Expanding Opportunities in Ecommerce

Global Reach Logistics (GRL) is thrilled to announce its partnership with TikTok Shop, opening new avenues for our current and prospective customers. This collaboration allows businesses to seamlessly integrate the popular Ecommerce platform, TikTok Shop, with an advanced Operation Management System (OMS). The exponential growth and active user base of TikTok Shop present an exciting opportunity for businesses to leverage the world’s fastest-growing social media platform for increased sales.

GRL understand the pivotal role efficient stock and order management plays in a business’s success. The company developed a cutting-edge ERP system tailored to empower clients with seamless control over their operations.

Key Features:

Custom ERP System: proprietary ERP system has been meticulously crafted to meet the unique needs of businesses across various industries.

Streamlined Stock Management: Effortlessly track, organize, and optimize your inventory with our intuitive stock management features. Say goodbye to stockouts and overstocking issues.

Order Management Made Easy: Simplify order processing with our user-friendly interface. From order creation to fulfilment, GRL’s ERP system ensures accuracy and efficiency every step of the way.

The Power of TikTok Shop

TikTok Shop boasts a massive and engaged audience, making it an attractive platform for businesses to showcase their products and services. With this partnership, GRL aims to empower its customers by providing them with a seamless way to connect to TikTok Shop, thereby expanding their reach and maximizing their sales potential. By integrating TikTok Shop with GRL’s OMS, businesses can efficiently manage their operations and logistics, ensuring smooth order fulfilment and customer satisfaction.

In today’s ever-evolving digital landscape, businesses continually search for innovative ways to expand their reach and drive sales. TikTok Shop emerged as a dynamic and influential platform, captivating millions of users not only in the UK but also globally. By integrating your brand with TikTok Shop, you’re not merely following a social media trend; you’re accessing a treasure trove of marketing opportunities. With TikTok boasting billions of monthly views across the globe, it presents an enticing proposition for businesses aiming to bolster brand visibility and sales.

Creating a successful TikTok presence in the UK necessitates a customized strategy tailored to your target audience’s unique preferences. Begin by identifying trending topics, hashtags, and challenges that resonate with the UK’s TikTok community. Authenticity is paramount; engage with your audience in an approachable and sincere manner. Showcase your products or services with imaginative, concise videos, and don’t overlook TikTok’s vast music library for adding an engaging soundtrack.

Collaborate with local TikTok influencers to tap into their established follower base and enhance credibility within the domestic market. Always remember, consistency is key on TikTok – maintain a regular posting schedule and engage with comments and trends to stay relevant. By embracing these strategies and aligning them with the UK audience’s distinct charm, you can pave the way for a triumphant TikTok presence that not only amplifies brand recognition but also drives sales.

“Partnering with TikTok Shop is not just a strategic move; it’s a game-changer for our GRL clients and a pivotal step for businesses looking to tap into a platform that accumulates billions of views every month. Together, we’re rewriting the rules of sales and marketing in the digital age,” said Harry Johnson, Sales and Marketing Director of GRL.

Expanding Opportunities in Ecommerce

Global Reach Logistics (GRL) is thrilled to announce its partnership with TikTok Shop, opening new avenues for our current and prospective customers. This collaboration allows businesses to seamlessly integrate the popular Ecommerce platform, TikTok Shop, with an advanced Operation Management System (OMS). The exponential growth and active user base of TikTok Shop present an exciting opportunity for businesses to leverage the world’s fastest-growing social media platform for increased sales.

GRL understand the pivotal role efficient stock and order management plays in a business’s success. The company developed a cutting-edge ERP system tailored to empower clients with seamless control over their operations.

Key Features:

Custom ERP System: proprietary ERP system has been meticulously crafted to meet the unique needs of businesses across various industries.

Streamlined Stock Management: Effortlessly track, organize, and optimize your inventory with our intuitive stock management features. Say goodbye to stockouts and overstocking issues.

Order Management Made Easy: Simplify order processing with our user-friendly interface. From order creation to fulfilment, GRL’s ERP system ensures accuracy and efficiency every step of the way.

The Power of TikTok Shop

TikTok Shop boasts a massive and engaged audience, making it an attractive platform for businesses to showcase their products and services. With this partnership, GRL aims to empower its customers by providing them with a seamless way to connect to TikTok Shop, thereby expanding their reach and maximizing their sales potential. By integrating TikTok Shop with GRL’s OMS, businesses can efficiently manage their operations and logistics, ensuring smooth order fulfilment and customer satisfaction.

In today’s ever-evolving digital landscape, businesses continually search for innovative ways to expand their reach and drive sales. TikTok Shop emerged as a dynamic and influential platform, captivating millions of users not only in the UK but also globally. By integrating your brand with TikTok Shop, you’re not merely following a social media trend; you’re accessing a treasure trove of marketing opportunities. With TikTok boasting billions of monthly views across the globe, it presents an enticing proposition for businesses aiming to bolster brand visibility and sales.

Creating a successful TikTok presence in the UK necessitates a customized strategy tailored to your target audience’s unique preferences. Begin by identifying trending topics, hashtags, and challenges that resonate with the UK’s TikTok community. Authenticity is paramount; engage with your audience in an approachable and sincere manner. Showcase your products or services with imaginative, concise videos, and don’t overlook TikTok’s vast music library for adding an engaging soundtrack.

Collaborate with local TikTok influencers to tap into their established follower base and enhance credibility within the domestic market. Always remember, consistency is key on TikTok – maintain a regular posting schedule and engage with comments and trends to stay relevant. By embracing these strategies and aligning them with the UK audience’s distinct charm, you can pave the way for a triumphant TikTok presence that not only amplifies brand recognition but also drives sales.

“Partnering with TikTok Shop is not just a strategic move; it’s a game-changer for our GRL clients and a pivotal step for businesses looking to tap into a platform that accumulates billions of views every month. Together, we’re rewriting the rules of sales and marketing in the digital age,” said Harry Johnson, Sales and Marketing Director of GRL.

Butcher Rolls-Out Digital Distribution Tech

Walter Rose & Son, a British multi-award-winning butcher, has rolled-out a digital distribution system with software from Podfather. With a fleet of 28 vehicles delivering to catering establishments, high-end retailers, and homes across England, Walter Rose has transformed its distribution operation using Podfather’s route planning, vehicle check, delivery tracking, ETA notification and electronic proof of delivery solution.

The Walter Rose team uses Podfather to help plan delivery routes, and capture electronic vehicle checks before drivers leave the Devizes depot in Wiltshire. In the past, vehicle checks would have been collected on a paper sheet and delivered back to the transport office later. Now all teams have instant visibility if there is a defect that needs to be dealt with. All drivers use the Podfather app on a smartphone device. Job information is now sent straight from Podfather’s cloud-based back-office planning system to the driver hand-held removing reliance on handing out paper tickets and collating them when the driver returns.

“When I first saw the Podfather system I could clearly see that it ticked all the boxes in terms of what we needed to help update our delivery processes,” comments Gradyn Runyeard-Hunt, Transport Manager at Water Rose & Sons. “Walter Rose has been in business since 1847, much has changed since that time, but we were still relying on paper to plan and manage our deliveries. Now with Podfather in place, we have been able to move over to an automated system which is much better for us and our customers.”

Deliveries are now tracked via the app and customers are kept up to date with realistic ETA information, a function that is available to all Podfather core product users as standard. Once a driver has arrived at a customer site, electronic signatures and photographs are captured, as well as the precise time and location information that shows exactly what was delivered where when. Electronic proof of delivery has been a huge game changer for the team as they now have real-time visibility of what has been delivered where vital when some items are left unattended at the point of delivery.

“Podfather has made life so much easier as it gives us a clear picture of how our fleet is performing and what deliveries are being successfully made where all in real-time,” adds Runyeard-Hunt. “The support from the Podfather team has been exceptional, we really do feel it’s one of the best tech projects we’ve ever implemented.”

“Walter Rose is a fantastic example of what our core product is designed to do,” comments Colin McCreadie, Managing Director at Podfather. “We have designed an advanced, yet easy-to-use solution, that enables logistics operators to tackle the key issues that are inherent in the paper processes that so many companies still rely on.”

Podfather specialises in the development, delivery and support of route optimisation and electronic proof of delivery technology. A UK company headquartered in Edinburgh, Podfather works with companies of all shapes and sizes, from industry giants such as Tarmac and Breedon to well-known names such as Rexel and ODDBOX and everything else in between. Ideal for multi drop distribution operations, Podfather provides an end-to-end solution incorporating route planning and optimisation, vehicle checks, ETA notifications, tracking, electronic proof of delivery (ePOD) and reporting.

Butcher Rolls-Out Digital Distribution Tech

Walter Rose & Son, a British multi-award-winning butcher, has rolled-out a digital distribution system with software from Podfather. With a fleet of 28 vehicles delivering to catering establishments, high-end retailers, and homes across England, Walter Rose has transformed its distribution operation using Podfather’s route planning, vehicle check, delivery tracking, ETA notification and electronic proof of delivery solution.

The Walter Rose team uses Podfather to help plan delivery routes, and capture electronic vehicle checks before drivers leave the Devizes depot in Wiltshire. In the past, vehicle checks would have been collected on a paper sheet and delivered back to the transport office later. Now all teams have instant visibility if there is a defect that needs to be dealt with. All drivers use the Podfather app on a smartphone device. Job information is now sent straight from Podfather’s cloud-based back-office planning system to the driver hand-held removing reliance on handing out paper tickets and collating them when the driver returns.

“When I first saw the Podfather system I could clearly see that it ticked all the boxes in terms of what we needed to help update our delivery processes,” comments Gradyn Runyeard-Hunt, Transport Manager at Water Rose & Sons. “Walter Rose has been in business since 1847, much has changed since that time, but we were still relying on paper to plan and manage our deliveries. Now with Podfather in place, we have been able to move over to an automated system which is much better for us and our customers.”

Deliveries are now tracked via the app and customers are kept up to date with realistic ETA information, a function that is available to all Podfather core product users as standard. Once a driver has arrived at a customer site, electronic signatures and photographs are captured, as well as the precise time and location information that shows exactly what was delivered where when. Electronic proof of delivery has been a huge game changer for the team as they now have real-time visibility of what has been delivered where vital when some items are left unattended at the point of delivery.

“Podfather has made life so much easier as it gives us a clear picture of how our fleet is performing and what deliveries are being successfully made where all in real-time,” adds Runyeard-Hunt. “The support from the Podfather team has been exceptional, we really do feel it’s one of the best tech projects we’ve ever implemented.”

“Walter Rose is a fantastic example of what our core product is designed to do,” comments Colin McCreadie, Managing Director at Podfather. “We have designed an advanced, yet easy-to-use solution, that enables logistics operators to tackle the key issues that are inherent in the paper processes that so many companies still rely on.”

Podfather specialises in the development, delivery and support of route optimisation and electronic proof of delivery technology. A UK company headquartered in Edinburgh, Podfather works with companies of all shapes and sizes, from industry giants such as Tarmac and Breedon to well-known names such as Rexel and ODDBOX and everything else in between. Ideal for multi drop distribution operations, Podfather provides an end-to-end solution incorporating route planning and optimisation, vehicle checks, ETA notifications, tracking, electronic proof of delivery (ePOD) and reporting.

stow Announces New Robotics Brand: Movu

stow Group, a globally recognized leader in the design, manufacturing, and implementation of advanced storage solutions and automated warehouse systems, announces the launch of the new ‘Movu Robotics’ brand, developed to strengthen its Robotics business unit and to meet increasing customer demand for Automation and Robotics solutions. The new brand replaces the name ‘stow Robotics’ as of now.

Movu Robotics is a new and dynamic warehouse automation brand that stands out by bringing easier logistics automation solutions to the world’s warehouses and ensuring that, when it comes to opportunities for automation, no warehouse is left behind. Movu is based in new headquarters located in Lokeren, near Antwerp in Belgium that, under a single roof, includes engineering, R&D, production, and a state of the art Experience Centre where the latest technologies can be demonstrated live in operation to customers and partners.

stow Group is a highly successful company with 40 years’ experience as a supplier of logistics and materials handling solutions , and a product DNA based on racking. As customer and market demand for automated solutions increase s driven by labour shortages, the need to increase profitability, efficiency, flexibility, accuracy as well as shortening lead times stow has been delivering innovative solutions to meet these challenges.

stow Robotics was e stablished in 2021 a s part of the stow Group and has developed a comprehensive and competitive portfolio of automation and robotics solutions for pallets, bins and items that provides a more energy efficient and practical alternative to stacker crane bins and items that provides a more energy efficient and practical alternative to stacker crane based solutions-based solutions. This comprises Movu atlas, a leading pallet shuttle system; Movu escala, an innovative ramp shuttle solution for totes/bins; Movu ifollow, a collaborative Autonomous Mobile Robot (AMR) system for pallets and additional load carriers: and the new picking robot Movu eligo.

Despite all their advantages, automated technologies and robotics are perceived by many customers as being complex, expensive, resource intensive with long lead time for installation. Movu Robotics addresses this issue by bringing easier automation to the world’s warehouses.

Movu – No warehouse left behind

For projects in the main vertical markets, especially in e-commerce, FMCG and cold storage in Europe and North America, Movu Robotics will deliver simple, standardised plug and play solutions that require less engineering and grant short lead times for execution, allowing customers to keep their operations running.

Jos de Vuyst, CEO of stow Group told Logistics Business: “Faced with challenges of labour shortages, cost increases, storage density, growing volumes and improving accuracy, companies are turning to robotics and automation for solutions. Movu Robotics offers an offers an integrated ecosystem of standardised and scalable automation technology that speeds roll out and reduces risk for all for all kinds of customers. We want to democratise materials handling through bringing the opportunities of easier automation and robotics to warehouses that would otherwise find them hard to attain. Expecting the global material handling equipment market to reach USD 350 billion and understanding the key driver AS/RS systems and Robotics systems for this, we are optimistic that Movu Robotics will become an essential player.”

Stefan Pieters, CEO of Movu Robotics, commented: “Smart enough to make any operation feel simple and easy, Movu robots help to take a load off the customers’ minds as well as their shelves. Our solutions are designed to make warehouse automation and robotics not only more accessible, but also more scalable. They will enable any warehouse around the world – big or small, regular or awkwardly shaped – to be upgraded and become more productive, more efficient and more successful. This is the philosophy behind our brand claim: ‘’Movu – No warehouse left behind’.”

Group structure

stow Group now has two independent brands under its roof: stow Racking and Movu Robotics. While both of these brands retain their independence, they strongly impact each other in terms of expertise, know how, technology and global resources. All products, business activities and operations of stow Group in the field of Robotics and Automation, including R&D, production, sales and finance, will be grouped as an independent and standalone business unit under the Movu Robotics brand in the new headquarters in Lokeren. This includes the operations of the ifollow business, which is now the brand name of AMRs offered by Movu.

The management team will be led by Jos de Vuyst, CEO of stow Group and Stefan Pieters, CEO of Movu Robotics. Both stow Group and Movu Robotics are driven by a strong a strong team of board members, comprising experience from the Logistics Industry and from other sectors.

Movu Robotics technologies

Unlike many automation companies that have a single product, the new Movu Robotics brand includes a range of key technologies: Movu atlas pallet shuttles, Movu escala bin shuttles and Movu ifollow AMRs for pallets and roll cages that work either standalone or as collaborative robots. Joining these is the new Movu eligo picking robot, which is offered as a picking workstation for escala.

Movu Robotics provides solutions for easier automation that can make better use of every corner of the warehouse – irrespective of the customers’ storage space or what they are storing, conveying, picking or handling. Customers gain the key advantage of seamless integrated racking and robotics solutions – for example, the Movu atlas shuttle system working with Movu ifollow mobile robots, or Movu eligo acting as a workstation for Movu escala. A key benefit is that a customer talks to a single face representing a single partner, providing efficient project management and reliable lead times. They will also receive efficient project commissioning for a safe and resilient supply chain that assists in delivering high service levels to their customers.

Autonomous sub–systems for minimal TCO

Technologies in the Movu Robotics product portfolio can be integrated into a single autonomous sub-system as a solution, with components including racking, shuttles or AMRs, software, wifi and commissioning. This enables easy installation, adaptability to new business needs through simple integration of new applications and a minimal Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) approach. This makes upgrading warehouses easier, not only for existing users of logistics automation who want to upgrade their systems with plug and play robotics and automation, but also those yet to adopt automation but who urgently want to take the first step.

Standardisation and simplification, which is an essential part of Movu Robotics, results in shorter lead times and lower engineering costs, producing higher profitability. To maximise flexibility, Movu Robotics systems are modular in design, acting as a set of building blocks to minimise complexity and cost of upgrading. This makes the systems highly scalable – installations can start small and then expand or, if needed, they can downsize just as easily. Modularity also enables a fast roll out for projects.

For not leaving any warehouse warehouse behind, Movu Robotics will target the market with a dual strategy: providing end users with a direct channel, for which Movu relies on a network of sales offices in main territories. Its portfolio of simple, standardised, scalable, and flexible systems provide opportunities for SMEs with as few as 5000 pallet locations to automate, to address challenges such as labour shortages and cost efficiency -– a huge growth area. The other part of this strategy is the indirect channel where Movu can supply a fully functional storage sub-system from its portfolio to a systems integrator for integration into a complete project. All of this is supported by a global network in customer service and stow’s 40 years’ industry experience.

Movu Robotics is consistently working to improve existing technology for the customer, with innovation, R&D and entrepreneurial thinking being an integral part of the dynamic business unit. The next product launch is planned for 2024, to further expand the portfolio.

Movu Robotics’ headquarters in Lokeren, Belgium, combines a 5,000 square metre large office area with a 10,000 square metre surface for logistics and manufacturing operations under a single roof, next to a state-of-the-art experience centre – one of the biggest in Europe — where where the latest technologies are showcased live to customers and partners.

Transporeon Launches Freight Marketplace

Transporeon, a leading Transportation Management Platform and a Trimble Company, announced today the launch of Freight Marketplace, a neutral (of equal benefit to both shippers and carriers) deal-making hub for freight procurement.

Both buyers and sellers of transportation services face ongoing challenges in aligning capacity and assessing fair pricing. In addition, insufficient transparency and fragmented systems can lead to low relevance on carrier tender invitations and inefficient alignment with shippers’ service preferences. Negotiating efficiently and fairly is also a challenge due to the lack of standardised data sets, which hinder like-for-like comparisons and make it difficult to consider factors beyond price, such as sustainability and service levels.

Transporeon’s Freight Marketplace addresses these challenges head-on with a new solution designed to transform logistics procurement and redefine how companies buy, sell, negotiate and contract. Its key benefits include:

● A central location for deal-making: Freight Marketplace unites carriers and shippers ‘under one roof’ to do business based on their specific needs, capabilities and requirements. It taps into Transporeon’s extensive network of 1,400+ shippers and 158,000+ carriers for instant scale, creating a definitive catalogue of buyers and sellers.
● Simplified negotiations: Freight Marketplace uses advanced algorithms to simplify negotiations and optimise the procurement process.
● Multi-dimensional negotiations that factor in sustainability: Negotiations between shippers and carriers often focus solely on price, disregarding other factors such as volume, lead time and sustainability. Freight Marketplace solves this challenge, enabling shippers and carriers to factor pricing, volume, CO2 emissions and more into negotiations. Buyers can prioritise low-emission options, while sellers have a platform to showcase their efforts in reducing emissions.
● Enhanced visibility and transparency: Freight Marketplace allows logistics providers to build comprehensive profiles that include their expertise, services, performance metrics and fleet data. To establish transparency, it blends self-declared facts with third-party verified information and real-world insights from the Transporeon platform. Shippers have similar profiles, enabling both parties to search for partners that precisely match their specific requirements, ensuring a smooth matchmaking process.

Platform neutrality

Freight Marketplace drives value for both buyers and sellers through neutrality, ensuring an environment where all players can benefit equally:
● Buyers benefit from pre-structured, standardised data that simplifies finding new partners through high-quality profiles. Freight Marketplace makes it easy to access fair pricing and optimise decisions based on other factors such as volume, lead time, and sustainability.
● Sellers gain access to a broader range of shippers and mini tenders, allowing them to win new business. Since every event is structured the same way, sellers can also evaluate opportunities more efficiently, meaning they no longer need to decipher shipper-specific jargon or endless Excel table names.

Stephan Sieber, CEO at Transporeon, said: “Finding reliable partners, aligning capacity and securing fair agreements is a long-standing industry challenge. That’s why we built Freight Marketplace to take freight procurement to the next level. At its core, our new solution is a one-stop shop for deal-making, empowering buyers and sellers alike to connect, negotiate and close new business. This is supported by advanced algorithms, full transparency and a focus on sustainability.”

Transporeon Launches Freight Marketplace

Transporeon, a leading Transportation Management Platform and a Trimble Company, announced today the launch of Freight Marketplace, a neutral (of equal benefit to both shippers and carriers) deal-making hub for freight procurement.

Both buyers and sellers of transportation services face ongoing challenges in aligning capacity and assessing fair pricing. In addition, insufficient transparency and fragmented systems can lead to low relevance on carrier tender invitations and inefficient alignment with shippers’ service preferences. Negotiating efficiently and fairly is also a challenge due to the lack of standardised data sets, which hinder like-for-like comparisons and make it difficult to consider factors beyond price, such as sustainability and service levels.

Transporeon’s Freight Marketplace addresses these challenges head-on with a new solution designed to transform logistics procurement and redefine how companies buy, sell, negotiate and contract. Its key benefits include:

● A central location for deal-making: Freight Marketplace unites carriers and shippers ‘under one roof’ to do business based on their specific needs, capabilities and requirements. It taps into Transporeon’s extensive network of 1,400+ shippers and 158,000+ carriers for instant scale, creating a definitive catalogue of buyers and sellers.
● Simplified negotiations: Freight Marketplace uses advanced algorithms to simplify negotiations and optimise the procurement process.
● Multi-dimensional negotiations that factor in sustainability: Negotiations between shippers and carriers often focus solely on price, disregarding other factors such as volume, lead time and sustainability. Freight Marketplace solves this challenge, enabling shippers and carriers to factor pricing, volume, CO2 emissions and more into negotiations. Buyers can prioritise low-emission options, while sellers have a platform to showcase their efforts in reducing emissions.
● Enhanced visibility and transparency: Freight Marketplace allows logistics providers to build comprehensive profiles that include their expertise, services, performance metrics and fleet data. To establish transparency, it blends self-declared facts with third-party verified information and real-world insights from the Transporeon platform. Shippers have similar profiles, enabling both parties to search for partners that precisely match their specific requirements, ensuring a smooth matchmaking process.

Platform neutrality

Freight Marketplace drives value for both buyers and sellers through neutrality, ensuring an environment where all players can benefit equally:
● Buyers benefit from pre-structured, standardised data that simplifies finding new partners through high-quality profiles. Freight Marketplace makes it easy to access fair pricing and optimise decisions based on other factors such as volume, lead time, and sustainability.
● Sellers gain access to a broader range of shippers and mini tenders, allowing them to win new business. Since every event is structured the same way, sellers can also evaluate opportunities more efficiently, meaning they no longer need to decipher shipper-specific jargon or endless Excel table names.

Stephan Sieber, CEO at Transporeon, said: “Finding reliable partners, aligning capacity and securing fair agreements is a long-standing industry challenge. That’s why we built Freight Marketplace to take freight procurement to the next level. At its core, our new solution is a one-stop shop for deal-making, empowering buyers and sellers alike to connect, negotiate and close new business. This is supported by advanced algorithms, full transparency and a focus on sustainability.”

CMA CGM and Maersk Pledge Shipping Decarbonization

A.P. Moller – Maersk A/S (Maersk) and CMA CGM have decided to join forces on several areas relating to decarbonization, in full compliance with all laws and regulations. As frontrunners of the energy transition in shipping, both companies are convinced that joint action will help accelerating the green transition in shipping, learning from each other to go further and faster.

CMA CGM and Maersk have set a net-zero target for their shipping business, have identified scalable solutions that can create impact in this decade, and have already individually taken ambitious paths on promoting decarbonization for shipping.

Maersk has been ordering vessels that can be operated on bio/e-methanol. CMA CGM has been ordering LNG-propelled vessels, that can also be operated on bio/e-methane, the new green equivalent of current LNG, and has also placed orders for vessels that can be operated on bio/e-methanol. While these two fuel streams appear now as the most mature among existing solutions, both companies expect the future fuel mix of shipping will include other streams that should be developed in the coming years.

An ambitious collaboration to develop the future of fuels for the shipping industry

Specifically, both shipping lines will work more together to develop the use of alternative greener fuels for container vessel propulsion, namely:

1. Developing high standards for alternative sustainable, green fuels – including the analysis of full lifecycle and related greenhouse gasses – and helping to setting the framework of mass production of green methane and green methanol.
2. Developing and maintaining standards for operation of green methanol vessels with regards to safety and bunkering, as well as accelerating port readiness for bunkering and supply of bio/e-methanol at key ports around the world.
3. Continuing to explore jointly R+D on other components of the net zero solution as new alternative fuels, like ammonia, or innovation technology for our ships.

Two leading shipping companies to push advocacy together for the energy transition of the industry

Moreover, Maersk and CMA-CGM both agree to the fundamental role of regulation in securing the decarbonization of the sector. Both companies warmly welcome the outcome of the recent Marine Environment Protection Committee of the International Maritime Organization during which the IMO’s 2023 Strategy for Reducing GHG Emissions from Ships was adopted, with reinforced targets to tackle harmful emissions.

Maersk and CMA CGM remain committed to jointly advocating for and encouraging IMO Member States to adopt ambitious measures in their pursuit of the highest attainable goals. Regional measures such as the EU Fit for 55 and the Inflation Reduction Act in the US are welcomed by both companies to help stimulate demand for green shipping solutions.

CMA CGM and Maersk affirm their readiness to collaboratively engage with regulatory stakeholders in establishing a robust and sustainable international regulatory GHG framework and invite other international shipping lines who so wish to join them in this cooperation with the regulatory institutions. Such a framework is in both our companies’ perspective a prerequisite to reducing carbon emissions for the shipping industry and securing a level-playing field for a global business environment.

“This partnership is a milestone for the decarbonization of our industry. By combining the know-how and the expertise of two shipping leaders, we will accelerate the development of new solutions and technologies, enabling our industry to reach its CO2 reduction targets. We are looking forward to being joined by other companies.” says Rodolphe Saadé, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the CMA CGM Group.

“A.P. Moller – Maersk wants to accelerate the green transition in shipping and logistics and to do so, we need strong involvement from partners across the industry. We are pleased to have an ally in CMA CGM and it’s a testament that when we unite through determined efforts and partnerships, a tangible and optimistic path toward a sustainable future emerges,” says Vincent Clerc, Chief Executive Officer at A.P. Moller – Maersk.

CMA CGM and Maersk Pledge Shipping Decarbonization

A.P. Moller – Maersk A/S (Maersk) and CMA CGM have decided to join forces on several areas relating to decarbonization, in full compliance with all laws and regulations. As frontrunners of the energy transition in shipping, both companies are convinced that joint action will help accelerating the green transition in shipping, learning from each other to go further and faster.

CMA CGM and Maersk have set a net-zero target for their shipping business, have identified scalable solutions that can create impact in this decade, and have already individually taken ambitious paths on promoting decarbonization for shipping.

Maersk has been ordering vessels that can be operated on bio/e-methanol. CMA CGM has been ordering LNG-propelled vessels, that can also be operated on bio/e-methane, the new green equivalent of current LNG, and has also placed orders for vessels that can be operated on bio/e-methanol. While these two fuel streams appear now as the most mature among existing solutions, both companies expect the future fuel mix of shipping will include other streams that should be developed in the coming years.

An ambitious collaboration to develop the future of fuels for the shipping industry

Specifically, both shipping lines will work more together to develop the use of alternative greener fuels for container vessel propulsion, namely:

1. Developing high standards for alternative sustainable, green fuels – including the analysis of full lifecycle and related greenhouse gasses – and helping to setting the framework of mass production of green methane and green methanol.
2. Developing and maintaining standards for operation of green methanol vessels with regards to safety and bunkering, as well as accelerating port readiness for bunkering and supply of bio/e-methanol at key ports around the world.
3. Continuing to explore jointly R+D on other components of the net zero solution as new alternative fuels, like ammonia, or innovation technology for our ships.

Two leading shipping companies to push advocacy together for the energy transition of the industry

Moreover, Maersk and CMA-CGM both agree to the fundamental role of regulation in securing the decarbonization of the sector. Both companies warmly welcome the outcome of the recent Marine Environment Protection Committee of the International Maritime Organization during which the IMO’s 2023 Strategy for Reducing GHG Emissions from Ships was adopted, with reinforced targets to tackle harmful emissions.

Maersk and CMA CGM remain committed to jointly advocating for and encouraging IMO Member States to adopt ambitious measures in their pursuit of the highest attainable goals. Regional measures such as the EU Fit for 55 and the Inflation Reduction Act in the US are welcomed by both companies to help stimulate demand for green shipping solutions.

CMA CGM and Maersk affirm their readiness to collaboratively engage with regulatory stakeholders in establishing a robust and sustainable international regulatory GHG framework and invite other international shipping lines who so wish to join them in this cooperation with the regulatory institutions. Such a framework is in both our companies’ perspective a prerequisite to reducing carbon emissions for the shipping industry and securing a level-playing field for a global business environment.

“This partnership is a milestone for the decarbonization of our industry. By combining the know-how and the expertise of two shipping leaders, we will accelerate the development of new solutions and technologies, enabling our industry to reach its CO2 reduction targets. We are looking forward to being joined by other companies.” says Rodolphe Saadé, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the CMA CGM Group.

“A.P. Moller – Maersk wants to accelerate the green transition in shipping and logistics and to do so, we need strong involvement from partners across the industry. We are pleased to have an ally in CMA CGM and it’s a testament that when we unite through determined efforts and partnerships, a tangible and optimistic path toward a sustainable future emerges,” says Vincent Clerc, Chief Executive Officer at A.P. Moller – Maersk.

Transporeon Unveils Platform Innovations

Transporeon, a leading Transportation Management Platform and a Trimble Company, has announced new platform innovations that enhance its spot quotation, contract rate benchmarking and freight audit capabilities. With a robust network of 1,400+ shippers and retailers and 150,000+ carriers and logistic service providers, Transporeon’s neutral Transportation Management Platform (TMP), which provides equal benefits to both shippers and carriers and enables companies to simplify collaboration, will now further streamline internal operations and embrace new business opportunities.

Stephan Sieber, CEO of Transporeon, commented: “In today’s fast-paced world of transportation and logistics, adaptability is key for companies to survive and thrive. Digital technologies can significantly reduce cumbersome, manual processes. We have seen that when companies adopt more collaborative approaches, improved efficiency often follows. This is precisely what Transporeon’s platform enables. With our latest platform innovations, logistics teams can gain access to even more detailed market insights and codify tedious manual tasks into fully automated processes – not just within their own company, but between business partners.”

Autonomous Quotation

Price negotiations remain opaque and manual in the growing freight spot market. Freight forwarders, brokers and LSPs spend considerable time manually researching and building quotes.

Transporeon’s Autonomous Quotation solves this challenge by enabling brokers and LSPs to prioritise incoming transport requests easily and automatically serve customers with instant, accurate pricing for truckload spot transports based on predicted market rates.

By fully automating the spot bidding process with Autonomous Quotation, brokers and LSPs can increase the volume of opportunities they quote for, which in turn, can lead to new business opportunities. Automating the process can also unlock cost-savings by minimising the manual work involved in the quotation process.

Autonomous Quotation generates quotes based on companies’ individual quotation strategies. Users can define their own tactics based on criteria including margin requirements, equipment type, distance, stop location and pick-up and delivery windows. The module is based on a customised trained prediction model and is backed by data science and machine learning algorithms that incorporate bidding outcomes over time to increase accuracy.

Jonah McIntire, Director Procurement and Chief Network Officer at Transporeon, said: “Freight brokers and logistics service providers have faced an uphill battle when competing in the spot market, navigating time-consuming manual price negotiations and freight auction portals. With Autonomous Quotation, companies can decouple their spot revenue growth from their staffing costs to win those shipments by issuing quotes instantly, accurately and at scale. No more manual admin but more opportunities. After all, you can only win what you can quote!”

Rate Benchmark

Rate Benchmark extends the capabilities of Transporeon’s existing Market Insights solution, which democratises truckload pricing by providing real-time insights into markets, lanes and their development. Rate Benchmark takes Market Insights one step further by allowing companies to benchmark their contracted rates against the market.

With Rate Benchmark, users can easily spot opportunities and make informed procurement and pricing decisions and improve tenders. It calculates average monthly contract rates on a postal code level and compares them with the user’s rate on the same lane.

McIntire explained: “Shippers, carriers and logistics service providers have very few reliable and neutral data sources that deliver high-quality freight rate information. When Transporeon launched Market Insights, it had a transformative effect on our network. Rate Benchmark builds on this success, permitting customers to compare their contracts against the market with precision. We’re delighted to share this development with our network.”

Freight Audit

Freight Audit represents the next evolution of Transporeon’s audit functionality. It allows customers to audit shipments executed on Transporeon’s platform and combines a variety of specific capabilities, including cost allocation, online dispute management, invoice legal information audit, billing instructions, accruals and accounts payable. Freight Audit doesn’t require additional customer input as it uses existing platform data, such as rates and transport orders.

Freight Audit minimises invoice discrepancies through upfront billing instructions. Fully integrated with the Transporeon platform, it helps to eliminate the need for separate tools for freight buyers and logistics providers. Moreover, the product is not limited to the invoice audit – it provides an accounts payable file, fully automating the accounting process.

Each process within Freight Audit has a complete audit trail for compliance, and invoices are approved according to governmental invoice requirements. In addition, it enhances data accuracy by ensuring all data is confirmed by shippers, carriers and FAP (freight audit and payment). As a result, Freight Audit enables companies to eliminate transport overspend and simplify internal and external compliance.

Stefanie Bergfeld, Director Audit and Payment at Transporeon, added: “With fragmented finance and audit processes, it can be easy to overspend on transport and make compliance missteps. Not only does Freight Audit address these problems, but it also significantly reduces manual processes with a high level of automation, minimising administrative work. Thanks to its seamless integration with the Transporeon platform, Freight Audit can also be used by smaller customers who wouldn’t normally look for a standalone audit solution.”

The three innovations were unveiled at Transporeon NEXT, Transporeon’s flagship bi-annual launch event, which is taking place this week at its annual summit.

Freight Marketplace Launched

Transporeon furthermore announced the launch of Freight Marketplace, a neutral (of equal benefit to both shippers and carriers) deal-making hub for freight procurement.

Both buyers and sellers of transportation services face ongoing challenges in aligning capacity and assessing fair pricing. In addition, insufficient transparency and fragmented systems can lead to low relevance on carrier tender invitations and inefficient alignment with shippers’ service preferences. Negotiating efficiently and fairly is also a challenge due to the lack of standardised data sets, which hinder like-for-like comparisons and make it difficult to consider factors beyond price, such as sustainability and service levels.

Transporeon’s Freight Marketplace addresses these challenges head-on with a new solution designed to transform logistics procurement and redefine how companies buy, sell, negotiate and contract. Its key benefits include:

  • A central location for deal-making: Freight Marketplace unites carriers and shippers ‘under one roof’ to do business based on their specific needs, capabilities and requirements. It taps into Transporeon’s extensive network of 1,400+ shippers and 158,000+ carriers for instant scale, creating a definitive catalogue of buyers and sellers.
  • Simplified negotiations: Freight Marketplace uses advanced algorithms to simplify negotiations and optimise the procurement process.
  • Multi-dimensional negotiations that factor in sustainability: Negotiations between shippers and carriers often focus solely on price, disregarding other factors such as volume, lead time and sustainability. Freight Marketplace solves this challenge, enabling shippers and carriers to factor pricing, volume, CO2 emissions and more into negotiations. Buyers can prioritise low-emission options, while sellers have a platform to showcase their efforts in reducing emissions.
  • Enhanced visibility and transparency: Freight Marketplace allows logistics providers to build comprehensive profiles that include their expertise, services, performance metrics and fleet data. To establish transparency, it blends self-declared facts with third-party verified information and real-world insights from the Transporeon platform. Shippers have similar profiles, enabling both parties to search for partners that precisely match their specific requirements, ensuring a smooth matchmaking process.

Platform neutrality

Freight Marketplace drives value for both buyers and sellers through neutrality, ensuring an environment where all players can benefit equally:

Buyers benefit from pre-structured, standardised data that simplifies finding new partners through high-quality profiles. Freight Marketplace makes it easy to access fair pricing and optimise decisions based on other factors such as volume, lead time, and sustainability.

Sellers gain access to a broader range of shippers and mini tenders, allowing them to win new business. Since every event is structured the same way, sellers can also evaluate opportunities more efficiently, meaning they no longer need to decipher shipper-specific jargon or endless Excel table names.

Sieber said: “Finding reliable partners, aligning capacity and securing fair agreements is a long-standing industry challenge. That’s why we built Freight Marketplace to take freight procurement to the next level. At its core, our new solution is a one-stop shop for deal-making, empowering buyers and sellers alike to connect, negotiate and close new business. This is supported by advanced algorithms, full transparency and a focus on sustainability.”

Chris Keating (pictured, left), Group Head of Strategy at Trimble, has been announced as the incoming CEO of Transporeon as Sieber will be stepping down and leaving the business at the end of this year. Additionally, it was revealed that, following Trimble’s takeover of Transporeon, the Transporeon brand will be withdrawn towards the end of 2024, meaning the business will be henceforth known purely as Trimble.

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