Outwards

An outward record is a container's departure from the yard. Creating one puts the container out of stock, closes its yard stock record, and — if the container had an active reservation — marks that reservation as used.

#Before you start

• The container must already exist in Containers and currently be in stock.
• OCTO Ops reads the container's most recent inward record to populate the outward form's In data panel and to check the out date.
• To have an outward automatically consume a booking, the container should already have an active entry in Reservations — this isn't required to create an outward.
• Vessel and transporter data come from Vessels and Transporters; other lookups (ports, surveyors, cargo types, available conditions) are set up in module settings.
• You need the View permission for Outwards to see the list and open records, the Create permission to register or import an outward, the Edit permission to change one, and the Delete permission (all records, or own records) to remove one.

#The Outwards list

Open Container Depot > Outwards. The list shows:

It's sorted by ID, newest first, and shows 25 rows per page (10, 50, 100, 150, or All also available). Use the create icon to start a new outward, or the Actions menu for Import outwards from excel or Create outward.

#Register an outward

1. Open Container Depot > Outwards and select the create icon (or Actions > Create outward).
2. Enter the container number under Container number* and select Look up (it also looks up automatically when you leave the field).
   • If the container isn't found or isn't currently in stock, you'll see "Oops... This container number is not in stock or invalid Please check again."
   • If what you typed isn't a valid container number, you'll see "Invalid container number / Please check the container number and reenter it."
3. Once the container is found, review the warnings OCTO Ops may show:
   • If the container's current condition isn't one of the conditions your organization treats as available, you'll see "Condition not in available state / Container current condition is {code} which is not in {available condition codes}." This doesn't stop you continuing.
   • If the container has an active reservation, you'll see "This container has a reservation. Remark: {reservation's description}" and the header notes "(This container has an active reservation)". This also doesn't stop you continuing.
4. Fill in the remaining fields.
5. Select Create container outward.

While you set the date and time, OCTO Ops checks that they're after the container's last inward date and time; until that check passes, you'll see "Oops... The out date and time needs be after inward date and time. Please check again." and Create container outward stays disabled — it also stays disabled until the container is found and while the form is submitting.

If you enter both a release order number and a quantity greater than zero, OCTO Ops checks them when you leave either field. This is a warning only and doesn't block saving: if the release order isn't approved, you'll see "Release order not approved / Check the accuracy of the release order number and quantity."

Two read-only panels show what OCTO Ops already knows about the container:

• Container data — MLO code, ISO type, current condition, latest repair estimate number, reservation details (reserved date, reserved till — or "Not releasable" if the reservation isn't marked releasable — remark, vessel, voyage, seal number, booking number, reference number), stack location, location, and status.
• In data — the date and time, voyage number, cargo, ex-vessel and ex-vessel date, suitable cargo, and remarks from the container's last inward.

#What happens when you save

On success, you'll see "Outward registered successfully" and land on the new outward's profile. OCTO Ops also:

• marks the container out of stock and records this as its latest outward;
• closes the container's open yard stock record;
• if the container had a reservation line that hadn't already been used, marks that line used, consuming it; and
• recalculates the yard's utilization.

If fields fail validation, you'll see inline errors and "Check your records before submitting this form again." Any other failure shows "Something went wrong!" with the underlying error, or "Please retry."

#View an outward (the profile page)

The page heading reads Container Outward: {container number}, and the breadcrumb ends in the outward's ID.

The left-hand card shows:

• The container number, which opens the container's own profile, with the outward ID and its status beneath it.
• An Estimates figure: the total of the estimates you can see that were raised on the inward this outward took out of the yard.
• A table listing each field beside its value: Out at, the outward's condition (Out Condition), the container's current condition (Curr. Condition), release order number (R/O #), release order quantity (R/O Qty.), reference number (Ref #), Seal number, Shipper, vehicle number (labelled Vehicle), Vehicle in time, Vehicle out time, Driver ID, Driver name, MLO, Vessel, Vessel date, Voyage, Port, Cargo type, Transporter, Description, and Surveyor. When the container has a reservation, two more rows follow the reference number: Reservation ref. and Reservation remark, taken from the container's latest reservation. Hover over a shortened label to see its full name. A dash marks any field left blank.

To the right are:

• Invoices — shows "Not yet available": invoices are not linked to outwards in this version.
• Estimates — each estimate raised on the inward this outward took out of the yard: ID (opens the estimate), container number, value, approval date, status, and when it was last updated; "No estimates yet" when there are none.
• History — every record tied to this container, newest first: its inwards, outwards, repair estimates, reservations, discharge list entries, and the workshop work orders raised on its inwards. Each row shows the date, the kind of record, a short description (such as the estimate or reservation number), vessel, voyage, and status. The date opens that record where it has a page of its own; reservations and discharge list entries don't, so they aren't linked. The record you're viewing is highlighted and marked This record. You only see the kinds of record you have View permission for. Surveys aren't listed separately, because each one creates the estimate that is. "No history yet" when there is nothing to show.

To print a gate pass, open the toolbar's Actions menu and select Gate Pass; to edit, use the toolbar's Edit icon. Depending on your permissions the Actions menu also ends with a red Delete entry.

#Edit an outward

1. Open the outward and select the toolbar's Edit icon.
2. Outward ID and Container number are shown read-only — you can't change which container an outward belongs to from here. Beside the form, a Container data panel and an In data panel show the container and the inward it left on, as on the register page.
3. Update any of, in the same order as the register page: Release order number, Release order qty., Out date (required), Out time, Outward vessel, Vessel date, Voyage, Shipper, Out port, Vehicle number, Vehicle in time, Vehicle out time, Driver ID number, Driver name, Transporter, Seal number, Out commodity/cargo type, Condition, Surveyor ID, Reference number, Notes.
4. Select Update container outward.

On success, you'll see "Outward updated successfully" and return to the profile. If this outward is the container's most recent one, OCTO Ops keeps the container's recorded outward date in step with your change. Validation failures show inline errors; other failures show "Something went wrong! / Please retry."

#Import outwards

1. Open Container Depot > Outwards > Actions > Import outwards from excel.
2. Choose a file (.xlsx, .xls, or .csv) and select Upload and preview.

Your file's heading row should use these column names: container, vessel, cargo_type, port, surveyor_id, release_order, release_order_qty, out_date, out_time, vessel_date, voyage, shipper, vehicle_number, driver_id, driver_name, seal_number, reference_number, notes. Rows with no container number are skipped.

If a container number isn't found, that row is flagged "Container number {number} is not found" but still kept in the preview. If a vessel, cargo type, port, or surveyor isn't found, it's flagged under missing master data (for example "Vessel code not found in vessel list: {code}") and blocks the import until it exists.

You're taken to a preview page that only you — the person who uploaded the file — can see or confirm.

#Import preview

The preview shows up to three alerts — red for rows with errors, amber for missing master data, and blue "The following masters or reference records will be automatically created during the import process:" — above a numbered table of Container, RO Number, RO QTY, Date, Time, Vessel, Vessel Date, Voyage, Shipper, Port, Vehicle Number, Driver ID, Driver Name, Seal Number, Cargo, Surveyor, Reference and Notes.

If the preview lists any errors or missing master data, Confirm and record isn't offered — the page says "Resolve the issues above and import the file again to continue." Fix the file (or create the missing master data) and import it again.

Otherwise, select Confirm and record. On success, you'll see "Successfully imported {n} containers." and return to the Outwards list.

#Print a gate pass

On an outward's profile, open the toolbar's Actions menu and select Gate Pass to open its printable gate pass. See Gate Passes for what it shows and who can open it.

#Delete an outward

You can delete an outward if you hold the Delete permission for Outwards (all records, or own records if you registered it) — team owners and admins can always delete one.

1. Open the outward's profile.
2. Open the toolbar's Actions menu and select the red Delete entry at the bottom.
3. Confirm "Delete this outward record? / The container is put back in stock. An outward cannot be deleted once the container has come back in."

An outward can only be deleted while it's still the container's latest movement. If any inward for the same container was recorded after this outward, deletion is refused with "This outward record cannot be deleted: it has a later inward record for this container." An outward with no out date recorded at all (an older or imported record) is always refused, as a precaution.

On success, you'll see "Outward record deleted." and return to the Outwards list. Deleting an outward:

• puts the container back in stock and reopens its yard stock record;
• restores the container's previous outward as its latest, if there was one;
• if this outward had consumed a reservation, releases that reservation line so it becomes available again; and
• recalculates the yard's utilization.

Every deletion is logged. Team owners and admins receive a daily 7am email digest listing the previous day's deleted records.

#Business units

Only when your organization uses business units:

• An outward takes the business unit of the inward whose stay it closes; the form has no business unit field. Its number runs in that business unit's legal entity sequence and shows its prefix, for example PH-7.
• The Outwards list shows the business unit chosen in the header, with a Business unit column. Select the funnel icon to choose another business unit, {your organization} (main business) only, or All business units. A prefixed number in the search finds that legal entity's outward only.
• The profile's details list shows the Business unit.
• An imported outward takes the business unit of its container's latest inward.

#Errors you may see

#Current limitations

• On the outward profile, the Invoices card has no data yet — as in legacy OCTO Ops, where it was always empty.
• Importing outwards creates the outward records only — it does not close the containers' yard stock records or take them out of stock.