Consignment Lifecycle
Client-facing explanation of the Helm consignment stages from intake to closure.
Each consignment moves through a controlled set of stages. The visible status helps customers and operators understand what is currently needed.
Lifecycle stages
| Stage | Meaning | Expected action |
|---|---|---|
| Draft | The shipment record exists but is still being prepared. | Customer or team supplies missing invoice, item, or tracking details. |
| Awaiting forwarder invoice | Xtellar has reviewed the consignment and released it to the forwarder. | Forwarder prepares shipping cost details and shipment documents. |
| Awaiting payment | Customer invoice is ready. | Customer completes payment; accounts confirms payment status. |
| Payment confirmed | Shipment can proceed. | Forwarder dispatches according to the agreed shipping method. |
| In transit | Domestic or international shipment is moving. | Customer tracks progress in the portal. |
| Arrived or clearing | Shipment has reached Uganda or customs handling. | Customer or appointed clearing agent may need to act if Xtellar is not clearing. |
| Ready for pickup or delivered | Goods are available or have been handed over. | Customer receives goods and confirms any open issues. |
| Closed | Team has completed final audit and archived the consignment. | Record remains available for reference. |
Consignment tabs
The Helm consignment dashboard is organized into focused tabs:
- Items: invoice line items, simplified product names, China HS codes, Uganda HS codes, quantities, values, and editable item details.
- Tax estimation: import duty, VAT, withholding tax, infrastructure levy, IDF, and excise where applicable.
- Tracking: domestic and international shipment movements from 17track, webhooks, cached events, and manual updates.
- Documents: original invoice, generated commercial invoice, packing list, receipts, delivery notes, waybills, and GOX shipping invoices when needed.
- Customer: customer identity, contact, company, TIN, and shipment relationship context.
Visibility gate
The forwarder does not see every draft immediately. Xtellar first checks the invoice, item parsing, classification, special item flags, and tracking data. When the team marks the consignment ready for shipment, Helm publishes the details to the forwarder dashboard.
This gate prevents incomplete or unreviewed shipment records from being acted on by external operators.