Automatic check on quality of container numbers
Today we implemented the improvements in the service Notification Export Documentation announced earlier. As of 7 September 2016, we will automatically be carrying out extra checks on your behalf on the correctness of the container number for all export containers you pre-notify via this service. This will help you to avoid any problems upon arrival at a terminal, unnecessary corrections and delays. Thereby enabling everyone to work more efficiently. If a container number deviates, a warning will appear on the screen straight away.
More specifically, we will check for you that the container number has a logical structure (four letters followed by seven numbers) and carry out a ‘check digit control’. After all, each container number is compiled according to a global ISO standard, whereby each letter and number has its own value. The result of multiplying and dividing these values using a particular formula must be equal to the last digit in the container number.
Please note: Our extra checks don’t work for ‘shippers owned containers’. The numbering of such containers in possession of companies has a separate, different system. You can therefore ignore the warning on the screen.
For internet and Excel
We carry out checks on the data quality of the container number on all prior notifications in Notification Export Documentation via the internet, including Excel uploads. If you use Notification Export Documentation via a system interface, the check on the container number has often already been built in by your software supplier.
