its online B2B exchange has reached 6,000, consisting of approximately 5,000 shippers (exporters/importers) and approximately 1,000 service providers (carriers and intermediaries).
GoCargo.com's team of 20 international traders are operating 24 hours a day, five days a week, offering local decision makers from Tennessee to Hong Kong the ability to bid on and book shipments online with the personal assistance of GoCargo.com account managers who speak numerous languages, such as Mandarin, Korean and German. The new exchange at Broadway and Wall Street is bringing 21st century trading concepts to the tradition-bound shipping industry, with real benefits to both the buyside and the sellside: saving as much as 40% on shipping contracts for the shippers, and filling excess capacity on trans-ocean shipments for the carriers.
The trading desk is managed by Marc Rappaport, Vice President of Trading and Operations, who was formerly a senior vice president of Prudential Securities and a financial advisor at Shearson Lehman Hutton.
GoCargo.com, founded in July 1999 by Chairman/CEO Eyal Goldwerger, launched its Web site last November and closed a second round of financing in February 2000 led by Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
"Although price is most often the determining factor in a shipper's decision, other factors such as quality of service, timing of shipments or specific fulfillment issues can take precedence," Mr. Goldwerger notes.
"With 1,000 service providers in the system, GoCargo.com gives shippers real choices along with savings and convenience. Our account managers continuously interview shippers to ascertain their commitment levels and determine how 'real and ready' their shipments are," Marc Rappaport explains. "We know the cargo is actual and available, and the carriers are qualified. This is another service GoCargo.com provides that customers recognize as a real advantage."