India-based FreightBro, a freight-tech start-up digitising the manual processes in forwarding, has announced the integration of Maersk Spot within its digital platform for freight forwarders.

In a first-of-a-kind initiative across India, FreightBro platform will now use Maersk Spot APIs allowing customers to book and secure container space online and in real-time, said a statement from the company.

With this integration, freight forwarders can now access real-time rates on the platform. This product guarantees equipment availability and cargo loading on Maersk and Safmarine services irrespective of the peak season at a fixed price, it said. 
 
Kathiresan Eswaramurthy, chief operating officer, FreightBro, said: “Maersk Spot is indeed a game-changer and our customers can benefit not only from the rate discovery, but they can also search, compare and book instantly, with guaranteed equipment and space availability on the FreightBro platform.”
 
The booking process in shipping is largely manual and primarily involves a lot of back and forth communication between various stakeholders. With this integration, FreightBro aims to double its digital rate deliveries and online bookings while providing a very simple airline-like booking experience to the forwarding industry.

FreightBro has enabled 500+ freight forwarders to sell online using their proprietary digital platform. 
 
Earlier in 2019, Maersk launched its online product, Maersk Spot, which curbs the cycle of over bookings and simplifies the booking process for customers while guaranteeing cargo loading. This is a revolutionary step ahead towards simplifying supply chains and enhancing the overall booking experience in shipping.
 
According to ithink Logistics, the value of the Indian logistics industry in 2019 was said to be around $160 billion and it is anticipated to grow to at least $250 billion in 2020. With digitisation gaining momentum in the industry, technology and innovations are a tested method to provide the required impetus to the drive, it stated. – TradeArabia News Service