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A recent poll by Container xChange indicates the biggest worry for more than half of freight forwarders was ‘everything related to containers’, followed by ‘lack of visibility
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Owing to the manual processes of container management, 50-75% of their weekly workload goes into monitoring and release validation
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Container xChange unveils Container Control, a container management solution for freight forwarders and NVOCCs
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The software simplifies container operations from pick-up to drop-off
About 60% of freight forwarders, NVOCCs and traders struggle to monitor movement of shipping containers, according to results of a poll conducted by Container xChange this month.
The online survey also found 57% of forwarders point to ‘Containers’ as their biggest challenge in the coming peak season, while 43% said ‘lack of real-time visibility’ was their second-biggest challenge.
The survey results were published on the sidelines of the launch of Container Control, a first-of-its-kind technology platform for freight forwarders and NVOCCs worldwide.
Dr. Johannes Schlingmeier, cofounder and CEO, of Container xChange said Container Control helps solve the problem of container visibility. “Container Control is a tool for freight forwarders and NVOCCs that gives visibility into a container’s journey from pickup to drop off. What this means is that container journeys become transparent for a container user, so they can save time on manual repetitive tasks. Thus, they can operate more containers per month, grow the business or deliver better customer service,” he said.
“The idea is to automate the container management process for freight forwarders so they can focus less on manual operational work processes and more on expanding their business across geographies. We equip them with the data and processes that simplify their business. And for the industry, it solves the challenge of monitoring and managing containers all at one single sophisticated platform.
“From the moment the container is born, to its last journey, we want to digitalize every process and this product is a huge step in the right direction. By bringing all the parties online, Container Control will transform the way container logistic companies connect and do business,” he added.
Container Control solves two key pain points for freight forwarders and NVOCCs across the globe –monitoring container in near real-time from pickup to drop off, and getting a clear overview of all releases and containers they have in use.
The customers will now be able to add all release references to the platform, so they can easily match all available containers to the shippers’ bookings and get information about their movements. The data is gathered directly from depots.
Meantime, other key insights of the online survey which received around 150 responses from freight forwarders and NVOCCs from across the world:
- 50% of the respondents would like to automate monitor pickup, ETA, POD, drop-off if given a chance
- 26% would like to get an overview of container bookings in an easeful manner
- 24% would like to match container bookings to container fleet effectively
- In terms of holding control over container movements fully, 59% of the respondents feel they do not have proper control on the container movements
- When it comes to weekly workload of NVOCCs and freight forwarders for monitoring each container’s pick-up and drop-off, 38% of the respondents find that 50-75% of their weekly workload goes into monitoring and release validation
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