Parcels/goods are often shipped together. They can be put on a pallet and be put on a truck together with other pallets. If the truck is delayed, all parcels in that container will be delayed. 

With the Container feature in Scan App, you can make a grouping called "container" which contains many shipments. It can be a virtual container or a physical item like a pallet. The container acts as the "parent shipment" while all the shipments added to it will act as "children". When you add an event to the container ("parent shipment"), all "child shipments" will automatically inherit the same event.

There can be several levels of containers, e.g. a parcel is placed in a box (container), the box is placed in a cage (container) and the cage is placed on a truck (container). Events can be added on all levels.

Topics in this article:

• Enabling Containers in Action Center
• Adding shipments to a container
• Assigning and delivering content in a container
• Add an event to a container
• Containers in Portal

Enabling Containers in Action Center

1. Log in to nShift Portal and go to Action Center > Settings > Scan App Events.
   
   
2. Click the edit icon  on an event to open Event settings.
   
   
3. Click Advanced to open extra options.
   
   
4. Check the box next to Container Id required and click Save.
   
   
   
   
5. You are now ready to start using Containers in Scan App.

Adding shipments to a Container

Follow the steps below to add shipments and parcels to a container in Scan App. The container can be an ordinary shipment in nShift Ship (Consignor) which can be pre-printed, or you can create a virtual container with a name that you choose. It will be the "parent shipment" while all the shipments added to this will act as "children".

1. Tap the event field and choose an event from the list of available events, e.g., Loaded in Container.
   
   
   
   
2. Scan one or more barcodes that you want to add to a container and tap Next.
   
   
3. Scan App will now validate if the event has the property Container required. If a container is required, a new screen will ask the agent to select a container. You can now either scan a barcode that will be used as the container, choose an available container from the list (if available) or create a new container.
   
   
   
   
4. To create a new container, tap the New container button. Enter a name or use a barcode and tap Save.
   
   
   
   
5. Your new container will now be available on the list. Use the edit or delete icons if you want to edit or delete a container.
   
   
6. Tap a container to select it and then tap Complete.
   Tip: Activate the Remember selection if you want to use the same container for the next scan.
   
   

Assigning and delivering content in a container

After shipments have been added to a container you can see it in the Containers screen.

1. Open the Containers screen by tapping the menu icon in the top left corner.
   
   
2. Choose Container under the Containers section.
   
   
   
   
3. Tap All Available to see the complete list of containers with shipments created for your current Action Center.
   
   
   
   
4. Tap a container that is not assigned to any agents. This will make the Assign to me button active and you can tap it and assign the container to yourself. Once a container is assigned to you, no one else can add shipments to it. Tap Ok to proceed.
   
   
   
   
5. You will be redirected to the Assigned to me tab where the assigned container will be displayed. Tap on the arrow next to the container to navigate to the content of the container.
   
   
   
   
6. Add an event to a shipment in the container by tapping on a shipment to select it and then tap the + icon. 
   
   
   
   
7. The selected barcode will now appear on the main screen. Select the desired event, fill in information if required and tap Complete.
   
    

Add an event to a container

In some situations, e.g. if the entire container has been delayed, it is useful to add an event to the container rather than to each package in the container.

1. In Scan App, go to your assigned containers and tap the container you want to add an event to.  (See steps 1-5 above under Assigning and delivering content in a container).
   
   
   
   
2. Choose an event and fill in the required fields, if any. Tap Complete.
   
   
   
   
3. The Delayed event has now been assigned to the container and it will automatically be assigned to every shipment in the container.

Containers in Portal

1. When you have added a shipment to a container, you will be able to see the container ID or name on the connected shipments ("children") in nShift Portal.
   
   
   
   
2. If you want to add more shipments to a container at a later point in time, simply go through the steps described above in Adding shipments to a container in Scan App.
   
   
3. When you add a new event to the container ("parent shipment"), all "child shipments" will automatically inherit this event.