ACE and ACE eManifests are required for any freight crossing the international border between the US and Canada. Freight crossing from Canada bound for US destinations requires an ACE eManifest, while freight crossing from the US bound for Canadian destinations requires an ACI eManifest. The eManifest contains multiple pieces of information that describe your own company, what freight is being moved, who is moving the freight for you, where the freight has originated, and where the freight is destined.
To assist with this process, we have an integration with Border Connect. To make use of this integration, you will need an existing subscription with Border Connect.
Our integration allows for eManifests to be transmitted to Border Connect from the Tailwind Dispatch record and allows eManifest statuses to be transmitted from Border Connect back to Tailwind. Tailwind also provides an initial checklist of the information to be transmitted to Border Connect so that you can review the information before transmission.
Once you have configured the integration with Border Connect and added your SCAC code and Carrier Code to your branch in Tailwind, you can start transmitting eManifests and keep track of them, all from the Dispatch record in Tailwind.
Configuration
To start making use of our integration with Border Connect, you will first need to get an API key from Border Connect (https://www.borderconnect.com/borderconnect/contact-us.htm). Once you have that, you will need to input this key into your Configuration in Tailwind. Here are the steps:
Click the gear icon in the upper right-hand corner and select “Configuration.”
Expand “Integrations,” then select “Border Connect.”
Enter your key into the field, then hit “Enable Border Connect.”
The final step to configuring the integration with Border Connect is to ensure that your own SCAC code and Carrier Code has been added to your branch in Tailwind. Here are the steps:
Click the gear icon in the upper right-hand corner and select “Configuration.”
Expand “General Information” and select “Company Information.”
Click the yellow edit button next to your branch.
Enter your company's SCAC code in the "SCAC" field of the branch
Enter your Carrier Code in the "Carrier Code" field of the branch then hit "Save."
Now that your connection has been configured and your SCAC code has been stored, you can start transmitting eManifests from Tailwind to Border Connect.
How to Transmit eManifests
Once you have configured Border Connect, you will be able to transmit an ACE or ACI eManifest from any Dispatch in your Tailwind database. ACE and ACI eManifests have different requirements, which you can view at the bottom of this article. Tailwind will provide you with a visual checklist of all of the data required for submission to Border Connect so that you can quickly identify information that is missing or inaccurate before sending it over.
To transmit an eManifest from the Tailwind Dispatch, follow these steps:
Open a dispatch that will need an eManifest to be transmitted.
Expand the “Border Connect” button at the top and select either “Send/Check ACE eManifest” or “Send/Check ACI eManifest,” whichever is applicable.
Doing so will navigate you to the Tailwind eManifest Checklist, which is a visual indicator of the data you are about to transmit to Border Connect.
Shipment Control Numbers
Both ACE and ACI eManifests require unique Shipment Control Numbers (SCN) as a way of identifying specific shipments for your own company. Tailwind will generate this SCN for you, using a combination of your SCAC code and the Shipment’s unique ID. No two shipments in Tailwind can have the same unique ID, so this will guarantee that the SCN will be unique in Tailwind.
If someone provides you with an SCN to search, you can search the numbers in the SCN within the Shipments list. If your SCN is ABCD0123, then you can locate this shipment by searching the value “123” in the “Shipment ID” field of the Shipments list. The shipment’s ID can also be found in the URL for the specific shipment, too.
If a user needs access to the Shipments list, you can enable it within their security using the permission “Enable Shipments.”
Border Crossing Locations
To properly transmit an eManifest, your Dispatch Route Plan will require a Border Crossing Location. A Border Crossing Location record is the same as a regular location record, with the “US Border Crossing” and “CA Border Crossing” fields.
The Route Plan will allow you quickly add only a Border Crossing by clicking the button “Add Border Crossing.” This will open a list of locations that have already been refined only to those that have the fields “US Border Crossing” and “CA Border Crossing” populated.
Border Crossing locations can be created either from the Locations list on the left-hand menu or by clicking “Add Border Crossing” and then selecting “Create Border Crossing” from the modal that appears.
Tailwind eManifest checklist
The Tailwind eManifest checklist provides a visual indication of all of the data you are about to transmit to Border Connect. The checklist is organized by record type and contains the fields required for an eManifest to be successfully transmitted to Border Connect*. A red “X” will indicate that the data is either missing or in the wrong format. A green checkmark will show that the information is populated and in the correct format for transmission.
You can open a specific record in a new tab by clicking anywhere within its respective box on the checklist. Opening the record in a new tab allows you to keep the Dispatch in the original tab while also allowing you to update the necessary information on that record on the new tab.
If any information is updated, be sure to close the eManifest checklist and click the “Send/Check eManifest” button once more to refresh the checklist data. Once the eManifest checklist shows that all of the required information has been provided, click “Transmit eManifest” to send it over to Border Connect.
Checking an eManifest
Suppose you have already transmitted an eManifest from Tailwind to Border Connect. In that case, you can view the current status of the eManifest within Tailwind by expanding the “Border Connect” option and selecting “Send/Check ACE eManifest” or “Send/Check ACI eManifest,” whichever is applicable. You can also re-transmit an eManifest by following the same procedure and clicking “Re-Transmit eManifest.”
Border Connect transmits statuses back to Tailwind, letting you know what is happening with a specific eManifest as quickly as possible. These logs are recorded in Coordinated Universal Time (or UTC) but will be displayed in your local timezone and available in the eManifest checklist to review.
Border Connect ACE/ACI eManifest Field Requirements
Below is a list of all the Border Connect field requirements for an eManifest to successfully transmit*:
*Note that while an eManifest may successfully transmit from Tailwind to Border Connect, it may fail due to other external factors. Therefore, be sure to keep track of the status of your eManifest, either within the Tailwind eManifest checklist or within the Border Connect portal itself.