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Shipper owned containers slow to switch to digital booking

[ November 17, 2022   //   ]

Booking shipper owned containers (SOCs) can still be challenging, according to a survey by Container xChange. The research, carried out in partnership with Copenhagen Business School, covered 137 freight forwarders and NVOCCs and found that over 80% still use email and phone to get quotations and place slot bookings.

Container xChange co-founder and chief executive Christian Roeloffs, said: “Lack of transparency and standardized digital processes has fuelled inefficiency and mistrust for a very long time in the logistics industry. These struggles are further worse for shipper-owned containers where no carrier takes care of processes. This hinders the adoption of SOCs in the market.”

Compared to carrier-owned containers (COCs), SOCs in principle provide more flexibility and can help users avoid fees like demurrage and detention. However, the market has yet to fully adapt to SOCs in the same way as COCs when it comes to digital solutions. Being a fairly new concept, there is no digitized slot booking process, for example and SOC users struggle more with getting accurate quotations, and confirmations of available capacity.

https://www.container-xchange.com/reports/ocean-freight/

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