A vendor-neutral checklist for terminal operators preparing discovery, RFI, RFP, solution demonstrations, architecture workshops and reference checks. It translates TechSelectAI's specialist TOS taxonomy into 85 requirements that buyers can prioritize and validate.
Priority: Must-have, important or nice-to-have. Vendor response: Supported, partially supported, enterprise-only, plan-dependent, custom configuration, add-on, third-party integration, not supported or clarification required. Evidence: Require the exact product/module, version, source document, demonstration scenario and reference-terminal scope.
Important: “Not yet verified” is a TechSelectAI research-coverage state, not evidence that a product lacks a capability. Likewise, a suite or companion product capability must not be inherited into the evaluated TOS unless the proposed scope explicitly includes it.
11 requirements. Adapt wording and acceptance evidence to the terminal's cargo mix, scale, automation level and operating model.
| Requirement | Buyer question / scope | Priority | Vendor response | Evidence / notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vessel & berth planning / executiontos-vessel-berth-planning | Plan and execute vessel calls, berth allocation, stowage or quay work using terminal-operational data. | |||
| Carrier vessel-plan collaborationtos-vessel-plan-collaboration | Exchange vessel plans, updates, approvals or planning data with shipping lines and external planners. | |||
| Twin / tandem lift planningtos-twin-tandem-lift-planning | Plan or validate twin, tandem or multi-lift quay operations where equipment and stowage rules allow. | |||
| Restow & vessel rehandle planningtos-vessel-restow-rehandle | Plan and track restows, hatch-related moves and vessel rehandles required by the working sequence. | |||
| Quay crane work queuestos-quay-work-queues | Generate, prioritize and execute quay-crane work queues and move instructions. | |||
| Quay crane split planningtos-quay-crane-split-planning | Assign vessel work across quay cranes, crane ranges, bays or work areas and manage crane split plans. | |||
| Discharge / load sequencingtos-discharge-load-sequencing | Sequence discharge and load work to coordinate quay operations, yard readiness and vessel constraints. | |||
| Stowage & bay planningtos-stowage-bay-planning | Plan container positions, bays, decks, holds and stowage constraints for vessel load and discharge operations. | |||
| BAPLIE import / exporttos-baplie-import-export | Import, validate, update or export BAPLIE bay-plan messages used for vessel planning and exchange. | |||
| Vessel call lifecycle managementtos-vessel-call-management | Maintain vessel-call operational data from pre-arrival through working, completion and departure. | |||
| Berth window & berth allocation schedulingtos-berth-window-scheduling | Plan berth windows, berth positions, arrival/departure timing and berth conflicts for vessel calls. |
11 requirements. Adapt wording and acceptance evidence to the terminal's cargo mix, scale, automation level and operating model.
| Requirement | Buyer question / scope | Priority | Vendor response | Evidence / notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yard planning & container inventorytos-yard-planning-inventory | Plan yard allocation and maintain operational visibility of container locations, stacks, moves and inventory. | |||
| Yard holds & exception managementtos-yard-holds-exceptions | Apply and manage yard-level holds, exceptions, restrictions and operational release conditions. | |||
| Yard density & capacity visibilitytos-yard-density-capacity | Monitor yard capacity, occupancy, density, block utilization and congestion by operational area. | |||
| Yard inventory reconciliationtos-yard-inventory-reconciliation | Reconcile system inventory with physical yard locations, corrections, scans or operational confirmations. | |||
| Empty container inventory managementtos-empty-container-management | Manage empty-container inventory, locations, types, lines, releases and operational movement. | |||
| Rehandle minimizationtos-rehandle-minimization | Optimize stack choices and move sequences to reduce unproductive container rehandles. | |||
| Housekeeping & remarshalling planningtos-housekeeping-remarshalling | Plan proactive yard housekeeping, remarshalling and reshuffles to prepare future work. | |||
| Import / export / prestack segregationtos-import-export-prestack | Separate and plan import, export, transshipment, prestack or service-specific yard inventories. | |||
| Automated decking / grounding decisionstos-auto-decking-grounding | Recommend or automate container grounding and decking positions based on configurable yard logic. | |||
| Block / stack allocation planningtos-block-allocation | Allocate containers to yard blocks, rows, bays, stacks or zones using operational and cargo constraints. | |||
| Configurable yard strategy rulestos-yard-strategy-rules | Configure yard rules for allocation, segregation, dwell, service priority, equipment type or operational strategy. |
11 requirements. Adapt wording and acceptance evidence to the terminal's cargo mix, scale, automation level and operating model.
| Requirement | Buyer question / scope | Priority | Vendor response | Evidence / notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gate & truck operationstos-gate-truck-operations | Manage terminal gate transactions, truck processing, interchange and related landside workflows. | |||
| Truck turn-time & queue monitoringtos-truck-turntime-queues | Measure truck cycle time, lane queues, wait times and gate throughput for landside operations. | |||
| Pre-gate & out-gate validationtos-pre-gate-outgate-validation | Validate transaction eligibility before gate entry and before final out-gate completion. | |||
| Gate customs / line / terminal holdstos-gate-customs-holds | Enforce customs, shipping-line, terminal or regulatory holds during receipt and delivery decisions. | |||
| Weighbridge & VGM workflowstos-weighbridge-vgm | Integrate weighing, gross-mass capture or VGM-related checks into applicable terminal transactions. | |||
| Interchange / EIR processingtos-eir-interchange | Create and manage equipment interchange, EIR or equivalent receipt/delivery transaction records. | |||
| Automated gate lane orchestrationtos-gate-lane-automation | Coordinate lane devices, kiosks, barriers, OCR, scales and transaction steps for automated gate lanes. | |||
| Driver identification & authorizationtos-driver-id-authentication | Identify and authorize drivers using configured identity, credential or access-control methods. | |||
| Gate OCR / ANPR integrationtos-ocr-anpr-gate | Use or integrate OCR, container recognition and ANPR data for automated or assisted gate processing. | |||
| Truck pre-advice & booking validationtos-pre-advice-booking | Validate truck pre-advice, booking, release, container, visit and transaction data before gate processing. | |||
| Truck appointment integrationtos-truck-appointment-integration | Integrate or coordinate truck appointment and time-slot information with terminal gate execution. |
7 requirements. Adapt wording and acceptance evidence to the terminal's cargo mix, scale, automation level and operating model.
| Requirement | Buyer question / scope | Priority | Vendor response | Evidence / notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rail / intermodal operationstos-rail-operations | Plan or execute rail and intermodal container movements within supported terminal operations. | |||
| Rail interchange eventstos-rail-interchange-events | Capture rail interchange, handoff, arrival, departure and related intermodal operational events. | |||
| Rail crane work queuestos-rail-crane-work-queues | Generate and execute work queues for rail-mounted or rail-service handling equipment. | |||
| Rail load / discharge planningtos-rail-load-discharge-planning | Plan rail discharge, loading and transfer sequences using train, yard and equipment constraints. | |||
| Rail-yard inventory visibilitytos-rail-yard-inventory | Track rail containers, wagons and rail-area inventory with operational location visibility. | |||
| Wagon / consist planningtos-wagon-consist-planning | Plan wagon consists, slots, railcars and container assignments for rail loading and discharge. | |||
| Train schedule & service managementtos-train-schedule-management | Maintain train services, schedules, cutoffs, arrivals, departures and operational rail windows. |
10 requirements. Adapt wording and acceptance evidence to the terminal's cargo mix, scale, automation level and operating model.
| Requirement | Buyer question / scope | Priority | Vendor response | Evidence / notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terminal automation / ECS integrationtos-automation-ecs | Integrate terminal plans and work instructions with automated or semi-automated equipment control and execution systems. | |||
| Equipment dispatch & controltos-equipment-dispatch-control | Assign, dispatch, monitor or optimize work for terminal tractors, straddle carriers, quay cranes, RTGs, RMGs or other handling equipment. | |||
| Job pooling & dispatch optimizationtos-job-pooling-optimization | Pool, prioritize and optimize equipment jobs to reduce travel, delay and unproductive moves. | |||
| Equipment status & downtime awarenesstos-equipment-status-downtime | Use equipment availability, status, downtime or maintenance-state information in operational execution. | |||
| Equipment position trackingtos-equipment-position-tracking | Use equipment-position or location data to support dispatch, execution, confirmation or optimization. | |||
| VMT mobile work instructionstos-vmt-mobile-work-instructions | Deliver work instructions, confirmations and exceptions to vehicle-mounted or operator mobile terminals. | |||
| AGV / ASC automated-equipment integrationtos-agv-asc-automation | Coordinate jobs and status with automated guided vehicles, automated stacking cranes or comparable automated equipment. | |||
| Terminal tractor / straddle dispatchtos-tt-straddle-dispatch | Dispatch terminal tractors, straddle carriers or horizontal transport to operational jobs. | |||
| RTG / RMG dispatch & work queuestos-rtg-rmg-dispatch | Dispatch and sequence RTG/RMG work using yard priorities, equipment availability and move demand. | |||
| Quay crane job executiontos-qc-work-queues | Dispatch and execute quay-crane jobs and related move instructions from vessel plans. |
7 requirements. Adapt wording and acceptance evidence to the terminal's cargo mix, scale, automation level and operating model.
| Requirement | Buyer question / scope | Priority | Vendor response | Evidence / notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reefer, dangerous goods & special cargo controlstos-special-cargo-controls | Support terminal handling workflows for reefers, dangerous goods, out-of-gauge or other specialized container/cargo requirements where explicitly documented. | |||
| Container weight / VGM controltos-vgm-weight-control | Store, validate or use container gross weight and VGM data in operational planning and shipment handling. | |||
| Damage & inspection workflowtos-damage-inspection | Record inspections, damage condition, exceptions, photos or related operational cargo/equipment findings. | |||
| OOG & special-equipment handlingtos-oog-special-equipment | Manage out-of-gauge, special-equipment or exceptional-dimension cargo requirements in terminal workflows. | |||
| Dangerous-goods segregation controlstos-dg-segregation | Apply dangerous-goods class, segregation, location or handling restrictions in terminal planning and execution. | |||
| Reefer temperature & alarm integrationtos-reefer-temperature-alarms | Receive, display or act on reefer temperature, sensor or alarm information from supported systems. | |||
| Reefer plug / unplug workflowtos-reefer-plug-monitoring | Track reefer plug, unplug, connection location, service status or related terminal reefer actions. |
11 requirements. Adapt wording and acceptance evidence to the terminal's cargo mix, scale, automation level and operating model.
| Requirement | Buyer question / scope | Priority | Vendor response | Evidence / notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EDI, APIs & external-system integrationtos-edi-api-integrations | Exchange operational data with carriers, port authorities, customs, gate systems, financial systems or other applications through EDI, APIs or other interfaces. | |||
| ERP / finance integrationtos-erp-finance-integration | Exchange customers, services, billable events, invoices or accounting data with ERP and finance systems. | |||
| Reefer monitoring system integrationtos-reefer-system-integration | Integrate external reefer-monitoring platforms, sensors or alarm systems with terminal operational records. | |||
| Gate / OCR subsystem integrationtos-ocr-gate-system-integration | Integrate external gate automation, OCR, ANPR, kiosk or access-control subsystems with TOS transactions. | |||
| Carrier booking & release integrationtos-carrier-booking-integration | Integrate carrier bookings, releases, vessel data, container status or related shipping-line messages. | |||
| PCS / customs / authority integrationtos-pcs-customs-integration | Integrate terminal transactions with port community systems, customs, port authorities or government platforms. | |||
| Event / webhook / streaming integrationtos-event-webhook-streaming | Publish or consume operational events through webhooks, messaging, event streams or comparable integration patterns. | |||
| REST / web-service API integrationtos-rest-api-integration | Expose or consume documented APIs or web services for supported terminal business and operational integrations. | |||
| MOVINS / BAPLIE vessel messagingtos-movins-baplie-messaging | Exchange MOVINS work instructions and BAPLIE vessel-plan messages in supported carrier workflows. | |||
| COPARN / COPRAR EDI messagingtos-coparn-coprar | Exchange COPARN booking/order and COPRAR load/discharge instruction messages or equivalent carrier EDI. | |||
| CODECO / COARRI EDI messagingtos-codeco-coarri | Exchange CODECO gate and COARRI vessel-operation messages or equivalent standardized carrier EDI. |
9 requirements. Adapt wording and acceptance evidence to the terminal's cargo mix, scale, automation level and operating model.
| Requirement | Buyer question / scope | Priority | Vendor response | Evidence / notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Billing / tariff / financial integrationtos-billing-financial | Capture billable terminal events, calculate tariffs/invoices, or integrate operational events with finance and billing systems. | |||
| Operational visibility, analytics & KPIstos-kpi-visibility | Provide real-time operational visibility, dashboards, simulation, productivity metrics, KPIs or decision-support analytics. | |||
| Operational audit historytos-audit-operational-history | Preserve traceable history of operational transactions, changes, user actions and execution events. | |||
| Volume / workload forecastingtos-forecasting-demand | Forecast container volume, workload, resource demand, congestion or operational pressure from available planning data. | |||
| Simulation / what-if analysistos-simulation-whatif | Model operational scenarios or test planning alternatives before execution. | |||
| Productivity & equipment KPIstos-productivity-kpis | Measure vessel, crane, yard, gate, rail, equipment and labor productivity using terminal-operational data. | |||
| Shift / control-room dashboardtos-shift-dashboard | Provide real-time operational dashboards for shift managers, planners or control-room teams. | |||
| Customer self-service portaltos-customer-self-service | Provide customers with approved self-service access to status, bookings, orders, documents, invoices or service requests. | |||
| Storage, tariff & service billingtos-storage-tariff-billing | Calculate or support storage, handling, service, tariff and event-based terminal charges. |
8 requirements. Adapt wording and acceptance evidence to the terminal's cargo mix, scale, automation level and operating model.
| Requirement | Buyer question / scope | Priority | Vendor response | Evidence / notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Throughput & scale for large terminalstos-scalability-throughput | Support documented scaling patterns for high transaction, equipment, user, vessel or container volumes. | |||
| Security & administrative audit loggingtos-security-audit-logging | Record security-relevant, administrative or privileged-user activity for operational governance and investigation. | |||
| RBAC / SSO / enterprise identitytos-rbac-sso | Provide role-based access controls and enterprise authentication or SSO integration for operational and administrative users. | |||
| Cloud / on-prem deployment flexibilitytos-cloud-onprem-flexibility | Offer documented deployment choices appropriate to enterprise terminal environments, such as cloud, on-premises or hybrid patterns. | |||
| Multi-terminal / multi-site operationtos-multi-terminal | Operate or centrally manage more than one terminal, facility or site while preserving operational separation. | |||
| BCP / degraded or offline operationstos-bcp-offline-mode | Provide documented continuity, degraded-mode, offline or fallback operating patterns for critical terminal workflows. | |||
| Disaster recovery & RPO/RTO controlstos-disaster-recovery | Support documented disaster-recovery patterns, recovery procedures or RPO/RTO targets for terminal operations. | |||
| High availability architecturetos-high-availability | Support redundant or clustered application/database architecture designed to reduce service interruption. |
A TOS implementation is an operating-model transformation touching vessel, yard, gate, equipment, billing, external interfaces and terminal-control processes. The implementation plan should therefore be built around terminal flows and exception recovery, not only application installation.
Freeze the target operating model before configuration.
Translate the physical and operational terminal into controlled master data and rules.
Prove every operational interface and its recovery path.
Enter cut-over with reconciled operational data.
Test the terminal, not just screens.
Make go-live controlled and reversible.
Use these questions during discovery, solution design, vendor workshops and implementation governance. They are intended to expose hidden dependencies before they become change requests.
A demo can establish product potential; acceptance testing must prove the configured solution in the buyer's operating model. These scenarios should be adapted into formal UAT and operational-readiness evidence.
| Scenario | What to prove | Evidence to retain |
|---|---|---|
| Vessel-to-yard flow | Discharge/load planning, execution updates, exceptions and inventory accuracy across a representative vessel call. | Scenario script, timestamps, inventory reconciliation, interface logs and business sign-off. |
| Truck gate journey | Appointment/pre-advice, OCR/ANPR, driver/truck/container validation, lane exception and completion. | Turn-time record, gate transaction logs, exception evidence and fallback result. |
| Yard exception | Unplanned location, blocked equipment, rehandle, hold, reefer or dangerous-goods exception without corrupting inventory. | Before/after inventory, work instructions, audit trail and supervisor approval. |
| Interface outage | Critical carrier/PCS/gate/equipment interface unavailable and later restored. | Queued/retried messages, reconciliation totals, manual workaround and recovery timing. |
| BCP recovery | TOS or core infrastructure interruption followed by controlled restoration. | RTO/RPO result, BCP transactions, reconciliation evidence and unresolved exceptions. |
Before final acceptance, retain an auditable package covering the following artifacts.