Terminology

Understanding key terms used in freight forwarding and the Flint platform.

Freight & Logistics Terms

BOL (Bill of Lading)

A legal document issued by a carrier to acknowledge receipt of cargo for shipment. Contains:

• Shipper and consignee information
• Description of goods
• Terms and conditions of carriage

EDI (Electronic Data Interchange)

Standardized electronic communication between business systems. Common EDI messages:

• 214 - Shipment Status
• 204 - Load Tender
• 990 - Response to Load Tender
• 210 - Freight Invoice

HS Code (Harmonized System Code)

International classification system for traded products. Used for:

• Customs declarations
• Tariff calculations
• Trade statistics

Commercial Invoice

Document from seller to buyer detailing:

• Products sold
• Quantities
• Agreed prices
• Terms of sale (Incoterms)

Packing List

Detailed list of package contents including:

• Item descriptions
• Weights and dimensions
• Package marks and numbers

Flint Platform Terms

Document Template

Pre-configured parsing rules for specific document types. Flint provides templates for:

• Standard BOLs
• Commercial invoices
• Packing lists
• Custom forms

Parsing

The process of extracting structured data from unstructured documents using AI.

Extraction Confidence

Percentage score indicating AI's confidence in extracted data:

• High (90-100%) - Automatic processing
• Medium (70-89%) - Review recommended
• Low (below 70%) - Manual intervention required

Intervention Queue

List of documents requiring human review due to:

• Low confidence extractions
• Validation rule failures
• Missing required fields

Workflow

Automated sequence of actions triggered by document events:

• Trigger - Event that starts the workflow (e.g., document uploaded)
• Conditions - Rules that must be met
• Actions - Operations performed (e.g., send to system, notify user)

Lineage

Complete history of a document showing:

• Original source
• Processing steps
• Transformations applied
• Systems updated

Trading Partner

External organization you exchange documents with:

• Customers (consignees)
• Carriers
• Customs brokers
• Warehouses

Field Mapping

Configuration defining how extracted data maps to destination systems:

{
  "source_field": "bill_of_lading_number",
  "destination_field": "BOL_NUM",
  "transformation": "uppercase"
}

Integration Terms

Webhook

HTTP callback triggered by Flint events. Used for:

• Real-time notifications
• System synchronization
• Custom processing logic

API Key

Unique identifier for authenticating API requests. Types:

• Live - Production environment
• Test - Sandbox environment
• Webhook - Signature verification

Payload

Data package sent via API or webhook containing:

• Document metadata
• Extracted fields
• Processing status

Next Steps

Now that you understand the terminology, proceed to:

• Quick Start Guide - Process your first document
• EDI 101 - Deep dive into EDI