How a CTRM supports the operations team managing the physical side of a trade: nominations, demurrage, claims, and the invoicing and settlement process that closes each trade out.
Nominations are the formal notices confirming vessel, pipeline or rail movements against a physical trade, typically specifying quantity, laycan or delivery window, and vessel or carrier details, and they usually need to flow between counterparties, terminals and shipping agents within tight regulatory deadlines.
A CTRM manages this by linking nominations directly to the underlying trade, and flagging exceptions such as a missed nomination window or a mismatch between nominated and contracted quantity, before it becomes a demurrage or contractual issue.
Demurrage is the compensation owed when a vessel is delayed loading or discharging beyond the agreed laytime, and calculating it correctly requires combining charter party terms, actual time-logged events (notice of readiness, berthing, start and completion of loading or discharge) and any allowed exceptions or weather clauses.
A CTRM handles this by capturing the relevant time-logged events against each shipment, applying the laytime and demurrage terms from the underlying charter or sale contract, and calculating the demurrage or despatch due automatically, rather than requiring operations staff to reconstruct the calculation manually from a bill of lading and a statement of facts. This both speeds up claims processing and reduces disputes, since the calculation is transparent and repeatable.
Claims, for quality, quantity or demurrage discrepancies against contract terms, are managed in a CTRM by linking each claim to its originating trade and shipment, recording the disputed amount, supporting documentation and counterparty correspondence, and tracking the claim through its resolution workflow (raised, under review, agreed, settled) until it is closed out financially.
Because claims can affect final settlement value, a CTRM that ties claims directly to the trade and invoice ensures the eventual cash settlement reflects any agreed adjustment, rather than being reconciled separately after the fact.
A CTRM generates invoices directly from the underlying trade and any logistics, quality or claims adjustments that apply to it, ensuring the invoiced amount matches what was actually agreed and delivered rather than being rebuilt manually in a spreadsheet.
It typically manages the full settlement workflow: invoice generation, payment terms and due dates, multi-currency handling where relevant, and integrated with bank or treasury records once payment is received or made. This reduces the manual reconciliation work that otherwise falls to back-office and finance teams, can shorten the time between physical delivery and cash settlement.
Amphora's Symphony platform keeps nominations, demurrage, claims and settlement tied directly to the underlying trade, so operations teams work from the same record as trading and finance, across crude oil, refined products, biofuels, coal, ore, LNG, metals, concentrates, agriculture and freight.
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