Chainalytics and Drewry forms Ocean Buying Group to help smaller shippers

A new service is hoping to reduce shipping costs for smaller shippers through bulk purchasing for a group. ( Photo: Shutterstock )

Atlanta-based supply chain consultancy firm Chainalytics and UK-based ocean shipping consulting firm Drewry Supply Chain Advisors have officially formed a partnership through a joint venture, The Ocean Buying Group, Logistics Management reports. The joint venture was conceptualized with the goal of providing improved freight procurement solutions for shippers.

“Chainalytics is the market leader in truckload transportation benchmarking and Drewry is the market leader in ocean transportation benchmarking, so our cooperation also includes the development of benchmarking for intermodal transportation, alongside the Ocean Buying Group,” said Philip Damas, Drewry’s head of logistics practice.

The union is designed to help small and medium-sized shippers to achieve competitive rates with larger shippers with more leverage. It will also monetize on the crucial data the venture will obtain.

Chainalytics’ Senior Manager for Transportation Practice, John Westwood, explained the reasoning for the effort. “We designed the Ocean Buying Group to provide companies often outsized by competitors the opportunity to gain ‘big’ shipper value relative to the size of its organization and quantity of shipments, and our partnership with Drewry further enhances our clients’ capabilities to competitively acquire ocean freight services.”

“In the past two years, we have seen the ocean industry consolidate fast, with mergers and acquisitions, limiting competition and leverage,” added Damas. While concerns about compromising competitive edge are mentioned, Damas is also aware of the struggles facing smaller players since “rates fluctuate wildly, leaving smaller shippers behind.”

Damas noted how Chainalytics and Drewry are bringing big shipper solutions to smaller organizations.  These methods are similar to those offered by NVOCCs, private-equity groups, market analytic solutions, benchmarking and shippers’ associations. With Chainalytics in the fold, they will include transportation management dashboards for third party logistics companies.

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