It enhances
rather than replaces manual processes
I REFER to Alan Peat's article "Shippers shun on-line booking" (FTW June 29, 2001).
From a Maersk Sealand point of view we are definitely not in agreement with the comments received from other carriers.
At the time of booking cargo, most clients have been through a face-to-face (or ear-to-ear) negotiation with the carrier. The booking is merely a matter of getting a booking reference and ensuring that the cargo is loaded on the relevant vessel. We have a growing number of clients who see the benefit of sending these bookings early in the morning or late in the afternoon, when the pressure on the net has died down slightly. With 100% re-usability of booking information, a booking can be made in less than a minute.
In our experience an increasing number of shipping managers realise the benefit of their staff having access to the internet for doing business. At Maersk Sealand we are rolling out e-commerce on a global scale, and with the statistics we have at hand we can definitely see that our South African clients are not behind at all. We are presently doing 10% of our South African export business over the net.
E-commerce is not supposed to replace a manual process that is equally efficient and secure. It is supposed to enhance these processes from a time- and money-saving point of view.
With this in mind one cannot look at the booking separately, you must look at the entire process, and many of our major clients are now enjoying the benefits of our e-commerce suite - rate search, cargo booking, tracking, getting statistical information and printing original set of bills at the client's premises when required.
E-commerce is here to stay and will, to a larger and larger extent, determine the way we do business, not only in shipping but in any industry. Hence the clients who have already embraced e-commerce will be much better equipped for the developments that are sure to come.
Mads Hoeg, E-commerce manager, Maersk South Africa
