If you interact with
logistics providers & freight forwarders or their pricing managers about
the toughest part of their job, chances are managing carrier rates freight
rates and contracts will come up frequently.
With all the surcharges, fees, and addendums, they will also tell you
that ocean rates top the list of the hardest carrier contracts to keep up to
date and calculate accurately. The time and effort it takes to manage complex
freight rates is only part of the challenge.
The risk and cost of misquoting is just as great. These challenges caught
the attention of the founders like Shipabbo, Cargobase, Freightos,
CargoSphere,TICONTRACT, Catapult QMS who
are rolling out automated freight rate platforms with specific objective of
automating the freight rate process
Let us look at certain leading logistics providers freight forwarders who
have adopted these new technologies:
Kuehne + Nagel, has introduced KN Freightnet, an online platform
for placing air freight orders that cuts down the time spent on obtaining quotes,
placing bookings and tracking shipments.
Hellmann Worldwide
Logistics has announced a
global roll-out of the Freightos rate management and auto-quote system.
“For a modern logistics provider, efficient data movement is critical for
efficient freight movement. Instant freight quotes, optimized routing and
pricing and on-demand analytics will play a pivotal role in increasing
efficiency for both Hellmann and its customers,” said Roland Wiedenroth,
Hellman’s global business project manager for the Freightos roll out.
Freightos’s AcceleRate rate management and sales digitalization system is
optimizing air, ocean, truck and rail freight pricing and sales for Hellmann
Worldwide offices globally, and as a result, Hellmann customers are starting to
enjoy near-instant price quotes in an industry where days are the norm.
Speeding up the rate quoting is a cornerstone of the Freightos offering
as it moves towards being the “Expedia for freight shipping.” The online
platform characterizes itself as a “big data solution” that pools prices and
fees together in one place for its customers.
Freightos is a Hong Kong-registered company with offices in the Middle
East, Asia, Europe and the U.S. and has been marketing its products to the
forwarding industry for the last few years. Hellmann joins more than 30 freight
forwarders that have signed up to Freightos, including logistics giants CEVA
Logistics and Nippon Express, and retailers such as Marks & Spencer.
M.E. Dey & Co. is also implementing the CargoSphere rate platform.
Competition to automate the freight business is heating up, and CargoSphere
said M.E. Dey has a single database of systematized freight rates that allows
them to access their direct carrier contract rates, and rates from three
non-vessel-operating common carriers, the National Customs Brokers &
Forwarders Association of America and their Asian partners to quickly and
accurately create branded quotes for customers.
“The CargoSphere Rate Mesh allows us to access up-to-date rates online,
which is fast and timely,” said Sarah Azar, project manager, certified customs
specialist, M.E. Dey & Co. “Before CargoSphere we often would wait 24 hours
to receive rates from our partner in China. It’s great that our quote turn-time
is now timelier for customers.”
MIQ Logistics, a major global logistics provider has also
completed implementation of the CargoSphere technology platform. CargoSphere's
frictionless rate distribution and networking technology smooths out process
and data inefficiencies. With CargoSphere, MIQ receives current confidential
ocean rates over the Web-based, real-time Rate Mesh and accesses them in a
single, systematized freight rate database.
CargoSphere rate technology platform delivers frictionless rate
networking.
Cloud-based, systematized contract and rate
management provides the CargoSphere user community with accurate and
collaborative rate distribution and rate quoting, as well as the ability to
self-publish FMC tariffs. The CargoSphere Rate Mesh connects shipping partners
for seamless, confidential rate collaboration in real-time to simplify rate
communication and provide a faster, more effective way to receive and
distribute freight rates.
During these competitive times, CargoSphere offers users a way to
differentiate their business and improve strategic decision-making. There are
also significant productivity improvements from CargoSphere's Cloud technology
due to increased data accuracy and the ease associated with a systematized
database with a single source of truth.
To Summarize :
Automated rate platforms are already being used by customers since 2014 and
will be here to stay. This given the benefits which extend to the quoting
process for freight forwarders, NVO’s, and BCO’s who can create / send spot
quotes to customers in seconds, not hours or days as was the case before. These
rate platforms even keep track of rates, surcharges and other metrics that are
important to the business. More and more tech startup companies like Cargobase,
Shipabbo Cargosphere will offer online tools and a "whole new shopping
experience in shipping" to shippers.
The author is a Shipping & logistics professional and can be reached
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