Client Shipment Status Board
Forwarder-side board of every client's active shipments — who needs an update before they ask for one.
Sources & references
- Freight forwarding client-communication SLAs (industry practice)
- FIATA — forwarder responsibilities and documentation
This tracker stores data locally in your browser — nothing is uploaded. It complements (not replaces) carrier track-and-trace: enter milestones from your carrier's notifications to keep one consolidated, private view across all providers.
Forwarding clients don't churn over delays — delays are the industry. They churn over silence: learning from their own customer that the container arrived, or asking twice for a status their forwarder should have volunteered. This board is the anti-silence machine: every client's active shipments with status, ETA, and the date THEY were last updated.
About Client Shipment Status Board
That 'client last updated' column is the operational heart. Sort the morning scan by it: any shipment whose status moved but whose update-date didn't is an email you owe; anything in 'Issue / exception' more than a few hours old without a client touch is the phone call that decides whether they renew. Proactive bad news builds more trust than passive good news. The 'Issue / exception' status deserves discipline: park a shipment there the moment a roll, hold or delay is known — with the note saying what and what's being done — and don't move it back until the client has heard the recovery plan from you. A forwarder's product is largely managed information; this board is the production line.
How to use Client Shipment Status Board
- 1Add each item with its details — it enters the board in the first status.
- 2Advance the status from the dropdown on each row as work progresses.
- 3Track the live counters (total, completed, open, completion %) above the table.
- 4Export or review per-status totals in your daily ops meeting.
Why use Client Shipment Status Board?
- ✓Status-driven workflow with live per-stage counters and totals
- ✓Advance items with one click as work progresses
- ✓Money totals per status when amounts are tracked
- ✓Local, private and free — no accounts, no setup
Frequently asked questions
How often should clients get shipment updates?+
On every status change and at least weekly even without one — silence reads as inattention. The efficient pattern: milestone-triggered notes (booked, sailed, arrived, customs, delivered) plus an exception update within hours of knowing. The board's update-date column makes the 'who's overdue for contact' question answerable in ten seconds.
Should clients see bad news before it's resolved?+
Yes, with a plan attached. 'Your container was rolled; next sailing is the 14th; we're holding dray capacity for the 19th' — sent the day you learn it — costs one uncomfortable email. The client discovering the roll themselves on day four costs the relationship. The exception status exists so unresolved bad news can't hide in 'In transit'.
Can this replace a client tracking portal?+
It replaces the spreadsheet behind one. Real portals are great when clients use them (most don't — they email anyway). This board optimises the channel clients actually use: it makes your team's outbound updates systematic. Export a client's rows to CSV for the weekly digest email and you've matched a portal's value at zero software cost.
How do I keep the board honest across a team?+
One rule: the person who learns a milestone updates the row and the client, then stamps the update date — in that order. The board's value collapses if statuses move without client touches recorded. In stand-up, read only two filters: exceptions older than today, and update-dates older than seven days. Everything else is fine by definition.
Embed Client Shipment Status Board on your website
Want Client Shipment Status Boardon your own site? Paste this snippet into any HTML page — it's free, with no API key or sign-up. The tool loads in an iframe and keeps working exactly as it does here.
<iframe src="https://tooljolt.com/tools/client-shipment-status-board" width="100%" height="640" style="border:1px solid #e5e7eb;border-radius:12px;max-width:680px" title="Client Shipment Status Board — ToolJolt" loading="lazy"></iframe>Related Logistics tools
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