LOGISTICS: IT SOLUTIONS & 3PL SURVEY 2008 - CargoSmart’s IT platform offers new approach to exception management The following is from an interview with Joe O’Brien, Director of Business Development, CargoSmart, Ltd.:AJOT: Since CargoSmart opened its doors in 2000, it has been traditionally considered by the shipping community, as an ocean shipment management portal built more from shipper to carrier relationship rather than carrier to shipper model. CargoSmart is now billed as a global logistics Software as a Service (SaaS) solution provider ­ Could you explain a little bit about the evolution of the CargoSmart business model? O’Brien: CargoSmart began as a portal providing online applications and direct integration for customers to manage their shipments with multiple carriers. The portal helped both shippers and carriers. Shippers improved efficiencies, while carriers were able to serve their customers through the portal and save on phone and integration costs. In May, CargoSmart introduced advanced visibility and exception management solutions and entered the SaaS market space. The new solutions are the first of several advanced products to come and offer customers a more complete shipment management solution. The new products are designed for users to customize the application to their supply chain so that they can improve their visibility and supply chain management processes. SaaS solutions are available on a pay-as-you-go basis. Customers do not need to install and maintain hardware or software to manage their shipments. CargoSmart hosts the system and all of the connections to customers’ multiple ocean carriers, and customers can securely view and share shipment information online. It’s relatively inexpensive for customers to have access to advanced solutions and allows them to complement their existing in-house systems. AJOT: Also, I found the Chinese language approach very interesting, could you talk a little about the Chinese language portion of the site? O’Brien: China is a rapidly growing market. Many of our North America customers source products from China and need to receive and share shipment information with their supply chain associates overseas. To make CargoSmart more accessible for customers in China and improve collaboration, we have made our public Web site and online applications available in Chinese. By making it easier for customers in China to enter shipment information into the system, customers in North America benefit by having shipment visibility earlier in the shipment cycle so that they can better manage their shipments in case there is a disruption to the expected shipment plans. In addition, customers in China can use our advanced features to monitor export shipments and identify exceptions earlier in the shipment cycle, helping to ensure that cargo bound for North America keeps moving and consignees can be alerted earlier about potential problems. AJOT: Could you talk a little about expansion in Europe? O’Brien: Our European user base has grown steadily. European customers have embraced the online visibility tools, receiving 58% more automated e-mail notifications and alerts than in the previous year. CargoSmart visibility tools allow customers in Europe to monitor their inbound hot shipments, especially during times of increased port congestion. AJOT: Using Web technology for handling routine transactions between shippers and carriers is now fairly commonplace but having an open architecture for integrating a wide variety of back-end systems on single platform that is also scalable is difficult. Has that been one of the challenges in building services and expanding a customer base? O’Brien: Our development team has selected world-class technology to provide our customers with the most reliable, scalable, and high-performing applications possible. CargoSmart’s platform uses technology from industry-leading firms including HP, Oracle, EMC, and TI