New ocean freight digital option for K+N customers

The global freight forwarder is offering a digital tool to help customers make procurement decisions and execute ocean shipments.    The global freight forwarder Kuehne + Nagel on Tuesday said it has started a new digital ocean freight platform for customers designed to enable them to make more data-based procurement and execution decisions.
   The new entity, called Sea Explorer, will allow users to compare direct ocean freight services based on reliability, sustainability and transit time factors. The company called the platform an “extension” of its existing quoting, booking and tracking capabilities with all major container lines.
   “Sea Explorer offers Kuehne + Nagel’s customers an easy gateway to the company’s comprehensive overview of direct global seafreight services,” the company said in a statement. “With access to more than 3,000 vessels and more than 750 direct weekly services, Kuehne + Nagel’s network provides maximum flexibility in global container transport for all trades.”
   Within Sea Explorer, services are ranked by indicators, including what Kuehne + Nagel calls a dynamic reliability indicator (DRI) index, emissions score, nominal carrying capacity insights and realistic transit times for every service.
   Over the past year, a few of the world’s top freight forwarders have unveiled digital platforms to either tap into smaller shipper customer bases or to give existing customer data- and analytics-based tools. The approaches seem targeted at preserving the established forwarders’ place in the global pecking order, with startup forwarders and forwarding technology providers out to create more data-backed and digital transaction options for shippers.