The Intranet-based system was developed by metaship AG in Hamburg, Germany. Irrespective of location, the system will give registered employees instant access to complex rates and vital information such as surcharges, deductions, harbour dues and container service charges as well as pre- and on-carriage costs. The system will provide significant improvements to rate negotiations and analyses of cost effectiveness. At the touch of a button, employees will be able to call up an overview of, for example, rate fluctuations on a given route or with a given carrier.

DHL Danzas Air&Ocean had long sought to replace its conventional, decentralised management system for paper-based sea freight contracts and freight agreements with shipping companies. The new system will reduce the costs of administration of contracts and rates as well as for internal communication dramatically. Also it will be possible to react more promptly and precisely on customer inquiries and tenders.

The solution to DHL Danzas Air&Ocean' contract and rate administration problems came in the form of metaship's contract and rate management system, developed as a foundation for worldwide purchasing and sales processes. The system standardises purchasing processes by unifying the evaluation of contracts and tariffs on all routes. An interactive, user-friendly, Web-based application, it does away with reams of inconsistent rates that are often only intelligible to experts. Its targeted rate enquiries and freight rate calculations are not only a valuable aid for strategic planning and contract negotiations, but also benefit day-to-day purchasing and sales operations. Costs are optimised on the basis of comparative evaluations and analyses that draw on a wealth of practical experience.

"We started out looking at several standard solutions to provide support for our complicated contract management operations," says Frank Römer, Product Manager Ocean Freight. "But they would all have involved comprehensive and costly customising, and in some areas we would even have had to adapt our business practices to suit the technical demands of the application. metaship's solution is different – it's based on common standards and as such is tailor-made to the particular needs of our sector and to our business processes.

"The metaship consultants and developers have a good understanding of our market," adds Römer. "Whether it's changes to the work flow or technical support, they do an excellent job. In terms of efficiency, we and our business partners have already made significant advances."

After a successful test period, more than 1,000 employees in DHL Danzas Air&Ocean sea freight business will use the metaship system. At the touch of a button, staff perform calculations for complex transport chains, including handling charges, surcharges and discounts; transactions that once could take up to several hours.

As a next step, DHL Danzas Air&Ocean plans to extend its Internet-based business to clients and carriers – metaship has already developed 'Client Access' and 'Carrier Access' modules. This would make the smallest shipping firms anywhere in the world part of the process, enabling them to input and update their rates and access agreements.