A container leaves the factory. From that day, two companies want to know where it is: the factory that shipped it and the buyer who waits for it.
Often both track it on their own. The factory checks the shipping line's website. The buyer checks it again, or pays for a tool to do it. And every week the same email arrives: "Where is my container?" Someone looks it up and writes back. Then the next buyer asks.
The same work is done twice, and often paid for twice. There is a simpler way.
Track once, share with your partner
On BerthTime, one company tracks the shipment and shares it with the other. The buyer sees the same live data as the factory. Nobody copies dates into emails, and nobody tracks the container a second time.
It works in both directions:
- The factory shares. A factory tracks its export containers and shares each one with the right buyer.
- The buyer asks. A buyer invites its suppliers. A supplier can share its shipments, or ask the buyer to track one on the buyer's own plan.
Either way, each shipment is tracked once, on one plan.
Two ways to share
1. A tracking link
Open a shipment and click Share. BerthTime makes a link you can send to anyone: by email, in a chat, or as a QR code.
- The person who opens it does not need an account.
- They see a read-only page with the status, the arrival date, the route and the events.
- You choose what to show: the container numbers, and your customer reference if you want (it is off by default, because it is often internal).
- You choose how long the link works: never expires, or 7, 30 or 90 days. You can turn it off at any time.
A link is good for a one-off shipment, or for a partner who will not open an account.
2. A connection
For partners you work with every month, a connection is better. Your company gets a handle on BerthTime, like @shenzhen-lamps. You connect with your buyer through an invite link or a request. Then you tag them on a shipment, or on many shipments at once when you import a list.
Your buyer sees those shipments in their own BerthTime account, next to everything else they follow. No links to keep, no portal per supplier. See how the BerthTime network works.
What your partner sees
Your partner sees only what you share: the status, the events, the route and the arrival date, updated automatically.
They never see your remarks, your tags or your other shipments. A shared shipment is read-only for them: they cannot change it.
What is free, and what needs a plan
- Receiving is free. Anyone can open a free account and follow the shipments others share with them. Shipments shared with you do not count against your own plan.
- Asking is free. On a free account, a supplier can ask a connection to track a shipment. It is not tracked or billed until the other side accepts.
- Sharing out needs the trial or a paid plan. Creating tracking links and sharing with connections is part of the free trial and every paid plan.
- The Free plan lets you track up to 5 shipments a month and receive shares. You cannot create new links or share on it, but the links and shares you made before keep working.
So the company that tracks the shipment pays for it once. Every partner it shares with follows it for free. See the plans and prices.
Who should pay?
There is no fixed rule. Pick what fits the way you work:
- A factory that wants fewer emails and better service takes a plan and shares with all its buyers. The buyers join free.
- A buyer with many small suppliers takes a plan, invites its suppliers, and tracks the shipments they ask it to track. When a supplier's volume grows, it can take its own plan and the tracking moves to its side.
- A sourcing agent in the middle tracks once and shares each shipment with the right client.
Start in a few minutes
- Create an account. The free trial needs no card.
- Add your containers, bills of lading or booking numbers. BerthTime finds the shipping line for you. Not sure which number to use? Read booking vs bill of lading vs container number.
- Share your first shipment with a link, or invite your buyer to connect.
From then on, your buyer can check the shipment themselves, and the "where is my container?" emails get fewer.