Kuehne + Nagel chooses INTTRA’s eVGM service

As the July 1st date for complete compliance looms, shippers are seeking help to cope with the mandatory changes instituted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to the Safety of Life at Sea Convention (SOLAS).

Stakeholder collaboration is on the rise, too, say industry analysts, who point to the recent announcement that logistics giant Kuehne + Nagel has chosen to provide Verified Gross Mass (VGM) amendment information.

“The INTTRA eVGM Service reflects how closely INTTRA has worked with the industry to understand and comprehensively address the technology needs created by SOLAS VGM,” said Otto Schacht, Executive Vice President, Sea Logistics, at Kuehne + Nagel.  “Their solution gives us a broad range of options for submitting VGMs to our global ocean carrier partners. This solution in combination with Kuehne + Nagel’s own VGM customer portal will contribute to an efficient and reliable communication of VGM data from shipper to carrier.”

Inna Kuznetsova, INTTRA’s President and Chief Operating Officer told LM in an interview that the deal comes at a critical time in ocean shipping.
“Even over the course of the last month we have seen a rapid acceleration of orders to the point when we had to prioritize testing for the customers with fully signed contract,” she said. “As of today five out of seven top freight forwarders have committed to INTTRA eVGM Service as well as a growing group of carriers and numerous smaller shippers and BCOs.”

However, noted Kuznetsova, a large number of BCOs in South America and Asia may not understand the urgency for compliance even if their global and regional offices have clearly and repeatedly communicated their arrangements.

“Overall, we see a higher level of awareness of SOLAS amendment and higher degree of readiness in the freight forwarding sector than BCOs,” she added.

INTTRA’s eVGM Service is available in two versions – for Carriers and Shippers. Users can transact in a range of EDI and Web service formats as well as by email.