Short articles covering the questions buyers and pilot users ask most. For anything not covered here, the team replies to every email in under 24 hours.
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Every parcel passes through seven states in SeaPillar: EXPECTED → RECEIVED → IN_WAREHOUSE → STAGED → DELIVERED / DISPATCHED → CONFIRMED → CLOSED. Each state change records who did it, when, on which device, and with what comment or photo. The chain is append-only — past entries cannot be edited, only added to. That is what makes it defensible if a parcel is later disputed.
A Goods Delivery Note (GDN) is the cryptographically-signed PDF that proves a captain accepted custody of a parcel. SeaPillar generates one automatically the moment the captain confirms delivery on their phone. Every GDN carries an HMAC-SHA256 integrity hash in the footer, so any later edit is detectable. GDNs can be printed and downloaded from the parcel detail page from RECEIVED onwards.
Bonded parcels follow the same lifecycle as inbound parcels with one gate added: a parcel marked as bonded cannot transition out of STAGED until its associated Customs Manifest is in the RELEASED state. The manifest follows DRAFT → SUBMITTED → UNDER_REVIEW → APPROVED → RELEASED → CLOSED. If a bonded deadline passes without a customs release or an approved extension, CLOSE is blocked — the system will not let a non-compliant parcel finish the chain.
When a parcel reaches DELIVERED the agent sends a one-tap link to the captain by SMS or email. The captain opens the link in any mobile browser — no app install, no password. They confirm with their name, the condition of the parcel (good / damaged / partial), and a signature. SeaPillar timestamps the confirmation, records the device fingerprint and IP, and seals the GDN within seconds.
Parcels are assigned to a warehouse zone when they transition to IN_WAREHOUSE. Each zone has a defined capacity and SeaPillar tracks occupancy and dwell time automatically. The warehouse dashboard shows live utilisation, parcels approaching dwell-time thresholds, and which zone holds each parcel. Zone assignments are auditable and survive operator hand-offs.
SeaPillar has seven roles. Agency Admin manages the org. Operator handles day-to-day parcel and vessel work. Customs Officer manages bonded cargo and customs manifests. Warehouse handles receiving and zone assignment. Viewer is read-only for stakeholders. Captain is for vessel sign-off (separate portal). Super Admin is platform-level support and not customer-facing. Permissions are enforced server-side on every request — UI hiding is not security.
All data is encrypted in transit (TLS 1.3) and at rest (AES-256). Tenant isolation is enforced at the database query layer — no two agencies can ever see each others data. Every administrative action is recorded in an immutable audit log. Infrastructure is EU-hosted; we are GDPR-compliant and provide a Data Processing Agreement during onboarding.
For active operational incidents (GDN integrity failures, custody chain gaps, data sync problems on a live port call) contact us at hello@seapillar.com or via the technical-escalation lane on the contact page. Include the parcel ID and vessel call so we can trace the chain immediately. Acknowledgement target: within 1 hour during business hours, within 4 hours otherwise.
Email hello@seapillar.com or use the contact form. A real person replies within 24 hours.
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