Logistics technology: Descartes rolls out enhancements for Global Freight Exchange service
Jeff Berman, Group News Editor -- Logistics Management, 9/11/2009
WATERLOO, Ontario—Global on-demand software-as-a-service (SaaS) logistics technology provider Descartes System Group said this week it has made significant enhancements to its Global Freight Exchange (GF-X) service, its electronic information and reservation system.
Company officials said the impetus for this was to provide tighter, real-time integration with air carriers, which facilitate access to available capacity, routings, and pricing for e-freight booking.
GF-X enables airfreight carriers to distribute real-time product, routing, capacity, and rate information to global forwarders, and the forwarders can access carrier information, make e-bookings, and track shipments online on a 24x7 basis. GF-X’ services platform is comprised of an online cargo reservation system where air carriers and freight forwarders can complete electronic air cargo bookings. Its system is used by several carriers and forwarders, including American Airlines, Air France Cargo-KLM Cargo, Delta Cargo, and Continental Airlines Cargo.
Descartes Vice President of Marketing and Communications Nicole German told LM that changes to its GF-X service were driven by a “desire to continue to improve the quality of information provided to [its] air carriers and freight forwarders.” Other factors were to fulfill certain client requirements for both air carriers and freight forwarders, reduced effort for air carriers, and to increase bookings and its client base.
When asked what the biggest benefits of these changes are for airfreight carriers and shippers, German cited: real-time scheduling and capacity information; reduced levels of rejections and alternatives; tighter integration to revenue management system enabling greater accuracy of rates and promotional codes; replication of capacity; and schedule data no longer required reducing the effort required by carriers (although Descartes will continue to support replication for those carriers who do not migrate to remote query.
“Functionality for these enhancements—for real-time Web services and remote queries—is transparent to the forwarder,” said German. “They will complete the search screens in the same way. Descartes GF-X will then return results based on ‘replicated data’ or ‘real-time’ data – dependent on whether the carrier has integrated this new functionality.”
Descartes acquired England-based GF-X in August 2007 in an acquisition, which, it said at the time, brings air freight booking capability services to its Global Logistics Network (GLN) platform, which, according to the company’s Website, is a “multimodal network of transportation providers and their customers that facilitates the interchange of logistics information and provides services that leverage information to help enterprises conduct logistics business more effectively.” Some GLN services offered are local haulage, fleet management, shipping management, track and trace, and rate management, among others.
“At Descartes, we’re focused on helping our customers streamline their operations and standardize their business processes,” said Ed Ryan, Executive Vice President, Global Field Operations for Descartes, in a statement. “By adding real-time web services, we increase automation and access to booking information for online air freight bookings. With Descartes’ GF-X, air carriers can maximize their reach and ensure they are presenting a breadth of booking options to freight forwarders around the world.”
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