Posted by Mumbai: Tech-logistics startup Freightwalla has partnered with Maersk to provide spot rates on its platform in India. Under the partnership, Freightwalla’s customers will able to view and access instant spot rates 24×7 with other accurate information.
Maersk’s spot rate integration with Freightwalla will allow shippers to search, secure competitive rates, and book container space instantly online, making it more reliable.
“The conventional booking process involves multiple steps with no guarantee of loading. Maersk’s spot rate integration enables our customers to see instant rates and see real-time availability of equipment, space, and surety of loading for their shipments,” said Punit Java, Co-Founder & CTO Freightwalla.
“Given the challenges in today’s market with space, customers have a definitive advantage in their logistics planning. It will simplify the overall booking experience of exporters or importers,” added Java.
Maersk introduced spot rates to reduce overbooking cycles while also providing a price and cargo loading assurance. Traditional freight forwarding has been a highly manual and inefficient process, and the shipping industry’s digital revolution has been long overdue.
When it comes to the booking process, there are two major challenges associated with booking freight offline. First, the accuracy and reliability of the contracted rates are poor. There is a possibility of the vessel being overbooked and the customers facing unprecedented delays in shipping their cargo.
Second, this unreliability makes clients perform multiple bookings with different liners in a bid to guarantee that their cargo will get a spot on at least one of them.
Such poor transparency in processes leads either the customers facing delays to overbook the vessel or being under-booked due to duplicate bookings and the liners facing losses.
Spot rate integration will help establish the much-needed two-way commitment between the liners and the traders, similar to the airline-like booking model, ensuring full authenticity from all the parties involved.
Within a year of receiving the seed fund, the tech-logistics startup Freightwalla raised $ 4 million (approximately Rs 28.70 crore) as part of Series A funding from India and US-based venture capital firms in September 2019. It has been utilising these funds to develop its tech portal to provide a seamless shipping experience to its customers.
The mission of tech-logistics startup Freightwalla has been to build a service that addresses the modern business needs of simplicity and transparency for shippers worldwide.
With a mix of advanced online tools, state-of-the-art analytics, and dedicated customer service, it aims at tackling the inefficiencies involved in moving goods internationally to take the stress out of international shipping.