New US service cuts transit time dramatically

In the highly competitive freight industry environment, reducing the cost of doing business and providing clients with the tools to simplify their business solutions is what it’s all about. “Our intention is to make it easier and less expensive for our customers to do business with us,” says Martin Keck, managing director of independent consolidator CFR Freight. “In addition to our existing IT service offerings we now have a tariff engine available in our client zone as well as a vessel tracker, which is a new tool that tracks real-time vessel locations globally.” “Our clients have access to all these solutions,” says seafreight GM Lee Schoeman. “But we’re also very conscious that we want to give them a choice. We don’t want to lose the human touch – our clients have the option to choose how they want to do business with us.” And Schoeman believes the progression to e-commerce is a natural one. “Customers see the benefit of it and use it more and more because it reduces the cost of doing business and makes it easier for them.” Systems and services go hand in hand – and following a visit from CFR’s US agent Shipco, its US product has taken big strides. “We already have direct services from New York to all South African ports and from Chicago and Atlanta to Durban, but we will introduce new services from Atlanta to Cape Town and to Johannesburg in June,” Keck told FTW. “This provides a significant improvement in transit time,” he said. “For cargo from the US west coast, what used to be 10 days’ transit to New York is now five days to Atlanta, and with the vessel rotation along the US east coast we are looking at a total of up to 14 days’ transit time saving for cargo originating from the west coast to South Africa.” The company is also finding growing support for its Zacpak depot operation, says Schoeman. “Cape Town and Durban depots are up and running for imports and exports.” “The market was really waiting for this,” says Keck. “Clients are very supportive of the idea that their cargo is under CFR control from the moment it is packed right through the dispatch process.” Underpinning CFR’s success, says Keck, is its membership of the Worldwide Alliance which has grown in stature since inception seven years ago. “The most recent addition is a partner in Pakistan – and if we look at volume stats, the World Wide Alliance is recording double digit growth year on year." INSERTS AND CAPTIONS We don't want to lose the human touch - our clients have the option to choose how they want to do business with us. – Lee Schoeman Cargo is under CFR control from packing right through the dispatch process. - Martin Keck