Creating new shipments

Creating a shipment means defining which specimens will be sent and where they are going to be sent.

1. Click Shipping > Pending Shipments from the LDMS menu bar.
   The Pending Shipments page will open.
2. From the LDMS action menu, click Create Shipment.
   The Pending Shipment Preview window will open.
3. Complete the information on the General tab.

   All information on this tab is required.

   shipment date

   This is the date that the physical shipment was (if it was already shipped) or will be shipped. If you do not know when you will be shipping the specimens, select an approximate date—it can be changed before the shipping file is generated.

   format

   This is the type of shipping file you are creating. Unless the destination does not use LDMS, select LDMS.

   temperature

   This will be the method of temperature control for the specimens during transport.

4. Complete the information on the Shipping Destination tab.
   Existing laboratories that are using LDMS and LDMS are already available for selection. The contact information for these laboratories is maintained by Frontier Science.
   1. Select either Contact, Lab Number, or Lab Name.
      This is how you will select the laboratory. Contact is the shipping contact person on file for the laboratory. Lab Number is the laboratory’s LDMS ID. Lab Name will show each laboratory in alphabetical order.
   2. Select a laboratory from the drop-down box below.
      If you selected Contact or Lab Name, the number in parenthesis next to each laboratory’s name is the laboratory’s LDMS ID number.
   3. Select or enter the person to receive the shipment at the receiving laboratory from the Contact Person box.
   Laboratories can be added to LDMS. These will only appear as available for selection by your laboratory. Since all laboratories that use LDMS and LDMS are already listed, the new laboratory is assumed to be using some other laboratory management system.
   1. Select New lab.
   2. Complete all the boxes in the Shipping Destination and Contact Information sections.
   3. Optional: If you want to save this laboratory for future use, select the Save address box.
5. Complete the information on the Contact at sending lab tab.
   This is where you enter the information for the person at your laboratory who should be contacted if there is an issue with the shipment.
6. Optional: Complete the information on the Shipment notes tab.

   The Comment and Disclaimer will appear on the shipping manifest and will be shown to the receiving laboratory when they load the shipping file. These comments are in addition to comments that were entered for individual specimens. Use the Comment box for general information about the shipment. The Disclaimer box can be used to provide information about the restrictions placed on the specimens’ usage.

   The Shipment Carrier and Tracking Number will not appear on the shipping manifest and are not included in the shipping file.

7. Add specimens to the shipment on the Shipment Contents tab.
   • Add a container already setup on the Storage page to the shipment from the Storage Containers list.
   • Add specimens to a single use shipping container in the Shipping Containers section.
8. Add storage containers to the shipment.
   1. Click the Add New button to the right of the Storage Containers list.
      The Storage Containers window will open.
   2. For each storage item to be shipped, select the check box next to it.
   3. Click Add Selected to Shipment.
9. Add individual specimens to the shipment.
   1. Click the Add New button to the right of Shipping Containers.
      The Create Shipping Container window will open.
   2. Enter the number of rows and columns for the container into the Number of rows and Number of columns boxes.
      This represents the size and capacity of the container. For example, a container with 8 columns and 5 rows could hold up to 40 specimens. The container as it is currently defined will appear in the Preview section.
   3. Select or deselect the Positions only option as desired.
      If the positions only option is selected, each specimen in the shipping container will be identified by a number. If it is not selected, each specimen will be identified by its coordinates.
   4. (If Positions only is not selected) Define how specimens in the container should be organized.

      coordinate order

      This is how the specimens position will be identified, such as (8,5) or (5,8).

      column labeling and row labeling

      This is how rows and columns will be named in the container. Alphabetic uses letters while numeric uses numbers. The second option specifies where labeling should start.

   5. Select the fill order for the shipping container from the Fill order box.
      The fill order is the logic that is used to determine where specimens will be placed in the container.
   6. Select the sort order for the container from the Primary Sort Order box.
      This is how specimens will be sorted before they are put into the container.
   7. (If Prot/ID2 was selected for primary sort order) Select a Secondary Sort Order.
   8. Click the Add Specimens button.
   9. Do one of the following:
      • In the list of specimens, select the check box next to each specimen to be shipped. Use the available filters to find the specimens you need.
      Or:
      • Click the Upload File: Unique specimen IDs button to upload a file of samples to be included in the shipment.
   10. In the list of specimens, select the check box next to each specimen to be shipped.
       Use the available filters to find the specimens you need.
   11. At the bottom of the Select Specimens to Ship window, click Continue.
       The Preview section for the shipping contain will indicate the positions that now hold specimens. If you added more specimens than could fit in the container, multiple containers will have been created. You can switch between these containers using the arrow buttons in the Preview section.
   12. Click the Add button.
       The shipping container will appear in the Shipping boxes list.
10. Do one of the following:
    • To save the shipment so that it can be modified again before the shipping file is generated, click the Save button.
    • To generate the shipping file now and change the shipment status to shipped, click the Ship button.