The online freight calculation service on the Agora Freight website is the tip of the iceberg, the showcase of the digital platform. In fact, its operation is provided by a specially developed and carefully configured set of programmes, in other words, a forwarding engine. It can apply to our network of logistics partners’ systems around the world in real time and obtains up-to-date rates in order to build the optimal route by various types of transport, if necessary, with the involvement of several types.
Agora Freight was founded in 2016 out of the sheer frustration of traditional freight forwarding practices and in particular the quotations and bookings processes which as we all know involves multiple email to vendors, a quotation, depending on the complexity can take several days to complete.
It was our clear objective to become one of the leading digital forwarders for cross-Eurasian trade. We understood back then that digitalisation was the only way forward and set up our digital rates and booking system we did in conjunction with a well-known international IT company.
From 2016 to 2019 many thousands of hours of programming took place followed by Beta testing.
In 2018 we attracted a major seed investment round to expedite the development of the system.
Since then and thanks to our in-house IT team the platform continues to develop rapidly with additional functionality being added almost weekly.
Now for most of incoming inquiries we can quote almost instantly.
During this year we plan to increase our automatic quotation to at least 90% of incoming requests for various countries.
Our platform is a natural fit for the industry.
We aggregate the best rates across all transportation modes (air, land, and sea) from carriers and agents in 90+ countries.
We are the only digital player globally to bring smaller forwarders to our platform. They serve their geographies well, enabling us to scale the geography of our operations without investing in the own offices or capacity.
Agora Freight is an end-to-end service – we are responsible for the shipment from collection to delivery.
We can now communicate with clients and forwarders via API, and we welcome our agents and similar-minded companies overseas to participate with rate contributions.
We already have over 100 agents and carriers contributing rates.
Very few forwarders have an API for pricing, but for those who don’t, they can upload and maintain their rates, directly, in their personal area within the system.
For small and medium size forwarders, with limited resources to digitalise, it’s a big challenge, both in terms of time and cost. However, our agents can now join the digital revolution with zero investment by participating and being visible on the platform.
Provided that we have in excess of 15,000 potential clients visiting our website monthly, our platform becomes a new and inexpensive sales channel.
Alternatively, agents can simply use the systems to dramatically speed up their quotation process, to satisfy their client’s requests and, therefore, make themselves more efficient, which has the added bonus of freeing up staff to focus on client satisfaction.
For each specific cargo, the algorithm brings together various mechanisms for calculating rates (per kg, tonne, cube, container, etc.) in different types of transportation (road, sea, air, rail). As a result, our engine does the routine work of a professional logistician in seconds, which usually takes hours or even days.
Integration via API gives our IT platform access to real rates, routes and schedules of carriers, as well as allowing you to track your cargo in real time — this feature is available to our customers in their personal area on our platform.
The results of online calculations on our portal are not a rough estimate of the cost, but specific solutions, while all prices are relevant on the date of the inquiry.
Enter the route, weight, and dimensions of cargo.
Choose the most suitable options for the shipment of your cargo.
Submit your booking which will be immediately assigned to one of our specialists who will manage everything from there.
Track your cargo in your personal area, automatic e-mail or sms notifications on status changes may be switched on.
