The normally staid world of ocean shipping has taken a step into the future. Since last fall, a number of ocean carriers have formed online communities or portals that will allow them to collaborate with their customers and among themselves via the Internet. The carriers say they have developed these portals in response to shippers' need for improved visibility of their shipments, more accurate data, and more standardization of information and processes among transportation service providers.

First up was CargoSmart, launched as an independent company by OOCL, the Hong Kong-based container line. CargoSmart's standard offerings include shipment details, automatic notifications of shipments and milestone events, and bill-of-lading processing. Users also can check tariffs and terms, view sailing schedules, make rate inquiries, and track shipments. Most important, perhaps, are CargoSmart's customization tools, which let users manage how and when shipment information is shared with their specified trading partners. They also are able to manage how information flows into their own systems.

A few months later, a consortium of container carriers announced the formation of a portal called INTTRA. Investors in the project, spearheaded by Maersk Sealand, include Europe-based ocean carriers P&O Nedlloyd, Hamburg Süd, Mediterranean Shipping Co., and CMA/CGM. The portal is designed to create a standard, common platform for certain "front-end" business transactions that can be managed electronically. INTTRA offers track and trace capabilities, access to vessel schedules, container booking and confirmation capabilities, proactive exception reporting, bill-of-lading information, and various reports and statistics. Early this year, INTTRA added a customer-relationship management function that lets carriers' customer-service organizations communicate via several means with shippers, forwarders, online exchanges, and other ocean carriers.

In December, yet another variation on the portal theme cropped up when nine ocean carriers announced that they would collaborate with Tradiant, a provider of e-commerce applications for ocean shipments, to offer shippers and carriers electronic communications and transaction processing. The Global Transportation Network (GTN) includes APL, which initiated the project, Hanjin Shipping, Hyundai Merchant Marine, K Line, Mitsui O.S.K. Line (MOL), Senator Lines, Yang Ming Marine Transport, Zim Israel Navigation Co., and CP Ships (ANZDL, Canada Maritime, Cast, Contship Container Lines, Lykes Lines, and TMM).

GTN offers container booking, track and trace, scheduling, rate and contract management, and cargo forecasting and allocation capabilities. What's different about GTN is its reliance on a neutral third party, Tradiant, to provide the technology platform and facilitate the flow of information between trading partners. Tradiant holds the majority ownership of the business, and the member carriers own minority stakes. Shippers will also have the option to use Tradiant's "Shipper Private Network" suite of shipment-management services, which will be offered under an application service provider (ASP) model.

Although each of these portals claims to be unique in its approach to business and the services it offers to shippers, they all have one thing in common. By automating and standardizing common transactions like container booking, they will make it easier, more efficient, and cheaper for shippers to gain a clear and up-to-date picture of their shipments' status on a global basis. By some estimates, the portals will save both shippers and carriers between 5 and 10 percent in transaction costs. Shippers also can rely on these common platforms for transacting business with multiple ocean carriers in a secure setting while continuing to do business individually with their preferred carriers.