Fundamentals

Overview

Core System Concepts

The system is based on a set of core concepts that together represent the physical and administrative handling of Product within terminal operations.

• Visit – Represents a Means of Transport (MOT) and its time of arrival. A single MOT may execute multiple Visits over time. Visits form the temporal and operational entry point for incoming or outgoing Product flows.
• Product – Represents the physical substance (molecules) being handled, such as bulk liquids. Product is the base physical entity on which all operational and administrative processes are applied.
• Storage Unit – Represents a physically segregated storage entity for Product. Storage Units ensure physical separation of Product and define how it is stored. Examples include:
  • A Tank, which is a single Storage Unit;
  • A Vessel, which may contain multiple segregated Storage Units;
  • A Train, where wagons function as individual Storage Units;
  • A Truck, where separate compartments can each represent distinct Storage Units containing different Products.
• Location – Defines where Activities are executed. Locations are relevant for operational control and for compliance with applicable licenses and regulatory requirements.
• Activity – Represents all operational actions performed on Product within the system. Activities include all forms of handling, transformation, movement, storage, or processing of Product across Visits, Storage Units, and Locations.

Together, these concepts form the foundational structure for representing physical flows and their administrative and compliance-related processing within the system.

Activities

For each Activity, whether a Movement or a Service, ATLAS provides information on all Products involved. In the case of Services, where no physical transfer of goods takes place between locations, the data relates to Parcel information within a Storage Unit (for example, a Tank or a Vessel). In the case of a Movement, at least two Storage Units are involved, and ATLAS provides Parcel data for all Products participating in the transfer between these Storage Units.

As further described under “Business Process”, the following list of Activities is used to support the record-keeping requirements from a customs compliance perspective:

1. Movement;
2. Services:
   • Take in quantity;
   • Rebrand;
     
   • Import;
   • Administrative Stock Transfer;
     
   • Shifting service;
   • Commodity code correction;
     
   • Departure.