26 greater


Issue 6 2020 - Freight Business Journal


///IT


CEVA Logistics, part of the Marseille- headquartered CMA CGM ocean shipping giant, has moved forward with its digital offering by launching myCEVA, described by the supply chain services provider as a “transactional platform” that enables shippers to “manage their complete shipping journey online”. Offering


control


for shippers over each link in the shipping chain, myCEVA allows users to instantly receive quotes, make bookings and track shipments in real time. In fact, its functionalities extend to schedules, quotes, eBooking facilities, eDocumentation, online support, track and trace and account management and suggesting the “right schedule for a shipper at the right price”. The platform’s dashboard allows for live tracking of shipment progress, while live assistance is also available. Furthermore, myCEVA allows for greater collaboration with stakeholders through provision of an integrated digital


area to store, receive and share shipping documents. The aim of myCEVA is five-


fold, encompassing: Efficiency and productivity: optimising and simplifying customers’ activity and speeding up their logistics flows; Visibility: as supply chains grow in complexity and size, providing real-time information and capability to react quickly is seen as vital; Connectivity: leveraging the power of digital technology to enhance collaboration between all shipping parties involved and facilitate shipping documents’ management; Customer service: aiming for ever-closer relationships with CEVA customers and providing


personalised support


through direct communication channels


and; differentiation, providing


small plus, the ‘Whoa effect’ to the customer which leads them to prefer CEVA Logistics. myCEVA was first piloted in the


US in May this year, and is being rolled out in phases. Today, it covers


Ontruck goes continental


The Ontruck digital road freight platform has been expanded to take in routes across Western and Central Europe. Shippers and forwarders can now book international full-truck loads from Spain into Portugal, France, Germany, Benelux and Poland and imports from across Europe into Spain and Portugal. The growth into new


international markets is said by Ontruck to be “a natural evolution” for the platform, having since its launch in 2016 already established a significant presence in the


Continental trucking market – handling some 20,000 shipments a month across regional hubs in the UK, France, Spain and the Netherlands. This latest expansion in the


platform’s coverage follows the roll- out of national services across the UK and Spain, each of the phased increases in coverage coming as a result of client demand. “Our growth strategy has


always been customer-led and an international service is something that our clients have inquired about since day one,” says Rika


Innovation/ the


myCEVA to take in air and road freight shipping: air freight shipping is to be operational in pilot mode by the end of this year, and ground and contract logistics services to follow from 2021.


Carbon calculator


full container load (FCL) and less than container load (LCL) ocean freight shipments on trade lanes to and from the US, China and India. The intention is for coverage to soon extend to shippers importing into or exporting from Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Vietnam and the UK, before expanding this autumn to take in Europe, South- east Asia, the Middle East and Latin America. The ambition is for worldwide deployment by the end of this year. Meanwhile, the plan is to expand


Christanto, Ontruck’s co-founder and chief operating officer. “Understanding the evolving


needs of our clients has been the most important factor in helping us to scale our offering. We now have significant platform synergies by leveraging the marketplace technologies we have developed for regional transport into an inter- European service to deliver service into a long haul product”. The Covid-19 crisis is not holding


Ontruck back. Indeed: “In the wake of the disruption sparked by the outbreak, we’re offering our clients the ability to diversify their supply chains and quickly pivot amid shiſting market conditions, so this is


By the end of this year, CEVA also hopes to have in place as part of the platform a carbon dioxide calculator for those looking to ship in as environmentally friendly way as possible. The CO2 calculator is based on a partnership with a start- up company partner and will allow customers to select their schedules based on the most accurate forecast of CO2 consumption for the chosen door-to-door transport method. Additional functionalities are


to be added to the platform in coming months, which might include a mobile phone app, a self- service customer support portal, enhanced live tracking capabilities and electronic bills of lading (eBLs). Frederic Obala, chief


transformation & digital officer at CEVA Logistics, offers further detail


the perfect moment to partner with us,” Christanto says. The expanded platform was


tested in the first quarter of this year with clients including Carrefour, GBFoods, Smurfit Kappa and Celsa Group, and – says Ontruck – the results showed a “strong fit with the growing demand for traceability and flexibility in international transport”. Route optimisation, traceability


Forward thinking, Forward moving Since purchasing ForwardOffice in 1998, our business


has evolved considerably. ForwardOffice has developed with us throughout this period. We have developed a


fruitful relationship with FCL and see them very much as a strategic partner, rather than just a software supplier.


Jerry Cook, IT Manager, Meachers Global Logistics


and the flexibility of Ontruck’s regional services are all being applied to the new international services. The platform’s machine- learning and process automation has helped lower empty kilometres travelled in regional transport from 40% to 20%; this is projected to be reduced from 25% to 15% for long- haul transport, Ontruck says. Ontruck attributes these


efficiency gains to increased visibility and prediction of truck availability to optimise network routing and dynamic pricing to re- balance routes where there is an imbalance of loads moving in one direction. Data algorithms are used to


forwardcomputers.co.uk


predict demand, while advanced routing techniques are used to maximise the utilisation of carriers. Automated workflows and a Big Data platform enable over 80% of shipments to be fulfilled with zero


to FBJ on the development and benefits of the platform: “myCEVA has been very fast in terms of its time in development and get-to- market. In total, it was three and a half months from development kick-off, which took place in September 2019, to first release for ocean business in closed pilot mode, which occurred in January 2020.” CEVA then undertook a full-


scale trial before announcing the platform’s launch in July. Moreover, says Obala: “We keep improving the platform to incorporate more and more value-added features for our customers. The aim is to use digital technologies to put the customer in control while bringing simplicity, flexibility and dynamism to his supply chain. We have partnered with a third-party provider with extensive expertise in the field to develop myCEVA.” myCEVA is just part of a wider


strategy that looks to exploit the latest IT developments benefiting the shipping industry. “We have a global digital vision for CEVA all based around three pillars,” says Obala. These three pillars are


human intervention from loading to unloading, a feature that will take on a new significance in the post- pandemic supply-chain, Ontruck adds.


Rapidly evolving


Currently operating from offices in Madrid, Barcelona, London, Paris, and Amsterdam, Ontruck was founded four years ago with the vision of offering the most efficient and socially responsible way of moving road freight, Christanto tells FBJ. Ontruck’s founders asked how


technology could offer a solution to inefficient trucking. “We came up with a digital platform that would not only match shippers with carriers, but offer


transparency,


traceability and sustainability throughout the process, and from that Ontruck was born,” she recalls. “To date, the platform has


delivered the promised benefits of reducing transportation and supply chain costs to shippers while also providing carriers with an opportunity to earn more and thrive. “The majority of our business up


until now has been in regional short- haul services and more recently national long-haul transportation which we launched earlier this


digital products, data insights and innovation. However, myCEVA is an initial


step. “This platform is part of our process of getting on board with digitalisation to start turning the company into a digital leader. We started from nowhere, and we have to catch up with the competition first, and get beyond them aſter that,” Obala suggests. “Our global vision is driven


towards achieving this goal and differentiating while bringing simplicity, flexibility and dynamicity to our


customers’


supply chains through modern online tools,” he adds. And it is with this in mind that


myCEVA was built, based on the requirements and feedback of CEVA’s business development teams in close cooperation with the market, as well as a result of consultations with local stations and customers in different regions of the world. From those, says Obala, “we then had a clear vision of what they expect from a digital freight partner; myCEVA is a true customer-centric platform by design”.


year, so we are very much looking forward to developing a wider pan- European network with our latest international offering.” Coverage of new markets was


always part of Ontruck’s long- term vision and growth strategy. “However, we understood that to reach this point we would first need to focus on our regional and national offerings,” says Christanto. “We have


taken the time to


carefully research the nuances of each service per market we enter while also understanding carrier preferences, which is essential for building network density. Having successfully made these steps and refined our local offerings, we then understood that we could begin to open up strategic interconnections for international transport.” Plans for


expansion


don’t


stop here. While Europe is very much Ontruck’s core region and it remains steadfast in its commitment to those markets in which it already has understanding - it has also considered Germany - it has had interest from the US, South America, Asia and the UAE. Nevertheless, says Christanto, “For the moment we want to focus on gaining as much traction here in Europe as possible before we begin looking at other markets or modes of transport.”


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