IT\\\ DSV takes the Lead on logistics
Denmark-headquartered supply chain services provider DSV has launched its modular logistics outsourcing solution worldwide. DSV Lead Logistics is the vehicle
by which the forwarder will offer its global customers “intelligent lead logistics by constantly analysing data to seek out the most effective solutions and to pre-empt any disruptions in the supply chains”. Described as “a non-asset based,
neutral supply chain orchestrator of transportation services”, DSV Lead Logistics provides solutions that are “updating themselves while in operation, constantly analysing data to seek out the most effective solutions and to pre-empt any disruptions in those supply
chains”. DSV assets and services and the
services of other transportation providers are required to perform the actual physical shipping of goods. Lead
Logistics’ modular
approach allows DSV to tailor its services precisely to its customers’ needs, it argues. It uses Cloud-based technology that supports supply chain “design, implementation, and management across all modes, geographies, and currencies”. “Our decision to launch
this service is a direct result of feedback obtained through industry research, market growth analysis, and most importantly through direct feedback from
Cogoport adds China imports to digital platform
Cogoport, a digital freight business based in Mumbai, India, has added data on imports from various port locations in China to its platform. The Cogoport platform,
established in 2017, had previously offered freight rates for sea container exports across major shipping lines for Indian customers (as well as Dutch customers, about which more will be said below). The Cogoport digital marketplace is designed to allow users to avoid the traditional offline quotation and booking process.
“Ground-
breaking technology, algorithms and analytics” enable its users to “move freight faster and more efficiently”. Users can track the progress of
their consignment at every stage of its journey, in real time, making life simpler for all involved in the
logistics chain. Plus, Cogoport features a choice of service providers on port pairs, dedicated back-end booking confirmation and seamless shipment tracking, with pricing from over 40 major international shipping lines. It also works with more than 40 non-vessel operating common carriers (NVOCCs) and 300 freight forwarders. Users benefit from faster
decision-making, transparent pricing and lower shipping costs, and also automatically earn rewards on future shipments, Cogoport promises. The expansion into the
import trade from China into India represents a significant development and the inclusion of imports from Chinese maritime ports is expected to soon be followed by the addition of freight
our customers,” says group chief commercial officer René Falch Olesen. “The goal is to enable companies
to compete more effectively in the global market through intelligent supply chain design and execution. Lead logistics is the next logical step for DSV in responding to the needs of our customers,” he adds.
Discovering the customer’s needs
DSV Lead Logistics is a separate service distinct from the forwarder’s regular shipping offering, and one for which the customer pays a fee, Olesen tells FBJ. DSV Lead Logistics engages
rates for imports from other gateways across Asia. The move has been made in
response, Cogoport says, to “huge demand for inbound shipment services”, most notably for goods moving from China into India. Purnendu Shekhar, founder
and CEO of Cogoport, comments: “Our customers tell us that Cogoport is already saving them between 10-15% on their logistics costs and around 40-man hours per booking for export shipments. “With the launch of this
imports product, a natural second phase progression for our digital platform, we are meeting demand from importers who can now harness our technology for an efficient, cost-effective and transparent freight shipping process. “With just a couple of clicks
importers can now benefit from an immediate choice of comparative prices from a range of premium shipping lines on our Cogoport
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Issue 5 2019 - Freight Business Journal
21
with the customer in a ‘discovery’ mode to assist the customer in understanding, through assessment and data analysis, how to improve their supply chains,” he explains. “We then prepare a business case
for the customer that demonstrates the areas in which there is need of improvement, and then we develop a ‘roadmap’ to attain the ‘desired state’, and suggest how to make that transition with the help of DSV. “The goal is to use our people,
processes and technology to enable a customer to reach the next level of supply chain excellence. The customer may not need all of our services, and we recommend only those services that are relevant to improvement of the customer’s supply chain,” says
Olesen. And the primary benefits of the
service? DSV Lead Logistics looks to enable customers to improve their business in three primary areas – strategic value, commercial value
and financial value. In
these three areas, it is expected to provide improved company performance, speed of response to change, resiliency to stress, flexibility to change, sustainability over time, and cost advantage over competitors, the forwarder believes. Lead Logistics is based on a pre-
existing offering that DSV has had available in the US predominantly for the North American market. In fact, DSV has been providing this service in North America for more than 20 years; “Our decision to take the service global was based
Cogoport founder Purnendu Shekhar
on extensive market research, industry trends and customer input,” says Olesen. That history in the US offers DSV
Lead Logistics a launch customer base, of course. But there is much more potential to be tapped into, Olesen believes. “DSV has a portfolio of existing customers in North America and keen interest from major customers in Europe, Asia and other parts of the globe. New customers have been quietly added over the past few months and our pipeline of opportunities continues to expand weekly. “DSV will continue to invest
and scale this business in line with customer needs. We are committed to be the provider of choice to help enable our customers to compete more efficiently – globally,” Olesen concludes.
“We chose
alongside the
dynamic infrastructure it India
the Netherlands because
of
trading brings
route from
Europe into India for the sub- continent region, and onward to China and other points across Asia,” says Shekhar. “Our major export trade lanes
include Africa, the Middle East, Europe, South America, South- east Asia, Australia and the Mediterranean. We
are about
platform, and at the same time be rewarded for being partners in this digital transformation.”
Ongoing growth
The addition of freight rates on Chinese export traffic into India will allow Cogoport to further grow its customer base, which already includes more than 10,000 shippers with import requirements. In less than two years of
existence, Cogoport has already attracted more
than 25,000
registered exporters and importers to its digital marketplace – largely but not exclusively,
it
says, small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs). Shekhar tells FBJ that the
forwardcomputers.co.uk
corporate vision was – and remains – to enable seamless global trade and help business accelerate grow. In particular, Cogoport is intended to enable
Cogoport now offers ocean freight services for the full container load (FCL) segment. It caters to exports from India and the Netherlands to points all over the world, as well as now including imports from China to India, with many other points in Asia being added.
new SMEs to participate in global trade and, “We are doing this with the help of deep technology so that we can reach to every customer who needs us and make it super convenient”, enabling users to mitigate the challenges they face relating to “price opacity, information asymmetry, managing multiple stakeholders, lack of visibility on shipments, endless paperwork and so on”. Growing at a rate of 25% month on month, Cogoport
is now a
“global category leader in this space”, he insists.
Going Dutch
to launch rail haulage services across India in a matter of weeks and, within the next few months, expand our presence in the LCL [less than container load] and air segments as well. “We are already in the process of
expanding our coverage to service imports into India from other Asian countries such as Malaysia, Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, Cambodia and so on. These will be added imminently. We also have further long-term expansion plans once we strengthen our positions in the Netherlands and China/Asia.” And what is giving such
impetus to the Cogoport product? “Our core differentiation is that we believe in transparency and giving the power back to our customers,” declares Shekhar. “Our differentiation is in terms of being inclusive. We are a one-of- a-kind global platform and the only business in India to offer this solution.” As well as its headquarters in
Mumbai, Cogoport has about a dozen offices across India and the Netherlands. It currently employs approximately 450 staff.
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