The agents will get to access this certification from the Members’ Area of the Globalia website
Globalia Logistics Network is now offering an online certification that the members can download from the website. They have launched this online certificate to digitize their services, offer enhanced accessibility of the network’s intranet and to provide innovative benefits for the network members. To this end, Globalia’s IT team has developed a new section in the intranet from where the agents can access and download the certificate attesting their membership of the network. Moreover, this certificate also includes the date on which the network accepted the agent.
New membership certificate from Globalia
To quote Antonio Torres, CEO and Founder of Globalia Logistics Network, “Only the most reliable, professional, solvent companies with a significant business volume and a good credit history make it to our network. This certificate will confirm the fact that our members are some of the most competent freight forwarders in the market who have passed a rigorous selection process. Additionally, the new online membership certification is a part of our plan for digitizing every aspect of our services for facilitating our members’ work.”
Agents can download and print the soft copy of this document from the Members Area. Moreover, the members just have to access Globalia’s intranet, and click on the “Certificate” tab to find it in the Dashboard.
In the last few years, the freight forwarding industry has witnessed a new phenomenon viz. the rise of digital freight forwarders.The tremendous need for automation and technological innovation culminated in the emergence of this new category of online freight forwarders. But why didn’t this happen earlier? Why were freight forwarders so reluctant to the digital transformation and why are they still bottled up in the old working ways?
Our topic for this week is a little chat with Manuel Cardona, Globalia’s IT Manager and FreightViewer Developer, who has provided us with interesting inputs and anecdotes about the hidden reality behind the freight forwarding industry that he discovered while launching FreightViewer. By taking an in-depth look at this, he has been able to create a truly practical and useful TMS.
Manuel Cardona- Globalia’s IT Manager
The factors that motivated Globalia to create a new TMS
Around 4 years back, Antonio Torres, Globalia’s President, and CEO understood that digitization was no longer an option for freight forwarders- it was a necessity. Companies across all sectors were moving ahead with online platforms and services. Nevertheless, independent freight forwarders were somewhat late in waking up to the call for digitization. This is when Mr. Torres started exploring the possibility of investing in a new software that could enable hundreds of Globalia agents to automate their operations while cutting down costs.
“Soon after we started having long brainstorming sessions during which we started exploring new avenues that would help our agents to finally discard the backdated manual data entry processes. We understood that without a definitive solution, our agents were at the peril of losing out businesses to their multinational competitors,” explains Mr. Cardona. Precisely at this point, Globalia Logistics Network started moving ahead with its digital transformation endeavours.
After a lot of hard work and considerable private investments, Globalia finally started testing the platform in mid-2018. The objective of FreightViewer was to offer a digital infrastructure that enabled the establishment of an automated data transfer of carrier rates and tariffs. For the first time, independent freight forwarders could create instant accurate quotations and have a 24×7 showcase for their freight rates without any investment on their part.
“We were confident enough to dream big and expected it to become a success. Our member-exclusive TMS- FreightViewer came with a remarkable advantage over any other similar platform. Unlike the rest, Globalia is an international network consisting of 191 agents in 129 countries. This allows our agents to have rates from almost every corner of the world,” continues Mr. Cardona.
The launch of FreightViewer and the problems Globalia found out
It was during Globalia’s 2nd Annual Meeting at Kuala Lumpur that FreightViewer was first presented to the agents. It provided a very opportune moment to launch the platform as the meeting witnessed a 60% increase in the attendance of new members.
To quote Mr. Cardona, “This was a very exciting moment for our team as we knew that we were doing something that no other freight forwarding network had done before. Andrea Martin, Globalia’s FreightViewer Coordinator, played a key role in conducting the FreightViewer workshops for the network members.”
“However, it was then when we found out the hidden truth about the difficulties to digitize the freight forwarding industry. Our members were very enthusiastic about this platform, but some showed a distrustful attitude over it. There were lots of doubts about the software, about how they would upload rates, the constantly changing transportation fees, etc. Members also saw that there were a lot of features they needed but the TMS didn’t allow them to have. It goes without saying that this didn’t discourage us to further invest in the platform. On the contrary, it made us realize that not every software in the market would serve the purpose. We had to increase our efforts to create a personalized tool with all the required utilities to make it functional.”
With this in mind, the IT department of Globalia continued working hard. The objective was clear: FreightViewer aimed to allow Globalia members to be at the cutting edge of technology and compete with the stalwarts in the industry by digitizing a very important part of their operations.
The process of enhancing the platform
“We thought that the only way to build a more convenient tool for our members, they had to test it in order to give us their feedback about how to optimize it. In this regard, the efforts of Andrea deserves special appreciation. She spent hours with our agents to get their feedback on how the tool can be made more efficient and practical. Even now she keeps helping the GLB members with any doubts about the use of the software”.
Following Globalia’s 2nd Annual Meeting, the next step involved finding industry leaders to collaborate with. Back in 2019, Globalia teamed up with SHIPCO, one of the world’s leading neutral NVOCC’s. This was a very big step for the network since it allows the members to access LCL rates in over thirty countries right from FreightViewer. In other words, this partnership enabled members to digitize a substantial chunk of their day-to-day paperwork
The next step was to further enhance the platform’s accessibility to encourage the agents to discard the manual quoting process for good. “In the same year, we added a very useful feature to FreightViewer that allowed agents to send and receive quote requests to/from any of their partners including those operating outside the Network. As a result, members were able to store quotations provided by any freight forwarder on a single platform.”
The process of improving the tool did not stop here. Globalia continued forging partnerships with industry leaders like Onus Cargo Services, an insurance broker or BlueX an API developer.
FreightViewer in 2022: a revolutionary freight quotation software
Presently, FreightViewer has come up as an indispensable tool for the members. It is allowing them to instantly generate accurate and professional quotations. Additionally, their clients can go almost through all the logistics processes by themselves through the website for customers, where different quotes can be compared quickly and easily. This TMS is currently helping members to manage rates, create personalized quotations, and even follow up with the customers and customize their website. Most importantly, it is enhancing the customer-relationship for our agents.
By processing all the freight forwarding operations within a unique channel, FreightViewer is enhancing the visibility for all the stakeholders of the shipping process. In a sector when an instant response is absolutely crucial, FreightViewer is greatly adding to operational efficiency. Additionally, the platform is reducing the members’ expenses, saving their time, eliminating manual error, augmenting visibility and security, and minimizing the steps involved in shipping operations.
The future potentials of FreightViewer
The digital transformation has finally become a hard reality and logistics companies of all sizes are competing to adapt to the big changes and come up as digital freight forwarders. As Mr. Cardona points out, “The pandemic has brought a very important fact to our attention- Freight Forwarders need to digitize their services. Keeping pace with Logistics 4.0 has become crucial to be well positioned in the freight forwarding industry. Simply put, independent freight forwarders who fail to digitize their operations and come up as digital freight forwarders will soon fall behind the competition.”
This is one factor that motivates Globalia’s IT team to works hard to further upgrade the tool. At the moment, Globalia is negotiating new partnerships with other leading companies in this sector. Globalia is presently dealing with Webcargonet to upload and update more than 14 million buying airfreight rates to FreightViewer. Additionally, they are also trying to reach cost-effective cargo insurance rates for the members. Lastly, Globalia is working to implement a new way that make the process of rate uploading even easier.
As Mr. Cardona aptly sums up, “FreightViewer enables our agents to leverage digital trends for facilitating seamless communication among all the stakeholders of a shipping project. More importantly, it entails the use of a completely transparent cloud-based system that allows for easy comparison of several shipping rates to provide the best deal to the customers. One of the main aims of this tool is to reduce paperwork and manual processes. I can confidently state that we have been successful in fulfilling the objectives of launching this platform. Nevertheless, we still continue to work hard as we believe there is always room for improvement.”
The December edition of the newsletter includes a special feature on Globalia’s 5th Anniversary, along with trending news from the industry and from the network members
The winter edition of Globalia’s quarterly newsletter has been published and can be viewed on our website. On the occassion of Globalia’s 5th Anniversary, we have published a special feature about how the network successfully implemented a comprehensive strategy to boost our agents’ growth and performance. Additionally, you will get to read what Globalia members have to say about the efficiency of the network.
Globalia’s Newsletter for December
Like always, you will find all the recent news about our members in the last three months plus an interview with GLB Tangiers. The report on Container Prices will help you keep a pulse on the latest container shipping trends. Our sector news in focus is about the current air cargo operations by DHL. Furthermore, you will also find the trending news headlines from the supply chain sector. Lastly, our report on the rise of smart ports will update you with the digitization endeavours of ports around the world.
Don’t forget to send us the news about your company’s achievements and we will feature it in our upcoming newsletter!
The Autumn edition of Globalia’s newsletter includes all the latest news from our member, the network, and the sector along with several other interesting posts
Globalia Logistics Network’s newsletter for September 2021 is now online. This newsletter comes with all the highlights of our recently concluded Virtual Meeting. Moreover, there is also an article about Post-Conference Follow-up Tips that will come in very handy for the members.
Globalia’s September Newsletter
Click on the above image to read the newsletter
Inside the newsletter there is a news compilation of the latest achievements of our members in the past 3 months. The report on the challenges of the sea freight sector by Globalia Porto Alegre is surely going to be an interesting read. Additionally, there is another report where our member in Piraeus talks about how they’re growing their operations by productive collaboration with Globalia partners.
We have also published an interview with Maria Serrano, Globalia’s PR and Event Coordinator. In this interview she talks about the advantages of attending Globalia’s Annual Meetings, the marketing goals of the network in 2021, and other relevant topics. Like every time this newsletter is packed with all the important news and news-bits from the transportation and logistics sector. The post on Cargo Theft Tactics and How to Prevent Them will definitely make for a very engaging read.
If you want to feature your company’s latest news in our upcoming newsletter then kindly send us an email with a few lines about your recent undertakings.
“At Globalia we are like one big family with a very positive work environment that is conducive to innovation and productivity”
This week we are publishing an interview with Simon Moore, who is the Membership Development Coordinator of Globalia Logistics Network. Simon plays a key role in researching and recruiting the best companies for membership in Globalia. His most important job consists of carefully researching the background of the members before determining if they are eligible for membership. Before joining our team, he spent five years in Italy teaching students from across the globe. With several years of experience in customer service, and results orientation, Simon believes that good communication is the key to outreach enhancement.
Q. Tell us a little bit about your experience at Globalia. A. I have been working with the Globalia team since day one – for almost five years now – and so far my experience here has been extremely satisfying. My colleagues at Globalia are very amicable and over the years I have learned about client research, member recruitment, the significance of clear communication, and more.
Q. How were the beginnings of Globalia?
A. The first few months are always challenging, but our experience in the freight forwarding sector allowed us to resolve the initial hurdles and we started running smoothly in just a few months. Now I can confidently state that even with the pandemic and the ensuing economic crisis of 2020, we have been able to maintain the network without compromising on our quality standards.
Q. What does your job consist of? Do you find your day-to-day tasks exciting?
A. I find my task very interesting as I am usually required to do a lot of research on the applicant companies before determining their eligibility. As the Membership Development Coordinator, I am the very first point of contact between the members and the network. My job consists of contacting potential agents and inform them about the benefits of joining Globalia. Our network already counts on over 180 independent freight forwarders in 120+ countries, who work together for increased business and it is my job to keep this number growing so as to cover many more territories in the near future.
Q. Which is the most challenging part of the job? A. As an exclusive network, our members need to go through a meticulous selection process, whereby their financial strength, market reputation, creditworthiness, competitiveness and business volume are ascertained before they are admitted within the network. That makes our job challenging since we only accept one member out of ten that applies for Globalia’s membership. We even hire the external auditor DUN & BRADSTREET whose job it is to evaluate each potential member on our behalf. We impose these strict criteria in our selection process to create the most secure environment for our agents.
Q. In your opinion, which is the best benefit for Globalia members in terms of sales? A. The best benefit for Globalia members in sales terms is without a doubt the referral program. If members refer their trustworthy agents, they can obtain a 25% discount on their membership – up to 4 discounts (of 25%) are applicable for each new agent, meaning that they stand a chance of paying zero membership fees for the coming year.Q. What is the most important objective of the sales team?
A. It is to increase our outreach and have ‘Virtual Offices” in all the main sea/airports across all the five continents. Apart from that we always try to ensure quality above anything else which is taken care of by our strict selection process.
“I strongly believe that operational integrity is the key to customer retention. At the end of the day it all boils down to trust and it is this trust of our members which keeps us moving forward”
Q. What do you like about working at Globalia? A. The best part about working here is that I get to be original and exercise my creativity at all times. In order to find the most reliable agents and to offer quality customer service, Globalia employees need to work as a team. We are in touch at all times and we have frequent meetings where we discuss new ideas about how to improve our services. At Globalia we are like one big family with a very positive work environment that is conducive to innovation and productivity. Succeeding as a team has allowed us to forge bonds that over the years have turned into trust and friendship. Employees who like and trust each other are more likely to communicate well with each other, work better and achieve the objectives.
Q. How are you coping with the present work from home scenario? A. Ever since the pandemic hit us exactly one year back, our entire team has been working from home. However, nothing has changed except for the fact that now we are working remotely and online communication is being carried out instead of in-person meetings. Our team now catches up on the cloud to carry out our day-to-day activities and coordination between every department of the network is still at the highest level.
Q. What are the values that motivate you? A. Integrity, creativity, honesty, and courage to take bold steps are a few of my driving forces. I strongly believe that operational integrity is the key to customer retention. What matters in my line of work is to show my clients how we really care about them. At the end of the day it all boils down to trust and it is this trust of our members which keeps us moving forward. In this context I would like to quote American business author and management guru Michael LeBoeuf -“A satisfied customer is the best business strategy,”- and this exactly is my work motto!
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