A question in the inbox since Tuesday
Your broker is preparing the entry for a container and has a question: what is this product made of, can you confirm the value on line six, the invoice mentions a component that is not on the packing list. The email goes to the shared imports inbox. The person who reads it first is dealing with something else and flags it. The person who knows the product is at a trade show.
On Thursday, the forwarder mentions that the container is still waiting for clearance. Somebody searches the inbox and finds the broker's question.
Why broker questions stall
Broker queries look like any other email. They come in the same inbox as supplier updates, forwarder notices and invoices. Nothing marks them as blocking a shipment. They often need an answer from someone outside the imports team, such as a product manager, buyer or the supplier. And nobody owns the question once it is forwarded.
| Type of query | Who can usually answer |
|---|---|
| Product description or materials | Product manager or supplier |
| Value or invoice detail | Buyer or finance |
| Missing or wrong document | Supplier via the buyer |
| Commodity code question | Your own adviser or the broker |
| Consignee or address details | Imports or admin |
The answers themselves are for your team, your supplier and your broker. The problem here is how fast the question reaches the right person.
What slow answers cost
Every day a question sits unanswered can be a day the container is not cleared. Once port free days run out, storage and other charges start. Stock is not available to sell. Your broker spends time chasing you. And the same kind of question comes back on the next shipment because nobody recorded the answer.
There is a customer cost too. Stock held at the port because of an unanswered email is stock your sales team has already promised. The customer does not care whether the delay was the vessel or the inbox, only that the goods were not there when you said they would be.
The query tracker we build
- Emails from your broker's addresses are picked up from the shared inbox and turned into query records, each linked to its shipment by the references in the email.
- An AI step classifies the query type and suggests who should answer, based on rules you set per type and product.
- The person responsible gets the question in their own inbox or Teams, with the shipment details and relevant documents attached.
- Their answer is sent back to the broker from the shared imports address, so the conversation stays in one place.
- Unanswered queries are escalated after a time you choose, and the imports lead sees all open queries and how long each has been waiting.
- Answers are stored against the product and supplier, so the same question can be answered from the record next time.
- Every broker query has an owner.
- Blocking queries are visible at a glance.
- Answers become a reference for future shipments.
How it works day to day
When a broker email arrives, the right person has it straight away, with the context they need. The imports lead has a list of open queries rather than an inbox to search. Shipments are not held because a question sat unread. And your broker notices that answers come back quickly, which makes the whole relationship easier.
Does this sound familiar?
- Broker emails get lost among supplier and forwarder messages.
- Containers wait for clearance while questions go unanswered.
- The person who knows the answer is rarely the one who reads the email.
- The same broker questions come back shipment after shipment.
- Nobody can list open broker queries right now.