Maersk has expanded its range of digital product offerings with Maersk Spot, an online system providing customers with a cargo loading guarantee for a fixed upfront price.
“It is not uncommon to see overbookings to the tune of 30%, and often this leads to rolling of the customers’ cargoes since there is overbooking to compensate for the high downfall. This creates a lot of uncertainty for our customers,” said Silvia Ding, Global Head of Ocean Products at Maersk.
“With Maersk Spot, we provide full visibility of the price and terms that will ensure cargoes get on board, ultimately allowing customers to move their cargo in a much simpler and more reliable way.”
The new system allows customers to search for rates online, providing an all-in price that is fixed when the booking is confirmed. This dynamic online pricing fixed at booking creates one transaction for the customer from quotation to booking confirmation, Maersk says, simplifying the buying process.
“Maersk Spot radically simplifies the buying experience for our customers. Today’s offline process can be up to 13 individual steps, often involving a lot of communication and paper work from rate sheets to terms and conditions and surcharges, etc. With Maersk Spot, this cumbersome process is reduced to five simple and integrated steps – all online,” adds Ms Ding.
In case of booking cancellations fees are charged to the customer, and if cargo is rolled Maersk will pay compensation.
Maersk Spot is now available on all trades, except in and out of the US, the company says. Currently available as a beta version, the product will be fully implemented on the Maersk website at the beginning of August.
