INTTRA may reshape ocean carrier/shipper contracting

Measuring performance of carriers, shippers and trading partners across the ocean supply chain is integral to improving and optimizing workflow, yet it remains a key challenge due to the lack of a common set of data.

According to Milan Vaclavik, director of product management at INTTRA, the company’s “OceanMetrics,” is enabling a new conversation on accurate, real-time performance metrics in order to move the industry forward.

“We feel that there will be a greater emphasis on collaboration when contracts are negotiated this year,” he said. “Our tool gives both shippers and carriers a statistical framework they can agree upon.”
Vaclavik, will be presenting his views at an industry event staged in Southern California today focusing on Asia Pacific maritime issues.

In an exclusive interview with Supply Chain Management Review –  a sister publication – he said that he expects more shippers to rely on “hard data” rather than shared anecdotes.

“The standard service contract really places very little emphasis on ‘service,’” he said. “It just stipulates the number of boxes and delivery dates. We want to be the intermediary that harmonizes the vernacular. This represents a critical change in the current culture.”

Lars Jensen, CEO and Partner of Sealntel Maritime Analysis in Copenhagen, agrees.

?“Both shippers and carriers need to identify the decision which the information is supposed to improve, and then make the information and analysis available to the right people at the right time in the right format,” he said.

Jensen will be joining Vaclavik in a dialogue with shippers at the Southern California event. In an earlier interview with SCMR, he noted that the most urgent need for carriers to confront is “capacity glut.”

Vaclavik said that INTTRA’s solution should help identify cancelled bookings, thereby helping carriers manage space more effectively.

“OceanMetrics can’t spot ‘ghost bookings,’” he said. “But it can certainly help measure the number of legitimate transactions,” he said.