Definition
An independent shipping line agent represents one or several principals, using in-house IT system for invoicing, receiving payment, keeping track of outstanding freight payments, and possibly also using one or several principal IT systems for submitting manifest data and for import cargo.
The independent agent uses e-Business to provide self-service sailing schedules, issue freight quotes and take bookings.
Independent Liner Agent Benefits
The e-business platform will provide the following specific benefits to an independent liner agent on top of the generic benefits mentioned in the introductory article:
- offer modern e-Business facilities to customers irrespectively of whether the principal is ready for e-business or not;
- branding of own agency organisation towards customers;
- save the front office staff from trial tasks like informing customers about latest sailing schedules eta/etd's and transit times, giving rate sheet freight quotes, taking bookings, keeping track of allocation per departure;
- staff may focus on value-adding services, rather than simple 'transaction work';
- offer a consistently looking transport service provided by agency across multiple principals;
- co-offer principal services and local value-add transport offerings to market.
Picture: it is not common practice that independent agents, or even global agency organisations, offer self-branded e-business solutions support export shipping processes, despite that a large part of the benefits provided by e-business are harvested in the front office.
Issues and Challenges
Some of the issues that liner agents will face when offering e-Business:
Allocation & cross bookings. The liner agent has a firm allocation from principal for export cargo and can use an e-Business platform to manage this allocation (to keep track of when a departure is fully booked). Some of the bookings may be received from other agents doing cross bookings - such bookings might be received by e-mail or via other channels, and in order for the e-Business platform to keep track of the number of free slots still available, the liner agent needs to key-in the booking himself in the e-Business platform, or ask their agents colleagues to use the e-Business platform directly. Cross bookings is done by liner agent's local customers for other export areas needs to be handled outside the e-Business platform.
Agent back-office integration. If the liner agent uses an in-house financial system for keeping track of revenue to be invoiced and collected, and automatically providing book keeping input, the liner agent needs to transfer the financial part of booking data from the e-Business platform to the financial package. This can be done by electronic messaging (EDI/ebXML) either every time a booking is made, or as a batch transfer after the booking for a departure is closed.
Principal back-office integration. The principals may insist on booking data to be updated in their in-house system either instantly when the booking is received in order to be able to adjust the agency allocation up or down when booking closure is coming up, or as a load list batch update after booking closure. This can be done by electronic messaging (EDI/ebXML) either every time a booking is made, or as a batch transfer after the bookings for a departure is closed (manifest/ loading list).
Freight quote, bookings with freight agreement. If a rate agreement exists with a customer, the e-Business engine's freight quote capability offering tariff rates will not add value, and instead the e-Business engine is used to take bookings on concrete sailings for such customers. The e-business engine simplifies the freight quote process and supports that many self-service freight quotes are issued for customers without rate agreements.
Space guarantee. If part of a customer agreement entails space guarantee, the customer must pre-book on the required departures well in advance, or the agent must keep part of the allocation reserved for space guaranteed customers and only release the last allocation if case of space guaranteed customers' downfall.
Independent liner agents, who would like to learn more, please check out arl-shipping.com/eb
