Ocean Freight Forwarding

Following an August 2021 announcement, in which it announced it inked an agreement to acquire Mainz, Germany-based global ocean freight forwarding services provider J.F. Hillebrand Group and its related subsidiaries for roughly $1.5 billion (EUR), global logistics services provider Deutsche Post DHL Group (DPDHL) said today the deal is now official.

A wave of digital disruption surfaced in the freight forwarding sector a few years ago, with startups, suppliers, and even shippers using new technologies to develop a variety of innovative trade solutions, but the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic poses the ultimate challenge to these new models.

Online booking will bypass freight forwarders using Alibaba's shipping platform, One Touch, the world's largest e-commerce platform, Maersk and CMA CGM have signed letters of understanding to work together with Alibaba, and Amazon China is now a year into their new venture as a freight forwarder, game changing events for sure.

Amazon has begun shipping products from Chinese merchant partners to its U.S. warehouses via ocean freighters, this is something it used to outsource exclusively, and another piece of the overall shipping and logistics picture that it’s now controlling directly, at least in part.

Bryn Heimbeck, president of Trade Tech, explains how his company's technology allows shippers and forwarders to streamline their sales, operations and accounting processes.

UPS enhances its global ocean and air freight forwarding product, UPS Supplier Management, with the introduction of UPS Order Watch, a cloud-based technology platform that allows customers to more efficiently collaborate with international suppliers and better manage their inbound supply chains.