In shipping, efficiency and predictability are everything. That is especially true but often harder to accomplish when it comes to coordinating global imports and exports across the ocean.
Port congestion, en-route changes and damage along the voyage are hard to avoid completely. However, for shippers, freight brokers and 3PLs, it creates more friction when disjointed data from ports, terminals and ocean carriers disrupts shipment visibility. Stakeholders need a way to access data and track their many shipments’ statuses and conditions in real time, anticipate delays, and respond to issues as they arise.
During a recent Industry Update, FreightWaves’ Isaiah Buchanan sat down with Robert Derin, director of product management at Descartes Macropoint, to discuss how Descartes MacroPoint, a one-stop supply chain visibility and capacity solution, is making visibility data more actionable for shippers, freight brokers and 3PLs.
In its latest product announcement, Descartes MacroPoint shared that its ocean visibility solution now provides US Customs Import data in an accessible way previously unavailable through visibility platforms, providing transparency into data and locations during the whole ocean shipping process, according to Derin.
With MacroPoint, users can view, analyze, predict, and communicate the status of any shipment in real time using multimodal visibility, predictive analytics and an automated communication platform. For ocean carrier data, users can receive alerts regarding origin and destination port statuses, in-transit locations, and temperature monitoring. The solution also provides users with access to key performance indicators about their network to keep tabs on performance and make decisions that drive optimization.
The ocean visibility solution recently expanded to integrate US Import Customs data into the platform. This includes 50+ Customs Responses such as Filing Status, Holds, ISF Filing and Customs Release. Users are able to work with any customs broker or filer they prefer and still have access to their customs data feed in their MacroPoint product.
In addition to this update, MacroPoint clients can now integrate other Descartes solutions into their system, including customs declarations and security filings, to stay compliant. They additionally have the option of tapping into wide-ranging global trade intelligence, including import and export databases from ports and governments around the world, providing more information to make better business decisions based on actual data.
“The great part about being part of the Descartes family is leveraging all of our products and expertise to [provide] a unique and differentiated offering,” Derin said.
Ultimately, greater accessibility in a shipper’s one-stop ocean visibility solution allows stakeholders to increase their own efficiency and do the same for customers.
To request a demo or learn more about Descartes MacroPoint, click here.