Maersk has seen a steady increase in usage of its guaranteed instant booking tool, predominantly from forwarders, since it was introduced in June 2019. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com.
Maersk’s new online quoting and booking tool gained significant traction in the second quarter, as 41 percent of the carrier’s spot cargo was booked via the platform, up from a quarter of its volume in December, the container line said.
Growing use of the online product was revealed amid the strong first-half earnings Maersk announced Wednesday, and is a sign the industry is becoming more reliant on such procurement mechanisms. Maersk said the product “gained significant momentum” in the second quarter.
The Spot product guarantees shippers space on the sailing for which their cargo is booked, but if a shipper no-shows, it must pay a penalty to Maersk, a move designed to curtail the behavior of multiple bookings. Maersk, conversely, pays a penalty to the shipper if its cargo is not loaded on the specified sailing.
The product is aimed at providing capacity buyers with a tool to get an instant quote, but also at driving more processes — from quote to payment — through Maersk’s website, Maersk executives have told JOC.com.
Accelerating demand for instant quotes
“Seen from a longer-term strategic perspective for the entire industry, this level of uptake cannot be underestimated,” Lars Jensen, CEO of SeaIntelligence Consulting, said in a LinkedIn post Wednesday. “The digital change in the industry has been massively accelerated and anyone not ‘on the train’ at this point needs to play catch-up real quick.”
A discussion around that point surfaced the notion that Spot might disintermediate logistics agents who have typically allowed smaller shippers to get access to ocean freight capacity. But Jensen said those providers do more than just book ocean freight. “Keep in mind that there is more to the full end-to-end logistics chain than ‘just’ the ocean freight,” he wrote. “However, the competitive ‘heat’ is certainly on for shipments that are fairly easy and straightforward.”
Indeed, Maersk has also said to JOC.com that uptake for Spot is being driven primarily by forwarders and non-vessel-operating common carriers, which can use the instant quoting tool to offer their shipper customers such capability without having to develop it themselves or through participating in a rate marketplace.
Maersk is not alone in providing instant quote access to shippers and intermediaries. Hapag-Lloyd, CMA CGM, Zim, Evergreen, and most recently, Mediterranean Shipping Co. (MSC) all have such tools, though Maersk’s product is unique in that it comes accompanied by the loading guarantee.
Contact Eric Johnson at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter: @LogTechEric.
