Cogoport in the News: Increased International Media Attention

It’s always nice when the media takes interest in your company. Especially for a fast-growing startup trying to simplify freight and optimize global shipping. We have already been featured on The Loadstar and The Economic Times, to name a few.

It's a Bird! It's a Plane! It's the Magazine on the Plane!

If you fly British Airways this month, you will be able to read about Cogoport in the in-flight magazine. For those that don’t fly BA, here’s some of what they wrote about us in an article called “Cities of Innovation”, which Rotterdam is.

“New digital solutions are also playing a major role by improving efficiency for the 30,000 sea-going vessels that call at the Port of Rotterdam each year. Indian startup Cogoport chose to open its European HQ in Rotterdam. The company has been called the “Uber of sea freight”, but Carmit Glik, CEO of Cogoport in Europe, prefers to think of it as the Booking.com of logistics. The service matches importers and exporters with freight carriers and is currently growing 20 percent a month, with about 4500 customers and 300 suppliers using it. “There is a significant focus on maritime and logistics innovation in Rotterdam,” says Glik. ”If you’re in that sector, you definitely want to be here.”

We're Moving Freight. Port to Port and Beyond.

The second article I’d like to share some quotes from is from an Israeli publication called Port2Port, who interviewed me at the end of last month.

“Carmit Glik: "Cogoport was founded with the aim of providing added value to its customers by managing the whole supply chain - from our customer's factory to their end customer who purchased the goods abroad, while the entire handling and shipping process is managed by an innovative digital platform that reports real-time on all shipments and offers solutions and alternative options in real-time as well. We are essentially a digital "umbrella" that collects all the data from suppliers that offer shipping, forwarding and logistics services, and presents them to our customers in a convenient, efficient and transparent manner, including the costs of course, and the customer chooses a specific service through this platform. The digital aspect is very important, but as a company, we see the delivery of our customer's products to their end customers as the most important."

Glik: "In the end, our goal is to simplify the access to the data and inform the customer of everything that really interests him, and in real-time. What matters to us is process improvement for both customers and carriers. At the end of the day, we will not do anything that doesn't provide added value to our users, which should be true for all the technologies that exist in the market today, whether it is Blockchain or artificial intelligence. It's all about the customer, and positive experience. And by the way, one of the biggest tests is always to see how things go when something goes wrong. For example, there was an accident and the container did not arrive in time to the port and did not board the ship - we know how to report it to the customer. This information is very important for the customer and he wants to get it right away. The ability to inform our customers instantly and give them alternative options is one of the advantages of our platform. Currently, we're working on an app that's available from any mobile phone that will further simplify the processes for our customers. Anyway, it's always possible to use the website or call us, and our employees can always intervene personally. It all depends on the severity of the situation, but our goal is to make the platform so simple and intuitive that the customer can do everything himself. "

Glik: "There are suppliers that interface with our platform and there are suppliers that use it manually in their back-office operations. It depends on the company and its digital capabilities. Our goal is to be the link between suppliers that have ships, trucks, etc. to those that have goods to ship in the most efficient way. We work with everyone because we are a platform, a "marketplace" and as such we want to give the customer all the options that are available today. We will let our customers choose what options best suit their needs. Cogoport works in the background to make sure everything runs smoothly. It is the customer that chooses which carrier he wants to work with. And when the customer sends it to Western Europe, he can also choose whether the shipment will be delivered to its final destination by train, truck, or barge. Multi modal shipping is big here, and we offer the full range of services to manage that."

Glik: "Our platform is divided between suppliers and customers and there are sub-categories for shipping companies, shippers and exporters. That's how the system identifies them, and if I'm a carrier I can connect to a network that can provide me with new business opportunities. And if you are a smaller carrier that doesn't have the large customer base of an international shipping company and you offer good service at a good price you have access to new markets you didn't have access to before."

Hello, Is it Me You're Looking For?

While I don't have a singing voice anywhere near Lionel Richie's, I do know Ocean Freight and Tech. So if you want to talk ocean freight, logistics technology, digitization of freight, or have any questions on Cogoport, then it is me you're looking for.