here are specific to the EU, which requires contracts over a certain amount (Harmonized contracts) to be published in the Official Journal of the EU. Other tendering contexts will differ in their publication requirements.

Figure 18. Contract Information Notification

In some procedures, the Contracting Authority invites economic operators to participate in a contest by sending them an invitation to tender using a Call For Tenders to define the procurement project to buy goods, services, or works during a specified period. The Call for Tenders may be sent jointly with an unstructured letter of invitation to tender.

Figure 19. Invitation to Tender

An economic operator expresses interest in a tendering process by submitting an Expression of Interest. The Contracting Authority replies with an Expression of Interest Conformation to confirm the economic operator will receive any modification of the terms and documents related with that tendering process.

Figure 20. Expression of Interest

An economic operator requests to be unsubscribed from a tendering process by submitting an Unsubscribe From Procedure. The Contracting Authority replies with an Unsubscribe From Procedure Conformation to confirm the economic operator will be removed from the list of interested economic operators and will not receive any modification of the terms and documents related with that tendering process.

Figure 21. Unsubscribe from Procedure

The economic operator sends a Tenderer Qualification to the Contracting Authority to define its own situation or status relating to the requirements of the Contracting Authority for a specific tendering process. The Contracting Authority uses the Tenderer Qualification Response to notify the Tenderer of its admission to or exclusion from the tendering process.

Figure 22. Submission of Qualification Information

A contracting authority makes a description of the required qualification application request (In Europe: ESPD Request) to an Economic Operator (the tenderer). The Economic Operator (the tenderer) makes a description of the required application qualification response (In Europe: ESPD Response) to a Contracting Authority in order to become eligible to participate in the tendering process.

Figure 23. Qualification of Interest

A requester sends a question to a responder using an Enquiry document and the responder replies with a Response document.

Figure 24. Enquiry

A Tenderer submits one or more Tender documents that offer a tender to the Contracting Authority for bid. The Contracting Authority responds with a Tender Receipt to notify the reception of the tender for a tendering process. The date and time of the Tender Receipt are significant, because tendering procedures usually have strict deadlines for tender presentation.

Figure 25. Submission of Tenders

An economic operator asks about the details and the status of a tendering procedure. In reply to this enquiry, the contracting authority sends information to the economic operator describing the status of a tendering process.

Figure 26. Tender Status

An economic operator requests to withdraw a submitted tender to the contracting authority. Based on that document, the contracting authority will remove the tender from the tendering system.

Figure 27. Tender Withdrawal

The awarding of tenders takes place in three phases.

First, the Contracting Authority notifies each tenderer of its success or failure in winning the contract, using the Awarded Notification document to communicate the contract award to the winning tenderer or the Unawarded Notification document to communicate that the contract has been awarded to another tenderer.

Figure 28. Award Notification

Second, the Contracting Authority creates a Contract Award Notice to announce the awarding of a procurement project.

Figure 29. Award Publication

Finally, the Tenderer sends a Guarantee Certificate to notify the deposit of a guarantee.

Figure 30. Guarantee Deposit

A process whereby the Initiating Party sends the Contract information (TenderContract) to the Responding Party describing the final contract after a procurement has been awarded in order to proceed with signing the Contract. The Initiating Party may be the Economic Operator or the Contracting Authority. A simple scenario is depicted below:

Figure 31. Tender Contract Pre-signing by Initiating Party

Depending on the financial rules of the Initiating Party, he may be obliged to sign last. This more complex scenario is depicted in the process below:

Figure 32. Tender Contract Post-signing by Initiating Party

Note that the exchange of electronic signatures depicted in the diagrams above is provided for the general understanding of the business choreography needed in the contract process. Use of electronic signatures is further detailed in Section 5.1, “UBL Digital Signatures Introduction (Non-Normative)”.

A Catalogue is a document with structured item information that is used for commercial purposes over a period of time. It can be established, updated and deleted with different types of catalogue transactions. Different meanings are given to the concept of catalogue depending on the user’s perspective. Thus, it can also be understood as:

Document types associated with Catalogue processes are Catalogue Request, Application Response, Catalogue Item Specification Update, Catalogue Pricing Update, and Catalogue Deletion.

Ordering is the collaboration that creates a contractual obligation between the Seller Supplier Party and the Buyer Customer Party. Document types in these processes are Order, Order Response, Order Response Simple, Order Change, and Order Cancellation.

Figure 39. Ordering Process

The Order Response Simple is the means by which the Seller confirms receipt of the Order from the Buyer, indicating either commitment to fulfil without change or that the Order has been rejected.

Proposed changes to an Order by the Seller are accomplished through the full Order Response document.

The Order Response proposes to replace the original Order. It reflects the entire new state of an order transaction.

It also is the means by which the Seller confirms or supplies Order-related details to the Buyer that were not available to, or specified by, the Buyer at the time of ordering. These may include:

The Seller may advise on replacements, substitutes, or other necessary changes using the Order Response.

The Buyer may change an established Order in two ways, subject to the legal contract or trading partner agreement: first, by sending an Order Change, or second, by sending an Order Cancellation (see Section 2.3.3.4.6, “Order Cancellation”) followed by a new, complete replacement Order.

An Order Change reflects the entire current state of an order transaction.

Buyers may initiate a change to a previously accepted order for various reasons, such as changing ordered items, quantity, delivery date, ship-to address, etc. Suppliers may accept or reject the Order Change using either Order Response or Order Response Simple.

At any point in the process, a Buyer may cancel an established order transaction using the Order Cancellation document. Legal contracts, trading partner agreements, and business rules will determine the point at which an Order Cancellation will be ignored (e.g., at the point of manufacture or the initiation of the delivery process). Given the agreements and rules, an Order Cancellation may or may not be an automated business transaction. The terms and conditions of contract formation for business commitments will dictate which, if any, of these restrictions or guidelines will apply.

Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) is a family of business processes in which the Retailer Customer Party for an item provides certain information to the Seller Supplier Party, and the Seller Supplier Party takes full responsibility for maintaining an agreed-upon inventory of the item, usually at the Retailer Customer Party’s point of sale. A third party logistics provider can also be involved to make sure that the Retailer Customer Party has the required level of inventory by adjusting the demand and supply gaps.

UBL supports three common models of VMI:

These processes are described in more detail below. It should be noted that the particular semantics used here come from a large-scale UBL application developed for the Italian textile and clothing industry by ENEA, the Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy, and Sustainable Economic Development (see [eBiz-TCF]). These models are applicable to the implementation of vendor-managed relationships in a broad range of retail sectors, but for the sake of simplicity, and in keeping with the model application, the two principal parties in the VMI relationship (the Seller Supplier Party and the Retailer Customer Party) are referred to as “producer” and “retailer” in the descriptions that follow; more generically, they are vendor and customer.

Fulfilment is the collaboration in which the goods or services are transferred from the Despatch Party to the Delivery Party.

Document types in these processes are Despatch Advice, Receipt Advice, Order Cancellation, Order Change, and Fulfilment Cancellation.

In common practice, fulfilment is either supported by a proactive Despatch Advice from the Despatch Party or by a reactive Receipt Advice from the Delivery Party.

If the Customer is not satisfied with the goods or services, they may then cancel or change the order (see Section 2.3.3.4, “Ordering (post-award)”). The Seller may have a fulfilment (or customer) service dealing with anomalies.

Cancellation of a Despatch Advice or Receipt Advice is accomplished using the Fulfilment Cancellation document (see Section 2.3.5.1.4, “Fulfilment Cancellation Business Rules”).

The Despatch Advice is sent by the Despatch Party to the Delivery Party to confirm shipment of items.

Figure 55. Fulfilment with Despatch Advice

The Despatch Advice provides for two situations:

Additionally, in either case, the Despatch Advice may advise:

Despatch Lines of the Despatch Advice need not correspond one-to-one with Order Lines, and are linked by a reference. The information structure of the Despatch Advice may result in multiple Despatch Lines from one Order Line. Equally, partial despatch may result in some Order Lines not being matched by any Line in a Despatch Advice.

Within a Despatch Advice, an Item may also indicate the Country of Origin and the Hazardous nature of the Item.

The Receipt Advice is sent by the Delivery Party to the Despatch Party to confirm receipt of items. It also is capable of reporting shortages or damaged items.

Figure 56. Fulfilment with Receipt Advice

The Receipt Advice provides for two situations. For ease of processing claimed receipt against claimed delivery, it needs to be organised in the same way as the corresponding Despatch Advice:

The Receipt Advice allows the Delivery Party to state any shortages from the claimed despatch quantity and to state any quantities rejected for a given reason.

In real life, the sender of a Despatch Advice or Receipt Advice sometimes needs to cancel the document after it has been sent. The Fulfilment Cancellation document is provided for this purpose.

For example, a Despatch Advice may later be cancelled by the Supplier when a problem with shipment prevents the delivery of goods, or the goods to be shipped are not available, or the order is cancelled; in these cases, the customer cancels receipt and adjusts the order accordingly (see Figure 55, “Fulfilment with Despatch Advice”).

Similarly, a Receipt Advice may later be cancelled by the customer (see Figure 56, “Fulfilment with Receipt Advice”) if the customer discovers an error in ordering (failure to follow formal contractual obligations, incorrect product identification, etc.) or a problem with a delivered item (malfunction, missing part, etc.). In this case, the billing and payment process may be put on hold.

Freight management for domestic trade is typically accomplished using Despatch Advice and Receipt Advice (see Section 2.3.5.1, “Logistics”). The additional processes shown in Figure 57, “Initiate Freight Management Process” are engineered to support the ordering and management of logistical services for international trade.

With receipt of an order and acknowledgement by the Supplier Party that the goods are available and ready to be shipped, the Consignor or Consignee initiates the transportation arrangements. This includes booking the consignment with a Transport Service Provider such as the Freight Forwarder or Carrier and advising the Delivery Party of the arrangements as needed.

Document types in these processes are Forwarding Instructions, Packing List, Bill Of Lading, and Waybill. (Regarding the Transportation Status document type, see Section 2.3.5.4, “Freight Status Reporting”).

It should be noted that these processes involve the Consignee and Consignor and do not cover all the logistical processes required to physically move the goods or regulatory notifications such as Customs declarations.

Figure 57. Initiate Freight Management Process

Forwarding Instructions are normally used by any party who gives instructions for the transportation services required for a consignment of goods (the Transport Service Buyer) to any party who is contracted to provide the transportation services (called the Transport Service Provider). Forwarding Instructions may also be used by any party who requests a booking of shipment space to be made for the transportation services required for a consignment of goods to any party who will provide the underlying transportation services. The parties who issue this document are commonly referred to as the shipper, consignee, or consignor, while the parties who receive this document are forwarders, carriers, shipping agents, etc.

Forwarding Instructions may also be issued by a freight forwarder or shipping agent in their capacity as a Transport Service Buyer. This document may be used to arrange for the transportation:

A Packing List is normally issued by the Consignor. It states the distribution of goods in individual packages.

A Bill Of Lading is a transport document that is the evidence of a contractual agreement between the parties for the transportation service. The document evidences a contract of carriage by sea and the acceptance of responsibility for the goods by the carrier, by which the carrier undertakes to deliver the goods against surrender of the document. It is in common use for ocean or inland waterways modes of transport. The Bill of Lading (B/L) may serve as a document of title. A provision in the document that the goods are to be delivered to the order of a named person, or to order, or to bearer, constitutes such an undertaking.

A Bill of Lading is normally issued by the party who provides the physical transportation services (e.g., the maritime carrier) to the party who gives instructions for the transportation services (shipper, consignor, etc.) as a receipt for the cargo and sometimes of instructions, stating the details of the transportation, charges, and terms and conditions under which the transportation service is provided.

A Bill of Lading may also be issued by the party who acts as an agent for the carrier or other agents to the party who gives instructions for the transportation services (shipper, consignor, etc.) stating the details of the transportation, charges, and terms and conditions under which the transportation service is provided, but who does not provide the physical transportation service. In such case a Bill of Lading is signed “as agent”.

Much of the information contained in the Bill of Lading corresponds to the information on the Forwarding Instructions.

A freight forwarder, who can be either a Transport Service Provider or a Transport Service User according to different circumstances and depending on the contractual interlocutor, can assume responsibility for the shipment with regards to the shipper and issue Bills of Lading as a common carrier, a contractual carrier, or as a Non Vessel Operating Common Carrier (NVOCC). In such case, when the transportation is multimodal, it can provide a multimodal Bill of Lading.

A Waybill is a transport document issued by the party who undertakes to provide transportation services, or undertakes to arrange for their provision, to the party who gives instructions for the transportation services (shipper, consignor, etc.). It states the instructions for the beneficiary and may contain the details of the transportation, charges, and terms and conditions under which the transportation service is provided.

Unlike a Bill Of Lading, a Waybill is not negotiable and cannot be assigned to a third party (endorsement). It may be issued as a cargo receipt and is not required to be surrendered at the destination in order to pick up the cargo. This may simplify the documentation procedures between a Transport Service Buyer and a Transport Service Provider, but using this document in combination with international payments (e.g., documentary credits) is not advisable.

A freight forwarder may decide to issue a waybill to communicate consignment, transport, and conveyance information to third parties, be they shippers, subcontractors, transport operators, or authorities.

A Weight Statement is a transport document verifying the declared true gross mass of a packed container. Working with this knowledge avoids injury, container loss, damage to cargo, etc. Formally verifying the gross mass may be a condition for transport.

When doing cross border trade some additional documents are needed to facilitate the processes. This is due to regulatory requirements such as customs and the proof of the quality of the goods. These documents are required in their own secondary processes. This section describes these documents and the processes behind them.

When goods pass borders within different customs regimes they need to be declared. Overall there are three cases declaring the goods to customs:

The export customs declarations process describes the process of declaring the goods for export. It is the exporter who is responsible for declaring the goods to the customs party even when they are not necessarily the one who fills out the paperwork. A declarant or a freight forwarder can act as his agent in this matter. When declaring goods, it is important to set the right tariff number and value for the goods.

An export declaration is drafted by the exporter or by his agent (a declarant) and issued to the customs party. If the customs party approves it he applies stamps and signature on it and sends it back to the exporter. If not he sends back an application response with a descriptions of the error(s) to the exporter.

Figure 61. Export Customs Declaration Process

The transit customs declarations process describes the process of declaring the goods for export that passes through another country. It is the transit exporter who is responsible for declaring the goods to the customs party even when they are not necessarily the one who fills out the paperwork. A declarant or a freight forwarder can act as his agent in this matter. When declaring goods, it is important to set the right tariff number and value for the goods.

An transit customs declaration is drafted by the importer or by his agent (a declarant) and issued to the customs party. If the customs party approves it he sends a positive application response back to the transit exporter. If not he sends back an application response with a descriptions of the error(s) to the transit exporter.

Figure 62. Transit Customs Declaration Process

The import customs declarations process describes the process of declaring the goods for import. It is the importer who is responsible for declaring the goods to the customs party even when they are not necessarily the one who fills out the paperwork. A declarant or a freight forwarder can act as his agent in this matter. When declaring goods, it is important to set the right tariff number and value for the goods.

An import declaration is drafted by the importer or by his agent (a declarant) and issued to the customs party. If the customs party approves it he sends back a positive application response to the importer If not he sends back an application response with a descriptions of the error(s) to the importer

Figure 63. Import Customs Declaration Process

In order to ensure the quality of the goods, a number of goods certificates are obliged to follow the goods during exportation. This can, for instance, be a certificate the states an animal was healthy before it was slaughtered and that a certain standard was kept during the production of the goods. This is normally guaranteed by a legal authority as stated in the trade agreement between the importing and exporting countries. In order to obtain a goods certificate, the exporter must fill out a that is approved and signed by the legal authority. But since the is following the goods, the actual management is performed by the warehouse party or exporter representative party who is keeping the goods before the export is taking place.

A is applied by the exporter, who describes the goods and how it is processed, but often it is sent to a legal authority by a representative party (often a warehouse or a terminal operator) where the goods are kept and bundled before export. This legal authority validates the s and apply stamps and signature if everything is acceptable. This happens just after the legal authority has the possibility to actually inspect the goods being exported. This way the trust is between the exporting legal authorities and the importing authority. If everything is not acceptable, the legal authority party sends his rejection as an application response.

Figure 64. Goods Certificate Process

Intermodal transport implies the use of a combination of transport modes. Any support for the management of such chains has to support the modal change of cargo flows from one mode to another in order to create seamless sequences of transportation legs. Quite often the end legs are carried by road, but there are instances of short sea shipping, inland waterways, and rail being used as end legs.

The Intermodal Freight Management process differs from conventional international freight management in that it may involve multiple different transport modes. The focus is the multimodal transport chain as seen from the Transport User’s point of view. The Transport User needs information about all the possible transport services that can be used to build a complete transport chain. If the choices to be made by the Transport User or his agent are based upon the qualities of the transport services themselves, and not by which transport mode is used, the description of the transport services and the exchanges of information about the transport roles and services shall be simple and common. Taking an intermodal approach requires a generalized view of the business processes, parties, and roles involved in the process.

The roles of the various Parties are defined as follows:

It should be noted that one Party (person or organization) may take on different roles. For example, a freight forwarder is, on the one hand, a Transport Service Provider when its client is a Transport User. On the other hand, the freight forwarder is a Transport User when it acquires services from subcontractors to ensure that a transport service is carried out between origin and destination. In so doing, the freight forwarder can operate as agent, thus arranging a contractual relationship between the carrier and the shipper, or as principal, thus organizing the transportation chain by concluding contracts in its own name on behalf of the shipper(s).

The Intermodal Freight Management process takes place in three stages:

Figure 69. The Generic Freight Management Process

These three stages are detailed in the following diagram, which shows the part played in the Intermodal Freight Management process by the UBL document types Transport Service Description, Transport Service Description Request, Transport Execution Plan, Transport Execution Plan Request, Transportation Status, Transportation Status Request, Transport Progress Status, Transport Progress Status Request, Goods Item Itinerary, and Freight Invoice.

Figure 70. The Intermodal Freight Management Process

The Transport Service Description is used to publish information about a transport service. A Transport Service Description Request is used to request such information. A transport service can be the physical transport of cargo between an origin and a destination, and it can also refer to other transport-related services such as terminal services, warehousing services, handling services, or document handling services.

Figure 71. Transport Service Description

The Transport Execution Plan is a plan established between a Transport User and a Transport Service Provider in order to collaborate and document the details surrounding the provision of a required transport service. Depending on the nature of the transport service and the business relationship between the Transport User and the Transport Service Provider, the process of establishing a Transport Execution Plan may be carried out by means of multiple interactions between the two roles, from the initial request from the Transport User up to the final agreement of the Transport Execution Plan among the parties involved.

The following diagram (Figure 72, “Transport Execution Plan”) shows the message exchange involved in a basic scenario. A Transport Execution Plan Request is sent from the Transport User in order to request a transport service. If the Transport Service Provider accepts the transport service request, he responds with a confirmed Transport Execution Plan. If the Transport Service Provider does not accept the transport service request, he responds with a rejected Transport Execution Plan.

The handling of a Transport Service Request will in many cases depend upon whether or not there is a pre-established agreement between the Transport User and the Transport Service Provider. If there is a pre-established agreement, the Transport Service Request can typically be considered a call-off from the agreement between the two parties. (An established framework agreement or contract usually defines terms and conditions and a total capacity limit, e.g., 100 container spaces on a vessel per year. A call-off occurs when the Transport User places an order against this agreement, for example a booking of 10 of the 100 container spaces.) The Transport User can confirm the Transport Execution Plan Request without the need to make a careful examination of the Transport Execution Plan submitted by the Transport Service Provider. The Transport User then sends a Transport Execution Plan with a status code indicating confirmation. Assuming acceptance by the Transport Service Provider, this scenario is considered a two-step choreography.

If a pre-established agreement does not exist (e.g., spot market services), the Transport User issues a Transport Execution Plan Request with a status code indicating that the Transport Execution Plan is not yet confirmed. The Transport User only confirms the Transport Execution Plan after a careful analysis of what has been submitted by the Transport Service Provider. This scenario is a three-step choreography where the Transport User confirms the Transport Execution Plan content in his second or subsequent response to the Transport Service Provider.

Updates to the Transport Execution Plan may be issued by either the Transport User or the Transport Service Provider. If the Transport User wants to update an existing Transport Execution Plan, a new instance of a Transport Execution Plan shall be issued with reference to the original Transport Execution Plan. Similarly, if the Transport Service Provider wants to update an existing Transport Execution Plan, a new Transport Execution Plan replaces the original Transport Execution Plan with a reference to the original one. In either case, the Transport Execution Plan shall include a document status code indicating that this is an update of the original content.

The cancellation of a Transport Execution Plan may be requested by either the Transport Service Provider or the Transport User. In either case, the Transport Execution Plan is sent with a document status code indicating that the Transport Execution Plan should be cancelled. For the cancellation to be effective, it must be accepted by the party receiving the cancellation request. Acceptance is signified by sending back a Transport Execution Plan with a status code indicating confirmation; rejection of the cancellation is signified by issuing a Transport Execution Plan with a status code indicating rejection.

Upon completion of the transport service covered by the Transport Execution Plan, a final Transport Execution Plan document is sent from the Transport Service Provider to the Transport User that includes a document status code indicating that the transport service is completed.

Figure 72. Transport Execution Plan

The Goods Item Itinerary specifies the route and time schedule for one or more transported items and is issued from the Transport Service Provider to the Transport User. The Goods Item Itinerary is initially issued from the Transport Service Provider to the Transport User after a Transport Execution Plan is confirmed by both parties. It may contain one or more transport segments with different Transport Execution Plans employing different Transport Service Providers. One transport service (one Transport Execution Plan) may cover more than one segment (leg).

In addition to providing an overview of the initial route and time schedule, the Goods Item Itinerary is used to document progress by recording new estimated times for departure or arrival and actual departure and arrival times. So when updates to the initial transport execution schedule occur, a new version of the Goods Item Itinerary is issued to the Transport User. A Goods Item Itinerary document thus contains information that may be used for analyzing the performance (in time) of transport services and for tracing the progress of cargo in transit if such analysis is required.

Figure 73. Goods Item Itinerary

The Transport Progress Status collects and reports information about the status of the transport means. The Transport Service Provider issues a Transport Progress Status Request to ask the Transportation Network Manager for status information related to a specific transport vehicle, using the vehicle identification number.

The Transportation Network Manager then provides information about the location and time schedule status to the Transport Service Provider. During a transport service, there might be a number of information providers taking on the Transportation Network Manager role, offering Transport Progress Statuses to the Transport Service Provider.

The most typical use of Transport Progress Status is to ask assistance from the Transportation Network Manager when estimated times of arrival are established. Reporting on the status of the goods themselves is covered by the Freight Status Reporting process (see Section 2.3.5.4, “Freight Status Reporting”).

Figure 74. Transport Progress Status

The Common Transportation Report collects and reports information about events and status of a transport means. It can be used for requirements regarding border crossing, ship to shore, or shore to ship reporting. It is meant to be mapped to numerous single window declarations and for other reporting to authorities.

Figure 75. Common Transportation Report

In the Billing process, a request is made for payment for goods or services that have been ordered, received, or consumed. In practice, there are several ways in which goods or services may be billed.

Document types in these processes are Invoice, Credit Note, Debit Note, and Application Response.

For UBL we assume the following billing methods:

An Invoice defines the financial consequences of a business transaction. The Invoice is normally issued on the basis of one despatch event triggering one Invoice. An Invoice may also be issued for pre-payment on a whole or partial basis. The possibilities are:

The Invoice only contains the information that is necessary for invoicing purposes. It does not reiterate any information already established in the Order, Order Change, Order Response, Despatch Advice, or Receipt Advice that is not necessary when invoicing. If necessary, the Invoice refers to the Order, Despatch Advice, or Receipt Advice by a Reference for those documents.

The Invoice allows for compound taxes, the sequence of calculation being implied by the sequence of information repeated in the data stream (e.g., Energy tax, with VAT—Value Added Tax—superimposed).

Charges may be specified either as a lump sum or by percentage applied to the whole Invoice value prior to calculation of taxes. Such charges cover:

Each Invoice Line refers to any related Order Line(s) and may also refer to the Despatch Line and/or Receipt Line.

A Reminder may be used to notify the Customer of accounts due to be paid.

Figure 80. Reminder for Payment Process