This release includes the first phase of a major upgrade to the way Expedient stores and identifies documents. The final objective of this upgrade is for Expedient to generate packs of documents relating to a Job or Consol with minimal effort and time, e.g. Brokers Pack, Invoice Pack, Export Consol Pack.
This initial phase affects documents stored in the Import and Export screens. The Consol and Job screens have been updated with a Documents tab which lists documents stored against the Consol or Job, and the list of documents required to complete the Consol or Job.
Your documents that were stored in the Job or Consol prior to the Release will appear in the Document tab. If you have any issues opening a file try editing the filename.
Use the mouse to find the ‘splitter’ icon between the two main areas of the screen to improve your view of the table of stored documents and the table of required documents.
Example Import Job screen, Document tab
Future phases will add the Documents tab to the Customer Masterfile, provide the ability to set up the standard contents of Document Packs, and provide options to generate the Packs from related screens in Expedient.
The current release includes the following changes (click the links to see more details)
- Files can be easily ‘dragged and dropped’ into the Document tab and identified as a specific Document
- Documents generated by Expedient can automatically appear in the Consol or Job screen within the new Documents tab
- New Document Options
- Multiple Documents listed in the Document tab can be quickly selected to attach to a single email
- Documents can be ‘dragged and dropped’ out of the Document tab
- New buttons in the Print Menu screen
- New events created by receipt of required documents and Bill type
- Documents received from external sources will be automatically assigned the appropriate document type so they are easily identified in the Document Tab
- Documents can be archived
- Improved configuration to prepopulate Required Document
- Sites can determine which Documents Types are relevant to their business, maintain the autosave settings, archive settings and add new Document Types
Files can be easily ‘dragged and dropped’ into the Document Tab and identified as a specific Document
Use the mouse to drag in a file from your desktop or another location and drop it into the Documents tab. The Job or Consol must be in VIEW mode. The file will be copied across and you will be prompted to identify the file. Select a code in the Document Type field. When the Document Properties screen is saved the file will be listed in the documents tab and identified.
If the file is identified as a document in the Required Documents list, the Required Documents list will be automatically updated to show the document has been received
Files can also be added into the Documents tab using the 
button in the tab.
Please note only one file can be added at a time as the Document Properties should be assigned to each document.
Emails cannot be dragged and dropped into Expedient from Outlook. Expedient will show an error and advise you to move the Outlook email to your desktop first, and then drag and drop into the Documents tab.
Common file types are supported. Expedient will warn you if the file type cannot be added to Expedient. If you see this message ‘Unknown File Type. Cannot transfer the chosen file’ please raise a Support Ticket with Expedient.
To add multiple files to the job in one action go to Options > Consol File or Job Files to access the documents folder directly
The Documents window available in other screens e.g. Workflow, Cargo Reporting, Customs Entry and Supplier Invoice screen has been updated to include the Document Type, Document Option buttons, and the ability to add and ‘drag and drop’ out files.
Documents generated by Expedient can automatically appear in the Consol or Job screen within the new Documents tab
The screenshots below show that the ETA Change notification is stored as a Private document in the new Document Identification Masterfile. This means when the notification is selected from the Import Job screen, the Print menu is automatically set to save the document to the private folder in the Document tab for the Import Job. The document is listed at the top of the Document tab
Document can be ‘dragged and dropped’ out of the Document tab
Files can be selected from the Document tab and dragged out from the Job or Consol to copy to an external location e.g. COLS website, your desktop etc. Use keyboard shortcuts with your mouse to select multiple files. Expedient will alert you if the file cannot be located before copying the files. If you see this error go to Options > Consol Files or Job Files to add back the missing file
When the file is listed in the Documents tab, the following options are available. Buttons appear under the Documents list. Please note to access these options only one document should be highlighted
– this will allow you to add a new file to the list. The button opens a File Explorer window. This button is always available. Only one file should be added at a time as Document Properties must be applied to the file
– this button allows you to Edit the Document Properties. You can make the following changes
- Update the Filename
- Change the Document Type. The document type cannot be updated if the document was generated by Expedient. If the change affects the Required Documents, the list of Required Documents will be updated immediately
- Change the location of the document – Private or Public (available on Web Portal). This is defaulted to the setting for the Document Type in the Document Identification Masterfile
- Archive the document. The document will not be deleted but hidden from normal view. The document can be accessed by using the button e.g.
. This button also displays a count of the archived documents for the Consol or Job. - Short comments can be added to each document. These are only seen in the Documents tab
– this button will delete the document and all comments associated with it. If the document was included in the Required Documents list, the list will be immediately updated to show the document is required
– this button will show the document or download the document, depending on the file type
– this button will open the Print Menu screen and show the selected document as an attachment.
Multiple Documents listed in the Document Tab can be quickly selected to attach to a single email
You can select multiple documents in the Documents tab using keyboard shortcuts
- Ctrl A – Select all
- Shift+Left Mouse Button – block of documents
- Ctrl + Left Mouse Button – select multiple files
and select the email option. The Print Menu screen will appear and all the selected documents will be listed as attachments.
Please note where multiple documents are selected the recipients and email subject will not be pre-populated in the Print Menu screen.
New events created by receipt of required documents and Bill type
When the Required Documents listed is updated to show the documents have been received, Expedient creates the following new events in the Job. These events can be used to trigger milestones in Workflow
- Arrival Notice – ARND
- Charges Notice CHNR
- Delivery Order – DORR
Ticking Customs as Checked will also create a Job Event (CCHK).
The ONC/OWENC field in the Import Job screen has been updated so that the Bill Type selected will indicate that the matching document type has been received, e.g. selecting Express will automatically show the Bill of Lading – Express (BLE) has been received. The option to do this is determined in the Administration > Company Details Menu > Required Docs Configuration screen
New buttons in the Print Menu screen
You can now attach documents easily from the Consol, if the Job you are generating documents for is linked to a Consol. See the screenshot below.
There is a new Save and Exit button which allows you to generate the document and save it to the Job or Consol without printing or emailing the document. This button appears where the document you are generating is set up to save to the Private or Public folder for the Job or Consol.
Documents received from external sources will be automatically assigned the appropriate document type so they are easily identified in the Document Tab
Documents from Customs and PODs from transport providers will appear in the Document tab and will be automatically assigned a Document Type
If you have an interface that receives other documents from an external source, and you would like them to be automatically identified with a Document Type, please raise a Support Ticket with us outlining the details
The Document Identification Masterfile can be set up so that each time the Document Type is added to the Job or Consol, all previous versions are automatically archived. For example, each time a Customs Entry is received, the previous version can be archived to avoid confusion when sending a copy to the client. Documents listed in the Job or Consol can also be manually archived using the button to Edit the Document Properties.
Use the Archived Documents button to view these documents e.g. . This button also shows the number of documents that are currently archived. Archived documents are not included in the count shown in the Documents tab label e.g. 
Improved configuration to prepopulate Required Documents
The set up for prepopulating the list of Required Documents in Jobs has been extended to Consols, and expanded so the configuration now includes Job Class, Payment Terms, INCO Terms, Origin/Destination Country and Service Type, i.e. Customs and Forwarding, which allows more detailed configuration suited to the conditions in the Job or Consol.
Sample Import Job Required Document Configuration
Expedient will check the configuration screen shown above when
- A job or consol is created. This includes manually adding the job or consol, job and consol load from interfaces, and job and consol creation from Order Tracking and EDI Manifest
- A change to the Import Job is made that is in the following list: mode, job class, payment terms, INCO terms, load port, broker, forwarder, carrier, OWC/OWENC field
Expedient decides which Documents are required for the Import Job based on the below workflow. Similar workflow is used for Export Jobs and Consols and Import Consols
The screen also has the settings to display the list of missing required documents when options are selected in the Import Job Registration screen e.g. the job below shows the Express Bill of Lading is required and not received. On selecting to go to the Supplier Invoice screen the operator is reminded that the Express Bill of Lading is missing
Sites can determine which Documents Types are relevant to their business, maintain the autosave settings, archive settings and add new Document Types
Information on the Document Types can be accessed in Administration > Company Menu Details > Document ID Masterfile. This screen allows you to change some details on system generated documents, and new Document Types can be added that may be required. Document Types can also be made non-active where operators should not assign files to that type.
