independent freight forwarders Archives

My Discovery of the Hidden Truth About Digital Freight Forwarding: The Beginnings Of FreightViewer

Posted on 25 March, 2022 | by admin

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 Logistics Network — 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.”

Globalia Munich teams up with Globalia Sao Paolo/Itajai to move an important shipment consisting of pallets for Volvo Trucks

Posted on 4 February, 2022 | by admin

They are transporting 50 pallets from Sao Paolo, Brazil, to Frankfurt, Germany, for a reputed international automotive supplier

Airfreight Express Global Group, Globalia member in Munich, Germany, has landed a major contract with LAC Worldwide Brazil, Globalia member in Sao Paolo and Itajai, Brazil. They flew a large number of pallets within a short deadline from Sao Paolo to Frankfurt.

To quote Marcus Zehentbauer the Managing director of Airfreight Express, “Our customer is a well-known international automotive supplier. Additionally, this order is a big step into the business for Volvo Trucks. However, when the order was placed on 3rd December, it was already clear that the freight capacity situation would become much more acute before Christmas. This is why it was a feat of strength for all those involved to book the capacities and also to get the departures.”

independent freight forwarders collaboration project — Collaboration project of GLB Munich and GLB Sao Paolo/Itajai

In Frankfurt at Airfreight Express Global, all departments were already running at full speed to harmonize the on-carriage, customs clearance, handling and loading. Their team worked round the clock to achieve this in the shortest possible time. In this way, they worked out flights and capacities in cooperation with Lufthansa Cargo and Cargolux. They have already delivered almost 50 pallets of more than 7 tons cargo punctually to their destination.

Mr. Zehentbauer further adds, “Since the pandemic, there are almost no cargo planes in operation and their number is only a fraction of the passenger flights. So our two teams in two corners of the world, were sitting at their desks almost day and night to book routing and capacities. Me and my partner Mr. Luiz Gustavo Avesani from LAC Worldwide are more than proud of our teams! We are looking forward to successfully accomplishing more such collaborative projects in the coming months.”

Congratulations to Airfreight Express Global Group and all the best for their upcoming projects!

Globalia’s Annual Meeting goes virtual for the second time hosting more than 1150 meetings

Posted on 22 October, 2021 | by admin

The cloud conference on 14th and 15th October afforded the delegates a perfect opportunity to network with their logistics partners and attend the online FreightViewer workshops

Globalia concludes its 2nd Virtual Meeting successfully, that expedited networking among the members and reunited them virtually. After the great reception of their 1st Online Conference, the Globalia’s team worked hard to surpass the previous meeting experience. The Virtual Meeting enabled the members to assemble on one platform and consolidate relationships with their network partners.

Members participated in more than 1150 one-to-one video conferences during the two days of the event. Furthermore, the professional and user-friendly meeting platform created by Globalia made for a seamless conferencing experience. It organized all the video conferences automatically according to the agenda and time zone of the delegates.

Globalia's 2nd virtual meeting of independent freight forwarders — Globalia’s 2nd virtual meeting concludes successfully

“It has been wonderful experience, thanks to the Globalia team, who made it possible,” says our Globalia Member in Karachi, Pakistan.

The primary goal of the conference was to encourage a perfect working partnership between the network members. The meeting majorly contributed to expanding the scope and opportunities of the member companies. Moreover, Globalia’s team was always present to help members with every step of the meeting process.

“Globalia Logistics Network’s Virtual Meeting is a great platform where to improve your work and increase your business activities,” declares our Globalia member in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Additionally, this year, the delegates also had the chance to touch base with their network partners during the coffee breaks. They had the choice to access a room with up to 5 random participants and engage in informal discussions. This allowed to promote a sense of trust and bonding within the network. This is expected to strengthen the partnerships and have a positive impact on the number of concerted projects.

The event started with a Welcome Speech from Antonio Torres, the President and Founder of Globalia Logistics Network. Next, the members started with the one-to-one business discussions. Additionally, members also took part in the FreightViewer workshops. Andrea Martin, Globalia’s FreightViewer Coordinator, explained the new features added to the software.

According to Antonio Torres, “This year we once again organized a cloud conference keeping in mind the safety concerns of our members. Our virtual meeting yielded a remarkable outcome for the second time. All in all, it had been a wonderful and highly productive experience. It gave our members a chance to expand their operations in a time when the shipping industry is facing an unprecedented crisis. The meeting allowed the delegates to set the stage for new collaborative projects that forms the basis of our network. I am confident we will be able to conduct an in-person meeting next year when we leave the pandemic behind us.”

Sea freight trends and challenges: A postpandemic outlook

Posted on 24 September, 2021 | by admin

Globalia member in Porto Alegre, Brazil, explains to us the tendencies and challenges of the sea freight industry and how they are dealing with them

The last one and half years have been a rather tumultuous one for the international sea freight shipping industry. The lockdown and the pandemic-related restrictions had severe repercussions on international trade. Moreover, the container shipping industry is also having to contend with the problems of port congestion and container shortage. In spite of all the challenges, the sea freight forwarders are continuing to move goods across the world offering logistical solutions to keep international trade afloat during these difficult times.

Instability of ocean freight rates

It can be said without a doubt that the container crisis has led to the soaring sea freight rates. Added to this, other issues like limited air freight capacity, overuse of split shipments, changes in shopping trends, and the shortage of equipment also hiked up the shipping costs. As stated by Mr. Fernando Meyrer from the Shipping Department of Clemar Logistics, Globalia member in Porto Alegre, “The values of the freights have increased a lot, and it impacts the entire Brazilian market. If we talk about imports, the rising freight rates also affect the duties and taxes. This means that, besides the international freight, the importers also pay more duties and taxes here in Brazil.”

To cope with this situation Clemar Logistics has been focusing on advance planning of their shipments. “As a company with over 20 years of experience in sea freight shipping, we fully understand how planning can help us serve the interests of our clients. We have a very close relationship with our clients. We make sure to treat our customers’ shipments with priority. For this reason, we plan the shipments beforehand and manage to avoid the delays and surcharges,” adds Mr. Meyrer.

The problem of container shortage

The global container shortage is yet another constant trend in the sea freight shipping industry since 2020. Additionally, the congestion in several ports around the world has resulted in backlogs, delays, and blank sailings. This in turn has further complicated the container shortage problem. Several ports are still trying to deal with the backlog of containers and the situation isn’t likely to improve till the end of this year. Presently, container manufacturers are racing to produce sufficient supplies of boxes to cope with the demand for containers.

Mr. Meyrer explains that “It’s very hard to find containers and all vessels are overbooked. For export cargoes, basically, you have to keep in mind that you will only get a booking for a shipment with a date of departure approximately one month after the request. This is probably one of the most difficult aspects of my job. However, we are managing to cope with this problem by informing our clients about all the steps while optimizing time and resources. Our team works constantly and coordinates with all the parties to successfully execute our customers’ projects.”

Seafreight trends and challenges for independent freight forwarders — Trends in the sea freight shipping industry

Increased dependence on technology

Instead of relying on paperwork, the sea freight industry is now embracing digitization. The Covid-19 induced complications have pushed the ocean freight forwarders to make use of new online platforms. More and more companies in this sector are now increasingly dependent on a host of software that helps with freight booking, quotation generation, spot booking, shipment tracking, and more. All the multinationals like Maersk, CMA CGM, Hapag Lloyd, etc are using artificial intelligence to better serve their customers.

Small companies are also using AI-based platforms to keep up with the competition and make more informed decisions in this volatile situation. Clemar Logistics for example has digitized its manual processes to automate their processes and minimize human errors. “The most important benefit of digitization in this sector is that it is allowing us to offer more flexible services for our clients,” says Mr. Meyrer.

A rise in the use of cargo insurance

Having cargo insurance greatly helps to cover all sorts of risks related to the damage or loss of a shipment. They protect the importers/exporters from substantial financial losses. For example, they will be protected in case of untoward incidents like an accident, natural disaster, piracy, or customs rejection. According to Mr. Meyrer, “The price you pay for the insurance is not even close to the loss you may incur if your cargo is damaged. Therefore, we always suggest our clients to get international insurance on their cargoes.”

Now that we are going through one of the most difficult times for the international shipping industry, the relevance of competent freight companies has become abundantly clear. “Experience, industry knowledge, and the right contacts are some of the most important factors that are allowing us to attract new clients and provide the best logistical solutions. Honestly, I just hope that in the future the prices will stabilize, empty containers will be found easily and the shipping lines will be more committed to sticking to their schedule,” concludes Mr. Meyrer.

We wish Clemar Logistics the very best for their future endeavours!