INTTRA adds Evergreen to network

With the addition of Evergreen, the liner shipping digital platform now has all of the top 10 largest carriers in the world in its network, which collectively includes over 60 carriers.    The liner shipping digital platform INTTRA on Monday said it has added four new carriers to its network, including Evergreen, one of the largest shipping lines in the world.
   The addition of Evergreen, the sixth largest containership operator by fleet size in the world, is particularly noteworthy because it was seen as a gap in INTTRA’s network over the years.
   Bringing Evergreen onto its platform means all of the top 10 largest carriers in the world are INTTRA customers, with more than 60 carriers in all.
   INTTRA provides an electronic portal for shippers, freight forwarders and ocean carriers to share data related to container bookings, shipping instructions and verified gross mass (VGM) submissions.
   INTTRA is also a primary provider of shipment status messages for the industry. In recent years, the company has expanded to provide business intelligence and advisory tools to all parties in its network.
   The other carriers that have joined the network include:
     • Namsung Shipping, which provides shipping services throughout Asia, targeting Korea to Japan, China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Thailand and intra-Asia routes;
     • Unifeeder, the largest feeder and shortsea carrier in Europe;
     • And Antillean Marine Shipping – which services Miami to Port-Au-Prince, Cap-Haïtien, Puerto Plata, and Rio Haina, as well as intra-island routes between the Dominican Republic and Haiti – intends to offer services over INTTRA’s network by summer.
   “It’s not every day one of the largest global fleets joins the portal,” INTTRA President and Chief Operating Officer Inna Kuznetsova said in a briefing with American Shipper. “INTTRA creates a huge advantage for the customers, who have been asking for this event for a while.
   “Evergreen is focusing on the quality of their customer service, and this gives them better access to booking and shipping instruction systems,” Kuznetsova added. “Over the last year, they’ve seen a high growth in requests from shippers to connect via the INTTRA portal. More shippers and forwarders have made INTTRA the default choice for their booking processes. The moment of digitalization has gone past the tipping point.”
   Kuznetsova said INTTRA has long worked to entice carriers to the platform, noting how the company has been using market data to increase ship utilization and doing data quality projects for carriers. She also said INTTRA has been focusing on business continuity platforms for carriers and their customers.
   For instance, INTTRA has been working on an alternative booking system that mirrors a customer’s bookings in a dormant state, but can be switched on in case of a crisis.
   Kuznetsova said the impact of adding smaller carriers shouldn’t be overlooked, and emphasized the extent to which all sides of the industry are recognizing the importance of digitization of processes.
   “Some smaller carriers have already digitized their processes, but turning to INTTRA gives their shippers access to the digital standard,” she said. “They’re also looking for better sources of data. Using INTTRA is not only creating better service for their customers, but it’s also allowing them to leapfrog on the electronic transactions. When small retail organizations become international shippers overnight, carriers will be able to give them tools.”
   INTTRA CEO John Fay also said Monday that container orders transacted on the platform rose 12 percent in 2017 to 45 million orders. According to the company, over 30,000 shipping companies in more than 200 countries are active on INTTRA, including all 20 of the largest global freight forwarders. INTTRA processes more than 800,000 container orders per week on its platform and has more than 150 integrations with supply chain software solutions providers.