Since mid 2018, if not all of a sudden, people in container shipping industry started having more and more discussion and promotion of end-to-end solutions, from shipping products re-engineering to SaaS software development, it seems an new idea just puts on wings and gets flying.
But why now and why at such an unprecedented scale?
Simply looking at the operation flow of international shipping, everyone shall agree that end to end solution to customer shall indeed greatly improve operation efficiency and transparency, eliminate abundant communication and improve customer relationship.
So, “Customer satisfaction” must be the first thing across everyone’s mind for the drive into this new chapter? Well, it is one important criteria which the whole industry has been striving to achieve for years, although there is more financial incentive ( if not surviving the threats) behind.
Container shipping line and freight forwarder are two major facilitators in making international shipping happen. However, unlike the harmony with airliner, there are always difficulties to view shipping line and freight forwarder as complementary partner, at least not from financial point of view.
Unlike shipping lines who are reportedly suffering from over-capacity and low shipping rates that greatly affect profit margin, Kuehne + Nagel (the largest freight forwarder in business) seemed not being bothered by the volatility and is still enjoying healthy margin for years
From a commonly accepted perspective, the reason behind the earning difference in ocean carrier and freight forwarder is largely attributed to their respective business model and products.
In the highly standardized container shipping world, the product options which ocean carriers offer are limited to the size and function of steel container. That’s why ocean carriers strive to achieve economic scale (or operational efficiency) through optimizing routes and capacity whereas their counterpart focus more on products design, network development and business relationship with service user, the importer and exporter.
In makes sense that when an ocean carrier may only be able to collect a premium from customer using temperature control equipment to standard equipment, a forwarder is likely receiving a higher service payment for handling different type of cargoes due to service complexity (pickup, storage, packing, labelling etc).
The lack of product option limits ocean carrier’s upselling capability.
Having realized the drawback, AP Moller Maersk restructured container liner business and their logistics arm Damco by combing the two into one, aiming at providing end-to-end logistics solution to customers. Moreover, by acquiring well established customs house brokerage Vandegrift and developing digital solution through I-container and Twill for online quotation and customer acquisition, Maersk is pushing very hard to increase product options and to extend their reach to more direct customers.
Aggressive actions are also being taken on the marketing side, paid traffic to Maersk website reached all-time high in Feb, similar SEM campaign is not yet be seen in another ocean shipping line.
After Maersk takes the lead, believe many more will soon join the end-to-end solution race.
However, end-to-end solution is not new as it is being done on daily basis by freight forwarders. On top of anything, the focus shall be put on how the service is being offered and how much better it could be improved.
As an innovative freight forwarder, Superlink Logistics has always been offering end-to-end logistics solution to our customers and with the help of in-house system development, our service and operation are becoming more efficient and transparent than ever.
Origin inventory management
We take good care of every single unit of our customer’s stock regardless the size and value, through in-house inventory system and tailored-made workflow, we are efficiently managing the books for B2B wholesaler/reseller, B2C platform distant seller and independent
e-commerce site owner in drop-shipping.
Origin pickup and consolidation
Despite ever growing cost in China, we are keen at working with most reliable local partner to make pick up and consolidation possible to our customer, which is the crucial step in providing hassle free end-to-end service.
International line-haul
Space is an issue to everyone in peak season, it is thus a regret that we are just one of the other thousands who are not able to guarantee 100% space protection. However, with our rich experience in LCL cargo mix handling, we are able to ensure on time shipping in most category.
Destination cargo retrieval and last-mile delivery
Through our well established international network connecting major markets in the world, we could ensure all shipment are properly taken care of as soon as they reach destination airport or container terminal, where cargo retrieval, customs clearance and delivery are managed in a prompt manner thereafter.
Digital service
We understand the importance of keeping our customer informed for the whereabouts of their shipment, that’s why we have tuned up internal process and developed a series of tracking code to make it happen.
From a comprehensive list of tracking points covering the followings;
Booked
SO released
Haulage order dispatch
Container pick-up
Container gate-in
S/I submission
Customs clearance
Released
Departure
HBL draft
Pre-aleart notice
MBL release
and a lot more, customer could select the ones they reckon important and receive prompt notification for.
Instant quotation
We understand the frustration in waiting for a day or more in receiving pricing quotations, more frustrated by the fact that some quotes will only be valid for a short period of time and some quotes even need to be adjusted without prior notice…
That sucks and hurts us too… big times
To get rid of all the bad experience, we have recently developed a new mechanism known as instant quotation, including complete end-2-end all-in price, never a rate adjustment, minimum monthly validity and more.
Signup now or drop us a line to see how well we could actually improve your shipping experience!