Import Job Creation

Pre-Alert Arrives. TMS Job Created.

When a Bill of Lading arrives in a pre-alert email, StarShipper extracts the data, links Master to House B/Ls, and creates the import job in your TMS automatically. No waiting for someone to read the email.

Jobs that wait until someone reads the email

Pre-alert emails arrive from shipping lines and agents with Bills of Lading attached. Each one represents an import shipment that needs a job created in your TMS — vessel, containers, ports, shipper, consignee, the lot. Until someone reads that email and types the data in, the job doesn't exist in your system.

For teams handling dozens of pre-alerts a day, there's also the linking problem. A Master B/L from the shipping line covers multiple House B/Ls for different consignees. Someone has to figure out which House B/Ls belong to which Master, watch for duplicates when updates arrive, and keep everything connected.

StarShipper creates the job the moment the pre-alert arrives — not hours later when someone gets around to reading it.

Pre-Alert Arrives

Master and House B/Ls from carriers and agents

Extracted & Linked

Data parsed, Master linked to House B/Ls, duplicates caught

Job in TMS

CargoWise, Descartes, or any TMS via API

Master and House B/L linking, handled automatically

In freight forwarding, a single Master Bill from the shipping line often covers multiple House Bills for different consignees. StarShipper automatically links them by reference number — so when a Master B/L arrives from Maersk and three House B/Ls arrive from your forwarding partner, they're all connected to the same shipment.

When an updated B/L arrives, StarShipper detects it's an update to an existing job — not a new shipment. No duplicate jobs, no manual de-duplication. The job gets updated with the latest data, and you can see the full document history.

What happens automatically

Master → House Linking— Related B/Ls connected by booking reference or MBL number
Duplicate Detection— Updated B/Ls update the existing job instead of creating a new one
Document Progress— See which documents have arrived and which are still expected
Smart Matching— Multiple reference formats handled — booking, B/L, container number

Try it with your next pre-alert

Forward a pre-alert email and watch the import job appear in seconds.

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