Agility announced the launch of Shipa Freight, the first fully integrated online freight service that allows users to get rate quotes and book, pay, and track ocean and air shipments around the world.
Shipa Freight claims to provide instant, no-obligation rate quotes from the countries that account for 95% of global trade and is said to allow users to manage their international shipments with a simple, easy-to-use tool accessible by desktop, laptop, tablet, and mobile app.
Tarek Sultan, CEO, Agility, said: Shipa Freight is a simple, technology-driven answer for small and medium-size businesses trying to take the complexity out of their international shipping. It gives them the transparency, flexibility, competitive pricing, and customer service that the industry offers only to multi-nationals and high-volume customers.
Shipa Freight is backed by Agilitys global network of more than 22,000 employees in 500 branches and over 100 countries. It gives customers the support of a global network and allows small and medium-size companies to access the worlds growing markets. Agility customer support is said to be available 24/7 to help them book and manage their shipments, or to get rates for routes not quoted online.
Shipa Freights digital platform allows users to complete a shipment completely online, said Toby Edwards, CEO of Shipa Freight. This includes shipment booking, a range of payment options, and online tracking, which have not been widely available for small and medium-size businesses until now.
In a recent Agility survey of 800 SMEs, small and medium-size companies said they needed the complexity taken out of compliance, customs requirements, and cross-border bureaucracy if they were to do more international trade. Shipa Freight is aimed to help customers overcome these issues by providing a compliance database with information on documents required on all trade lanes, helping them navigate the legal and regulatory requirements that are obstacles for many small businesses.
Shipa Freight is unique among online freight services, said Sultan. It offers both air and ocean, including Full Container Load (FCL) and Less than Container Load (LCL) options. It provides users with the ability to manage their freight from start to finish via quote-book-pay-track features and 24/7 customer service. And it makes use of Agilitys existing global network and scale, which means its got built-in flexibility, expertise, and deep understanding of how to move freight around the world.