An MLO (Main Line Operator) is the shipping line a container or charge belongs to. MLO records are used throughout Container Depot to identify who a container belongs to and who to bill.
Before you start
You need the View permission for MLOs to see the list and a profile, the Create permission to add one, and the Edit permission to change one or update its price master.
The MLOs list
Open Container Depot > MLOs. Columns: Code and Name (both link to the MLO's profile), Contact, Telephone, Status. The list sorts by Name, ascending, by default. The list shows 25 rows at a time by default, with a choice of 10, 25, 50, 100, 150, or all rows. Use the search box to find an MLO. The toolbar shows a create icon; there's no Actions menu on this list.
Create an MLO
- From the MLOs list, select the create icon.
- Complete the fields below.
- Select Create MLO.
| Field | Required | What to enter |
|---|---|---|
| MLO code | Yes | A code for the MLO. |
| MLO name | Yes | The MLO's name. |
| Notes | No | Free text. |
| Contact person name | No | For example, "Sam Doe". |
| Telephone number | No | |
| Address 1 / Address 2 | No | |
| City / State or Province / Zip or post code | No | |
| EDI emails | No | A comma-separated list, for example "[email protected], [email protected]". Stored as plain text — OCTO Ops doesn't validate the addresses. |
MLO code and name have no uniqueness check, unlike Yards, Vessels, and Transporters — you can save two MLOs with the same code or name.
On success you see "MLO created successfully" and land on the MLO's profile. Any failure shows "Check your records before submitting this form again."
View an MLO (the profile page)
Open an MLO from the list to see its profile, headed MLO: {code} - {name}. The left-hand card shows Address, Telephone, Contact person, EDI emails (one per line, each a mail link), Status and Notes. To the right are:
- Invoices — the MLO's Container Depot invoices: ID, date, value and status.
- Estimates — repair estimates on the MLO's containers: ID, container number, value, approval date, status and last updated.
- Work orders — the workshop work orders raised from those estimates.
- Stocks — the MLO's containers still in the yard, with the reservation each is held for.
- Contacts — shows "Not yet available": contacts aren't linked to MLOs in this version.
Busy cards list the latest 50 records and say how many there are in all. Each card only lists records you have View permission for.
The toolbar's Actions menu offers Price master, which opens the MLO's billing prices under Settings — see below.
Edit an MLO
- Open the MLO's profile and select the toolbar's Edit icon.
- Update any of the fields from Create.
- Select Save changes.
Leaving a field blank clears it. On success you see "MLO updated successfully" and return to the profile.
MLO price master
Select Price master on an MLO's profile to set that MLO's storage, handling, and repair prices and discounts. This screen lives under Settings > Module settings, not Container Depot, even though it's reached from the MLO's profile. See Module settings for the full guide to what it contains and how to set it up.
Where MLOs are used
MLOs are picked when registering an inward or an outward, when booking a reservation, and when creating an invoice.
Current limitations
- "MLO contacts" isn't a separate feature. An MLO has a single contact name and telephone number, entered as ordinary fields on the MLO record itself — there's no way to record more than one contact per MLO, and no separate contacts list or profile.
- An MLO can't be deleted.