Flexport – Making global trade flexible, easy, and accessible for everyone by using most advanced software platform

Supply chain management has been an integral part of every company and organization, no matter its size. Supply chain management pertains to the activity of managing the movement of materials or product throughout an organization while also maximizing customer value and achieving/maintaining a sustainable competitive advantage. Inventory management and keeping track of finished goods is also an essential aspect of the supply chain and is extremely important to profitability and cost reduction. Overall, there is no reason ever to believe that supply chain management is not crucial to any operation or company. SCM easily covers areas of design, planning, execution, control, and monitoring supply chain activities to create net value, maintaining a competitive advantage, leveraging worldwide logistics, and more.

Flexport is one such firm that brings together advanced technology and data analytics, logistics infrastructure, and supply chain expertise to deliver a dramatically better experience. Flexport is changing this with a strategic operating model for modern businesses that power more transparent, more agile, efficient, and profitable global supply chains. It gives businesses what they've never had before with their freight forwarders: Deep visibility and control from origin to destination, fast and reliable transit times, and low and predictable supply chain costs. First to market in 2013 with purpose-built cloud software and data analytics platform, Flexport today serves more than 10,000 clients in over 100 countries. The firm offers a full range of services, including ocean, air, truck and rail freight, drayage, compliance, financing, and insurance, all informed and powered by its software platform.

Flexible products and services furnished by Flexport

Ocean Shipping: From simple FCL shipments to splitting LCL shipments to multiple destinations, Flexport has direct contracts across all major alliances, ensuring your cargo sails on the schedules you need with carriers you can trust. And with Flexport's network of GPS-tracked vessels and third-party data, you get greater end-to-end visibility. The firm offers access to hundreds of FCL sailings that work with the dynamics of your supply chain. With services that span between 10 to 50 days, they have teams at origin and destination that can help you optimize each shipment for cost, route, or transit time. The company has direct contacts across all significant alliances, ensuring your cargo sails on the schedules you need with carriers you can trust. And with Flexport's network of GPS-tracked vessels and third-party data, you get greater end-to-end visibility.

Data-Powered Transit Time: Flexport delivers transit time estimates based on an advanced data model that incorporates carrier schedule information, historical shipment data such as port dwell time, and real-world conditions such as the distance between the port and final destination, to empower more accurate supply chain planning.

LCL Shipping Services and Options: Conventional LCL can be unpredictable. But with Flexport, you get access to a homegrown, exclusive, client-only LCL network that spans nearly 500 nodes across the world, optimized for speed, visibility, and safety. Flexport's LCL network offers unmatched connectivity and cadence across major shipping routes while enabling its clients to optimize working capital by procuring inventory on demand. Clients benefit from the combined scale of the entire Flexport customer community when they ship on the LCL network. The firm uses technology to make shipping smoother, digitizing every client's data and vetting shipments to reduce the risk of customs inspections and delays. And by looking at performance data, they can advise on ports, terminals, and sailing schedules that move your LCL to its destination faster and more efficiently.

Air Freight Service: Delivering your airfreight on time is critical. With Flexport's technology platform and data integrations, you get real-time visibility, from shipper pickup to final mile delivery. And with dedicated, global teams monitoring air shipments 24/7, the firm proactively makes sure your time-sensitive cargo arrives at its final destination as planned. The company uses proprietary technology optimizes for the best routing, pricing, and delivery timelines, supporting the full order-to-cash cycle. Every supply chain is unique, so it offers express, standard, and deferred services to accommodate your delivery timeline.

The formidable leader

Ryan Petersen is the Founder and also serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Flexport.  Before starting Flexport to fix the user experience in global trade, Ryan was co-founder and CEO of ImportGenius.com, a data-as-a-service business for global shipping. He holds a degree in economics from the University of California, Berkeley, and an MBA from Columbia University.

"We're building the first Operating System for Global Trade, a strategic operating model that combines technology, logistics infrastructure, and hands-on supply chain expertise."