In tandem with the latest technological trends, the ocean shipment management arena has adapted to online scheduling at the high cost of integration. The new SOLAS VGM rule that went into effect on July 1, has emerged as another uphill task on account of difficulties in complying with it. “For SOLAS VGM, we enable customers to control compliance costs by using a flexible, standardized solution without disrupting their existing shipping process,” says Inna Kuznetsova, President and Chief Operating Officer, INTTRA. Since inception, Parsippany, NJ-based INTTRA has been enabling clients to conduct a broad range of ocean shipment management-related operations in an easy and economical manner.

“Our users can slash operational costs by using our single integrated platform to search for sailings, identify a voyage, and book their shipment directly for a fully integrated experience,” says Kuznetsova. The INTTRA eVGM Service facilitates customer compliance with the new SOLAS rule, which mandates shippers to submit Verified Gross Mass of Containers. INTTRA has infused technological trends such as Cloud, Big Data and mobile to instill the solution with scalability, flexibility and mobility, all in a simple, user-friendly format. INTTRA harnesses the power of its network of leading shippers and carriers, in part by providing 12 million ocean schedules for 250,000 location pairs. “We enable customers to transact through one Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) connection to book on multiple carriers. We have standardized the booking process across all trading parties to reduce errors, lower costs, create efficiency and facilitate operational excellence,” states Kuznetsova.

The company also offers Track & Trace (T & T) capability, locating containers by date range, latest location, carrier, trading partner, and latest status event. For Kuznetsova, the overall customer experience is paramount, and customer service excellence is a must. “We are the only electronic booking venue to provide customer service in six languages.It has a local feel to it because we conduct customer service regionally through a network of offices around the world,” explains Kuznetsova. INTTRA’s Decision Support dashboards leverage Big Data to provide shippers and freight forwarders with insights into ocean carriers’ booking speed and shipment reliability by trade lane, enabling them to increase efficiency and improve customer service.