Over the course of two years, OceanSchedules.com has added carrier data from 27 of the world's leading carriers with eight million voyage records all in one searchable place. The site is now used by more than 50,000 monthly unique users around the world. OceanSchedules.com offers free hosting of any carrier schedule via a direct EDI or XML connection and is now adding Web Services technology to provide carriers with the option to offer up-to-the-minute information for their customers.
"We started OceanSchedules.com to provide global visibility to ocean carrier schedule data and reduce the time users spend visiting and downloading data from multiple print and online sources. Over the last two years we've incorporated innovative technology from Internet page acceleration technology and automated lead generation processes and have now added Web Services to provide the fastest, most comprehensive, global schedules resource," said Andy Barrons, Managing Director, OceanSchedules.com.
The introduction of Web Services for sailing schedules is a fundamental shift in the way the shipping industry can receive and dissect its data. In contrast to having traditional direct EDI connections to carriers, or manually going to multiple sources to gather data, Web Services will enable OceanSchedules.com to rapidly gather data from multiple sources, providing users with the scheduling information and other data they need for their container shipments. For example, every time a user conducts a schedule search via OceanSchedules.com, a Web Services "call" can be made to obtain the most recent schedule data direct from a carrier database and alongside the data, a call can be made for additional information such as vessel and documentation cut-off. This enables OceanSchedules.com to put more information within reach of the users planning and booking shipments.
"By introducing Web Services technology into business processes, we are able to offer a simpler way to tap into information at a lower cost and without having to disrupt large enterprise systems," said Barrons. "This makes for a better, more convenient search for the user, reducing the hours of time spent assembling and comparing trades. If you have many people in your organization doing this task, OceanSchedules.com will save significant time and increase the productivity of your organization."
OceanSchedules.com features include:
- Comprehensive Data - Through EDI, XML, CSV and now Web Services the site represents schedules from 27 carriers: Alianca, ANL, CMA CGM, Crowley, CSAV, CSAV Norasia, DAL, Emirates Shipping Line, Evergreen Line, Hamburg Sud, Hapag Lloyd, Hyundai Merchant Marine Co., LTD, K Line, Libra, Maersk Line, MCC Transport, MISC BHD, Mitsui OSK Line, MSC, NYK Line, Pacific International Line (PIL), Safmarine, Senator Lines, United Arab Shipping Co., Wan Hai Lines. This list includes 14 of the world's largest* carriers
(*Source: AXS Alphaliner Top 50 Ship Operators, Sept 2008). And more carriers will be joining in the next few months.
- World Class Advanced Search Interface - Using AJAX technology (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) and page acceleration technology, OceanSchedules.com provides the fastest interactive search experience anywhere in the world. Instead of the Web browser reloading the entire web page every time a user makes a search or after applying the filter, AJAX allows only those schedules that need updating to be reloaded (Recommended Internet browsers Microsoft' Internet Explorer 6.0 or above or Mozilla Firefox' 1.5 or above). Response times are typically under 5 seconds from all major shipping centers and the user interface is available in English, Spanish, Portuguese and Simplified Chinese.
- Customer Lead Generation -The "Contact Carrier" button provides an automated process to deliver inquiries directly t
