Forwarder's Digest

Contracting for the Road Ahead

With October upon us we are already looking towards 2023 in the hopes that the world of supply chains will begin to return to some form of “normal.” The past two years have had more than their fair share of “Black Swan” events with the global pandemic, dramatically shifting consumer buying patterns, unforeseen geopolitical developments, and severe weather patterns. Responding to these disruptions has taken a tremendous amount of resourcefulness on the part of the industry to deliver on its customer promises.

There are now signs of softening consumption patterns, albeit with the silver linings that accompany them. Congestion is easing, rates are lowering, and schedule reliability is improving. Transit times are also decreasing, particularly on Transpacific services into the U.S. where the days of 100+ loitering ships awaiting a berth in San Pedro Bay are behind us.

Today, we are seeing a shift to normalization, though the timing of which is not all too clear. Businesses now face the challenging tasks of adjusting shipping activity and forecasting market demand for the months to come, which may be overshadowed by a global recession should the forecasts of some economists come to pass. But we are here to help!

As we head into contract season, we must be thoughtful, deliberate, and creative in our planning to manage the unknowns. With every season of renewal, there lies within an opportunity to elevate and strengthen the relationships that support our efforts and arrive at mutually beneficial outcomes. With deeper partnerships come deeper benefits and greater access to finite resources.

We look forward to continuing our partnerships within the Global Freight Forwarder Community and feel that we have a great deal to offer through contract options that cover terms from 3- to 6- to 12-months, thereby fostering the certainty that is bedrock to planning, while also providing a degree of flexibility to accommodate your business. We also are encouraged by the market’s response to our end-to-end integrator strategy and see ever-greater opportunities to expand access to our Logistics and Services portfolio to the Forwarder Community - products such as Value Protect, which protects cargo against accidental damage and can be an excellent addition to your cargo insurance, or Store Door services where we bear the responsibility of transporting the containers from the port. And with American exports on the rise, exports are open and backhaul trades are available. There are many options to consider.

While making plans to contract in the months to come, it is worth reflecting on our industry’s unique culture where, for ages, seafarers and shippers have worked together to transport the goods that sustain the world, even as times and conditions continue to change. At Maersk, this ties to our deeply held value of “Uprightness” whereby “our word is our bond” and we work each day to earn the trust of our customers and partners. We act in ways that we can be relied upon to keep our promises and do the right thing, even when it’s hard. We speak openly and honestly, and always act with integrity. Our best partners do the same. They deliver on their commitments, fulfil their obligations, and always speak frankly as to how we can serve them better. We look forward to working with you to charter new paths in the year ahead with mutual success for the benefit of all.

New Maersk.com Web Tools Available to Drive Productivity

Our Web Team continues to innovate to serve you better. Check out the following upgrades to our web platform designed to save you time and improve visibility into all your business activity.

New Dispute Resolution Tool Available in MyFinance

With our new online dispute resolution tool, it’s easier than ever to raise and resolve dispute issues that may be impacting your business. To get started, simply log into Maersk.com, select a single invoice in MyFinance and press the “Dispute” icon. Tool features include:

• Charge-level break down: If a single invoice is selected for “Dispute,” you will be able to see a charge-level break down from which you can select the charge(s) to be disputed.
• New online communication channel: The new comment box enables you to exchange comments and information with your assigned dispute agent. The full history of the communication exchange is captured and saved in the activity log for future reference.
• Live tracking on dispute status: You can view the real-time status of your disputes with each update and track the journey to its final outcome.

Redesigned Shipment Overview

Our new “Export Overview” and “Import Overview” panels use the latest web and database technologies to provide you with improved visibility on all your active shipments whether by Ocean, Air, Less than Container Load (LCL), or Inland shipments. You can also download the shipment data for specific pages.

“Export Overview” Visibility

• Shipments - find all your export shipments sorted by earliest departures.
• ETA changes - check the shipments having ETA changes.
• Unconfirmed Bookings - check bookings that are not yet confirmed.

“Import Overview” Visibility

• Shipments - find all your import shipments sorted by earliest arrivals.
• ETA changes - check all the shipments having ETA changes.

Global filters

• Set filters to view shipments of greatest interest.
• Save filters you apply frequently to quickly recall search criteria.

Multiple Cargo Lines Now Enabled in New Shipping Instruction Module

Last fall we rolled out a new shipping instruction experience that delivered flexible interactions and a faster journey to your Bill of Lading. Our latest platform upgrade enables customers to add multiple cargo lines when going through the new Shipping Instructions journey.

Within the “Cargo Description” window, customers will be able to add up to 20 cargo lines and select multiple descriptions per container. The feature has been added to the Cargo and VGM (Verified Gross Mass) pages. With the transition to the new platform fully rolled out, the old shipping instruction landing page has been removed.

Maersk.com Training Available

If you would like training on how best to leverage these latest web enhancements on Maersk.com, please contact your account representative.

Product Spotlight

TradeLens Electronic Bills of Lading Reduce Friction and Costs

TradeLens is an open, carrier agnostic document-sharing supply chain platform secured by blockchain technology. The platform enables supply chain stakeholders to privately share detailed information and collaborate on the critical documents needed to track and facilitate shipments at every step of the journey. Established in 2018 in partnership with IBM, TradeLens leverages a rapidly growing ecosystem of authorities, agents, and transport providers around the globe that are connecting digitally to expedite global trade.

One of the most powerful aspects of the TradeLens offering are Electronic Bills of Lading (eBL). Original bills of lading are used on an estimated five trillion dollars’ worth of containerized freight shipments every year, but these paper documents cost time and money to transact.

The TradeLens eBL is a standard, industry-supported, end-to-end digital solution that provides shippers, cargo owners and freight-forwarders a streamlined and secure process for the issue, transfer and surrender of original bills of lading.

TradeLens eBL is not limited to just those who have a practice of using paper original Bills of Lading. Shippers / Forwarders accustomed to using Telex Release or Seaway Bills are also converting to TradeLens eBL offered by Maersk.

TradeLens eBL offered by Maersk changes and simplifies the way you handle your Bills of Lading saving you money and time while giving you the control that you desire. Visit TradeLens.com for more information or contact your Maersk account executive.

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