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Issue 6 2017 - FBJNA
///OCEAN CARRIER High Seas for Ocean Technology By Peter Buxbaum
As mobile technology and applications become more sophisticated, and ubiquitous in commercial, professional, and everyday settings, shippers have come to expect that ocean carriers provide them with electronic shipment management tools that are just as sophisticated and easy to use. Ocean carriers have responded with web-based, mobile, and other electronic interfaces with customers—some implemented
freight forwarder to do that for them. Today, technology allows business owners to transfer goods anywhere in the world by booking cargo, looking up rates, and getting quotes online. These technologies empower customers and increase the number of companies that can do business internationally. They allow more companies to interact with each other.” OOCL was one of the first ocean carriers to introduce
“Technology allows business owners to transfer goods anywhere in the world.” -- Ariel Frias, Sealand
(TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico Photo)
implemented new technologies to manage these cargoes more efficiently and to monitor their status to prevent major problems. “TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico
just purchased 350 new high-tech smart refrigerated containers,” notes Tim Nolan, TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico president. Today the carrier’s Rico’s entire
Shipping are also veterans in online booking and other electronic services. “We already implemented our web booking interface for many years and have promoted it to our global customers,” says a Yang Ming spokesperson. Cosco Shipping implemented
booking technology some time back. “Track and trace are nothing new for us,” comments Howard Finkel, a Cosco vice president. Its
booking (Sealand Photo)
years ago—and a growing number are providing platforms for shippers to plan, process, and monitor their shipments anywhere, anytime. These solutions are available through online
and mobile
platforms as well as through direct
system integration to
enable cargo owners and freight forwarders to manage shipments and collaborate with business partners. As carriers explore developments in technology, and consider online offering to
benefit their customers,
understanding when and how shippers want to receive their shipment information has become important in helping them better manage their supply chains. Technology comes to
bridge the gap between the capabilities of small and large shippers, according to Ariel Frias, marketing director at Sealand, an operating unit of Maersk that handles north-south trade in the Americas. “In the old days, it was impossible for a small or midsized company to manage their supply-chain needs by themselves,” he comments. “They required a
internet bookings in July 1996. said Steve Siu, the company’s chief information officer. “Today, OOCL offers a full suite of services through our website for shippers through the My OOCL Center and through the mobile app OOCL Lite,” says Steve Siu, OOCL CIO. “We also provide visibility through CargoSmart’s cloud-based platform that extends visibility to industry ecosystems.” Yang Ming and Cosco
utility is web-based while the tracking and tracing require an electronic data interchange (EDI) connection, technology which requires an investment on the part of shippers.
Convenient and Accurate Online
convenient, “TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico just
purchased 350 new high-tech smart refrigerated containers.” Tim Nolan, TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico
We are also able to provide a bigger window as to when we can accept a booking if it is done digitally.” Much of the connectivity
booking provides a and,
arguably, a
more accurate way of booking cargo. The rates themselves are based on service contracts and volumes of cargo committed by the carrier. “Booking over the phone is prone to human error,” says Finkel. “Booking digitally is more accurate and quicker.
“Sharing vessel and schedule
information with our alliance partners is also very helpful for shippers with cargo on multiple carrier vessels within the alliance network.” -- Steve Siu, OOCL
between ocean carriers and their customers is now moving from the desktop to mobile devices. Sealand recently introduced a mobile app that allows users to track shipments, share information, and access a user guide to shipping. “We will be updating the app and in the near future to allow quoting and booking as customer can do on the desktop version,” says Frias. That update is expected by the first quarter of 2018. In
May, Yang Ming
implemented a new function via LINE bot, a communications app that allows customers to trace container and vessel status on their mobile devices. That’s in addition to the functionality available on the Yang Ming website, which also includes track and trace. Moving perishable goods, such
as food and pharmaceuticals, has become increasingly important to ocean carriers -- not only because of the growing global demand for these products, but also because they provide shipping lines with high-margin business in an era of non- compensatory freight rates. Carriers have understandably
reefer fleet is equipped with machine-to-machine telematics technology that maximizes safety and efficiency of supply chain operations and provides clients crucial real-time, end-to- end visibility of their shipments. In early 2015, ZIM Integrated
Shipping Services launched its ZIMonitor product that allows shippers to track, monitor and remotely control sensitive, high-value cargo stowed in refrigerated containers. “One innovative aspect of this
program is that we integrated the monitoring device directly into the reefer equipment,” says Rafi Ben-Ari, Zim vice president for shipping. Another is the establishment of a 24/7 control tower to take care of problems identified by the monitoring. Following a pilot project with
Teva-Pharmaceutical Industries, a US-Israeli company known for developing and marketing generic drugs, Zim announced the addition of 1,900 reefers to its fleet.
indicate
ZIMonitor alerts, which may that
a container is
unplugged or that its temperature is out of range or off-route, are available over mobile devices. Customers can receive whatever kinds of messages they want at the frequency they request. According to Ben-Ari, most customers rely on Zim to take care of any problems that arise. “During the pilot, Teva
Pharmaceuticals wanted to receive alerts about everything,” he says. “But once they understood that our control tower was equipped to handle any problems, they decided that they needed information only on two milestones.” In a recent example, the Zim
(OOCL Photo) (OOCL Photo)
control tower was receiving alerts every two hours of containers in India being disconnected from their electrical source. Upon investigation, they found that truckers
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