MXPA06007653A - Integrated global tracking and virtual inventory system - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed is an integrated global shipment system that provides end-to-end visibility of the movement of a package. The integrated global shipment system employs a shipment consolidating application for integrating one or more freight tracking systems with one or more end-delivery systems. As a result, shippers are provided with complete visibility of the movement of their shipments of goods from an origin country to a destination country and till the final consignees. In addition, the integrated shipment system significantly decreases the cost of managing inventories by providing a virtual inventory solution. Under this virtual inventory solution, suppliers are able to bypass distribution centers and delay allocation of goods until after the importation of goods into a destination country.

Description

VIRTUAL INVENTORY SYSTEM AND INTEGRATED GLOBAL TRACE FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to an integrated tracking system that provides improved visibility of the movement of goods that are transported globally and, as a result, allows a virtual inventory system.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Globalization has introduced additional partners in the supply chain, thus creating new challenges for distant distributors and wide variations in the sophistication of the systems. At the same time, ever-increasing cost pressures force companies to perform better in the administration of costly inventories. Under the macro logistics of operation worldwide, there are some specific problems, such as those discussed below, which produces a growing need for an integrated global transportation system that can avoid delays in distribution centers and provide improved visibility in the movement of goods.

First of all, the current international transportation procedures involve numerous entities that include, transporters, intermediaries, stockists and local haulage firms. As the various commodity components are supplied through diverse regions and buyers that are dispersed around the globe, the supply chains are extremely complex to expand and expand, thus complicating efforts to provide accurate and timely data to the clients. Such "fragmented" logistics involves a number of problems, such as lack of visibility, lack of cost transparency, security concerns and unreliable service. Therefore, as opposed to the previous "fragmentation" method, there is a need for an "integrated" single-source logistics solution that allows a specialist to synchronize end-to-end supply chain efforts and ensure that the supply chain arrive in a uniform, homogeneous way. Another problem is the delays and high costs associated with the distribution centers. Distribution centers have traditionally been considered an essential component of a consumer merchandise supply chain, and trust in distribution centers has increased in recent years as companies have moved their manufacturing facilities to locations foreign In a traditional supply chain, distribution centers serve as warehouses where companies store large inventories of consumer goods as a back-up of a security warehouse. The distribution centers are preferably, though not in all cases, centrally located in a geographic region to allow the company to distribute the goods based on a need for a plurality of retail outlets arranged throughout the region. . Depending on the size of the region and the immediacy of a retailer's need for a good, a company may have one or many distribution centers scattered throughout a given geographic region. Although the operation of the distribution centers is expensive. In addition to the costs of acquiring or renting the space required to store merchandise, the companies that rely on the distribution centers invest substantial amounts of money in inventory goods that only reside in one or more warehouses. In an effort to reduce the expenses associated with the operation of multiple distribution centers, some companies have moved towards the model of national distribution centers. Although the method of a single distribution center has its disadvantages, one of which is inefficiency in the transport procedure. For example, a company that uses a national distribution center for its retailers in the United States, can receive a shipment of locally manufactured merchandise on the west coast. Once the goods are cleared at customs, the merchandise is placed in a transportation vehicle and transported through the country to the national distribution center. At the distribution center, merchandise is labeled with store-ready labels and package transport labels and packages are collected by the carrier, such as United Parcel Service (UPS). If the importing company is, in fact, a national chain, at least some of the imported goods will likely be destined for retailer retail stores on the west coast. In many cases, companies will incur the time and expense to transport recently imported goods to a distribution center, and then return them immediately and pay a package carrier to send the packages back to a retail store in the West Coast. Due to the dynamics of the retail market, a model to deviate from the distribution center cuts the product delivery cycle and keeps inventories moving. Accordingly, there is a recognized need in the supply chain system industry that deviates from the need for distribution centers. In addition, there has never been a greater need to keep track of products and information, from acquisition to delivery to customers. Accordingly, there is a tendency among logistics service providers, such as UPS, to offer detailed status information on transit shipments. For example, UPS customers can go to the UPS.com global network site and use package tracking numbers to track the status of their items in transportation. As a result, the advance notification of incoming shipments can be provided to the intended recipients. This not only refers to the tracking of shipments on land, water, rail or air, but also to how much inventory is counted in a warehouse, where it is stored, and when it has been assigned to fulfill an order - in other words, all the activities involved in the movement of merchandise from the producer to the seller to the buyer. This kind of deep understanding is desirable in the global supply chain, where a company needs to respond quickly to unforeseen circumstances, cut costs and speed of delivery.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention seeks to provide an integrated global shipping system that can provide end-to-end visibility of merchandise movement. To achieve that end, the present invention integrates one or more cargo shipments and tracking systems with one or more final delivery and tracking systems. To achieve this goal, the present invention allows various individual shipments to be consolidated in a consolidated shipment, in such a way as to facilitate the movement of the goods during international shipment. Additionally, the present invention seeks to provide a virtual inventory system for improved inventory management. Specifically, this virtual inventory system allows suppliers to deviate from distribution centers and delay the allocation or distribution of merchandise until after the import of the goods into a destination country or region. In accordance with the present invention, the above objects and other objects, features and advantages will be realized by the systems and methods to provide integrated global shipping and virtual inventory. In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a system is provided to efficiently handle global shipments. The system comprises: (1) a reception facility in which the carrier receives multiple individual shipments comprising: (a) a code reading device configured to read the destination country information from said multiple individual shipments and store said information in the form of electronic data in a memory of the code reading device; (b) a management facility in which a sub-group of individual shipments is combined in a consolidated shipment and marked with a code containing a consolidated shipping tracking number; (2) a computer configured to receive said destination information from said memory of the code reading device, for storing said destination information in a computation memory, to identify said sub-group of individual shipments having an identical destination country said multiple individual shipments, to electronically link said counting memory with said individual shipping sub-group for said bound shipments by assigning and storing said consolidated shipment tracking number; and (3) an import receiving facility, in which said consolidated shipment is received in said destination country after the processing of said consolidated shipment through the customs of import and export for customs clearance, and is separated in said countries. individual shipments of said sub-group of individual shipments for delivery at a respective recipient location. In a preferred embodiment, the code reading device is configured to read individual shipment tracking numbers from said multiple individual shipments and store said information as part of said electronic data in said memory of the code reading device, and the computer additionally it is configured to retrieve the shipment detail information of said individual shipments from said memory or from a previously stored data file, and additionally configured to: (1) process each of said plurality of individual shipments through the steps of (a) determine from said data whether said individual shipment is an individual shipment LTL (Less than the load of a truck); (b) be responsible for the determination that said individual shipment is an individual LTL shipment, (i) identify, from said shipping data, an LTL shipment reference number that identifies said individual shipment; and (ii) associate said LTL shipment reference number with said consolidated shipping reference number; and (c) be responsible for the determination that said individual shipment is not an individual LTL shipment, (i) identifying, from said shipping data, one or more package reference numbers that identify respectively each package associated with said individual shipment.; and (ii) associating each of said one or more package reference numbers with said consolidated shipping reference number; and (d) storing the associations in step (b) (ii) or (c) (ii) in an association data file in said counting memory; and (2) generate a bound shipment departure partially based on said association data file. Another embodiment of the present invention provides an integrated global shipping system that provides visibility of goods movement in the boarding from end to end. Specifically, the system comprises: a first embarkation visibility system to track the movement of a consolidated shipment from a country of origin to a destination country, the consolidated shipment comprises one or more individual shipments that need to be shipped to the country of destination. destination, wherein at least one of the one or more individual shipments consists of multiple small packages; and a second boarding visibility system to track the movement of each of the multiple small packets within said destination country; wherein, the first boarding visibility system is associated with said second boarding visibility system, in such a way that it provides an integrated visibility interface to track the movement of each of the multiple small packets from the country of origin to the country of destination and within the country of destination. In a preferred embodiment, the first boarding visibility system comprises one or more databases that can be accessed by a processor that is configured to: receive boarding data associated with the one or more individual shipments, the boarding data comprises at least one or more individual shipping reference numbers corresponding to the one or more individual shipments; generate a consolidated shipping reference number to identify the consolidated shipment; associate the consolidated shipping reference number with each of the one or more reference numbers of individual shipments; create a data file to include the shipping associations and data associated with the one or more individual shipments; and store the data file in the one or more databases. The processor is additionally configured to: obtain the consolidated shipping reference number that identifies the consolidated shipment; use the consolidated shipping reference number to retrieve the shipment data associated with the one or more shipments of one or more databases; use the consolidated shipping reference number to retrieve movement data associated with the consolidated shipment from a transport management database; use the consolidated shipping reference number to retrieve the customs clearance data associated with the consolidated shipment from a customs administration database; display the shipment data, movement data and customs clearance data to a user; and receive user input to update one or more databases, the transportation administration database and the customs administration database. In another preferred embodiment, the second boarding visibility system comprises one or more databases that can be accessed by a processor that is configured to: obtain a packet tracking number that identifies a small packet; use the package tracking number to retrieve the package data associated with said small package from a package database, wherein said package data comprises information of each commodity item included in the small package; use the package tracking number to retrieve the movement data associated with the small package of a transport management database; displaying the package data and said movement data to the user; and receiving a user data entry to update the package database and the transportation management database. Still another preferred embodiment of the present invention contemplates that the first embarkation visibility system is associated with the second embarkation visibility system through: a central depot unit that stores the packet data associated with the multiple packets, the accessible warehouse for the first boarding visibility system and said second boarding visibility system; and a server computer having access to said central repository unit, wherein the server computer is configured to: use a consolidated shipping reference number to identify multiple packet reference numbers, each of the multiple packet numbers identifying one of the multiple packages; searching in a packet database in said second boarding visibility system to retrieve the packet data associated with said multiple packets; and load the package data in the central storage unit. According to a further embodiment of the present invention, an integrated global shipping system that provides visibility of the movement of merchandise in the shipment, comprises one or more databases that can be accessed by at least one server computer. The one or more databases store shipping data for multiple merchandise shipments, where the shipping data are received from a customer's customized shipping system by the carrier or a customer's shipping application based on the worldwide network. The server computer is configured to: receive, from a warehouse management system, the carrier-to-recipient transaction data associated with the shipment of merchandise; receive, from a transport management system, the movement data associated with the shipment of merchandise; receive, from a customs administration system, the customs clearance data associated with said shipment of merchandise; recover, from one or more databases, the particular shipping data associated with the shipment of merchandise; and generate a shipment departure data file based partially on the carrier to recipient transaction data, movement data, customs clearance data and particular shipping data associated with the shipment of goods. An alternative embodiment of the present invention provides an integrated global shipping system that provides end-to-end visibility of the movement of merchandise in shipment. The system comprises a customer interface to receive a user search directed to one or more specified shipments using the specified criteria; a carrier shipping system comprising one or more central computer servers, said one or more central computer servers having access to a boarding database that stores the shipping data associated with multiple shipments, said one or more servers of central computer being configured to communicate with one or more application servers; and a visibility system in electronic communication with said customer interface and said carrier's boarding system, wherein said visibility system comprises: one or more network servers with the ability to communicate with said client interface over a communications network , one or more application servers with the ability to communicate with said one or more network servers, said one or more application servers having access to one or more databases of the application server, and configured to process a user search received from said customer interface, and one or more database servers configured to load said shipping data from said shipping database of said carrier's shipping system into said one or more application server databases. In another embodiment of the present invention, an integrated global shipping system that provides visibility of the movement of merchandise in the shipment, comprises one or more shipping databases and a global network portal that is configured to: (1) provide an interface of the global network to a portal of the global network through which a user is enabled to enter criteria that define a group of consolidated shipments; (2) in response to the criteria entered by the user, identify, from one or more embarkation databases, shipping data associated with the group of consolidated shipments; (3) display to the user the shipping data associated with the group of consolidated shipments; (4) receive a first user data entry to select a particular consolidated shipment from the group of consolidated shipments; (5) In response to the selection made in (4), retrieve from one or more shipping databases, details of the first level shipment associated with the particular consolidated shipment and a list of individual shipments that are combined with the shipment In particular, the details of the first level shipment include movement data of the particular consolidated shipment; (6) display to the user the first level shipping details associated with the particular consolidated shipment and the list of individual shipments that are combined in the particular consolidated shipment; (7) retrieving a second user data entry to additionally select a particular individual shipment from the list of individual shipments; (8) in response to the selection made in (7) of the one or more shipping databases, the details of the second level boarding associated with the particular individual shipments and a list of packages in the particular individual shipment, the second level boarding details that include movement data of the particular individual shipment; (9) displaying to the user the second level shipping details associated with the individual individual shipments and the list of packages in that particular individual shipment; (10) receiving a third user data entry to further select a particular packet from the packet list; and (11) in response to the selection made in (10), retrieving from one or more boarding databases, a state of movement of the particular packet; and (12) displaying the state of movement of the particular packet to said user. According to an alternative embodiment of the present invention, there is an integrated global shipping system that provides visibility of movement of the goods in shipment. The system comprises one or more boarding databases and a global network portal that is configured to: (1) provide a global network interface to said global network portal through which a user is enabled to search for a specific shipment or a specific package by entering a particular identifier; (2) in response to receiving said particular bill of lading, determining whether said particular identifier is a consolidated shipping reference number; (3) in response to the determination that said particular identifier is a consolidated shipping reference number, identifying from said one or more shipping databases, the shipping data associated with said specific shipment, and displaying said data of boarding said user, said shipping information including at least said consolidated shipping reference number; (4) in response to the determination that said particular identifier is not a consolidated shipping reference number, determine whether said particular identifier is an LTL shipment reference number or a package tracking number, (a) in response to determining that said identifier is an LTL shipping reference number, (i) identifying, from said one or more shipping databases, the shipping data associated with a consolidated shipment in which said specific shipment is included; (ii) identifying from said one or more shipping databases, the shipping data associated with said specific shipment; and (iii) display for said user said shipment data in (i) if said specific shipment has not arrived in the country of destination, or said shipment data in (ii) of said specific shipment is in delivery within the country of destination; and (b) in response to the determination that said particular identifier is a package tracking number, (i) identifying, from said one or more shipping databases, the shipping data associated with a shipment consolidated in which, said specific package is included; (ii) identifying, from said one or more shipping databases, the shipping data associated with said specific package; and (ii) displaying for said user said shipping data in (i) if said specific package has not arrived in the country of destination, or said shipping information in (ii) if said specific package is in delivery within said country of destination. destination. According to another embodiment of the present invention, a virtual inventory management system comprises: a shipment entry system configured so that a carrier receives a request from an exporter for a shipment of merchandise, said request identifies at least one country of destination to which said merchandise needs to be shipped; a shipping consolidation system configured to receive and process shipping data associated with said merchandise, and generate data from a consolidated shipment, wherein said consolidated shipment comprises said shipment of merchandise from said shipper with one or more shipments to be shipped to said shipment. Destination country; and a boarding transportation system configured to transport said consolidated shipment to said country of destination; a system of deconsolidation of shipments configured to separate said shipment of merchandise from said consolidated shipments after said consolidated shipment is transported to said country of destination; and a final delivery system configured to deliver said shipment of merchandise to one or more specific recipient locations within that destination country, wherein said one or more specific recipient locations are subject to any new guidance made by said exporter after said destination. that said consolidated shipment is transported to said destination country.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DIVERSE VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS Having thus described the invention in general terms, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, and wherein: Figure 1 is an illustrative view of an integrated global shipping system illustrating how a good moves from an originating exporter to a beneficiary according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 is a high-level block diagram of a process flow for shipping merchandise through the integrated global shipping system of Figure 1, according to one embodiment of the present invention; Figures 3A-3B illustrate different shipping levels as applied in the integrated global shipping system of Figure 1, according to one embodiment of the present invention; Figures 4A-4C, are example illustrations of different types of shipping labels used in the integrated global shipping system of Figure 1, according to one embodiment of the present invention; Figures 5A-5B are a flow chart illustrating how shipments are processed within the integrated global shipping system of Figure 1, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; Figure 6 illustrates the output data regarding the shipments processed by the integrated global shipping system of Figure 1, according to one embodiment of the present invention; Figure 7 illustrates the flexibility of allocation of the exporters provided by the integrated global shipping system of Figure 1, according to one embodiment of the present invention; Figures 8A-8C, provide a summary of the end-to-end visibility and visibility of various events in the integrated global shipping system of Figure 1, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; Figure 9 is a detailed view of the end-to-end visibility and various sub-systems involved in the integrated global shipping system of Figure 1, according to one embodiment of the present invention; Figure 10 is a high level architecture of the integrated global shipping system of Figure 1, which provides end-to-end visibility according to one embodiment of the present invention; Figure 11 is a detailed system structure of the integrated global shipping system of Figure 1, which provides end-to-end visibility according to one embodiment of the present invention; Figure 12 illustrates exemplary data structures of the integrated global shipping system of Figure 1, which provide end-to-end visibility according to one embodiment of the present invention; Figure 13 illustrates a type of data flow between two subsystems of the integrated global shipping system according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 14 is a flow block diagram of the method illustrating how the integrated global shipping system of the present invention provides end-to-end visibility of merchandise in transit; Figure 15 is a flow screen illustrating end-to-end visibility as seen by a user of the integrated global shipping system in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; Figures 16 to 20, are example screen displays as viewed by a user of the integrated global boarding system according to one embodiment of the present invention. Figures 21A-21B show the architecture of the computing hardware that implements the integrated global shipping system of Figure 1, according to one embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some, but not all, of the embodiments of the present invention are shown. In fact, these inventions can be represented in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth in the present description.; instead, these modalities are provided in such a way that their description will satisfy the applicable legal requirements. Similar numbers refer to similar elements through the description. For the purpose of describing the present invention in detail, certain terms used hereinafter are defined as follows: "Carrier" - An individual, association or corporation involved in the business of transporting goods or persons.

"Recipient" - The person or organization to whom the cargo is shipped. "Exporter" - A company or individual that initiates the transport of merchandise. "Boarding" - One or more packages or cargo pieces that are transported together. "Consolidation" - The combination of two or more items or groups of items and their transportation as a single shipment. "Consolidated shipment" - The result of consolidation of shipments. "Individual boarding" - any shipment that is part of the consolidated shipment. "LTL (Less than a truck load)" - A load amount less than that required for the application of the truck load rate .. "Intersection pier" - A carrier terminal that is configured to handle consolidation or load transfer. This type of installation provides the capacity to unload on one side of the facilities and re-load on the other side of the facilities. "Container Loading Station (CFS)" - An operations facility where cargo shipments are on the intersecting deck and are staggered between cargo bays, sometimes referring to an installation used by maritime carriers to load / unload cargo in and from containers. "Line of transport" - The movement of the cargo between cities or facilities of the carrier, excluding the collection and delivery service. "PRO" - A number issued for each shipment of cargo by a carrier and used to track or track the shipment to its destination.

Integrated global shipping 1. Consolidated Shipment Movement vs. Individual Shipment Movement Figure 1 is a supply chain flow illustrating how goods move from an originating exporter to a recipient in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. As seen in Figure 1, said merchandise movement is comprised of two parts: (1) movement of a consolidated cargo shipment from a location of origin to a country and / or region of destination and (2) movement of individual shipments multiple within the country of destination and / or region until they reach the final recipients. In the event that an exporter is shipping merchandise manufactured from a factory to the recipients in the corresponding destination, the procedure will normally begin when a manufacturer receives a purchase order for a specific quantity of products or merchandise. In the illustrated supply chain 10, the goods are collected from an originating exporter 12 by a collection vehicle of origin 14. In a typical scenario, the manufacture of the goods serves as the originating exporter 12 and the collection vehicle of origin. origin 14 is a cargo loading service that handles the transportation of goods from the manufacturing facilities to the next stop in the supply chain 10. Depending on the requirements of the purchase order, the cargo loading service can be selected by the manufacturer or by the entity that is importing the goods. A person skilled in the art will recognize that multiple freight shipping service providers may be used, sometimes competing to transport the manufactured goods and, in fact, exporters of multiple origin 12 may be used to manufacture the goods that are being imported. . Accordingly, although an exporter of single origin 12 and a collection vehicle of single origin 14 are illustrated in Figure 1, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. Returning to the supply chain 10 illustrated in Figure 1, the origin collection vehicle 14, transports the goods to a container loading station (CFS) of origin 16. As described in more detail below, an number of activities in the loading station of container 16 of origin. One of these activities is to consolidate the goods in a consolidated cargo shipment. As an expert in the field will recognize, the consolidation procedure can be a simple consolidation of merchandise previously packaged in the container, or it can include a collection and packing procedure, in which they are collected, packed and weighed, multiple merchandise according to the instructions of an importer or a purchase order. In some cases, the goods controlled by a single recipient arrive at the loading station of the origin container 16 from multiple origin exporters 12. One aspect of the present invention is to achieve new levels of consolidation efficiencies for these shipments at the point of shipment. the loading station of the container of origin 16. Therefore, merchandise received from various originating exporters 12 can be consolidated into a single cargo container controlled by one or more recipients in the same country or region of origin. Another activity that may occur in the loading station of the source container 16 is the labeling of packages or containers containing merchandise for shipment. If the assignment is known to the point that the goods are in the loading station of the source container 16, then the goods can be labeled as part of the consolidation procedure. In a preferred embodiment, the labeling procedure that occurs at the loading stations of the destination and origin container includes the gluing of shipping labels used by the package delivery company that transports the packages to the final recipient, such as UPS, Federal Express and the Postal Service of the United States. Preferably, a single package delivery company, such as UPS, handles the transport of all packages in the supply chain 10. Although one skilled in the art will recognize that those multiple package delivery companies can be used. As a result, the labeling procedure may involve the generation and application of multi-packet shipping labels. Other types of labels that can be adhered to this stage include already stored labels (for example, inventory or price information). As described in detail below, an advantage of the present invention is the ability to delay the assignment, that is, the determination of the last destination for the goods up to the final stage in the transport procedure and thus, allow greater inventory management of importers. Accordingly, in yet another embodiment of the present invention, some or all of the package labeling procedures described above may occur in the sorting center 32 of the package delivery company. The next steps illustrated in the supply chain 10 are to process the goods through the export customs 18 and to administer a payment for the origin truck 20 of the goods to a maritime container 22 moored in a shipyard. As can be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art, alternative means of transportation include air or land transportation that can be used to ship goods across international borders. Normally, in the processing step, the goods for customs clearance at the export customs 18, occurs at the location of the loading station of the container of origin 16. During the consolidation and labeling procedures the necessary paperwork is prepared to move The cargo container through customs. Although one skilled in the art will recognize that these steps may occur in separate locations. One of the necessary paperwork has been completed and the cargo containers have satisfied the customs requirements, the cargo container that contains the goods transported through the truck of origin 20 to the maritime container. 22 When the shipping container 22 carrying the cargo container arrives at the port of destination, the arrangements of the originating carrier, or if necessary, a separate carrier, are hired to get the cargo container unloaded at the port of destination, processed through the import customs 26 and hauled by means of a destination truck 24 to a loading station in the destination container 28. A deconsolidation procedure normally occurs at the container loading station 28. In the deconsolidation process, the goods that were consolidated within a shipment could then be separated into multiple individual shipments. , each of which will be delivered to the respective recipient locations. An expert in the art will recognize that those goods can be assigned in a variety of ways. For example, in the case of small packages, the goods can be transported through the transportation line 30 to any of the various sorting centers 32 operated by companies such as UPS, Federal Express or the United States Postal Service. When the packages arrive at the sorting centers 32, they enter the packet or mail delivery networks and are delivered by the transport company to the recipient 36. The alternatives known in the art of the art include the transport of goods by means of trucks 34 such as, the load of a truck (TL) or shipments that are less than the load of a truck (LTL). As will be apparent to one skilled in the art, these and other transportation alternatives can be combined to transport goods to a variety of recipient locations. In this way, for example, a given assignment may require half of the merchandise received at a destination container loading station 28 that is shipped to a UPS 32 sorting center, for delivery to a first recipient, while some another portion of the goods is moved by TL to a second recipient and the rest of the goods are transported to a third recipient through the LTL movement. In a preferred embodiment, a single entity, such as UPS, controls the movement of goods at each step of the supply chain 10. In some cases, this controlling entity (sometimes referred to in the present description as the carrier of the chain) of supply) by itself (or through a subsidiary company) handles the movement of the goods such as, for example, the movement of the goods from the exporter of origin 12 to the maritime container 22. In other steps in the supply chain 10, the carrier's supply chain does not move the goods by itself and instead hires a third party to move the goods, and in this way maintains control of the movement of the goods. Therefore, for example, in one embodiment, the supply chain transporter is a carrier that operates without containers and uses a third party to handle the movement of goods through the shipping container 22. In such modality, the chain hauler Supply will use the known tracking systems to obtain periodic updates about the movement and anticipated arrivals of the merchandise in various ports or points of advance in the maritime movement. To summarize what has been described above about the movement of goods in the supply chain 10, Figure 2 shows a simplified procedure flow. In this procedure flow, a carrier such as UPS may normally perform or contract other carriers to perform the following steps in the shipment of goods within various countries or regions of destination: Step 1: collect or receive shipments from different exporters; Step 2: arrange a direct consolidation of different shipments; Step 3: transport the consolidated shipment through an international border to the region or country of destination; Step 4: process the consolidated shipment through the customs of import and export to obtain the necessary customs clearance paperwork in coordination with Step 3; Step 5: Deconsolidate the consolidated shipment within individual individual shipments; Step 6: Place each individual shipment within your small package delivery network or LTL shipping network for final deliveries at the respective recipient locations. As an ordinary expert can appreciate, there are a number of advantages of consolidating individual shipments on international shipments. Significantly reduces the required paperwork and time in customs procedures. In addition, the individual shipping costs are reduced by reducing the customs broker's fees, transportation costs, tariffs, customs taxes and additional service fees. As a result of the consolidation procedure, the movement of goods in the supply chain 10 is comprised of two levels of movements: a consolidated cargo movement that crosses international borders and an individual movement within the region or country of destination. These two movements are described in detail with reference to Figures 3A-3B. Figure 3A shows the relationship between a consolidated cargo shipment and individual shipments. In general, shipments of consolidated cargo 100 (dependent shipments) consist of one or many individual shipments 110. Said consolidated cargo shipment (dependent shipment) 100 is represented by a unique bill of lading, for example. A consolidated shipping reference number 102, which can be a cargo ticket number (BOL) or a Pro number as it is widely used in the transportation industry. By virtue of the consolidated shipping reference number 102, the consolidated shipping movement 100 can be linked to the movements of each of the individual individual shipments 110 consolidated therein. Each individual shipment 110 may be a shipment comprising multiple small packages 110a or an LTL shipment (less than a cargo truck) 110b or a TL shipment (cargo truck) 110c. Each small pack 110a is identified by a packet tracking number 112 as the smallest unit. The package tracking number 112 can be a main boarding number (for a defined shipment), or a number of individual cartons. Each LTL 110b boarding or TL 110c boarding is represented by a Sub-Pro number 114 as the lowest unit. During the operation, the consolidated shipping reference number 102 identifies the first movement leg of the consolidated shipment, and is included in all subsequent individual transportation legs that are each identified by a Sub-Pro number 114 or a tracking number. of package 112. From the customers perspective, the consolidated shipping reference number 112 and the individual movement identifiers, particularly, the Sub-Pro numbers 114 or packet tracking numbers 112, are used in combination for tracking the entire movement of goods from end to end. To further illustrate the relationship between a consolidated load shipment 100 (dependent shipment) and multiple individual shipments 110, Figure 3B provides a specific example. In this example, a loading order is identified by the reference number of the consolidated shipment 102, for example, a Pro number, which will be used as referring to the movement of the whole consolidated shipment. LTL / TL individual shipments are represented by Sub-Pro numbers 114 that associate the movements of individual LTL / TL shipments with a specific receiver. Each small packet is represented by a packet tracking number 112. As illustrated in Figure 3B, the origin of the consolidated movement is in Canada and the destination is the United States. The container of destination cargo (CFS) is located in Buffalo, in the United States and the final recipients in the United States are located respectively in Texas, New York, California and Arizona. The consolidated shipment consists of 32 packages and 3 loading pallets, and more specifically, the consolidated shipment movement is structured from the following individual shipment movements: * Sub-Pro 1, is an individual LTL shipment consisting of 10 packages / 1 loading dock from Buffalo to Texas (last recipient). * Sub-Pro 2, is an individual shipment TL consisting of 20 packages / 2 loading pallets from Buffalo to New York (last recipient). * A small UPS package with a package tracking number - from Buffalo (UPS center) to California (last recipient). * A small UPS package with a package tracking number - from Buffalo (UPS center) to Arizona (last recipient). During operation, the shipping identifier (eg, a consolidated shipping reference number 102, Sub-Pro numbers 114, and packet tracking numbers 112) can be obtained by digitally scanning a shipping label that , consistent with the labeling procedure described above, is stuck on a package, a cardboard box or a container, and in this way, identifies a shipment of goods. Figures 4A-4C show said example shipping labels. More specifically, Figure 4A shows an exemplary shipping label for an LTL shipment 110b which is printed with a Sub-Pro number 114. Figure 4B shows a small packet shipping label printed with a package tracking number. 112. As shown in Figures 4A-4C, a shipping label that is normally printed with one of the consolidated shipping reference numbers 102 explained above, a Sub-Pro number 114, or a packet tracking number 112. These numbers are usually printed in both a code that can be read by a machine for digital scanning purposes and a text format that can be read by a human. Referring again to Figure 2, step 2 of consolidation is further illustrated in Figures 5A-5B showing a process flow 500 of an application for consolidating individual individual shipments (LTL / TL shipments and / or small packages). Procedure 500 begins with step 501 when exporters request shipments of goods from a carrier, such as UPS. Step 501 requires an exporter to provide a shipping account number established with the carrier. Normally, a carrier establishes and maintains a customer database that includes information on the accounts of several exporters, especially its long-term customers with a high volume of shipments and / or rotating needs for shipments of goods. Through these established accounts, the carrier can save a lot of time in collecting customer information and cut the procedure for receiving and authorizing shipment requests, preparing and arranging shipments and generating billing for customers. Especially according to one embodiment of the present invention, the use of the information of known clients can be maximized in the consolidation procedure of boarding. For each established customer, the carrier can consolidate multiple invoices that include the customs broker, transportation, customs taxes, tariffs and additional services. As can be appreciated by a person skilled in the art, a consolidated invoice or charge can improve the visibility and financial management of an exporter-client, particularly in the field of cost control for shipments. Returning again to Figure 5A, after an exporter's account information is verified in step 501, an exporter is provided with an option to consolidate their shipments with other individual shipments in step 502. Sometimes an exporter may choose not to consolidate their shipments with other shipments . This usually happens to exporters, who daily send volumes that are so large as to produce unnecessary or impractical consolidation. If the consolidation is not requested in step 502, then the shipments received will be processed separately as shown in step 503. Otherwise, the shipments received will be labeled for consolidation in step 504. Depending on the region or country of For the destination of the shipments received, a particular bound shipping reference number 102 will be located from a database 550 that stores the shipping data associated with a number of consolidated shipments. Such shipments include data, but not limited to, a particular shipping route (country of origin-destination country), a particular means of transport (air, sea, land) and a particular shipment data. In the 550 database, each consolidated shipment is identified by a consolidated shipping reference number 102, and in particular, a consolidated shipment that is identified by the particular shipping reference number located 102 will be shipped to the same country or region of destination. destination of shipments received. With this particular shipping reference number 102, steps 506 through 509 will process the data of each individual shipment received to be consolidated. In the processing of a particular individual shipment, step 506 first determines whether said small shipment is an individual LTL shipment. If so, step 507 processes the individual individual shipment data under the specific LTL shipping rules. For example, step 507 first identifies a Sub-Pro number 114 as the LTL shipment identifier, which establishes a reference record that includes both the Sub-Pro reference number 114 and the particular bound shipping reference number 102 and saves the reference register within the database 550 that stores the individual individual shipment data and the consolidated shipment data. If the particular individual shipment is not an LTL shipment, step 508 applies the specific rules for small packages to those individual shipments. More specifically, each packet of multiple packets within the individual shipment is identified by a packet tracking number 112. Accordingly, step 508 obtains each packet tracking number 112 and associates it with the particular bound shipping reference number 102. by setting up the data records each including a pair of packet tracking numbers 112 and the particular consolidated shipping reference number 102. Said data records will also be stored within the aforementioned database 550. Step 509 searches for additional individual shipments to be consolidated, and if so, the procedure is repeated from step 506 to step 507 or 508. In step 510, the determination is made if there are some additional shipments to process up to that the daily volume of shipments in full is finished at the end of a day in step 511. After all s the shipments are processed at the end of the day in step 511, some necessary actions will be taken as shown in Figure 5B, such as output generation of shipments and, based on the departure of shipments, the update of the relevant information stored in various system databases according to one embodiment of the present invention. Corresponding to the different steps of procedures as they are applied to different types of shipments in Figure 5B, the output of shipments generated includes departure for consolidated shipments, as well as the departure for de-solidated shipments. Accordingly, in step 512, the procedure first determines if an exit is required for consolidated shipment. For output of unconsolidated shipments, step 513 generates a small package manifest. Based on this small package manifest, step 514 will update a carrier's small package shipment management system. Meanwhile, departures for consolidated shipping may be generated as in step 515. Said departures for consolidated shipment will be described in detail below with reference to Figure 6. Step 516 will update a secondary shipment system of the carrier for administration of consolidated shipments. Because each consolidated shipment can comprise multiple individual shipments that include LTL / TL shipments or small packages, additional steps are taken to update the carrier's LTL shipping management system and the small package management system, respectively. These steps include: step 517 which determines whether a particular individual shipment is an LTL shipment, and if so, step 518 updates the LTL shipping administration system, otherwise, step 519 which determines whether the individual shipment is a shipment comprising multiple packets and, if so, step 520 which updates the small packet management system accordingly, which more specifically refers to a temporary replenishment PLD (Package Level Detail) as described in detail below referring to Figure 9. Referring to Figure 6, the departure of the boarding system will be described. Again, what output should be generated depends on the determination in step 601, that is, if the shipment for whose requested departure is a consolidated shipment. If so, step 602 will first process the consolidated shipping records stored in a database. to obtain a consolidated manifest or a corporation freight ticket (HBOL) as shown in step 603. In step 604 an electronic form of the consolidated manifest is generated or a cargo ticket of the corporation is generated. Then an electronic form of the invoice with respect to the consolidated shipment movement is generated in step 605. Said electronic manifest / HBOL invoice will be sent by email to the exporters of origin for their reference, or optionally, to a customs broker , as shown in step 606. Because the shipment reference number 102 is part of the consolidated shipment records, each exporter will receive the consolidated shipment reference number 102 which allows him to track his own individual shipments that have been combined within this consolidated shipment. In the prior art, an exporter could probably lose track of his packet shipment during the movement of consolidated shipments across an international border. This is because the first level of the movement is represented by consolidated shipments or main shipments and, consequently, the individual shipments of the exporters that are annexed in a consolidated shipment can no longer be tracked, therefore, the exporters are provides, in particular, the reference numbers of individual shipments (Sub-Pro numbers 114 or packet numbers 112). However, according to the present invention, exporters are provided with a consolidated shipping reference number 102 to track a particular consolidated shipment in the first level movement. Alternatively, due to the association between said consolidated shipping reference number 102 and the particular individual shipping reference numbers (Sub-Pro numbers 114 or packet numbers 112) stored in a system database, exporters can also use their individual shipping reference numbers to obtain the consolidated shipping reference number 102 to track their own individual shipments. When consolidated shipments arrive in the country of destination, the consolidation procedure will be performed in step 5, as shown in Figure 2. As a result of the deconsolidation procedure, each individual shipment can be identified and, therefore, the Additional boarding departure can be generated for each individual boarding. For example, as consolidated shipping items are deconsolidated, the codes of their tags can be digitally scanned and decoded, so that the sub-pro numbers or tracking numbers of the resulting packets are identified and transmitted to a database. system data as will be described in detail later. As seen in Figure 6, step 607 processes the data of an individual LTL shipment and step 608, generates an electronic document containing LTL PLD. Step 609 represents the time in which said small LTL shipment enters the carrier's final delivery network, that is, by which means it will be delivered to the final recipient in the country of destination.

The relevant entities (exporter, consignee) will be notified of the arrival of said shipment by means of emails, faxes, telephone calls, or any other equivalent means shown in step 610. By analogy, a shipment comprising multiple packages will be processed in step 611 to generate a PLD document from the electronic small package in step 612. Then, in step 609 as explained above, the relevant entities (exporter, recipient) will be notified of the arrival of the packets by means of emails, faxes, telephone calls, or any other equivalent means as shown in step 613. 2. Virtual inventory: diversion of the distribution center (de) and allocation delay As described in detail below, an advantage of the present invention is the ability to delay allocation, ie the determination of the final destination for the goods, up to a final stage in the transportation procedure and, in this way, to improve the administration of the importer's inventory. Sometimes, when a manufacturer or supplier receives a purchase order for items or products, the purchase order can not identify the assignment for the manufactured items, that is, the manufacturer can not know where the goods will eventually be shipped. In this case, the ability to delay allocation allows exporters to avoid delaying shipments until they have security of the final recipient's locations. Even if the allocation is not initially known, destinations may be subject to re-addressing depending on market demands in real time. For example, a purchase order can be sent to one or more international sellers requesting the production and shipping of a quantity of merchandise to the United States. At the time the purchase order is sent, the importer does not have to know how the items will be allocated among the various locations of the recipient (for example, retail outlets). Instead, the importer needs only to calculate its anticipated demand for the entire region using one of several demand planning systems that is known in the matter, and the importer can wait until the goods arrive at the container loading station of destination 28, as seen in Figure 7, before you determine how to allocate the goods among the various recipients. This wait can preferably be of a short time (for example, from 4 to 5 days) prior to, or even immediately after, the goods arrive at the loading station of the destination container. In some cases, especially when items are moved to shipping containers, this means that importers may have an additional two or three weeks before they have determined the assignment. As will be apparent to one skilled in the art, the ability to delay allocation gives the importer greater ability to respond by changing the supply and conditions of demand and offers a degree of flexibility not present in supply chain systems are known in The matter. Figure 7 illustrates the advantage of providing such flexibility in terms of specific timelines. For example, if labeling and allocation activities do not occur at the loading station of the source container 16, these activities are performed at the destination container loading station 28. This allows a manufacturer or supplier a period of normally it takes at least 18 days to delay the final determination of how to distribute the goods. As can be easily appreciated by a person skilled in the art, said grace period can vary in a wide range, depending on the different origins and destinations. In addition, another advantage of the present invention is to provide an integrated shipping solution that allows exporters (i.e., merchandise suppliers, manufacturers, sellers, individual customers, etc.) deviate from the distribution centers by shipping packages or merchandise across borders and directly to the final recipients (ie retail stores, individual customers, etc.) within of the country of destination. As shown in Figure 7, there is no need for suppliers or manufacturers to maintain distribution centers in the supply chain 10 because the assignment of items can be determined and updated on time at any point from the loading station from source container 16 to destination container loading station 28. Both stations are operating facilities of a carrier. In other words, by using transport containers (e.g., shipping containers, land trucks) as virtual inventory warehouses, the present invention allows suppliers to divert the used distribution centers that are typically needed to store the items awaiting the delivery. final allocation in the supply chain.

Improved end-to-end visibility 1. Generalities of the end-to-end visibility concept Another aspect of a preferred embodiment of the supply chain system 10 of the present invention is a capability to deliver end-to-end visibility. Currently, supply chains that are known in the field are controlled by small cargo shipping companies that have limited load tracking capabilities and, generally, the cargo tracking that is currently available is more frequently dependent on the information manual transmitted by telephone, faxes and paper documents. And any limited tracking is available on the load or the movement leg of the consolidated shipment at the ends of the supply chain when the shipment leaves the loading facility of the destination container 28 and enters the final delivery systems (or delivery segment). small boarding movement). In other words, previous attempts to provide end-to-end visibility for shipping to customers have been "piecemeal" combinations of limited tracking information without an automated integrated interface that provides all tracking information. A benefit of one embodiment of the present invention is the ability to track the shipment through both the consolidated shipment movement segment and the individual shipment movement segment (s), and further, to provide this end tracking to end by means of a single interface. *** As illustrated in Figures 8A to 8C, the movement of goods from the origin to the destination country or region is governed by a cargo tracking system (which includes a tracking system). consolidated shipments), and movement within the destination country or region to each respective recipient location is governed by a final delivery system (which includes a system for tracking individual shipments). A link between the cargo tracking system and the final delivery system of preference occurs at the point where the labels of the final delivery package are added to the packages or goods, which occurs after the assignment is determined by the station of container loading, either origin or destination. As part of the integration of the various tracking systems, a final delivery tracking number (e.g., Sub-Pro number 114 or tracking number of the packet 112) is linked to a load tracking reference number (e.g. , consolidated shipping reference number 102) such as a company freight ticket or pro invoice. Therefore, when a user has access to the load tracking database with a load tracking reference number, the load tracking system uses this link to access the final delivery tracking numbers that are associated with the shipment that is being tracked. In the case of small merchandise, multiple final delivery tracking numbers, such as the package tracking number used by UPS to track packets in its network, are usually associated with a unique cargo tracking reference number. Although one skilled in the art will recognize that the supply chain system 10 described in the present description is not limited to the movement of small packages and in the case of larger goods, such as white goods, a delivery tracking number Single end can be associated with a load tracking reference number. As shown in Figures 8A through 8C, this type of integration of the cargo tracking and final delivery tracking systems provides the user with end-to-end visibility through both a consolidated load movement and a stretch of cargo movement. of individual shipment of the supply chain 10. Therefore, when a shipment is in transit from the exporter of origin 12 to the destination container loading station 28, that is, the consolidated load movement section, the load tracking system provides the tracking data for the consolidated containers. When the shipment reaches the destination container loading station 28 and the packages are deconsolidated, the individual packages leave the control of the cargo carriers, and the final movement of the loading station of the destination container 28 to the recipient (s) final, that is, the individual boarding section, is tracked by the final delivery system (or systems). In an alternative mode, end-to-end visibility is provided to the user through the recording and reporting of various visibility events. These visibility events correspond to various events during the movement of merchandise in the consolidated shipment, as well as to individual shipments. In other words, visibility events reflect complete end-to-end visibility in terms of a boarding timeline. In the case of an exporter who sends manufactured goods from a factory to destination recipients (for example, retail stores), there are a number of consolidated shipment events 710, including receiving information from the purchase order for the goods, which requires for a collection or notification of a delivery of goods shipments, the arrival of goods shipment to the source container loading station (CFS) 16, the departure of goods shipment from the origin container loading station ( CFS) 16, shipment of merchandise export dispatch, departure of shipment of goods from the country of origin, arrival of the shipment of merchandise to the country of destination, dispatch of import of the shipment of merchandise, and arrival of the shipment of goods to the station of destination container loading (CFS) 28. Individual shipment events 720 include loading the package level data (PLD) or packing data rque LTL at the source container loading station (CFS) 16 and the destination container loading station (CFS) 28, respectively, pick up LTL shipping, assign responsibility for the goods to the final delivery carriers such as UPS , and shipment tracking movement within a final delivery network. In a preferred embodiment, the present invention provides an ability to facilitate the return of goods or products ordered from a recipient in the country of destination to the country of origin. The resulting individual shipment return events 730 may include, but are not limited to, receiving returns for consolidation, receiving returns for deposition, return notification, and waiting for disposition. There are also exception events 740 that govern exceptional instances during movement of goods, such as exception of data files (for example, data file not received), exception collection, change in estimated date of departure, change on the estimated date of arrival, the general exceptions (for example, damages, consequences, withholding, delay), withholding at export customs or import customs. All of these 740 exception events may occur during any consolidated shipment movement, or individual shipment movement or both movements, and need to be notified to the exporters in a timely manner. Therefore, 750 boarding notifications include consolidated shipping exception notifications, LTL boarding exception notifications, and small packet exception notifications. In addition, 750 shipping notifications include consolidated shipping notifications, being responsible for the LTL shipping notice, holding a third party responsible for delivering the notice, and taking responsibility for the final notification delivery of small packages. From the point of view of information management, each visibility causes a corresponding data update and / or a data report. In a preferred embodiment, the tracking of the shipment through the cargo movement section and the individual shipment section occurs through a unique world network searcher interface. A number of software applications are known in the art to track shipments through the cargo movement portion of the supply chain, and one of these applications is known as Flexible Global View (FGV). As described in detail with reference to Figures 9 to 11, in a preferred embodiment, the FGV interface is adapted to allow the user to make a quick change and obtain individual shipment data, which allows the user to track the various packages in a shipment through the individual shipment section of the supply chain. In a preferred embodiment, the final delivery tracking system is communicated via a network, such as the Internet, to update the cargo tracking system with updates on the movement of individual shipments in the system or final delivery systems. In a preferred embodiment, these updates occur at predetermined intervals, such as, for example, once per hour. In an alternative mode, a transaction-by-transaction link is established between the cargo tracking system and the final delivery tracking system to obtain a status update on one or more of the individual shipments as many times as required by the carrier. user. Or, still in another alternative mode, the load tracking system is updated in a predetermined interval, although the user has the option of requesting an immediate update for a selected individual package or shipment. This data loading procedure will be described in detail below with reference to Figure 13. The diagram in Figure 9 illustrates an implementation of an integrated system 800 to provide end-to-end visibility of the movement of goods in international shipments. As mentioned above, this movement is comprised of two levels: movement of a consolidated cargo shipment and movement of individual individual shipments. Generally, separate systems are employed to provide visibility in different movements. For example, users can have access to a load movement visibility system that allows the user to enter a load tracking number and view generic tracking events and specific generic data elements for the tracking number that was entered. This system does not provide PLD information for each individual package or LTL shipment within a small shipment. In addition, when a consolidated cargo shipment is deconsolidated, the tracking events of each of the individual individual shipments, especially of each small package, are invisible to users in this system. Individual shipments can be made by different carriers and as a result, users have to access different systems to see the movement of individual shipments. The present invention provides an integrated system 800 that combines all of these existing or non-existing systems in such a way that users have a unique interface from which to view the complete life cycle of their shipments, including detailed tracking events and data elements, from a shipment of origin to a destination country and for final recipients within the country of destination. As seen in Figure 9, to implement the concept of end-to-end visibility, the integrated system 800 requires the operations and communications of a number of sub-systems. These subsystems include, but are not limited to, an 810 visibility interface system, a customer shipping system 840, a small package visibility system 850, a warehouse management system 860, a shipping visibility system LTL 870, a transportation management system 880, a tariff administration system 890 While each of the systems listed above may include one or more databases for storing data, as can be easily appreciated by one skilled in the art, the 800 integrated system uses additional databases to facilitate the transfer and frequent use. of certain types of data. These databases include a PLD 830 database, a PLD 820 concentrated database and a database detailing the shipments of the 900 client. The functionalities of each of the system components identified above and their contributions to the Integrated system operation 800 are described in the following procedures: Procedure 1 - creation of shipping labels Depending on the country of origin, a carrier may have access to use the customer's shipping system 840 to produce a label. Said 840 customer boarding system can be customized by the carrier and, as part of a service application that can be programmed, be integrated into the carrier's internal system. Alternatively, the client's shipping system 840 can be hosted in an ASP (Application Service Provider) environment, and therefore can be accessible to any users over a communications network, preferably the Internet. For any shipments that are intended to be consolidated in a consolidated shipment, the customer's shipping system 840 will assign to the corresponding shipping data records stored in the 830 database an additional reference field that will be used to store the cargo ticket. of the corporation or the PRO master number. Meanwhile, an indication flag is set in database 830 for the data records of each of the small packets within a shipment received in the small package visibility system 850. At the end of the processing day, the Small package visibility system 850 loads the package information into the PLD 830 database.

Procedure 2 - downloading packet data from the pld 830 database On a regular basis, the information of the packet loaded in the PLD 830 database is analyzed and the subgroup of this data is extracted and made available for the visibility tool (s). As seen in Figure 9, this subset of packet data is stored in a PLD extract database 820. This procedure creates the link between the packet identifiers, i.e. packet tracking numbers 112, and the identifier of the consolidated cargo shipment, ie, the consolidated shipping reference number 102, which is also stored in the database 820 as described below.

Procedure 3 - storage of shipments Normally, the CFS / intersection spring locations (see 16, 28 in Figure 1) will use a warehouse management system 860 (for example, Exceed, PKMS MEPAW, etc). An interface between the 860 warehouse management system and the 810 visibility interface system (Flex Global View) has been displayed. This will allow visibility events to be captured for intersection dock imports, intersection dock exports, and back to processing for shipments. The 860 warehouse management system has the ability to print package listings. As can be readily appreciated by one skilled in the art, the warehouse management system 860 also allows shipping records to be loaded by the customer's shipping system 840 for the labeling of the individual packages as defined in the Procedure.

Procedure 4 - customs agencies Exporters can submit a data file 900 with the details of the shipment for customs brokers. A shipment identifier (HBL or PRO number) is provided with the 900 data file to identify the shipment when it arrives at the border. This data file 900 also includes the type of materials, the destination, codes that match, and weight of the shipment. This file 900 is presented to the customs administration system 890, which can be any different from the shelf system (for example, VASTERA, Theta, or the main customs agency system). The 890 customs administration system uses the API interface to collect customs agency events. Meanwhile, customs use the 900 file to clear the cargo when entering the country of destination.

Procedure 5 - administration Transportation (tm) The locations of the origin CFS / intersection pier 16 have access to the transportation management system 880. This system was used to collect and track the movement of a shipment after it leaves the CFS location of origin / intersection pier 16. The events captured in the transportation management system 880 are loaded into the visibility interface system 810 (Flex global view). The transportation management system 880 can be GMB-TM which is normally used in maritime and air transportation, or AlphTruck, which is typical of land transportation. When the customer is ready to transport a shipment, it uses either the 840 customer shipping system or a global network portal connected to the transportation management system 880 to prepare the shipment. A shipping identifier (HBL or PRO number) is assigned to the shipment and tracked in the transportation management system 880. When the shipment arrives at a location of the CFS / intersection pier, the arrival event is manually entered into the transportation system. transportation administration 880.

When a shipment is ready to leave the destination CFS / interchange dock for either l package or LTL / TL distribution, the exit event (offered to) is entered manually into the transportation management system 880.

Procedure 6 - visibility All CFS / intersection spring locations use the 810 visibility interface system (such as, Flex global view) as the visibility tool. The 810 visibility interface system allows a user to view visibility events on a shipment or part of a shipment in one of the following methods: to. All shipments for a customer A user has the ability to search all shipments within a specified date range by entering their customer exporter number and the desired date range. The search will return a list of all shipments for the customer that were collected between the specified date ranges. The user will then have the ability to select a specific shipment to view the visibility events related to said shipment. b. Full Seizure Search A user has the ability to search for a complete shipment by entering a PRO 102 number or a load-carrying company number 102. The search will return the summary of boarding level events. The events will stop at the identification of any division in the shipment. This normally occurs when the shipment arrives and subsequently leaves the destination CFS / intersection pier 28. The user will have the ability to select any of the original shipment divisions to quickly change to the next level when the package detail data is loaded into the CFS / destination intersection pier 28. c. Sending boarding quest A user has the ability to search for a specific individual shipment of the original consolidated shipment. The user will enter a sub-pro number 114. The search will return the individual level of boarding information. These events will show all the movements of the date on which the original consolidated shipment was divided until the individual shipment is delivered, or is divided again into ler shipments. If the split boarding is delivered as comprising only l packets, the user will have the ability to select any of the packet tracking numbers 112 to quickly switch to the next level. This works the same as in the individual package trace. d. Individual package search A user has the ability to search for a specific package or a group of packages that are being shipped in the same location. This search can only be done for shipments of l packages. The user will enter either the package tracking number 112 of a specific package or the reference field identifier, such as warehouse number, purchase order number or HBL number. The search will pull the 850 l packet visibility system data to match the records for the package or reference field supplied. 2. Specific implementation of the end-to-end visibility concept Referring to Figures 10 to 21A-21B, an application system based on the specific global network that provides end-to-end visibility will be described. to. System arguitectura Figure 10 shows a high level diagram of the architecture of the visibility interface system 810 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The architecture is comprised of three layers: a client interface 1010, an average merchandise application 1000 and a secondary system server 1020. Typically, the client interface 1010 comprises a searcher of the worldwide network 1012 as a user-friendly interface. The media merchandise application 1000 comprises one or more servers in the world network 1002 that process the user requests received from the world network browser 1012 and one or more application servers 1004 executing the instructions that can be programmed specific in response to the reception of data processed by the servers of the world network 1002. To have easy access to the data for the application servers 1004, the media merchandise application 1000, preferably comprises a database for access and retrieval of direct data. In Figure 10, the database is represented by the PLD extraction database 820 as explained above. The secondary system server 1020 refers to all end-end systems that communicate with and support the average merchandise app 1000. As can be appreciated by one skilled in the art, this secondary system server 1020 may comprise a number of servers and databases. For the purposes of the illustration, Figure 10 shows that at the server level of the secondary system 1020 there is at least one central server 1022 and one database, ie, the PLD database 830.

Figure 11 provides a detailed view of the architecture of the system presented in Figure 10 and how the data flows between the different servers and databases of the visibility interface system 810 in operation. The client interface 1010 (that is, the search engine of the world network 1012) receives the user's searches, which will be communicated in at least one of the servers of the world network 1002. The server of the world network 1002 will process the searches of the user to generate search data that trigger the execution of certain instructions that can be programmed by at least one of the application servers 1004. During the execution of the instructions that can be programmed, the application server 1004 determines from which database will retrieve the response data. As seen in Figure 11, the application server 1004 may have access to the PLD extraction database 820 that stores a sub-group of packet data. Said packet data sub-group is updated by loading information automatically from the PLD 830 database either per hour or daily. In a preferred embodiment, said data loading can be performed by an FTP server 1028 comprising a host server 1024 that has access to the PLD database 830 and communicates with an agent application server 1026. The application server agent 1026 transfers the packet data received from the host server 1024 to a database server 1006 that resides in the media merchandise application 1000. Then, the database server 1006 executes a load book application 1008 for storing the package data loaded in the PLD extract database 820. This loading procedure is further illustrated in Figure 13 as described below. If the PLD extraction database 820 does not contain the requested packet data, the application server 1004 will generate a data request, which is preferably in the format of an XML document, to the secondary system server 1020. The XML tools 1021 installed on the secondary system server 1020 interprets the XML data request, such that the requested packet data will be retrieved from the PLD database 830 and transferred to the application server 1004. b. Hardware Regards Turning to Figure 21 A, a mode of a computer that can be used to practice aspects of the present invention is illustrated. In Figure 21A, a processor 901, such as a microprocessor, is used to execute the software instructions to perform the defined steps. The processor receives power from a power supply 917 that also supplies power to the other components as needed. Processor 901 communicates using a data bus 905 which is usually 16 or 32 bit wide (eg, in parallel). The data bus 905 is used to transport the program data and instructions, normally, between the processor and the memory. In the present embodiments, the memory may be considered the primary memory 902 which is a RAM or other forms, which retain the contents only during the operation, or this may be non-volatile 903, such as ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, FLASH or other types of memory that retain the memory contents at all times. The memory could also be secondary memory 904, such as a storage disk, which stores a large amount of data. In some embodiments, the storage disk may communicate with the processing using an I / O 906 data bus instead or a dedicated data bus (not shown). The secondary memory may be a floppy disk, a hard disk, a compact disk, DVD or any other type of mass storage known to those skilled in the art of computers. The processor 901 also communicates with various peripheral or external devices using an I / O 906 data bus. In the present embodiment, a peripheral I / O 907 controller is used to provide standard interfaces, such as RS-232, RS422, DIN, USB, or other interfaces as appropriate to perform interfaces between various input / output devices. Typical input / output devices include local printers 918, a monitor 908, a keyboard 909, and a mouse 910 or other typical signaling devices (e.g., rolling ball, contact pad, joystick, etc.).

Processor 901, normally also communicates using an I / O 911 communications controller, with external communication networks, and can use a variety of interfaces, such as protocol oriented communications data 912, such as X.25, ISDN, DSL, cable modems, etc. The 911 communications controller may also incorporate a modem (not shown) to perform an interface and communicate with a standard 913 telephone line. Finally, the 911 I / O communication controller may incorporate an Ethernet 914 interface to communicate over a LAN . Any of these interfaces can be used to access the Internet, internal networks, LANs, or other data communications facilities. Finally, the processor 901 can communicate with a wireless interface 916 that is operatively connected to an antenna 915 to communicate wirelessly with other devices, using, for example, one of the IEEE 802.11 protocols, the 802.15.4 protocol, or a standard 3G wireless telecommunications protocol, such as CDMA2000 2x EV-DO, GPRS, W-CDMA, or other protocol. An alternative embodiment of a processing system that can be used is shown in Figure 21 B. In this embodiment, a distributed and processing communication architecture is shown involving a 920 server that communicates with either a computer local client 926a or a remote client computer 926b. Server 920 typically comprises a processor 921 communicating with a database 922, which can be viewed as a form of secondary memory, as well as primary memory 924. The processor also communicates with external devices using a controller I / O 923 that normally interfaces with a LAN 925. The LAN can provide local connectivity to a network-connected printer 928 and the local client computer 926a. These can be located in the same facilities as the server, although not necessarily in the same room. The communication with remote devices is normally achieved through the route data from LAN 925 on a communications installation for the Internet 927. A remote client computer 926b can run a search engine of the world network, in such a way that the 926b remote client can interact with the server as required by the data transmitted through the Internet 927, on the LAN 925, and for the server 920. Those experts in the field of data networks may perceive that many other possible alternatives and architectures and that these can be used to practice the principles of the present invention. The embodiments illustrated in Figures 21 A and 21 B can be modified in different ways and be within the scope of the present invention as claimed. c. Data structures As one of ordinary skill in the art can appreciate, the visibility interface system 810 according to one embodiment of the present invention involves all kinds of data, such as the PLD data mentioned above. To illustrate the data structures 1200 of the system 810, Figure 12 provides a group of data frames containing various data elements. As shown in Figure 12, each data record in the packet table 1210 is represented by a tracking number 2111, which is referenced by a shipping number 1231, and which is described by the data fields of a description 1212, a weight 1213 and an amount COD 1214. Each data record in boarding table 1230 is identified by boarding number 1231, and comprises the data fields: pickup_date 1232 (collection date), servicejevel 1241 (level of service), consignee_name 1251 (name of the recipient), Consignee_Attention Yam 1252 (name of attention for the recipient) and Shipper_name 1261 (name of the exporter). The 1240 service level chart, includes different means of transport, such as air, sea, land, etc. The recipient box 1250, identified by the name of the recipient 1251 and the attention name for the recipient 1252, comprises different recipient data profiles. A recipient data profile includes information, such as Consignee_address 1253 (recipient address), Consignee_city 1254 (recipient's city), Consignee_state 1255 (recipient's state), Consignee_country 1256 (recipient's country), and Consignee_postal_code 1257 (postal code of the recipient). addressee). Similarly, the table of exporter 1260, identified by shipperjiame 1261 (name of exporter), includes data profiles of different exporters. An exporter's data profile includes information such as Shipper_address 1262 (address of the exporter), shipper_city 1263 (city of the exporter), Shipper_state 1264 (status of the exporter), Shipper_country 1265 (country of the exporter), and Shipper_postal_code 1266 (postal code of the exporter ). The package_reference 1220 box (package reference) reflects the links between packages and shipments. In addition to the data fields of the tracking number 1211 and the boarding number 1232, a data record of the box of the package_reference 1220 also includes a field of reference_sequence (reference sequence) 1221 and a reference field 1222. The relationships between these Data tables are explained below. R1: package 1210 vs. Boarding 1230 Because the boarding can comprise multiple packets, the relationship between boarding 1230 and packet 1210 is 1: N R2: packet 1210 vs. Package_reference 1220 To facilitate the retrieval of the information, the relationships between the shipment 1230 and the package 1210 are stored in a separate table, particularly, package_reference 1220. This table is identified by a combination of the tracking number 1211 and the shipment number 1231. For each package, this can be associated with an individual shipment or a consolidated cargo shipment. Accordingly, the relationship between packet 1210 and package_reference 1220 is 1: N. R3: embarkation 1230 vs service level 1240 Each shipment can be transported by means of more than one means of transport. For example, a consolidated shipment can be shipped by sea while it is deconsolidated and the individual shipments included enter the land transport network. Accordingly, the relationship between shipping 1230 and service level 1240 is N: N. R4: Boarding 1230 vs. Recipient 1250 A boarding can comprise multiple packets, each one to be delivered to a different recipient. In turn, a recipient can receive more than one shipment. As a result, the relationship between shipment 1230 and consignee 1250 is N: N. R5: shipment 1230 vs exporter 1260 A shipment can comprise multiple packages, each received from a different exporter. In turn, the exporter can request more than one shipment. Accordingly, the relationship between shipment 1230 and exporter 1260 is N: N. d. Process Flow Figure 14 is a block diagram of the flow of the procedure illustrating how the present invention provides end-to-end visibility of the movement of goods from the originating exporter 12 to the recipient 36 as illustrated in the supply chain. Again, in one embodiment, each step in the movement of goods is preferably controlled by a single entity referred to in the present description as the carrier of the supply chain. Although the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, an advantage of having a supply chain carrier, such as UPS, is the presentation of an end-to-end delivery solution with a point of contact for visibility, and preferably, a consolidated invoice (such as that produced by step 605 in Figure 5B) that has a delivery price (in one currency) that reflects the cumulative cost of each stage of the delivery procedure (even if several of the movements in the delivery procedure were made by third-party entities and even if several of these entities required payment in one or more different currencies). Therefore, one aspect of the present invention is the combination of the loading movement with the final delivery procedures and the control and administration of these systems by a single supply chain transporter. Referring to Figure 14, the procedure flow is described involving a user using the client interface 1010, the average merchandise application 1000 (represented in the Figure as FGV) and the secondary system server 1020 (represented in the Figure as UPS.com). The user enters the system in the load tracking system in step 1402 and selects Shipment tracking from a menu of options in step 1404. In step 1406, the user enters an identifier that is used to search for information of a shipment. specific that is stored in a database that can be accessed for an average merchandise application 1000. The identifier is preferably a date or some other type of reference information. A number of data filters can be used in this step and will be described later when referring to the example screen displays in Figures 16 to 20. In step 1408, the average 1000 merchandise application returns a list of shipments that match the search criteria. The shipping list can be in the form of a list of the freight bill of the corporation, a list of pro bills, or some other reference identifier that is known or commonly used in the cargo shipping industry. In step 1410, the user clicks on one of the items in the shipping list (for example, clicks on one of the related freight tickets or pro bills) to quickly change on a screen that allows the user to access to request shipment details for the goods asated with the shipment. In step 1412, the average 1000 merchandise application returns and displays the final delivery shipping list (for example, UPS shipments) corresponding to the shipment (corporate freight bill / pro invoice) selected by the user. In a preferred embodiment, the final delivery shipping information is made available to the user at the point where the packages are tagged for final delivery, which, as indicated above, preferably occurs either at the loading stations of the container. carrier of origin or destination. In step 1414, the user clicks on one of the individual shipments. In step 1416, the average 1000 merchandise application returns and displays a list of the packages asated with the selected shipment. In a preferred embodiment, this information includes some or all of the following: final delivery tracking number, description of the goods, type of service, weight of the package, reference number of the cargo (for example, number of loading ticket / ticket pro), additional reference fields and shipping information of the recipient (name, address , city, state, zip code, country) and the amount COD. As explained above, said packet data displayed in step 1416 is stored in the extraction database PLD 820 as a result of the periodic loading of the PLD database 830. Figure 13 illustrates the loading procedure as it is. comprised in step 1301 wherein the secondary system server 1020 sends PLD data to the average merchandise application 1000 per hour, and step 1302 in which the average merchandise application 1000 receives the PLD data in the server database, that is, the PLD 820 extraction database. As noted below, the FGV communicates with the secondary system through the use of XML requests. However, the existing XML interface for recovering PLD data is limited by the fact that only a maximum amount of 64kb of data can be returned. To overcome this limitation for the recovered data, using the data load per hour could facilitate the transfer of data on the 64 kb quantity. Returning to Figure 14, in step 1418, the user attempts to quickly switch to the final delivery information by clicking on a hypertext link that is associated with the final delivery tracking number. In step 1420, the FGV receives its user request and converts the request into an XML request for the secondary system server 1020 (the final delivery tracking system) for an updated status of the requested packet. In step 1422, the secondary system server 1020 (final delivery tracking system) receives the XML trace request and returns the package status information to the requested package. In step 1424, the media merchandise application 1000 receives the updated status of the final delivery tracking system and displays the updated status for the user. Finally, in step 1426, the user sees the most recent state of the delivery boarding procedure using the interface of the cargo tracking system. and. Example screens Figures 15 to 20 illustrate user interface designs according to one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 15 shows a screen flow corresponding to the procedure flow described above in Figure 14. This flow screen comprises a shipment tracking search page 1510, a customized output page 1520, a result list page shipment tracking 1530, a shipment tracking detail page 1540, a shipment detail page 1550 and a package detail page (XML) 1560. The corresponding example deployment screen for this flow screen is illustrated in Figures 16 to 20, respectively. Starting with Figure 16, after the user enters the web-based search interface, the 1510 shipment tracking search page will be displayed. On the deployment screen, the user is allowed to enter one or more criteria to search for specific shipments. For example, in a list that displays 1600, a user can select what information to "search" for. The user can choose, for example, to see all freight tickets associated with consolidated shipments. Other criteria include a "transport" reference field 1602 in which, the user can select to search for air, sea or land transportation, a "reference" reference field 1604 in which, the user can write in a reference number such as House Air Waybills, a reference field of "date" 1606 by which the user can select a time period or a fixed time point, a reference field of "origin" 1608 and a field of reference. "destination" reference 1610. In response to the user's search, the page that lists the shipment tracking results 1530 as exemplified in Figure 17, returns and displays a list of searched shipment results. Each shipment is represented by a shipping reference number (102 as mentioned above) ie, corporation ticket / truck ticket 1701 in Figure 17. Each reference number is provided with a hyperlink that allows the user to click on he, in order to obtain more details of the shipment as shown in Figure 18. Figure 18, shows the details of the shipment corresponding to the consolidated shipment identified by a corporate ticket number (in the present description called "ACME-SURF -DEM01"). The deployment is comprised of several sections of details. Section 1801, shows the general information of a consolidated shipment such as the origin or destination. Section 1802 shows routing information of the consolidated shipment. Section 1802 shows a list of individual LTL shipments associated with the consolidated shipment. Each individual LTL shipment is identified by an individual shipping reference number 114 (sub-pro number) which is provided with a hyperlink that allows the user to click on it and quickly change to obtain more details of the particular LTL individual shipment. Section 1804 shows an individual shipment comprising a list of small packages associated with the consolidated shipment. Similarly, each packet number 112 that identifies each packet is provided with a hyperlink that allows the user to click on and quickly change to obtain more details of a particular packet. Section 1805 shows significant tracking events of the movement of consolidated shipping. Figure 19, provides a summary list of multiple small packages contained in an individual shipment. Each related package is identified by a package tracking number that is provided with a hyperlink that allows the user to click on it and quickly change to obtain more details of a particular package. When the user clicks on a particular packet tracking number in Figure 19, the display screen in Figure 20 will be displayed to present the movement state details of the packet identified by that particular packet tracking number. Based on the system architecture explained above, hardware requirements, data structures, procedural flow and exemplary screen displays, one skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the present invention provides end-to-end visibility for any entity involved in the shipment of goods. Specifically, exporters or recipients have the ability to use an integrated interface to track the status of cargo shipments that include both their individual shipments and their own package download at the level of package detail. Additionally, by means of well-known user identity checks, such as verification of user names and user passwords, the present invention allows different levels of visibility available to different users. For example, a recipient may be allowed to see additional details of their individual shipments within the consolidated shipment. Although no details of other individual shipments within the same consolidated shipment. As described above, the present invention provides end-to-end visibility in the movement of a packet. In addition, through the consolidation of individual shipments, the present invention allows flexibility for exporters in the distribution of merchandise in shipment. The combination of end-to-end visibility and the ability to delay a determination of the last destination for merchandise in transit provides a degree of flexibility in inventory management that is not known in the art. As an example, goods that are moved by the shipping container, often take two or more weeks of travel in the cargo compartment of the container. Using the global visibility tracking system described above, an importer can determine the arrival date of the shipping container, merchandise information, and in a preferred embodiment, information describing the contents of the packages in the container's cargo compartment. This knowledge allows the maritime container to serve as a de facto distribution center, which provides the importer with an inventory of merchandise that the importer can direct to a number of different locations. In view of this example, a virtual inventory system can be achieved according to one embodiment of the present invention. Upon completion of the detailed description, it should be noted that it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many variations and modifications may be made to the preferred embodiment without substantially departing from the principles of the present invention. Also, said variations and modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention as set forth in the appended Claims. Additionally, in the Claims which follow, the structures, materials, acts and equivalents of all the means or elements of added step function are intended to include any structure, materials or acts to perform their cited functions. Many modifications and other embodiments of the inventions set forth in the present description may come to the mind of one skilled in the art to which these inventions pertain which has the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and associated drawings. Accordingly, it will be understood that the inventions will not be limited to the specific embodiments described and that the modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended Claims. Although specific terms are employed in the present description, these are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for the purpose of limiting the present invention.mo. 22. - The system according to claim 19, further characterized in that said movement data comprises first movement data from a country of origin to a destination country and second movement data associated with different locations within said destination country. 23. An integrated global shipping system that provides end-to-end visibility of the movement of merchandise in shipment, characterized in that said system comprises: a client interface to receive a user search directed to one or more specified shipments using the specified criteria; a carrier shipping system comprising one or more central computer servers, said one or more central computer servers having access to a boarding database that stores the shipping data associated with multiple shipments, said one or more servers of central computer being configured to communicate with said one or more application servers; and a visibility system in electronic communication with said customer interface and said carrier's boarding system, said visibility system comprising: one or more network servers with the ability to communicate with said client interface over a communications network, one or more application servers with the ability to communicate with said one or more network servers, said one or more application servers having access to one or more databases of the application server, and configured to process a search of

Claims (4)

1. NOVELTY OF THE INVENTION CLAIMS 1. A system for efficiently managing global shipments, characterized in that it comprises: (1) a reception facility in which a carrier receives multiple individual shipments, comprising: a. a code reading device configured to read the destination country information from said multiple individual shipments and stores said information in the form of electronic data in a memory of the code reading device; b. a management facility in which a sub-group of individual shipments are combined in a consolidated shipment and are marked with a code containing a consolidated shipping tracking number; (2) a computer configured to receive said destination information from said memory of the code reading device, store said destination information in a computation memory, identify said sub-group of individual shipments having an identical destination country to the deinstino country of said multiple individual shipments, electronically linking said sub-group of individual shipments for said consolidated shipment in electronic form to said counting memory, assigning and storing said consolidated shipment tracking number; (3) an import receiving facility in which said consolidated shipment is received in said destination country after processing said consolidated shipment through the customs of export and import for customs clearance, and is separated in said individual shipments of said sub-group of individual shipments for delivery to a respective recipient location.
2. 2. The system according to claim 1, further characterized in that one of said multiple individual shipments comprises an LTL shipment (Less than a truck load) or a TL shipment (loading a truck), wherein said LTL shipment or TL is identified by an individual shipping tracking number.
3. 3. The system according to claim 1, further characterized in that one of said multiple individual shipments comprises one or more small packets, each of said one or more small packets is identified by an individual shipping tracking number.
4. 4. The system according to claim 2 or 3, further characterized in that said code reading device is configured to read said individual shipment tracking numbers; and said computer is configured to receive and store said individual shipment tracking numbers and link them in a data file of said computing memory, said individual shipment tracking numbers of said individual shipment sub-group with said tracking number of said consolidated shipment, and provide a consolidated shipment departure based in part on said data file. 5. - The system according to claim 4, further characterized in that one or more shipping labels are generated and printed from a shipping label application provided by the carrier that can be accessed by said multiple exporters by means of a communications network, said application of shipping labels provided by the carrier receive data of the individual shipment from said multiple exporters, and said shipping data comprise details of the package, and shipping origin directions, a destination address of the shipment, a delivery date and a service level, each of said one or more shipping labels are printed with one of said individual shipping tracking numbers. 6. The system according to claim 1, further characterized in that it further comprises a device for generating and transmitting messages configured to send messages containing said consolidated shipping tracking number to the entities associated with any of said sub-group of shipments. Individuals, said entities include at least one exporter and one recipient, wherein said entities are enabled to use said consolidated shipping tracking number to track the status of said consolidated shipment, and additionally see a deployment of said boarding sub-group. individual 7. - The system according to claim 1, further characterized in that it additionally comprises one or more instruction devices configured to allow an exporter of one or more of said individual shipments within said individual boarding sub-group, to change a destination location of respective recipient in said destination country by sending a message to said carrier by means of network communications. 8. The system according to claim 1, further characterized in that the code reading device is configured to read individual shipment tracking numbers from said multiple individual shipments and store said information as part of said electronic data in said memory of the code reading device, and wherein said computer is additionally configured to retrieve shipment details information for said individual shipments from said memory or from a previously stored data file, and is additionally configured to: (1) process each of said plurality of individual shipments through the steps of: (a) determining from said data whether said individual shipment is an individual shipment LTL (less than the load of a truck); (b) be responsible for the determination that said individual shipment is an individual LTL shipment, (i) identify from said shipping data an LTL shipment reference number that identifies said individual shipment; and (ii) associating said LTL shipping reference number with said consolidated shipping reference number; and (c) be responsible for the determination that said individual shipment is not an individual LTL shipment, (i) identifying, from said shipping data, one or more package reference numbers that identify each package associated with said individual shipment, respectively.; and (ii) associating each of said one or more package reference numbers with said consolidated shipping reference number; and (d) storing the associations in step (b) (ii) or (c) (ii) in an association data file in said counting memory; and (2) generate a bound shipment departure partially based on said association data file. 9. The system according to claim 8, further characterized in that said consolidated shipment departure comprises said consolidated shipping reference number, one or more LTL shipping reference numbers, a shipment date, a manifest that includes data of boarding associated with each of said plurality of individual shipments, a boarding ticket that includes at least one shipping state of said consolidated shipment, and one or more package reference numbers. 10. The system according to claim 9, further characterized in that said data file stored previously is located in one or more databases of a secondary boarding system of the carrier, and additionally comprises an update device configured to receive said data. consolidated shipment departure from said computer and update said one or more databases of said secondary shipment system of the carrier. 11. An integrated global shipping system that provides visibility of merchandise movement in the end-to-end shipment, characterized in that said system comprises: a first embarkation visibility system to track the movement of a consolidated shipment from a country of origin to a destination country, said consolidated shipment comprises one or more individual shipments that need to be shipped to said destination country, and a second embarkation visibility system to track the movement of said one or more individual packages within said country of destination. destination; wherein, said first embarkation visibility system is associated with said second embarkation visibility system, in such a way that it provides an integrated visibility interface to track the movement of said one or more individual shipments from said country of origin to said destination country and within said destination country. 12. The system according to claim 11, further characterized in that said first boarding visibility system comprises one or more databases that can be accessed for a processor, said processor is configured to: receive boarding data associated with said one or more individual shipments, said shipping data comprises at least one or more individual shipping reference numbers corresponding to said one or more individual shipments; generate a consolidated shipping reference number to identify said consolidated shipment; associating said consolidated shipping reference number with each of said one or more reference numbers of individual shipments; creating a data file to include said associations and said shipping data associated with said one or more individual shipments; and storing said data file in said one or more databases. 13. The system according to claim 12, further characterized in that said processor is further configured to: obtain said consolidated shipping reference number identifying said consolidated shipment; using said consolidated shipping reference number to retrieve the shipment data associated with said one or more shipments of said one or more databases; use said consolidated shipping reference number to retrieve the movement data associated with said consolidated shipment from a transportation administration database; use said consolidated shipping reference number to retrieve the customs clearance data associated with said consolidated shipment from a customs administration database; displaying said shipping data, said movement data and said customs clearance data to a user; and receiving the entry of said user to update said one or more databases, said transportation administration database and said customs administration database. 14. - The system according to claim 11, further characterized in that at least one of said one or more individual shipments consists of multiple small packets, and wherein said second embarkation visibility system comprises one or more databases that can be access for a processor, said processor is configured to: obtain a packet tracking number that identifies a small packet of said multiple small packets, said packet tracking number is obtained by scanning a fixed shipping label to said small packet or receiving a data entry entered by a keyboard; using said packet tracking number to retrieve the data associated with said small packet from a packet database, said packet data comprising information of each merchandise item included in said small packet; using said packet tracking number to retrieve the movement data associated with said small packet from a transport management database; displaying said package data and said movement data to the user; and receiving a data entry from said user to update said package database and said transport management database. 15. The system according to claim 11, further characterized in that said first embarkation visibility system is associated with said second embarkation visibility system through: a central storage unit that stores the package data associated with said one or more small packages, the warehouse being accessible for said first boarding visibility system and said second boarding visibility system; and a server computer having access to said central depot unit, wherein said server computer is configured to: use a consolidated shipment reference number to identify one or more individual shipment reference numbers corresponding to said one or more shipments individual search in a packet database in said second boarding visibility system to retrieve the packet data associated with said one or more individual shipments; and loading said packet data into said central storage unit. 16. The system according to claim 15, further characterized in that said server computer is further configured to detect changes in said packet data associated with said one or more individual shipments in said packet database in said second system. visibility of boarding; and be responsible for the detection, updating of said central storage unit. 17. The system according to claim 11, further characterized in that said integrated visibility interface is further configured to: receive a user data entry of a particular individual shipment reference number to search for the movement of a particular individual shipment of said one or more individual shipments; and in response to the entry of data of said particular individual shipment reference number, display the movement data of said shipment consolidation if said consolidated shipment has not arrived in said country of destination, and additionally display the movement data of said shipment. Individual if said consolidated shipment has arrived in said country of destination and said individual shipment is in delivery within said country of destination. 18. The system according to claim 17, further characterized in that said movement data of said shipping consolidation are retrieved from a database based on a shipment consolidation reference number, said consolidation reference number of boarding is associated with that particular individual boarding reference number. 19.- An integrated global shipping system that provides visibility of the movement of merchandise in the shipment, characterized in that said system comprises one or more databases that can be accessed in at least one server computer, said one or more databases store shipment data for multiple merchandise shipments, wherein said shipment data is received from a personalized customer shipment system by the carrier or a client shipping application based on the global network; and said server computer is configured to: receive, from a warehouse management system, the carrier-to-recipient transaction data associated with a merchandise shipment; receive, from a transport management system, the movement data associated with the shipment of merchandise; receive, from a customs administration system, the customs clearance data associated with said shipment of merchandise; recovering, from said one or more databases, the particular shipping data associated with said shipment of merchandise; and generating a shipment departure data file based in part on said carrier to recipient transaction data, said movement data, said customs clearance data and said particular shipment data associated with said shipment of merchandise. 20. The system according to claim 19, further characterized in that said client shipping system customized by the carrier is configured to process the shipment requests to generate LTL shipment data for said shipment request, and is additionally configured to generate shipping labels based on said LTL shipping data. 21. The system according to claim 19, further characterized in that said customer's shipping application based on the global network is configured to process shipment requests to generate shipment data of small packages for said shipment requests, and is additionally configured to generate shipping labels based on said small package shipment data. user received from said customer interface, and one or more database servers configured to load said shipping data from said shipping database of said carrier's shipping system into said one or more application server databases . 24.- An integrated global shipping system that provides visibility of the movement of merchandise in the shipment, characterized in that said system comprises one or more embarkation databases and a portal of the global network that is configured to: (1) provide an interface of the global network to said portal of the world network through which a user is enabled to enter criteria that define a group of consolidated shipments; (2) in response to said criteria entered by the user, identifying, from said one or more shipping databases, the shipping data associated with said group of consolidated shipments; (3) displaying to said user said shipping data associated with said group of consolidated shipments; (4) receiving a first entry of data from said user to select a particular consolidated shipment from said group of consolidated shipments; (5) in response to the selection made in (4), retrieving from said one or more shipping databases, details of the first level shipment associated with said particular consolidated shipment and a list of individual shipments that are combined in said shipment particular consolidated, said details of the first level shipment include movement data of said particular consolidated shipment; (6) displaying to said user said first level shipping details associated with said particular consolidated shipment and said list of individual shipments that are combined in said particular bound shipment; (7) retrieving a second data entry from said user to further select a particular individual shipment from said individual shipment list; (8) in response to said selection made in (7), retrieving from said one or more shipping databases, the details of the second level shipment associated with said particular individual shipments and a list of packages in said particular individual shipment, said second level boarding details include movement data of said particular individual boarding; (9) displaying to said user said second level boarding details associated with said particular individual shipments and said list of packets in said particular individual boarding; (10) receiving a third data entry from said user to further select a particular packet from said packet list; and (11) in response to the selection made in (10), recovering from said one or more boarding databases a state of movement of said particular packet; and (12) displaying said state of movement of said particular packet to said user. 25. The system according to claim 24, further characterized in that each of said groups of consolidated shipments is represented in said one or more loading databases by a shipment reference number that is associated with one or more numbers reference of individual shipments or packet tracking numbers 26.- The system according to claim 24, further characterized in that said criterion in step (1) comprises a data entry of a particular shipment date, or a period of private boarding, or a particular destination country. 27. The system according to claim 24, further characterized in that said portal of the world network is additionally configured to verify, before allowing access to said global network interface in (1), a user identity and to allow selectively access the point where said data entries in (1), (4), (7) or (10) are based on said identity. 28.- An integrated global shipping system that provides visibility of movement of merchandise in shipment, characterized in that said system comprises one or more embarkation databases and a portal of the global network that is configured to: (1) provide a interface of the worldwide network to said portal of the world network through which a user is enabled to search for a specific shipment or a specific package by entering a particular identifier; (2) in response to receiving said particular bill of lading, determining whether said particular identifier is a consolidated shipping reference number; (3) in response to the determination that said particular identifier is a consolidated shipping reference number, identifying, from said one or more shipping databases, the shipping data associated with said specific shipment, and displaying said shipments shipping data to said user, said shipping information including at least said consolidated shipping reference number; (4) in response to the determination that said particular identifier is not a consolidated shipping reference number, determine whether said particular identifier is an LTL shipment reference number or a package tracking number, a. in response to the determination that said particular identifier is a shipment reference number LTL, i. identifying, from said one or more shipping databases, the shipping data associated with a consolidated shipment in which said specific shipment is included; ii. identify from said one or more shipping databases, the shipping data associated with said specific shipment; and iii. displaying to said user said shipping data in (i) if said specific shipment has not arrived in the country of destination, or said shipping information in (i) if said specific shipment is in delivery within the country of destination; and b. in response to the determination that said particular identifier is a packet tracking number, i. identifying, from said one or more shipping databases, the shipping data associated with a consolidated shipment in which said specific package is included; ii. identifying, from said one or more shipping databases, the shipping data associated with said specific package; and iii. displaying to said user said shipping data in (i) if said specific package has not arrived in the country of destination, or said shipping information in (ii) if said specific package is in delivery within said destination country. 29. The system according to claim 28, further characterized in that said shipping data in step (3) additionally comprise a list of the individual shipments included in said specific shipment, and wherein said portal of the global network is configured additionally for: receiving from said user a selection of a particular individual shipment from said list of individual shipments; recovering, from said one or more shipping databases, the shipping data associated with said particular individual shipment; and displaying to said user said shipping data associated with said particular individual shipment. 30. The system according to claim 28, further characterized in that said shipping data in step (3) additionally comprise a list of packages included in said specific shipment, and wherein said portal of the global network is additionally configured to : receiving from said user a selection of a particular packet from said packet list; recovering, from said one or more shipping databases, the shipping data associated with said particular package; and displaying for said user said shipping data associated with said particular package. 31. - A virtual inventory management system, characterized in that it comprises: a system of entry of shipments configured so that a carrier receives a request from an exporter for a shipment of merchandise, said request identifies at least one destination country to which said merchandise they need to be shipped; a shipment consolidation system configured to receive and process shipping data associated with said merchandise, and generate data from a consolidated shipment, wherein said consolidated shipment comprises said shipment of merchandise from said exporter with one or more shipments to be shipped to said shipment. Destination country; and a boarding transportation system configured to transport said consolidated shipment to said country of destination; an instruction system configured for said carrier to receive one or more initial or updated recipient locations of said exporter, after said consolidated shipment begins to be transported to said destination country by means of said boarding transportation system; a system of deconsolidation of shipments configured to separate said shipment of merchandise from said consolidated shipment after said consolidated shipment is transported to said country of destination; and a final delivery system configured to deliver said shipment of merchandise to said one or more specific recipient locations within said destination country. 32. The system according to claim 31, further characterized in that it additionally comprises an integrated interface for said exporter to track the status of said shipment of goods within said boarding transportation system as well as said final delivery system.