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A shipment record connects the physical movement of goods to the commercial deal that governs it. When you create a shipment in Cibocom and link it to a deal, both the buyer and the seller have a single, shared view of where the product is, what documents are in place, and when delivery is expected. This end-to-end visibility replaces fragmented status updates sent by email and eliminates the uncertainty that creates disputes.

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What Is a Shipment

A shipment on Cibocom is a structured record that captures all logistics detail for a specific movement of goods: origin, destination, carrier, container or vessel reference, estimated arrival, and associated documents. Shipments are always linked to a deal — they are not standalone records. One deal can have one or more shipments if volume is moved across multiple deliveries or vessels.

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Linking a Shipment to a Deal

Create a shipment from within a deal record. Open the deal, navigate to the Shipments tab, and select Add Shipment. The shipment is automatically associated with that deal, and both parties gain access to it immediately.
1

Open the Deal

Navigate to My Deals and open the deal you want to create a shipment for. Confirm that the deal status is In Progress before adding a shipment.
2

Add a Shipment

Select the Shipments tab within the deal and choose Add Shipment. Enter the core logistics fields: origin location, destination, carrier name, and expected dispatch date.
3

Enter Container and Vessel Details

Add the container number(s), vessel or flight reference, bill of lading number, and any seal numbers. These identifiers are used by the buyer to track the shipment independently with the carrier.
4

Upload Documents

Attach all relevant shipping documents to the shipment record (see the Documents section below). Upload documents as they become available — you do not need to wait until all documents are ready before creating the shipment.
5

Keep Status Updated

Update the shipment status at each major milestone — from Prepared through In Transit, Customs, and finally Delivered. Both parties are notified at each status change.

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Shipment Details

Each shipment record contains the following fields:
  • Origin — The dispatch location: country, port, or warehouse address
  • Destination — The delivery location: country, port, or consignee address
  • Carrier — The name of the freight carrier, forwarder, or logistics provider
  • Container / Vessel Reference — Container number(s), vessel name, voyage number, or airway bill reference
  • Estimated Departure Date — The date the goods are expected to leave the origin
  • Estimated Arrival Date — The expected delivery or port arrival date at destination
  • Actual Arrival Date — Filled in when delivery is confirmed, triggering the status update to Delivered
  • Documents — All shipping and compliance documents attached to this shipment

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Shipment Status

Update the shipment status as the goods move through the logistics chain. Status changes are timestamped and visible to both parties.
Update shipment status promptly at each milestone. Delayed status updates — particularly the transition to Delivered — are a leading cause of deal disputes on the platform. Your counterparty relies on Cibocom as their primary source of shipment visibility. If a status update is overdue, they have no way of knowing whether a delay has occurred or whether goods are simply unconfirmed.

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Updating Shipment Status

Any authorised user at either the buyer’s or seller’s company can update shipment status, provided they have access to the deal. To update: open the shipment record, select Update Status, choose the new status from the list, and add an optional note (for example, the name of the customs broker or an expected release date if the shipment is in customs). All status changes are logged with the name of the user who made the update and the timestamp. This log cannot be edited or deleted.

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Documents

The shipment document repository is separate from the deal document repository — it holds logistics-specific files rather than commercial documents.
Upload shipping documents to the shipment record as soon as they are issued, even before the goods depart. Buyers frequently need the bill of lading and certificates ahead of arrival to arrange customs clearance. Uploading documents early reduces delays at destination and reflects well on your company as a reliable trading partner.
Standard documents attached to a shipment include:
  • Bill of Lading (B/L) or Airway Bill (AWB) — the primary transport document issued by the carrier
  • Packing List — detailed breakdown of cartons, weights, and dimensions
  • Certificate of Origin — confirms the country of origin, required for customs and preferential tariff claims
  • Health / Veterinary Certificate — issued by the competent authority in the exporting country
  • Phytosanitary Certificate — required for plant-based products crossing international borders
  • Cold Chain Records — temperature logs for chilled or frozen shipments confirming cold-chain integrity
  • Commercial Invoice — referenced again here if the original is not already filed in the deal record
Documents uploaded to a shipment record are visible to both buyer and seller. Do not upload documents intended only for internal use — such as freight cost breakdowns or supplier invoices not meant for the counterparty — to the shared shipment record. Keep those files in your company’s own document management system.