Carrier & container dataAutomated detention and demurrage recovery for Descartes
Carrier EDI status messages from the Descartes network into your D&D audit
- Sync
- Event-driven: each EDI message is processed within minutes of delivery
- Authentication
- EDI mailbox routing set up by your Descartes administrator (AS2 or network mailbox, depending on your configuration)
- Data exchanged
- EDI 315 ocean status messages · EDI 310 freight receipt and invoice messages · Carrier invoice data · Exception notices
How it connects
The Descartes Systems Group sells logistics software and runs the Global Logistics Network, a messaging network many shippers, forwarders and carriers use to exchange EDI and other electronic documents. If your carrier status messages already flow through Descartes, the milestone data the audit needs is already moving.
ATAHSKIA receives copies of the ocean status (EDI 315) and freight details and invoice messages you choose to route, normalizes the events to discharge, availability, hold, gate-out and empty return milestones, and uses them as the independent clock against which each detention and demurrage invoice is checked. Where invoice data also comes through the network, the 20 elements of 46 CFR § 541.6 are tested the moment the message arrives.
Carrier-reported events are not the whole story at a congested terminal, so the Descartes feed is usually paired with terminal and appointment data. The value of the EDI stream is that it comes from the billing party itself: when the carrier's own status message shows a hold that the invoice ignores, that is strong evidence in a relief request.
Data flows
EDI 315 ocean status messages
Reads
Discharge, available for delivery, customs and freight holds, gate out full, empty returned.
EDI 310 freight receipt and invoice messages
Reads
Where routed, B/L level freight and charge detail used to cross-check the billed party and B/L.
Carrier invoice data
Reads
Electronic D&D invoices where your carriers send them through the network.
Exception notices
Writes
Optional outbound notices to your internal systems when an invoice fails a Part 541 check.
Field mapping
| ATAHSKIA | Descartes | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Container number | Equipment initial and number in the 315 message | |
| Bill of lading number | B/L reference in the 315 or 310 message | |
| Discharge date | Unloaded from vessel status code | |
| Container availability date | Available for delivery status code | Status code sets vary by carrier; we maintain the mapping. |
| Hold periods | Customs and carrier hold and release status codes | |
| Gate-out full date | Outgate status code at the discharge terminal | |
| Empty return date | Empty container returned status code | |
| Event location | Location qualifier and code on each status |
Setup
Request a copy route
Ask your Descartes account team or EDI administrator to copy the 315 and invoice messages for your trading partners to a ATAHSKIA mailbox. Original routing to your own systems is untouched.
List your trading partners
Give us the carriers and terminals whose messages you receive so we can confirm their status code conventions.
Validate a test week
We replay one week of messages and compare the milestone timeline against a sample of containers your team knows well.
Switch to live
Once the test timelines match, live messages feed the audit and every new D&D invoice is checked on arrival.
What it recovers
Use the carrier's own hold status
The carrier's 315 shows a freight hold released three days after availability, yet demurrage was billed from discharge. The dispute packet cites the carrier's own message.
Rebuild free time without manual tracking
Discharge, availability and empty return events from EDI set the free time start and end, so every invoice's stated dates can be tested automatically.
Spot invoices with no matching move
Charges billed against a container with no gate-out or return message are flagged for review before anyone pays them.
Descartes integration FAQ
Do we need to change our Descartes setup?
Only to add a copy route. Your existing message flows to your TMS or ERP stay exactly as they are.
What if a carrier does not send 315 messages?
We fill the gap with container tracking APIs, terminal data or your own milestone records, and mark which source each event came from.
Is ATAHSKIA a Descartes partner?
No formal partnership is claimed. We receive the messages you choose to route to us.
Related connectors
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