NVOCC Principal vs NVOCC Agency Software: Which One Do You Need?
BlueLogis Consulting ·
NVOCC principal software runs the line itself: contracts, Bills of Lading in the line's name, the container fleet and the agent network. NVOCC agency software runs port-side work on behalf of one or more principals: bookings, delivery orders, local charges, collections and each principal's statement of account. Many companies need one; some need both.
Who is the principal and who is the agent?
An NVOCC principal is the carrier in the contract with the shipper. It sets the tariff, signs the customer contract, issues the Bill of Lading in its own name, owns or leases the containers and carries the commercial risk on each voyage.
An NVOCC or shipping agent represents the principal at a port where the principal has no office of its own. It takes bookings, releases cargo with delivery orders, collects freight and local charges, manages the principal's containers locally, and settles the money with the principal through a statement of account. An agency often represents several principals at once.
Side-by-side comparison
| Area | Principal software | Agency software |
|---|---|---|
| Main user | The line's head office | The port agency |
| Commercial | Customer contracts, tariffs, auto-rating | Each principal's rates and local charges |
| Bills of Lading | Issued in the line's own format; merge, split and switch | Issued in each principal's format |
| Containers | The whole fleet: SOC/COC, leasing, repair, repositioning | The principal's boxes at the agent's ports |
| Detention and demurrage | Tariffs, waivers and recovery across the network | Calculation and collection at the port, posted to the principal |
| Accounting | Every agent's account, voyage-wise P&L | Separate principal and agency ledgers, SOA per principal |
| Key report | Voyage profit and agent balances | Statement of account for each principal |
What principal software must do
- Hold customer contracts and tariffs, and rate bookings from them.
- Issue BLs and sea waybills in the line's own format, with merge, split and switch BL.
- Run SOC and COC containers on separate workflows, with depot mapping, moves, location-wise inventory, leasing and repair.
- Calculate detention and demurrage daily, handle waivers, and hold the DO until charges are cleared.
- Keep every agent's account and show voyage-wise profit.
BlueLogis NX is built for NVOCC principals and container lines and covers these areas. See what to look for in principal software.
What agency software must do
- Configure several principals, each with its own rates, BL format, inventory and accounts.
- Run export bookings, slot allocation and BLs, and collect prepaid freight before BL release.
- Run imports from manifest to delivery order, issuing the DO only after to-collect charges are cleared.
- Post to separate principal and agency ledgers and produce each principal's SOA.
BlueLogis AX is the agency ERP for NVOCC and shipping agencies and covers these areas. See 10 questions to ask agency software vendors.
Which one do you need?
- You run your own line or boxes and appoint agents: principal software.
- You represent one or more lines at your ports: agency software.
- You do both (common in India and the GCC, where a group runs its own NVOCC and also acts as agent for others): both, ideally on one platform so masters, users and reporting are shared while each business keeps its own books.
- You also forward freight: add forwarding software on the same platform, so jobs can feed bookings without re-keying.
Running both on one platform
BlueLogis NX (principal) and BlueLogis AX (agency) run on the same platform as BlueLogis FX (forwarding). They share one login and the same customer, vendor and port masters, finance stays centralised, and each business can keep its own finance book. Forwarding jobs from FX can be fed into NX as bookings. Pricing is the same for each product: INR 2,500 or INR 4,000 a month in India, or USD 35 or USD 60 a month in Oman, the GCC and other countries, with a 7-day free trial.
Quick decision guide
- Do you issue BLs in your own name? You need principal software.
- Do you settle money with lines you represent? You need agency software.
- Do you do both? Choose one platform with separate books for each business.
- Do you also forward freight? Make sure forwarding is on the same platform.
Frequently asked questions
Related guides
- NVOCC Principal Software: What a Container Line Needs
- NVOCC Agency & Shipping Agency Software for Multiple Principals
- NVOCC Software for Principals, Agencies and Forwarders
- NVOCC vs freight forwarder: what software do you need?
- What is NVOCC software? A guide for principals and agents
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Products: BlueLogis FX (freight forwarding) · BlueLogis AX (NVOCC agency) · BlueLogis NX (NVOCC principal).