We have developed a Booking API Spreadsheet that allows Shipping Lines to send Full and Empty bookings to PortConnect. This has been primarily designed for Shipping Lines who don’t send EDI bookings or who are having technical issues with sending bookings from their system.

Providing bookings to PortConnect allows us to populate this information into the Pre-Advice screen which ensures that the correct information is pre-advised and reduces the amount of data that your customers need to enter. This spreadsheet has three functions; Retrieve, Submit & Cancel.

Getting Started

Booking API Spreadsheet

PortConnect will generate a subscription key for you to use with the spreadsheet. When you receive confirmation from us that your subscription key has been activated, please contact User Support at info@portconnect.co.nz to request the Booking API Spreadsheet.

Booking Enquiry and Submit

1. Open the spreadsheet and ensure macros are enabled.

2. When you login to the PortConnect API Developer Portal, go to your profile and under Your Subscriptions you will see your keys. Copy the Primary Key and paste this into the Settings tab of the spreadsheet.

Start filling in the required fields with your booking details and then click Submit

Open

To fill out the Hazardous field you need to enter the same BookingItem Id from under the BookingItems section that relates to the UN number and class.

You will get a “successful” message box appear.

Booking Empty Containers

Open

Retrieve macro

The Booking API spreadsheet has an option to check the current state of a booking. We recommend using this function after you submit an update. This will let you confirm that the booking has saved in our system exactly as you have submitted it.

1. Go to the ‘Booking Enquiry and Submit’ sheet in the spreadsheet.

2. Enter the Booking Number in cell A5

3. Click on the ‘Retrieve Booking’ button

4. This will then populate all of the booking information in the spreadsheet

5. If the booking has not been submitted or it has been cancelled, you will receive this pop-up message:

Cancel macro

• Cancel macro allows you to cancel your bookings in PortConnect.

Storage Pre-Advice

Background

To ensure smoother gate operations, Ports of Auckland now requires 'Storage Pre-Advice' for Empty containers entering LINK facility at the Fergusson Container Terminal. 

PortConnect automatically sends Storage Pre-Advice when the empty return depot of an Import is specified as LINK at gate out. The gate out can occur at either Ports of Auckland or Port of Tauranga.

PortConnect also offers shipping lines the ability to pre-advise empty containers for the Link depot on an ad-hoc basis. This is offered via a Storage Pre-Advice API. The Storage Pre-Advice is only intended for use when containers have already gated out from POAL or when they discharged from a port other than POAL (i.e. POT). The API can be system accessed or can be manually accessed via a Storage Pre-Advice Spreadsheet that PortConnect has developed.  

Pre-Advise containers for LINK

1. Open the spreadsheet and ensure macros are enabled.

2. Storage Pre-Advice sheet > Enter empty container numbers and container ISO type codes into the required cells.

3. Select the cell of the first container number and click ‘Submit’ to pre-advise empty containers in the list to the Ports of Auckland LINK depot.

4. In the Response column, containers will display as successfully processed.