A host of ocean carriers will join with software developer Tradiant Inc. to launch a platform in the first quarter of next year for facilitating transactions among the various—and often numerous—parties involved in international trade.
The GTN (Global Transportation Network) platform, announced last week, enables importers and exporters to simplify the process of containerized transportation using Tradiants Trans-Commerce technology.
The Trans-Commerce platform promises to reduce the massive amount of paperwork in the shipping industry, Tradiant officials said. It includes such core transactional capabilities as booking, tracking, tracing and scheduling of shipments. The platform will also provide extended capabilities tailored for shippers and carriers, including rate and contract management, cargo forecasting, and allocation.
The carriers will contribute industry expertise to GTN.
Carriers involved in the partnership include Canadian Pacific Ltd., Hyundai Merchant Marine Co. Ltd., APL Ltd., Mitsui OSK Lines Inc., Senator Lines GmbH, Hanjin Shipping Co. Ltd. and Zim Israel Navigation Co.
The founding carriers will have a minority equity stake in the venture, and Tradiant will hold the majority stake. Specific financial details were not released.
Because Tradiant, of Alameda, Calif., is the major shareholder, officials there assert that GTN will be a neutral platform that is not owned and controlled by specific carriers. Tradiant CEO Aaron Sasson will lead GTN.