Booking Note Bays
A booking note is the first document a shipment owns, and the bay desk treats it as the anchor for everything that follows. The clerk confirms the shipper, the consignee, the port pair, the commodity, the declared weight and the volume, then matches all of it against the space confirmation held with the carrier. Where the carrier allows a tolerance, the note states it plainly so that no one later argues about a pallet that grew by a few centimetres.
The bay desk reads the finished note back to the shipper by phone or email before releasing the reference. That short conversation catches the majority of mismatches early, long before a container is loaded and a correction becomes expensive. Confirmed notes are stamped with the filing date and passed to the consolidation desk the same day.
Desk S · Opening file · Reference released within the business day
Consolidation Runs
Not every shipper fills a container, and not every container needs to wait for a full load. The consolidation desk groups smaller consignments into a single run so that each shipper pays for space used rather than space reserved. The run plan is drawn on Tuesday, after bookings close, and lists every house bill in loading sequence from the nose of the container to the doors.
Grouping requires discipline as well as arithmetic. Cargo that cannot share a container for regulatory or practical reasons is separated at the plan stage, and cargo that arrives late is held for the following run rather than forced into a stow that would strain the seals. Each shipper on a run receives a house bill naming the master container, the sailing and the expected gate-in date.
Desk D · Plan locked Tuesday · House bill per shipper
Customs Memo Desks
The customs memo is the instruction set that travels with the file. It names the tariff classification, the origin evidence relied upon, any licensing condition and the release route, and it is written in plain language rather than code. A broker should be able to act on the memo without calling the office, which is exactly the test the desk applies before releasing it.
Memos are drafted on Wednesday so that brokers have a clear day before the sailing. Where a classification is uncertain, the memo records the reasoning and the alternative considered rather than hiding the doubt behind a single line. That record protects the shipper if the entry is later reviewed, and it gives the broker a defensible position to file against.
Desk B · Drafted Wednesday · Plain-language release route
Demurrage Watch Windows
Free days are a countdown, and the watch desk treats them as one. Every container on hire enters a watch window at gate-in, with the free days, the last free day and the expected pickup written into a single ledger. The clerk checks the ledger each morning and again before the office closes, so that no container quietly drifts past its last free day while everyone assumes someone else is watching.
When a window narrows, the watch clerk contacts the consignee with a revised pickup plan the same afternoon. Options are offered in order of cost, from an earlier appointment to a short extension, and the decision is recorded against the file. The aim is not to avoid every charge, since some are legitimate, but to make sure every charge is expected before it is incurred.
Desk F · Ledger checked twice daily · Revised plan same afternoon
Docs Attest Review Rounds
Document packs are read twice by two different reviewers before attestation. The first reader compares the pack against the booking note; the second compares it against the customs memo. Discrepancies are marked in the margin and resolved with the party who can explain them, rather than smoothed over to keep the file moving. A round ends only when the carrier copy, the consignee copy and the bank copy agree on every figure.
The desk keeps a record of each round, including what was changed and why. That record is useful in two situations: when a consignee questions a figure months later, and when a carrier asks why a manifest entry differs from the draft that preceded it. Both questions are answered from the same page, which is the point of keeping the round rather than discarding it.
Desk C · Two readers per pack · Round record retained
Warehouse Cut-off Sittings
The cut-off sitting is the last gate before the truck leaves for the terminal. The warehouse holds the sitting at a fixed hour, not on request, so that late cartons are counted in against the run plan and the container is sealed with a lead seal. The tally sheet is signed at the door by the clerk who counted the cargo and by the supervisor who checked the run.
A carton that misses the sitting is not quietly pushed into the next container. It is logged, the shipper is told the same day, and the run for the following week is planned with the extra space already reserved. That small discipline keeps the current sailing clean and gives the next one a realistic load rather than a hopeful one.
Desk W · Fixed sitting hour · Seal applied and recorded at the door
How the six desks connect
- Note and releaseA booking note is confirmed at the bay desk and a reference number is released to the shipper.
- PlanThe consolidation desk decides whether the cargo travels alone or in a group run, and issues house bills.
- MemoThe customs memo desk drafts the release instruction and sends it to the broker before filing.
- WatchThe watch desk tracks free days and gate-in dates while the container is on hire.
- ReviewTwo reviewers compare the document pack against the note and the memo, and record every change.
- SealThe warehouse holds the cut-off sitting, counts the cargo, seals the container and signs the tally sheet.
Each stage is recorded against the same reference number, which means that any party holding that number can ask for the current position and receive a clear answer. If you would like to see how the six desks would handle a particular lane, write to Savino Del Bene Fds Canada Corp. at memo@savinodelbene.buzz or call +19063666989 and a clerk will walk the file with you.