Data Sources For Ocean Tracking: Which One Should You Choose?

Shipment tracking allows the logistic and supply chain companies to quickly integrate shipping data into their dashboard so that they can stay updated about its exact location to ensure quick decision-making.

There are many methods to manage and integrate your shipment data such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERS), Transportation Management System (TMS), and other management platforms that offer efficient ways for shipping container tracking.

However, different data sources exist to make sure you retrieve relevant tracking information and cover your shipment data. This article discusses the pros and cons of each data source system and explains how to use a data solution proactively to allow a better user experience for B2C companies.

Ocean Carrier Websites

Some major carriers allow shipping companies to track their shipment data on their websites. All top-10 Ocean carriers (Maersk, MSC, COSCO, CMA-CGM, Hapag-Lloyd, ONE, Evergreen, HMM, Yang Ming, ZIM), have a public tracking widget, directly on their start page, or one click away.

Most of these top ten ocean carrier websites offer three main search parameters like container tracking number, booking number, bill of lading number. Some carriers offer only two and others only one.

One good thing about using carrier websites is that they’re free and offer a good solution for companies with small shipment volumes. However, if you have several carriers, you’ll need to use more than a few websites which can become hard to track.

Ocean Tracking Platforms

Carrier Agnostic Platform

The most established and widely used carrier-agnostic platform is Inttra, which handles over 25% of the global shipment volume. Intra offers an innovative graphical user interface web portal and provides integrations interfaces, mostly traditional EDIFACT and XML based. More recently, the carrier also introduced but APIs for better data integration. Intra is believed to be one of the top shipping platforms because its services are integrated into TMS and are still affordable.

Carrier Owned Platform

CargoSmart is a major carrier-owned ocean shipping platform known for being a global shipping solution that offers distinct services like supply chain visibility, execution, and compliance with ease and convenience. The company has over the years built connectivity with 40 carriers and aims to become a carrier-agnostic shipping platform.

The pro associated with using carrier-agnostic and carrier-owned solutions is that both offer an efficient solution to handle several carriers with high volumes of shipment data. However, they require you to adapt to their APIs because no mapping is available.

Supply Chain Visibility Platforms

Also known as real-time transportation visibility platforms (RTTVPs), supply chain visibility allows consumers and commercial customers to track shipments in real-time once they leave the warehouse of the brand owner, supplier, or service provider.

These platforms come in handy for your team if you need a new graphic user interface (GUI) and provide good data tracking solutions. However, supply chain visibility platforms can be costly and their data processing capabilities can be limited.

Conclusion

Whatever data tracking solution seems best for your needs, It is best to use it directly from your system, whether TMS or ERP. You can choose several data sources and find a solution that best integrates the data.