Overseas Shippers Association Selects GT Nexus

GT Nexus has been awarded a contract to provide a global transportation management platform for the Overseas Shippers Association (OSA).

“We are expected to manage a vast and complex global transportation network for our member companies,” said Rob van Steensel, commercial director at OSA. “With GT Nexus, we will consolidate and automate a number of key business processes that were previously handled through various software tools. GT Nexus had a proven, scalable solution that’s already deployed at many of the world’s biggest shippers and forwarders, so we were able to get up and running very quickly.”

OSA provides commercial services to a group of international household goods removal and relocation companies. These services include worldwide ocean freight contract negotiation and the ability to resolve most related problems for their agents. The association manages container freight volumes in excess of 80,000 twenty-foot-equivalent units (TEUs) on behalf of 180 companies worldwide.

Delivered as a service over the Web, all GT Nexus capabilities are provided as a fully integrated solution through the GT Nexus trade and logistics portal. The association’s large global contract rate database will be maintained in collaboration with partner carriers so OSA members can get secure online access to accurate, up-to-date shipping rates 24 hours a day. OSA will also use GT Nexus technology to run future procurement cycles, by using the portal’s standardized request for contract (RFC) and contract negotiation capabilities.

GT Nexus will provide in-transit visibility for OSA shipments by capturing real-time transportation status data through existing electronic integrations with carrier systems. This will allow OSA member companies to use the GT Nexus portal as a one-stop shop to check on the status of their containerized shipments and see related documents, across every carrier they use.

“While OSA consolidates purchasing to gain buying leverage for all members, each company operates independently using the negotiated rates,” added van Steensel. “GT Nexus is designed to support this complex combination of centralized purchasing and decentralized daily operations that are scattered around the world.”

“The control of rates and the ability to see shipment information are the foundation for running a smooth global logistics operation. We welcome the OSA team to our growing global customer community,” said Andy Stinnes, vice president of products and strategy at GT Nexus.