Record demand for online business transactions has increased the Maersk shipments application usage by nearly 90% in 2020.
In the first five weeks of 2020, the app, which is available in The App Store and in Google Play, averaged 70,000 business transactions weekly. By mid-April, it had grown to 130,000 business transactions weekly, reflecting an 86% increase in this online remote usage tool.
“As the pandemic hit and more people began working from home, customers are seeing the convenience of going online to manage their logistics business using the Maersk mobile app,” said Carsten Frank Olsen, Head of eCommerce at Maersk.
The surge of interest in the app usage reflects the container tracking, vessel schedule, live chat, instant rate quotes, booking of containers, cargo notifications, and Spot Rates activities that customers are relying on to run their business while away from the office, according to the Danish company.
In addition, customers can use credit cards or a smart pay solution and have cargo released instantly.
Three new eCommerce digital solutions were added in March, that improve the customer experience for import functionality and replace manual processes:
- Maersk Delivery Order (MDO) enabling cargo release
- The Demurrage and Detention Calculator that answers storage fees and offers online payment for immediate release of full containers at the port or storage yard
- Free day for a container in storage – which is a feature designed for US-based customers.
These three key enablers, Maersk says, redefine the import self-service customer experience through better decision-making, visibility and speed. The new features were all designed and driven by customer feedback, according to the giant carrier.
The Maersk.com website is one of the largest B2B websites in the world handling $20 billion in transactions in 2019.
