ECU Worldwide USA: Enabling shippers to navigate the extended peak season

If 2020 was a year that saw shipping schedules go haywire with significant fluctuations caused by countries locking up borders, 2021 seems like a year that’s going to have no respite, no slack times when it comes to ocean freight. As the ‘perpetual peak season’ as it is being termed unfolds, leading global logistics services providers like ECU Worldwide USA are helping their customers to ship cargo across the world with agility, flexibility and digitally-enabled global

In contrast to the usual Lunar New Year celebrations, the Chinese government has restricted travel and urged citizens to ‘celebrate in place’ this year. As a result, factories that would usually have seen a period of downtime are likely to continue production through the holidays, leading to a rush among exporters to ship their goods at the earliest.

Not only will this create a shortage of boxes but also possibly add to the congestion at ports like Los Angeles and Long Beach in the USA, as a result of not having a lull period to clear backlogs. Shortage of equipment as well as lack of availability of manpower owing to quarantine and other restrictions could burden global supply chains even further.

No wonder then, that shippers and customers in USA and across the world are increasingly counting on the expertise, experience and reliability of companies like ECU Worldwide, the global leader in LCL consolidation.

A global network like no other

“In unprecedented times such as these, where global supply chains have got to evolve with dynamic changes in the business environment, it helps to leave the complexities of global cargo shipments to the experts. At ECU Worldwide USA, we have a team of professionals constantly collaborating with our offices across the globe and accelerating processes and decision-making with a plethora of digital tools and technologies, all so we can offer our customers in USA and other countries a seamless shipping experience. We understand challenges and help mitigate them to the maximum extent possible”, says Vincent Argenzio, Executive Vice President, ECU Worldwide USA.

With a global network operating in more than 180 countries, offering services across over 2400 direct trade lanes for LCL and door-to-door deliveries in more than 50 countries, ECU Worldwide USA is ideally positioned to enable its customers to ship cargo to and from almost anywhere in the world, in a safe, timely and efficient manner. Own offices at the origin and destination country help create unique synergies and enable planning optimal routes and schedules while shipping cargo amidst challenging times.

Expertise backed by local support and value-added services

No matter what the type or size of cargo, the team at ECU Worldwide USA is equipped for cargo handling with complete safety and care. Right from Dangerous Goods (DG) cargo to Over-Dimensional Cargo (ODC), customers are assured of end-to-end movement and door deliveries.

Within the USA, a team of more than 400 experts across 11 offices remains committed to deliver nothing but the best to customers. Even as businesses grappled with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown and more recently faced severe congestion at ports, ECU Worldwide USA helped customers chart the course with regular information and updates, proactive steps taken to tackle anticipated changes and possible constraints, as well as by offering customized solutions.

In the current situation, owing to its leadership position and partnerships with major global carriers, ECU Worldwide USA is bolstering businesses across industries and sectors to expand horizons and reach out to new customers and markets not just in the USA but the world at large. Considering that the extended peak season building pressure on ocean freight has also led to a significant increase in air freight charges, customers may find it advantageous to opt for ECU Worldwide’s innovative service XLERATE – it is a sea-air combined express service to and from China and USA, further extending to LATAM and Europe. A service like this can truly help enhance efficiencies across global supply chains.

Adding strength to ECU Worldwide USA’s offerings are value-added services that include inland trucking, a CFS network that spans IIPI services from New York, Chicago, Charleston, Miami and Los Angeles to 78 CFS destination in USA and one-stop solutions for Less than Truckload (LTL), Full Truckload (FTL), Full Container Load (FCL) for ex-works and door-to-door deliveries in USA as also international air freight.

Digitalizing operations with ECU360 and API integration

In today’s day and age, digitalization is the order of the day and digital transformation is making a swift headway into the logistics industry and ecosystem too. To strike the perfect balance and keep pace with the changing business models as well as increasing customer expectations, ECU Worldwide has its state-of-the-art platform, ECU360 that lets customers ship with just a click. ECU360’s track and trace, automated updates at every stage and complete visibility give customers a much better control of their cargo movements.

With enhanced capabilities like ECU360’s secure API integration and customized white label solution, small and mid-sized businesses as also ECU Worldwide USA’s freight forwarding customers can digitalize their own operations and leverage the capabilities of ECU360’s technology and platform, rather than investing in developing and maintaining their own proprietary digital interface and tools.

Conclusion

For ECU Worldwide USA’s customers, what this translates into is faster transactions, instant quotes and bookings for global cargo movements across the world, access to shipping schedules in advance, the opportunity to plan ahead and plan better to maintain business continuity and efficiency while adjusting to the changing external factors.