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Cory Margand CEO of SimpliShip spent the previous ten years working in “every single supply-chain role possible,” he says, at major US manufacturers including Adidas and Reebok.
In all those roles, there was one constant: finding the right freight forwarder—and deciphering a bid to figure out the bottom line cost of shipping—was a more frustrating, opaque, and time-consuming process that it ought to have been.
“It wasn’t unheard of for my manager of logistics to spend three hours a day sifting through rates and trying to determine what the best route was and the best [carrier] to pick.”
That gave Margand an idea. What if he could make choosing a freight forwarder, and determining costs, quicker, easier, and more transparent?
With that goal in mind, he and his partner, Michael Connell, with 20 years experience on the ocean carrier, freight boarding, and trucking side of the business, developed SimpliShip. An online marketplace where businesses can connect with freight forwarders and NVOCCs instantly, SimpliShip launched in July 2015.
Margand agreed to share intelligence about SimpliShip—which promises to live up to its name—with Webport Global. The following interview was edited for length and clarity.
WPG: Who benefits most from using SimpliShip?
Cory Margand: Our target market is small to medium-size businesses, everyone from those that don’t have a dedicated logistics person to those that have a few. SimpliShip will also serve as a new, cost effective sales channel for NVOCCs and Freight Forwarders.
WPG: How does SimpliShip simplify the process for SMEs?
Cory Margand: An SME has three main options when shipping. First, they can have their vendor arrange shipping, but that can be expensive. Second, they can search online and choose from one of the larger providers, but they may not get a good rate and the level of personalized customer service they need.
The third option is to spend a ton of time doing a lot of research. Pick up the phone or email a bunch of different NVOs or freight forwarders and get quotes.
WPG: And the third option is likely to be the least costly?
Cory Margand: In actual dollar cost, yes, but time is also a cost. And the quotes don’t come back standardized. One freight forwarder will include certain services in their rate and the other one won’t. Because it’s not apples to apples, the typical SME might spend many hours going back and forth to determine which is most cost-efficient, even after getting quotes.
WPG: How does SimpliShip make this process easier?
Cory Margand: Making phone calls, sending emails or logging onto individual websites to requests spot quotes is labor intensive and time consuming. Using SimpliShip, SMEs have a centralized platform to manage the process saving them both time and money. They enter their air or ocean shipment details and it's viewed instantly by a network of qualified NVOs and forwarders eager to compete for their business. Each bid the SME receives will include a full profile of the NVO/forwarder including peer reviews to ensure the shipper can get the best combination of price and service for their shipment.
Use of the SimpliShip platform is absolutely free for international shippers. No downloads, no costly integrations they simply sign up, log in and can start posting their shipments immediately.
WPG: Does SimpliShip require a breakdown of what SMEs are getting for the bid?
Cory Margand: We require an all-in cost, meaning that the NVOs or freight forwarders must include every single charge that’s involved in your moving that freight, so that there aren’t extra charges afterwards.
Let’s say you want to deliver straight from a port in China to your door, you can say that, and the freight forwarder and NVO will quote trucking and destination to your door.
We can service any kind of customer, really, for air and ocean, international, anything they need, including customs brokerage, or a refrigerated container, etc.
If the shipper wants the charges itemized, they can request it, and the carrier can break it down for them as well in the bid.
WPG: What if an SME wants to limit the bidding to only certain carriers?
Cory Margand: You have the option of doing a private or public posting. If it’s private, and you already have carriers and NVOs and freight forwarders you like to do business with, you can invite them to bid. Or you can do public and open it up to the whole marketplace so all the NVOs and freight forwarders in the marketplace are able to see it and can bid on it.
WPG: Are NVOs and freight forwarders all able to see each other’s bids or just able to see the request for a bid?
Cory Margand: It’s one hundred percent confidential. They can see each other’s bids, but they can’t see the company names and they can’t see the shipper name either.
WPG: Assuming an SME wants to go out and get bids without the benefit of SimpliShip, what are some red flags he or she should look out for concerning which freight forwarder to use?
Cory Margand: If you actually wanted to vet a freight forwarder or an NVO, it’s going to take a while to get to know the company, something a small or medium-size company doesn’t usually have the time or staff to do. Part of our role is to educate SMEs who don’t necessarily have logistics experience by giving them a diverse mix of NVOCCs and freight forwarders to choose from. It’s not only about all-in cost. You want to be able to find the best combination of price and service for your shipments. In vetting service providers you’d want to check to see if they have global coverage, if they are licensed by the FMC to provide ocean freight services, if they are affiliated with IATA or IAC and if they are CTPAT certified.
You also want to know if they provide good service in the lanes you’ll be shipping. If you’re shipping from Hong Kong to LA, for example, they should really have a strong reliability in that lane, and they should have offices or a good agent in that area. Then the last thing to look into is, do they have their own brokerage team in case you need customs brokerage clearance help?
WPG: Has SimpliShip done most of the research already that SMEs would have to do if selecting a freight forwarder outside the platform:
Cory Margand: We have literally handpicked the carriers that are on our platform. We’re not accepting just any freight forwarders. The vetting process is important.
After you award a shipment, we share the contact information and the carrier and shipper get a chance to really connect and talk about the shipment and what the game plan is. We completely understand that personal relationships still matter most and we aren’t trying to change that. We want to improve the freight procurement process to help shippers and NVOs and forwarders establish new relationships.
WPG: Is there anything else Webport Global members should know about SimpliShip?
Cory Margand: Our main goal is to allow small and medium-size businesses to focus on their business instead of finding and vetting carriers. That means their logistics department can concentrate on getting the product to their customer on time, or if they don’t have a logistics department, they can use the time saved by using SimpliShip to find the right product, or any of a million other things they need to do.
We are adding dedicated, reliable NVOCCs and forwarders to the SimpliShip marketplace every day in an effort to ensure that SMEs get competitive rates and great customer service.
We try to help them make the easiest choice possible, save them time, and hopefully, money.
| Product Model | Inside Diameter | Outside Diameter | Thickness |
| CRV48XLL/3AS NTN | 31.75 | 76.2 | 46 |
| CRV44XLL/3AS NTN | 25.4 | 69.85 | 39.6 |