NEWS\\\


Issue 7 2014 - Freight Business Journal


Changing the rules of the groupage game


German IT firm Colo21 says it is changing the rules of the market with a new online European co- loading platform for shipments. According


by GPS on Google Maps using the ColoTrace application. Frommeyer said that, currently,


groupage to


the


company, the E-Groupage platform will allow forwarding companies to create their own groupage network in Europe, with no fixed costs or major investment. The venture has been founded Kuehne & Nagel,


by former


Panalpina and Fiege executive, Jörg Frommeyer, now CEO of Colo21, together


with proponents claim André


Probst, owner of the IT consulting company alphaQuest. It


that


E-Groupage allows users to build up a groupage network without the problem of gaining critical mass - conventional forwarding systems are only profitable when they achieve a certain volume on to ensure minimum utilisation, but this system can be used profitably by hauliers for even a single pallet, they say. Partners will be scored for


quality and the location of each shipment mapped in real time


groupage firms operate in an unprofitable, non-transparent way. However, E-Groupage and ColoTrace would combine applications such as web-based databases, high performance servers, customised soſtware tools and a smartphone app “to create something completely new”, he added. E-Groupage is likened to a car


sharing agency, bringing together suppliers and service requesters in a standardised process. Colo21 will work as a neutral intermediary and the service is only available for transportation service providers, says Frommeyer -


shippers are


excluded. A sending partner chooses from


the E-Groupage platform specific companies to undertake linhaul or distribution for a specific groupage shipment. The transport partners will have previously filled in an electronic form and, in addition to their corporate data, enter, for example, on which routes they


have how much capacity when, and at what prices they can carry in what period of time. The system automatically converts this into a ‘business card’ with attached performance specifications, which is posted on the E-Groupage website free. If a sending partner in the E-Groupage system sends a request for cooperation to a transit or distribution partner, they may


reject the request at any time. In this case, the sending partner does not get to see the prices and quality commitments made by the transport or distribution partners. Frommeyer adds: “E-Groupage


is not an anonymous platform: our partners always know who they are working with.” If a transport or distribution partner does not object to the contact, they


must actively consent to the


cooperation and thus give the sending partner access to his offer. “Only then can the service partner ask whether the transit or distribution partner can accept a concrete consignment. If the transport partner agrees, the contract is concluded.” He adds that E-Groupage ensures transparency in the


3


shipment process, assesses the quality of transporters and handles the financial side of the transactions. The transport partners


will receive a credit


note once they have delivered the shipment and sent a proof of delivery. Colo21 fully assumes the risk, “the transporters do not have to worry about their money.”


Jörg Frommeyer and André Probst aim to give European groupage a shake-up with their web-based system


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