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A depot does not work like a laden yard
Empty container depots answer to the shipping line, not to the cargo owner. Empty Yard follows that: movements are recorded against the line, containers are surveyed and graded on arrival, repairs are estimated and approved before work starts, and storage is billed per line agreement.
How the module runs
● 5 stages
Empty in
01Survey
02Grading
03Repair estimate
04Release
05
Why it exists
The container belongs to the line, not to the cargo
A laden terminal system models a container as something a customer is moving. A depot models it as an asset the shipping line owns and holds you accountable for. The record that matters is condition on arrival, what was repaired, and what the line is holding at your depot by size and type. Running that on a laden system means forcing the wrong shape onto the data.
What Empty Yard covers
Survey and grading on receipt
With condition captured
Repair estimates raised and approved before work starts
Stock reported by line
Size and type
Depot storage billed per line and per agreement
Release against line instruction
Checked at the gate
Receipt
Condition recorded on arrival
What happens in the first ten minutes decides who pays for the damage later.
Empty in
Movement in recorded against the owning line, with the container number, size and type.
Survey
Condition captured on receipt, which is the record that settles a later dispute about damage.
Grading
The container graded on survey, so its availability to the line is known rather than assumed.
Repair
Estimated and approved before work starts
No depot wants to carry the cost of a repair the line had not agreed to.
Repair estimate
Raised from the survey, priced, and sent to the line for approval before any work begins.
Approval and work
Work proceeds against an approved estimate, and what was actually done is recorded against the container.
Repair billing
Approved repair work billed to the line alongside storage, on the same agreement.
Stock and release
What the line is holding with you
The line wants a position by size and type, and wants its containers released when it says so.
Stock by line
Position by line, size, type and grade, which is the report a depot is judged on.
Depot storage billing
Storage calculated per line agreement and billed through the same run as the rest of the platform.
Release
Containers released against a line instruction and checked at the gate, so nothing leaves unauthorised.
Roles
Who sees what
Access is granted per module and per role, so two people signed into the same platform see different work.
| Role | What the role works with |
|---|---|
| Gate clerk | Empty in and out, release checks against instruction |
| Surveyor | Survey and grading on receipt, damage captured |
| Repair coordinator | Estimates, line approval, work recorded |
| Depot manager | Stock by line, availability, throughput |
| Finance | Storage and repair billing per line agreement |
How it fits
One platform, laden and empty
Operators who run both a laden terminal and an empty depot usually run two systems and reconcile them by hand. Empty Yard is a module of the same platform, so the shipping line, the gate and the billing run are shared rather than duplicated.
- Single sign-on with STOS core and every other module
- One shipping line master shared with terminal operations
- Depot charges in the same billing run as the terminal
- Roles granted per module, so access is specific rather than blanket
FAQ
Questions buyers actually ask
Because the accountable party is different. An empty is held for the shipping line and is judged on condition, grade and availability, not on cargo movement. Forcing it through a laden model loses the survey, the grade and the line position.
The estimate. Repairs are priced from the survey and sent to the line for approval before work starts, so work is only carried out against something the line has agreed to.
Per line and per agreement, calculated from recorded dwell, and fed into the same billing run as the rest of the platform.
The release is checked against the line instruction at the gate, which is the control that stops it.
Yes, like every add-on module. It is the usual first addition for operators who run a depot alongside a laden terminal.
See Empty Yard on your own terminal data
Bring your own customers, tariffs and volumes and we will walk the module end to end on a live system.