A great example of how a multi-tenant platform is a win / win for all parties.
The Mitsubishi Group just implemented the new Trade Tech 3-way Collaborative Booking functions for their worldwide group with several other customers at various stages of implementing these functions going on now. The 3-Way Collaborative Booking is a key example of the promise of Digitalization.
The NVO / Forwarder sits in the middle between the BCO Shipper and the ocean carriers. The back and forth between meeting the BCO requirements and coordinating with carriers that are tight on space is a huge task. The goal is to move out of e-mail, phone calls, and re-keying the booking data on individual carrier web portals over and over again. The key is being able to work on-line with the BCO Shipper and electronically with the carriers so that the BCO Shipper can see what is happening with their shipment and the requests can be passed to the carriers without enormous effort.
The 3-Way Collaborative Booking sets up a workflow that allows the BCO Shipper to make the booking on-line with the NVO / Forwarder. The NVO / Forwarder local office sees the booking in their workflow report and can acknowledge back to the BCO Shipper that they see the new booking and are working to locate space.
Then the NVO / Forwarder completes the booking by running the Sailing Schedule, selecting a vessel / voyage and carrier, and making an electronic booking with the carrier. The NVO / Forwarder can repeat this process with as many carriers and vessel / voyages as they feel is necessary to secure the space. All of the various scenarios are captured and the user can see the carrier’s electronic response to each booking. The NVO / Forwarder can work with all the booking responses to allocate the booking with a single carrier or split the booking over several carriers to secure the space needed. All unused bookings are then cancelled automatically with the carriers so that the carriers are not left in a bad position.
Then the NVO / Forwarder can confirm the booking(s) back to the BCO Shipper. Amendments and cancellations are handled in the same multi-party back and forth as needed without phone calls and email messages so both parties can see their directions in place – one single view of the truth.
Trade Tech continues to expand direct connections with the carriers. The latest carriers coming online are Maersk, Hamburg Sud, Sealand Asia, and SITC. This complements direct connections already in place with OOCL, COSCO, ONE Line, and Evergreen. The goal is to make direct carrier connectivity available to all Trade Tech customers in an environment set up to be efficient for both the NVO / Forwarders and the ocean carriers. Both sides win.
The Trade Tech Security Filing customer base represents over 1000 NVOCC / Forwarders moving over 1,300,000 shipments a year with a volume of over 2.0 Million TEU. These shipment filings can be used for both bookings and coordination with the BCO / Shipper and the carriers and then completed to make the Security Filings required in North America, Japan, or South Africa. This volume will only increase when the European Union Security Filing requirements (ICS-2) come online in 2024. This is a great example of a multi-tenant platform representing a win / win for both the NVO / Forwarder and the ocean carriers. And the real beneficiary is the BCO Shipper who gains the visibility and direct control that they have wanted for so long.
