ECU Worldwide is Allcargo Logistics’ wholly-owned global subsidiary and the global LCL consolidation leader. The company leverages its global synergies, calling on an in-depth knowledge of local markets and vast experience in global logistics to deliver the best results for you. When you move your cargo with ECU Worldwide, its teams across 160+ countries work together for you, applying local strengths to get your cargo to your destination, thus efficiently making it ‘One world, One office’ for you.
ECU Worldwide’s advanced technical tools ensure that you never lose sight of your cargo. Book, trace and lot of features are just a click away for you. Customer convenience is the ultimate aim and it is achieved through easy information exchange.
What is the significance of ECU Worldwide in the portfolio of Allcargo Logistics?
ECU Worldwide is the wholly owned subsidiary of Allcargo, present in over 160 countries. It contributes to a large portion of Allcargo’s revenue and also makes Allcargo India’s most geographically diverse company. The company has been a true turn around success story from the time it was acquired in 2005 to now being the world’s largest LCL player and one of the world’s top 20 NVOs in terms of container volumes.
It has also been the company that pushed the envelope in terms of digital innovation within Allcargo portfolio. Starting with our proprietary ERP that we built with TCS which is now present in more than 80 countries, the company now is investing heavily into automation, data science and our customer applications like our flagship 360 product – keeping in mind the goal of driving utmost reliability in service and gold-standard customer satisfaction.
You have been instrumental in developing proprietary tech-tools at ECU Worldwide. What technologies have you developed and what efficiencies did they bring into the system?
We develop our proprietary digital tools, such as ECU360, by strictly adhering to the core ethos of our group – customer-centricity. Agile compliant software development enables us to innovate new features based on an in-depth understanding of evolving customer demands. Moreover, customers across the globe trust the digital platform’s backbone, ECU Worldwide’s decades-old logistics experience and infrastructure, for superior visibility and service efficiency. Our focus from these projects is how can we give even the smallest customer the best possible customer service through enhanced visibility, intelligence & efficiency- which in the past may have been reserved for the biggest clients. This helps enable the productivity for the customers and ourselves, and allows us to be a more strategic partner to our clients. In some of our most advanced markets we have a digital adoption rate of well over 60%.
By digitally enabling processes using platforms such as ECU360 and enhanced integration capabilities such as APIs, we can offer customers reduced turnaround times and boost customer satisfaction. A digital-first approach helps us analyze data with precision, enabling us to take smarter and more effective decisions for the benefit of our customers. Customers are then empowered to grow their business and optimize operational efficiency by leveraging the innovative features of ECU360. Our customer satisfaction survey scores are over 90%
As we started with the customer facing projects we also realized the immense potential of enabling operational efficiency – therefore we took on the projects of automation & data science that will help enhance our operational productivity, turnaround times & quality of service. These projects are showing very positive outcomes – as we believe data centricity & seamless communication is very core to the future of our industry.
How will ECU360 help restructure digitization and automation in the Indian logistics space? And how will it be instrumental in the global trade scenario?
Being a technology-inspired globally renowned multi-modal logistics solutions provider, we are focused on embedding advanced digital technologies into the operational framework to facilitate efficient service delivery. Leveraging advanced digital tools, we are aggressively boosting our competencies in offering superior customer satisfaction.
The roll-out of ECU360 is aimed at helping our mid and small-sized freight forwarders in India to leverage the end to end global infrastructure and achieve speed, agility, cost-effectiveness and business growth with instant quotation and real-time pricing. With several beneficial features such as door-to-door rates in over 57 countries, .SB file automation, cross trade & KPI functionalities, etc. Considering the impact of the pandemic, companies across the globe are increasingly switching to digitally enabled service offerings. The Indian logistics industry is also gradually transitioning to a digitalized operational framework. ECU360 also enables the use of APIs across all our key products like quote, booking, tracking, sailing & invoices. The power of APIs is yet to be seen in a big way in logistics but it has transformed industries across the world and we see it as a big opportunity.
As a global LCL cargo consolidation leader, going forward, what are the trends that will drive the demand for LCL/FCL cargo movement?
The LCL movements across the globe have grown in the pandemic phase as a result of vessel space crunch and e-com boom. We feel we’re in one of the most exciting businesses today. The LCL volume has increased mainly in the China-to-south-Asia pacific route. LCL movement from Europe to the US continues despite a huge increase in the freight rate. The trend will sustain, as the stakeholders in ocean freight have accepted the new normal scenario.
Why is it important for the logistics industry to adopt digitization and what do you foresee in the near future?
Reducing inefficiencies and instilling much-needed agility in the logistics industry are key methods of increasing value for businesses. To unlock this value, the adoption of systemic digitization is critical, and we’ve observed the pandemic as being the catalyst in integrating digital technologies into the supply chain, facilitating the seamless movement of cargo with improved visibility. The way ECU360 is helping us offer our customers transparency in tariffs and shipping schedules as well as unparalleled service efficiency, it’s evident that digitization will create a strong foundation for achieving superb customer centricity even in these challenging times.
Digitization also adds to the resiliency of a supply chain. Lessons learned by businesses from the pandemic include the need to heavily invest in digitization in order to shield their supply chain operations from any adverse impact in future. In fact, if we look at things from a nation-wide perspective, investment into digitization can help India bolster its position as a global logistics and manufacturing hub.
The current empty container shortage for exports and rising freight rates – how are these things impacting the exporters and how are you dealing with these issues?
One of the fundamental benefits of working with ECU Worldwide is its decades long legacy as a prominent freight forwarder and LCL consolidator. Therefore, we maintain long-term contracts with trusted carriers that, despite container shortages and rising freight rates, ensure space for our clients.
