Agility expands its digital platform to target e-commerce and urban deliveries

Every day sees the freight industry become more digitised, with Agility the latest company to announce it is pumping money into technology with a $100m investment in its digital platform, Shipa.com.

The forwarder launched Shipa Freight earlier this year and now plans to extend its services to manage e-commerce and urban deliveries.

Shipa Freight was set up to cater for SMEs’ air, ocean, FCL and LCL loads. Under the Shipa.com brand, Agility will offer Shipa Ecommerce, giving online merchants access to e-commerce markets, and Shipa Delivery, which will offer same-day, next-day or cross border deliveries across the Arabian Gulf. The Freight arm will continue to offer instant transport quotes, booking and payment online.

Agility claims it is the “most advanced fully integrated online freight service and is available in 100+countries”.

“Shipa.com makes life easier through technology, whether you are a small business running your supply chain with a few clicks, or a consumer getting your shopping delivered with a few taps on your phone,” Agility chairwoman Henadi Al-Saleh said.

Boosted by the results of a survey in which 78% of small and medium-sized business said they wanted to move their logistics booking online, Agility said it wanted to help.

“Logistics is the backbone of commerce,” said Ms Al-Saleh. “But it’s complex, and that complexity is disproportionately difficult for small businesses to navigate. Small businesses often lack access to the logistics resources, tools and solutions larger businesses have.”

Meanwhile Freightabase, a digital freight comparison tool, has launched a ‘quick quote’ app. The company offers an online database of companies, with a search function focused on their specialisms, tradelanes or proficiencies.