The container trading platform that works like you (and with you)

Like many areas of the global economy, the container freight market has seen some significant turmoil over the last few years. The current disparity between spot and contract prices could, arguably, be traced back to some of the problems caused by COVID, but with any luck, the market should begin to settle as 2023 progresses. And about time.

The rapid uptake of digitization and technology in general changed nearly every sector of the world economy from early 2020. Most companies that had previously been analog – that had relied on “traditional” trading methods – had to rapidly deploy digital solutions to keep in contact with their customers, partners, and suppliers. To take a single example, retailers worldwide either transitioned to all-digital business (e-commerce for B2C; API-based system integration between B2B partners) or folded quickly as large swathes of the world locked down.

Even the most traditional artisans still send digital invoices and respond to emails, but many areas of commerce, like container trading for example, have not really been “disrupted” by a single piece of software or technological hardware. Much business is still conducted by word of mouth, phone call, and email, and trust ranks highly among the must-haves that determine how and with whom business gets done.

Is change inevitable?

It’s true that sometimes, technological innovation comes to an industry not because there’s a demand for it, but because a smart someone, somewhere, has come up with a solution and is looking around for a problem. But the best pieces of technology (or the ones that survive long-term) are “homegrown” from inside an industry; and for the container user or trader, that’s precisely the case with the BOXXPORT platform.

The people behind the platform have been in the container trading space for many years and bring that experience plus a simple premise to the problems facing those who operate here daily, whether they work with small consignments or entire fleets. BOXXPORT has created a unique “take” on the trade in containers and ensured that operating the platform is simple, but above all else, trustworthy and transparent. Their due diligence processes ensure that any company operating on the platform is checked in terms of its trading history, economic solidity, and overall legal status.

Some of the faces behind BOXXPORT’s platform. Source: BOXXPORT

From the old, the new

The container trading market continues to operate on a personal level, with contacts working with each other often for years on end. BOXXPORT’s people and their approach reflect this reality: this is no faceless technology company that can only be contacted by website “Contact Us” form and whose personnel tend to vanish at a moment’s notice. On the contrary, the BOXXPORT staff, all with many years of trading experience themselves, practically insist on getting to know the platform’s users. That makes a pleasant change from some of the more faceless technology companies we’ve come across here at Tech HQ. But as stated, the BOXXPORT platform was designed by people in the business who are very much aware of the problems faced by people also in the business. And the solution they wrote, and continue to evolve, was to solve some of the problems they themselves experienced daily.

The bottom line

BOXXPORT saves companies money as they trade containers worldwide by buying and selling quickly and easily at the best rates the “live” market can offer any moment in time. Variations in supply and demand are reflected in up-to-the-minute prices, and possible trading partners are just a click or two away. And because of the vetting procedures BOXXPORT insists on for every company, trades are reliable and are quite transparent.

It’s a substantial operation. There’s stock available just about everywhere (even those corners of the world that aren’t considered trading hubs), with the company boasting around 40,000 units available at any one time.

The platform (or rather, BOXXPORT and its people) undertake all due diligence on every party, giving the vetted users security and surety on everything from a single exchange to moving millions of dollars of assets.

Some aspects of BOXXPORT are unique to its users and are only available because of the technological advantages the software offers – like the guaranteed buy-back of containers that users don’t have to worry about selling their containers after transactions. The platform’s modular approach means companies don’t have to jump into trading completely blind – BOXXPORT 

Little by little

The way the platform and the people at BOXXPORT work allow interested parties to try a few trades to acclimatize and begin to see the benefits offered by the advanced technology behind the platform: Seeing container locations in real-time, the up-to-date nature of trades and data, the reporting facilities and general business intelligence, for example.

In fact, depending on whether you’re most interested in being a buyer or seller, there are specialist staff at BOXXPORT whose area of expertise corresponds with your geography and areas of focus. The teams are always available to answer the inevitable “what if…” or “how do I…” questions that are a natural part of using a technology platform in a sector that’s based on principles of trust, reputation and good standing.

To find out more, we’d recommend a talk with a representative locally who speaks your language (and the language of logistics). We covered some of the platform’s features in a previous article (click here to go back and read it), but if you feel like you need more explanation and materials from the horse’s mouth, we’d urge you to head over to the company’s site.

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