New online booking portal eases LCL shipping woes

Posted: August 23, 2013

Small and midsize importers will get help with their LCL shipping needs via Transporteca , an online transportation booking portal launched globally in March 2013.

Buyers can find and book ocean freight with a suitable forwarder by comparing LCL solutions based on price, transit, pickup and delivery time, forwarder’s proximity at origin and destination, and customer feedback. These factors address many of the concerns importers have over LCL shipping.

Typically, a buyer with an LCL order spends several weeks identifying forwarders that can consolidate his products with other small shipments, then comparing prices and services. In contrast, both buyers and suppliers can access Transporteca, key in their requirements and immediately get an overview of forwarders’ shipping options. Transporteca also provides an invoice on the forwarder's behalf, saving the finance team some time.

"With Transporteca, importers and exporters reduce the time spent on buying transportation services from weeks to minutes," said senior vice-president Morten Laerkholm.

In its first booking on Transporteca, MOD secured a sharp price in two days. This allowed the Danish online men’s fashion retailer to deliver its suits one week earlier than if the company requested for a price directly from forwarders. The shipment consisted of 350 suits and shirts manufactured in south mainland China.

MOD used a Hong Kong forwarder that cost 30 percent less than its usual forwarder. The price covered the entire door-to-door service, thereby eliminating destination charges.

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Registering with Transporteca is free. This is why Ge Suisui of Qingdao Best Feather Co. Ltd is considering signing up with the online portal even though the supplier already has forwarders that can handle LCL shipments.

Forwarders that partner with Transporteca do have to pay a small referral fee when they are booked, a concern for Hong Kong-based Medilink Logistics System Ltd.

The fee, however, is typically less than the normal cost of sales for manual bookings, and is fixed in a percentage of the turnover the portal brings to the forwarder. The cost difference between a manual and Transporteca booking is 15 to 20 percent when other factors are taken into account. These include the time spent by the sales person, customer service follow up to get complete booking details, the cost of credit to cover the time between the booking and receipt of payment, and account receivable.

The booking portal is currently limited to LCL shipping, but Transporteca is looking to expand to FCL and airfreight in the future. Registered forwarders cover primarily trade between the mainland or Hong Kong and the UK and the Netherlands.

Transporteca is based in Hong Kong and was established in June 2012.