New website offers one-stop cargo booking facility

9 Jun 2000 - By Staff reporter

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On-line contact with all major carriers

AN INNOVATIVE new Internet site which provides the shipper with electronic shipping schedule and rate information and allows on-line bookings with all the major seafreight carriers has just been launched.
Freightroute.com is the brainchild of Andre Wissler, until recently branch manager of Rennies Ships Agency in Johannesburg.
Our objective at Freightroute.com is to eliminate the costly and timely process of phoning, faxing and filing rates. Through our site the shipper is exposed to a greater choice of services and destinations and we can provide routing and transit information, Wissler explained.
His target market at this stage is the seafreight exporter, with importers to follow shortly.
From there the service will be extended to include air, rail and roadfreight.
The ultimate objective is to create a site for the shipper which will provide all the information he needs to book his cargo on-line, says Wissler, who is currently exploring joint ventures with other Internet information providers to realise his goal.
A 7-day free trial is offered to potential users. Thereafter the charge is R525 for 3 months access, R900 for six months and R1500 for a year.
Built in security ensures that all information remains private and confidential.
Wissler was heavily involved in the Y2K readiness project for shipping lines during his stint with Rennies. I was involved in Organisational Process Integration at Rennies and saw a gap for a site like this which provides the shipper with a one-stop service for his routing, rates and booking needs, said Wissler, who uses the analogy of Amazon.com to illustrate his point. In the same way as Amazon.com allows you to buy a book without visiting various book shops, Freightroute.com gives the shipper access to various shipping line and routing options via a single entry point.
The user-friendly site can be accessed at www.freightroute.com