ECU-Line, a non-vessel operating common carrier (NVO) based in Antwerp, Belgium, has signed a pilot agreement with Inttra, provider of an electronic-commerce platform for the ocean freight industry. In the process, ECU-Line becomes the first global NVO to receive shipping instructions from its less-than-containerload (LCL) shippers using the Inttra platform. Beginning in March, the ECU-Line group will pilot the new Inttra service with two major customers, before rolling it out to global accounts later this year. Inttra users initiate more than 300,000 container orders per week, accounting for more than 10 percent of global ocean-container trade, according to the company. The deal with ECU-Line will enable freight forwarders to gain the benefits of paperless documentation flow through Inttra, using the same business process they deploy for full containerload (FCL) business with ocean carriers. Inttra works with more than 30 leading carriers and their customers.
