Shipping firms start to offer digital booking platforms

[NEW YORK] The shipping industry, which carries 90 per cent of world trade, is finally going digital.

Until recently, if you wanted to send a couple of pallets of television sets from Hong Kong to New York, you had to place your order over the phone with a human on the other end. Those humans make mistakes about 20 per cent of the time, costing US$684 million a year, according to Ocean Audit Inc, which examines invoices for retailers such as Macy's Inc.

To cut this waste, customers and ship operators can now use digital platforms offered by Freightos, Amber Road Inc and Inttra Inc or by carriers including AP Moeller-Maersk A/S that make booking international freight as easy as reserving a hotel room or buying a sweater online.