StartupGuideTransportCommander < Cargooffice

---++ Start-up Guide for Transport Commander

%TOC%
---+++ General Steps
   1 *Order Entry* (enter a transport order).
   1 *Print* (labels, manifests, bill of lading, CMRs etc.)
   1 *Add Contacts* (enter drivers, transporters, expeditors etc.)
   1 *Dispatch* (assign orders to contacts).
   1 *EDI* (send instructions, orders and EDI data to contacts (or to your own ERP systems)
   1 *Follow* (follow the progress of your orders (Track & Trace)
---+++ How to start
   * Go to *TransportCommander.com* ( <a href="TransportCommander" target="_blank">What is it? </a>).
   * Choose *Login* from the Menu at the top of the page.
   * Type your *email address* and your *password*.

&emsp; *No Login?*
   * If you already use !CargoOffice or another FC-product, recognized by the <img alt="freecargo_logo_16.png" height="16" src="%ATTACHURL%/freecargo_logo_16.png" title="freecargo_logo_16.png" width="16" /> logo, you can use the same login, you don't need to register.
   * Otherwise you need to *register*; use the Register link at the bottom of the page
| | <img alt="tc_login_register.png" height="313" src="%ATTACHURL%/tc_login_register.png" title="tc_login_register.png" width="620" /> |

   * If you experience any problems, then please use the *Contact* link at the bottom of the page and ask us.
---+++ Order Entry

The next step is to enter a *transport order* and assign it to a carrier.
   * Click the first button (<i>New shipmen</i>t) on the top left side of the page (the button under _My contacts_):
| | <img alt="tc_main_orderen.png" src="%ATTACHURL%/tc_main_orderen.png" title="tc_main_orderen.png" /> |
   * The *order entry form* appears.
   * The form should be pretty much self explanatory. <br />Pick-up and delivery addresses will be remembered in your private storage for future use and the data for the select boxes can be changed in your *Settings* (Menu -&gt; Settings: Addresses).
   * Example *order entry* form:

| | <img alt="tc_order_1.png" src="%ATTACHURL%/tc_order_1.png" title="tc_order_1.png" /> |

   * Use the *Submit* button at the bottom of the page to store this order in your private storage.
   * For a more detailed explanation of the order entry form see; <a data-wikiword="OrderentryStart" href="OrderentryStart" target="_blank">OrderentryStart</a>
   * If you have any questions or require changes in this form, please use the *Feedback* option in your menu (Menu -&gt; Feedback) and ask us. We have many ready to use templates for many different type of businesses.
   * After entering an order you will see the order back on the main page. Each line has three buttons in front of it:<br /><img alt="butedit.gif" height="12" src="%ATTACHURL%/butedit.gif" title="butedit.gif" width="12" /> Change the order<br /><img alt="butplus.gif" height="12" src="%ATTACHURL%/butplus.gif" title="butplus.gif" width="12" /> Change the status of the order<br /><img alt="butpopup.gif" height="12" src="%ATTACHURL%/butpopup.gif" title="butpopup.gif" width="12" /> Print labels, manifests, bill of lading, CMRs etc.
   * Now, before we can *Assign* (send) this order to a transporter or a carrier, you have to enter these carriers and transporters into your private storage using the *Contacts* section. This is explained below.
---+++ Add Contacts

The next step is to enter your *Contacts* (transporters, carriers, subcontractors and even your own drivers (if you have them).
   * Click the *Menu* button (upper right corner) and choose *Contacts* (Menu -&gt; Contacts):
| | <img alt="tc_menu_parners.png" height="323" src="%ATTACHURL%/tc_menu_contacts.png" title="tc_menu_contacts.png" width="620" /> |
---++++ Find contact

The form below appears, allowing you to add contacts and companies:
   * Type the email address, name or company name of your contact:
| | <img alt="tc_find_contact.png" src="%ATTACHURL%/tc_find_contact.png" title="tc_find_partner.png" /> |
---++++ An Unknown Contact

If you see a message like: <strong>Email address not found </strong>and the email address you typed in is correct, then the contact is probably not a member of the <img alt="freecargo_logo_16.png" height="16" src="%ATTACHURL%/freecargo_logo_16.png" title="freecargo_logo_16.png" width="16" /> community. <br />However, you can still add the contact:
   * You can click: *Click HERE to add it anyway* and proceed from there.
   * *Note1:* You can also use https://www.transportguide.info to find and add contacts (mainly transport providers). Login there with the same email address (= your user ID) and password.
   * <b>Note2: </b>The <img alt="freecargo_logo_16.png" height="16" src="%ATTACHURL%/freecargo_logo_16.png" title="freecargo_logo_16.png" width="16" /> community includes more than 1.5 million users and over 17.000 company members.
---++++ A Known Contact

If your contact or his company is known in the community, you will see the name appear in the search results.
   * Use the *Add Contact* button to add someone to your contacts.
   * You can also create a *Group* and add your contact there, see: <a data-wikiword="NetworkContacts" href="NetworkContacts" target="_blank">Network Contacts</a>.
   * Below is an example page to add a contact to a group named *Scandinavia* for specializedcarriers in that region<b>.<br /></b>
| | <img alt="tc_find_result.png" height="464" src="%ATTACHURL%/tc_find_result.png" title="tc_find_result.png" width="620" /> |
---+++ Dispatch

Now you have entered your *Contacts* we can Assign (send) orders to these contacts (transporters, expeditors, subcontractors or whatever contact you entered).
   * The assignment of transport orders is called *Dispatch*.
   * Choose *Dispatch* from the menu (Menu -&gt; Dispatch):
| | <img alt="tc_menu_dispatch.png" src="%ATTACHURL%/tc_menu_dispatch.png" title="tc_menu_dispatch.png" /> |

   * The *Dispatch / Planning* page appears:
| | <img alt="tc_dispatch1.png" src="%ATTACHURL%/tc_dispatch1.png" title="tc_dispatch1.png" /> |
&emsp; *Explanation*
   * The main page shows a *split screen*, as you can see in the example above.
   * The *Left* side shows your *Contacts* (drivers, transporters etc.)
   * The *Right* side shows the *jobs-to-do* (orders).
   * The order you entered earlier should visible be on the right side, otherwise go back to *Order Entry* or click the *New* button (red arrow in the example page above) to enter a new order.
   * The general idea is to select one or more orders on the *right* and a contact on the *left* and then click the *[p+d]* button (blue arrow). *[p+d]* means pick-up and delivery.
   * If you did it right, the left side of the page now shows two symbols, like in the example above. The symbol pointing up means a *pick-up* action and a symbol pointing down a *delivery* action.
---+++ EDI
   * You might have noticed that you received an email by now, probably two emails.
   * This is the result of the status change of the order, the status of the order is now *assigned*.
   * The email contains the order instructions you can forward to your carrier, driver or subcontractor.<br />
      * Some values of these instructions are filled with your user details, better to complete your user details in [[SettingsTransportCommander][Menu -&gt; Settings: User Details]].
   * You can change the layout and content of these emails, see: *Statuses & actions* in [[SettingsTransportCommander][Menu -&gt; Settings: Statuses & actions]].
   * If you look at this settings you will see two actions behind status *assigned*.
   * Click on the action to change it, below some examples (try them):
   * Example email <a href="TransportOrderEmail1" target="_blank">here</a>.
   * Example email in HTML format <a href="TransportOrderEmail2" target="_blank">here</a>.
   * The second email contains a file with order information that you can send to your carrier or subcontractor, should they accept EDI data for their TMS systems.
   * There are file formats for all kinds of different TMS systems that your carrier or subcontractor might use.
   * You can send each carrier or subcontractor their own required file format. Use Menu -&gt; Feedback to tell us the formats you need.
   * Or just tell us which carrier or contractor you use and we make sure they get the data and make sure you get a confirmation in return.

&emsp; *More info*
   * At this stage you might have a lot of questions, please do not hesitate asking. The best way to do this is by using the *Feedback* link from the main menu (Menu -&gt; Feedback).
   * If you want to know more about *Dispatch* and its possibilities then see the <a href="DispatchDocumentation" target="_blank">Dispatch & Planning</a> page.
---+++ Follow (Track & Trace)
   * You can receive status updates from your contractors and drivers which will be shown on the main page.
   * Depending on your color setting (Menu -&gt; Setting: Statuses & actions) , it will indicate whether everything is going alright or if there is a problem with a specific order.
   * *Status updates* from contractors can be reported by email or by sending EDI files to you. <br />More about this <a href="EdiHowto" target="_blank">here</a>.
   * Contractors can also send you <b>POD</b>s (Proof of Delivery) documents or signatures which will be attached to your orders. <br />Depending on how these contractors send you these PODs they need an email address or an FTP account into your Transport Commander account. <br />Use the Feedback button in the menu (top-right corner) and tell us what you need.
   * Drivers can use their *mobile phone* to send status updates. <br />More about this <a href="PdaDescription" target="_blank">here</a>. <br />Again, use the Feedback menu item and let us know if you want to use this and we will set things up for you.
   * There are numerous options to inform the recipient about the status of the shipment. <br />Messages can be sent automatically with a link to a screen which is updated with the latest status information.<br />See some examples of these screens <a href="TracktraceCustomerTemplates" target="_blank">here</a>.
   * Transport Commander has a lot more functionality than we can describe here. <br />Please let us know what you require. We probably have it and can implement it in minutes. <br />Please use the *Feedback* menu item and tell us what you need.
---+++ Credentials

Apart from contractors sending you status updates, you can also automatically pull status data directly from your contactors TMS system. Provided that you have a log-in at that contractor.

For this you need to add your *credentials* to the respective contacts, as follows:
   * Go to the *Menu -&gt;* *Contacts* page, click on the small menu bar<img align="bottom" alt="clickbars.gif" src="%ATTACHURLPATH%/clickbars.gif" style="vertical-align: middle;" /> (three bars) next to your contact and choose <b>Info+login.<br /></b>For example:
| | <img alt="contacts2.png" src="%ATTACHURL%/contacts2.png" title="contacts2.png" /> |

   * The *details* of the contact appear on screen.
   * Enter the *User ID* (always an email address) and *password* that contact gave to you. <br />Example:
| | <img alt="tc_credentials_addPW.png" height="885" src="%ATTACHURL%/tc_credentials_addPW.png" title="tc_credentials_addPW.png" width="489" /> |

   * If your credentials are correct then you will see the active shipments on your main page.
   * With *Portal URL* you can direct the button on the main page to any URL of your choice.<br />
      * If Portal URL is not filled, the button will link to the CargoOffice of this carrier.
      * It can be directed to any orderentry system of your choice. Use Feedback if you want to know more.
---+++ Active Shipments

After adding your credentials at each contact, the system retrieves latest status from your shipments at these contacts.
   * Now you have a main page showing and tracking all your shipments at all your contacts.
   * Below is an example page.
   * The companies and their logo's are at the top of the page, followed by the shipments you assigned to them as well as the current status of those shipments.
   * By clicking _My contacts_ you see all the companies that are listed here with buttons.<br />With _My contacts_ you can delete old contacts and new contacts.
   * Use _New shipment_ to add a shipment.
| | <img alt="tc_shipments.png" src="%ATTACHURL%/tc_shipments.png" title="tc_shipments.png" /> |

   * *Note:* A red line around a logo means your credentials are not longer valid (or you didn't enter them). Shipments from these contacts can no longer be retrieved and can not be displayed here.
   * Use the small *documents* button <img alt="button_actions_1001.png" height="16" src="%ATTACHURL%/button_actions_1001.png" title="button_actions_1001.png" width="16" /> in front of each shipment to print documents like Manifests, Labels, CMR's, !BoL's, etc.
---+++ Settings
   * <a href="SettingsTransportCommander" target="_blank">Click here for all Transport Commander settings</a>
---+++ More information or feedback
   * Use the Feedback button in the menu (top-right corner) of the !TransportCommander.com (Login -&gt; Feedback)
   * We wish you a lot of *good business* with *TransportCommander.*
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Topic attachments
I	Attachment	History	Action	Size	Date	Who	Comment
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png	button_actions_1001.png	r1	manage	0.6 K	2021-09-22 - 15:08	UnknownUser
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png	tc_shipments_1.png	r2 r1	manage	30.4 K	2021-09-22 - 12:50	UnknownUser
This topic: Cargooffice > AboutFreecargo > FreightExchangeHowto > WebHome > FreecargoProjects > PublicationDocs > StartupGuideTransportCommander
Topic revision: r50 - 2021-11-08 - RutgerRutgers