Visibility in Ocean Freight | Ocean Bridge

Real-time dynamic ocean freight monitoring

With DB SCHENKER ocean bridge as part of our advanced eService platform DB SCHENKER connect, gone are the days when monitoring has been a static communication channel for your ocean cargo.

Until now, global shippers faced significant gaps:

Monitoring cargo while on the water
Uncertainty about the exact whereabouts of the cargo
Unknown if the cargo is on schedule
Unknown if the cargo reached its planned trans-shipment port
Unknown if the service loops would be disrupted by unplanned port inducements/omissions
Or if port congestion would impact the timeliness of port operation

In addition, inaccurate or inconsistent estimated time of arrival and berth (ETA/ETB) can lead to false assumptions as to when the cargo is available for unloading. Potentially being the consequence for general delays, increased demurrage and detention can decrease your overall satisfaction.

DB SCHENKER ocean bridge - 3 values

Overview of ocean freight platform in DB SCHENKER — © DB SCHENKER

Clear visibility and complete transparency

The role of visibility technology becomes increasingly critical as organizations face challenges in knowing where their in-transit goods are and when those goods will be available. DB SCHENKER ocean bridge provides excellent cost and governance capabilities to monitor critical events and supply chain disruptions.

Utilizing DB SCHENKER ocean bridge will help avoid revenue leakage by enabling full visibility of service activities performed for our customers.

Early detection of operational delays enable proactive planning needed in the case of disruptions, congestion, and other challenges. Which directly benefits your P&L by avoiding additional costs.

As ocean supply chains face disruptions, unknown delays can lead to significant demurrage and detention fees - impacting your and your customers' business.

Amid these challenges, container delays are problematic for you and your customers, whether due to rerouting, port congestion, or missed trans-shipments. DB SCHENKER ocean bridge is your exception management tool to help you mitigate the impact of these delays.

Overview ocean freight platform in DB SCHENKER — © DB SCHENKER

Adapting to unforseen challenges and pre-empting exceptions

Exception management is the process of identifying and taking steps to mitigate the impact of changes to a container’s intended journey caused by unforeseen circumstances or external forces.

The effectiveness of exception management is commonly measured by its ability to prevent negative outcomes.

The success of exception management practices depends greatly on the ability to detect exceptions early, while there is still time to take action to mitigate the negative impact.

By pairing dynamically augmented visibility with artificial intelligence and machine learning, DB SCHENKER ocean bridge allows you to take preventive action before challenges occur.

Benefits from active exception management

Reduced transportation costs
Minimize the added cost of delays by effectively managing the threat of disruptions during transit.

Reduced demurrage and detention fees
Pro-actively reduce unnecessary demurrage and detention charges by managing delays and disruptions, resulting in significant cost avoidance.

Improved satisfaction
Keep your customers informed of delays and provide reliable, dynamically adjusted ETDs, ETAs and ETBs* - maintaining confidence and satisfaction.

Transparent product availability
Give your customers confidence in product availability with a clear and timely information, even when containers are delayed or disrupted.

_{*ETD: Estimated Time of Departure; ETA: Estimated Time of Arrival; ETB: Estimated Time of Berth}

Four key features of DB SCHENKER ocean bridge

1

True end-to-end visibility across the on-water journey
2

Visibility of the port status and the trans-shipment ports
3

Reliable predictive dynamic ETDs, ETAs, ETBs
4

Actionable data on exceptions to your planned schedule

Contact your DB SCHENKER office for access

How we make it possible

DB SCHENKER ocean bridge is powered by our own dynamic data cloud, prioritizing our focus on reliable algorithms and dynamically adapting to disruptions and new situations - both positive as well as negative.

Our predictive algorithms provide you with the most accurate ETDs, ETAs and ETBs*.

By dynamically adapting event generation, we've gone beyond the past of capturing only the static information.

With generative AI and applied machine learning, our prediction accuracy is continuously improving. We integrate multiple data sources, including AIS telematics, port rotations, service loops, port status (congestion/dwell), vessel schedules, voyage details, and weather data.

_{*ETD: Estimated Time of Departure; ETA: Estimated Time of Arrival; ETB: Estimated Time of Berth}

What you can expect

Overview ocean freight platform in DB SCHENKER_Detailed vessel status — © DB SCHENKER

Detailed vessel status and live location

Monitor your cargo flow with precise vessel positions and correlating time of departure as well as arrival predictions.

Overview ocean freight platform in DB SCHENKER_Predicted schedule — © DB SCHENKER

Predicted schedules and port rotations

Access detailed schedules and port rotation information, including omitted and added ports.

Overview ocean freight platform in DB SCHENKER_Departurem arrival and berthing — © DB SCHENKER

Departure, arrival and berthing predictions for all ports

Stay up to date with departure, arrival, and berthing time, based on real-time information.

Thorsten Meincke Board Member for Air and Ocean Freight

“The customers of DB SCHENKER are most empowered to make informed decisions and improve operational efficiency thanks to Ocean Bridge. This AI based tool represents a significant advancement in maritime logistics technology and underscores our commitment to innovation and excellence in the logistics industry for the sake of our customers.”

- Thorsten Meincke, Member of the Management Board Air & Ocean Freight

Frequently asked questions

Please contact your DB SCHENKER office. They will guide you through the steps to begin your DB SCHENKER ocean bridge experience.
DB SCHENKER ocean bridge enables our customers to plan with a high level of certaintly on the vessel, shipment, and container level. Data elements include of estimated time of departure, berthing and arrival of vessels plus their port rotations on the entire service loop.
Estimated Time of Berthing (ETB) refers to the anticipated time when a vessel is expected to dock at the quay and begin unloading its containers. In cases of port congestion, the vessel may need to wait for an extended period before it can berth.
Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA), on the other hand, indicates when the vessel is expected to reach the port. If there is no available space at the quay, the vessel might have to wait outside the docking area.