VCHS · SECURE VALUABLES · SOURCE-TO-DELIVERY

Valuable cargo handling software that moves gold, diamonds and currency source to final delivery.

A dedicated Valuable Cargo Handling System (VCHS) for the secure transport of diamonds, jewellery, precious metals, banknotes and diplomatic mail — from cargo receipt at origin, through ground handling and customs, onto the aircraft, and to final delivery. Chain of custody, police clearance, integrated on-site customs and tarmac escorts in one unbroken workflow. A capability few software vendors offer — in production across our cargo network.

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VCHS at a glance
End‑to‑end
Source to final delivery
Tarmac
Plane-to-vault escorts
IATA
VCHS procedures
23
Countries deployed
WHAT IT IS

What is valuable cargo handling software?

Valuable cargo handling software — also called secure cargo handling software, a Valuable Cargo Handling System (VCHS) or valuables logistics software — is the operating system for moving high-value, high-risk shipments securely. Unlike jewellery inventory or ERP tools, which manage stock, this is about secure movement: physically transporting valuables across borders, through ground handling and onto aircraft with an unbroken, documented chain of custody.

The full journey has half a dozen tight requirements: restricted acceptance, police clearance and armed escort, integrated on-site customs, secure vaulting with dual control, tarmac escorts between the aircraft and a secure facility, and an audit-ready evidence trail that satisfies airlines and insurers. Most operations stitch this together across separate systems, brokers and phone calls. WHIZTEC runs it as one chain — from source to final delivery.

Generic cargo or inventory software vs a dedicated VCHS module
RequirementGeneric cargo / inventory softwareWHIZCargo VCHS module
ScopeStock counts, or terminal handling onlySource-to-final-delivery custody on one chain
Chain of custodyManual logs, gaps between handoffsDual-control, time-stamped, unbroken custody record
Police & security clearanceHandled off-system by phone and emailEscort and police-clearance coordination built into the workflow
CustomsSeparate broker, data re-keyedIntegrated on-site import/export customs processing
Tarmac transfersNot coveredTarmac-escort management — plane to vault, timed and recorded
Insurance evidenceReconstructed after an incidentAudit-ready evidence trail produced as a by-product
WHO IT'S FOR

Built for everyone who moves something a single loss can't be undone.

Precious Metals & Bullion
Secure transport of gold, silver and platinum with dual-control custody, sealed handling and full evidence trail.
Diamond & Jewellery Forwarders
Diamonds, precious stones and finished jewellery moved across borders under restricted-access, police-cleared handling.
Currency & Central Banks
Banknote and currency movements with vaulted storage, tarmac escorts and airline/insurer-grade documentation.
Diplomatic Mail & Government
Diplomatic pouches and sensitive government consignments handled under strict chain of custody and clearance.
Fine Art & High-Value Goods
Fine art, controlled pharma and high-value electronics that need restricted handling and continuous audit trail.
GHAs & Cargo Terminals
Ground handling agents and terminals adding a compliant VCHS lane alongside general air cargo operations.
THE SECURE CHAIN

One unbroken chain of custody — receipt to final delivery.

The risk is highest in motion, not in the vault. Every stage below runs on one data model, so custody is never handed off outside the system.

1 · Restricted Acceptance & Police Clearance
Screening, restricted-access acceptance and police/armed-escort clearance recorded from the first handoff at source.
2 · On-Site Customs & Clearance
Integrated import/export customs processing on-site — declarations and clearances without re-keying into a separate broker.
3 · Secure Vault & Chain of Custody
Sealed, vaulted storage under dual control, with a time-stamped, video-evidenced custody record at every touch.
4 · Tarmac Escort to Aircraft
Exclusive, authorised transfer of valuables directly between the secure facility and the aircraft — timed and recorded.
5 · Final Delivery & Handover
Custody carried through to the destination handover, closing the chain with a complete, audit-ready evidence trail.
Throughout · Insurance-Ready Evidence
The full trail — acceptance, customs, vault, tarmac, delivery — is produced automatically to satisfy underwriters.
SIGNATURE CAPABILITIES

The parts almost no other platform handles.

TARMAC ESCORTS
Guard the most exposed moment in the journey.

Between the secure facility and the aircraft, valuables are in the open — the single highest-risk link in the chain. WHIZTEC manages the tarmac escort as a controlled movement: exclusive authorisation to transfer valuables directly between planes and secure facilities, under police-cleared supervision, timed and recorded end to end.

  • Authorised plane-to-vault and vault-to-plane transfers
  • Police-clearance and armed-escort coordination
  • Timed, evidenced movements with unbroken custody
  • Direct handover between aircraft and secure facility
The highest-risk link
Plane ↔ Vault
exclusive, authorised tarmac transfer of valuables
1 chain
custody never leaves the system, source to delivery
ONE SYSTEM, UNBROKEN CUSTODY
From cargo receipt to final delivery, on one chain.

Most valuable-cargo journeys are stitched across an acceptance system, a customs broker, a vault log and a security firm — every gap a liability. WHIZTEC's VCHS module runs the entire journey on one data model, including the ground handling from cargo receipt to the aircraft, so every handoff is dual-controlled, logged and insurance-ready.

  • Source-to-delivery custody on a single data model
  • Integrated ground handling (cargo receipt to aircraft, GHA)
  • On-site import/export customs, no re-keying
  • Audit-ready evidence trail for airlines and underwriters
A rare capability
Few vendors
offer end-to-end secure valuables handling
25 yrs
of cargo & ground-handling operations behind it
INTEGRATION

Connected to the secure-logistics ecosystem.

Airlines, customs authorities, security firms and underwriters — connected via the standards each requires.

CARGO-IMP Cargo-XML IATA e-AWB Customs Authority APIs CUSCAR / CUSDEC Police / Security Clearance Armored Transport Partners ULD Pool Systems Underwriter Reporting REST API Webhooks FTP/SFTP
FREQUENTLY ASKED

Valuable cargo handling software, answered.

What is valuable cargo handling software?
Valuable cargo handling software — also called secure cargo handling software or a Valuable Cargo Handling System (VCHS) — is the operating system for moving high-value and sensitive shipments securely from source to final delivery. It manages restricted acceptance, chain-of-custody documentation, dual-control sign-offs, police clearance, integrated customs, secure vaulting, tarmac escorts and audit-ready reporting for cargo such as gold, diamonds, currency and diplomatic mail.
What is VCHS (Valuable Cargo Handling System)?
VCHS is the secure-handling regime required for cargo where a single loss is catastrophic — precious metals, jewellery, banknotes, controlled substances and similar. It enforces restricted-access acceptance, dual-control handoffs, a continuous video and audit trail, sealed and vaulted storage, and documented chain of custody. Compliance is governed by IATA's Valuable Cargo Handling Procedures and is required by airlines and insurers; a lapse can void the cargo insurance.
What is a tarmac escort?
A tarmac escort is the exclusive, authorised transfer of valuables directly between the aircraft and a secure facility, under armed or police-cleared supervision. It is the single most exposed moment in the journey, so WHIZTEC's VCHS module manages it as a controlled, timed and recorded movement — plane to vault, with an unbroken custody record.
What cargo does the software handle?
High-value and sensitive consignments: precious metals (gold, silver, platinum), diamonds, jewellery and precious stones, banknotes and currency, diplomatic mail and government consignments, fine art, controlled pharmaceuticals, and high-value electronics — typically any shipment above an airline or insurer value threshold.
How does it manage customs and police clearance?
Import and export customs processing is integrated on-site into the same workflow, so declarations, duties and clearances are handled without re-keying into a separate broker system. Police clearance and armed-escort coordination are built into the acceptance and movement steps, keeping the whole source-to-delivery chain under one documented custody.
What happens if VCHS procedures are not followed?
The cargo insurance can be voided. Airlines and insurers require documented VCHS chain-of-custody handling end to end, so a lapse anywhere — acceptance, customs, vaulting or the tarmac transfer — can leave a catastrophic loss uninsured. The software's job is to make that evidence a by-product of daily work rather than a scramble after an incident.
How is this different from jewellery inventory or ERP software?
Jewellery inventory and ERP tools manage stock — counts, karat weight, retail pricing and craftsman allocation inside a store or factory. Valuable cargo handling software manages secure movement — the logistics of physically transporting valuables across borders, through ground handling and onto aircraft, with chain of custody, customs, escorts and insurance evidence. They solve different problems; WHIZTEC covers the secure-movement side, which few software vendors offer.
How does AI improve valuable cargo handling?
AI auto-classifies shipments for VCHS handling from booking data, flags custody gaps and clearance bottlenecks before they delay a movement, and reconciles the evidence trail (acceptance, customs, vault, tarmac, delivery) into an audit-ready record automatically — reducing the manual documentation burden that VCHS compliance normally demands.
Learn the concept in the glossary: VCHS — Valuable Cargo Handling System · See the full WHIZCargo freight platform and Ground Handling Software.

Key terms explained

VCHS
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