Ocean Freight Contract Management Post-P3
The recent decision by Chinese antitrust authorities to block approval of the P3 Ocean Carrier Alliance has increased the demand for Ocean Contract Management. In response, Freightgate is offering free demonstration of its award winning Rate & Tender Management Tariff-Trek! Solution. The proposed mega-alliance by the world’s three biggest shipping - Maersk, Mediterranean Shipping Co and CMA CGM would have created common tariff pricing to most of the world’s ocean ports. It was estimated the P3 alliance would have controlled 42 percent on the Asia-to-Europe route, 24 percent in the trans-Pacific trade, and up to 42 percent in the trans-Atlantic. Now, says Freightgate, shippers are in a better negotiating position to control their ocean freight costs.
INTTRA Study: Shippers Cutting Costs through e-Invoicing
INTTRA released findings of a global study of high-volume shippers and freight forwarders that included 4 of the top 5 global logistics providers. Four years of economic volatility have intensified pressure on carriers and shippers to seek new ways to reduce costs and have seen no relief on pressure to increase service levels. One cost reduction method that has demonstrated results across government and commercial sectors is electronic invoicing (e-Invoicing). Once referred to simply as a “best practice,” e-Invoicing is emerging as a cost reduction tool for companies in or those impacted by the struggling ocean shipping industry. 81% of respondents want to receive invoices electronically in 2013.
CMA CGM Pilots eInvoice Platform in N America
CMA CGM, a container shipping company, announced that it is piloting INTTRA’s Web-based eInvoice solution with select customers in North America. INTTRA’s system will enable CMA CGM and its customers to submit, receive, review and process invoices more efficiently and accurately. CMA CGM’s pilot program in North America marks an important milestone in the introduction of an industry invoicing platform for streamlining the submission, dispute resolution and payment processes for the ocean shipping industry. Until now, these processes included many manual steps that limited accuracy and increased operational costs. In addition, customers have had to navigate multiple systems across the industry when doing business with different carriers.
