Business owners, logistics management specialists, freight runners, software-savvy companies—we have just one thing to say to you: It’s time.

It’s time to stop scrambling to get your cargo from point A to point B. It’s time to stop booking with a multitude of companies to deliver consolidated cargo to one place, scraping for tracking information, and waiting around, in the dark, wondering if your cargo made it safely, securely, and correctly.

It’s time to revolutionize your business — and it’s time to do with an NVOCC software solution designed to make your life — and your workflows — run smoother than ever.

But before we can really get into the how-to-find-the-right-NVOCC software, we should start from the beginning. In fact, let’s get to the initial, burning question on your mind, the real reason you’re here — what exactly is an NVOCC?

 Key Takeaways

• An NVOCC—which stands for a non-vessel operating common carrier—is a company, person, or agent that organizes shipments for a company using another company’s carrier.
• Look for an NVOCC software system that enables you to easily create quick bookings for containers, FCL, and LCL on ocean carriers and receive online booking requests in a snap.
• Your NVOCC software should connect you with third-parties like INTTRA, the largest online network of ocean carriers, for optimal efficiency, visibility, and data exchange.

Let’s not dive immediately into the complicated answer, let’s go for the simple one first: An NVOCC—which stands for a non-vessel operating common carrier—is basically a company, person, or agent that organizes shipments for a company using another company’s carrier.

An even simpler definition? An NVOCC gets cargo from point A to point B for their customers by reserving spaces on planes, vessels, and all types of transportation. Think of your NVOCC as your virtual carrier who takes responsibility for shipping, tracking, and delivering your cargo, items, products, and more.

Let’s Talk NVOCC Operational Needs—What Exactly Are They?

Odds are, if you’re googling things like what is an NVOCC or what do I need from an NVOCC standpoint, or even, what’s the best NVOCC software available, you’re aiming to get a better understanding of exactly what your NVOCC operational needs are.

And you know what? You’re not alone. As a company trying to get cargo to and from a location, it’s not always clear what your needs are—especially when it comes to working with an NVOCC.

We’ve compiled a list of common NVOCC operational needs that a number of companies, businesses, freight forwarders, delivery services, and more tend to require when it comes to getting their cargo from point A to point B with an NVOCC service.

If you’re looking for an NVOCC or an NVOCC software to help you manage your company’s chain of logistics, you might have needs or requirements such as:

• Easy-to-book space in containers on planes, in vessels, or ground shipping vehicles.
• A company to help book their own Bill of Lading (a detailed list of the shipments of goods in the form of a receipt that’s to be delivered to the person consigning those goods).
• A service that helps to consolidate shipments from different customers into one container (saving time, money, and resources).
• Someone to help distinguish between containers that are LCL (less than a full container load) or FCL (full container load) in order to encourage consolidation.
• Instruction on managing your own paperwork, such as Bills of Lading (configuring, editing, updating, adding terms, and more)
• Organizing and filing documents for exportation or importation, such as quotation, booking, shipping instructions, cargo manifest, air waybill, bill of lading, invoices, and more.
• And of course, a fully-functioning, easy-to-use, intuitive app (like the Magaya Cargo System) that allows you to easily work with an NVOCC or as an NVOCC—that’s right, our app is for those who act as NVOCCs and those who need them.

Looking for a Good NVOCC Software? These Are the Features You Need

So, back to that last thing we said about a fully-functioning, easy-to-use, intuitive platform – as the industry continues to take a tight turn toward technology, it’s obvious that the tools that help NVOCCs function will also turn tech, too. That’s why employing a solid NVOCC Software solution is key.

But—and here’s the important part—not every NVOCC software solution is created equal. Like with any technology, there’s good software and bad. So, how exactly do you tell the difference? Good software should be equipped with helpful, intuitive features that make your life easier, not harder.

A good NVOCC software solution will provide you with features that help you:

• Create quick bookings for containers, FCL, and LCL on ocean carriers
• Receive online booking requests in a snap
• Relay step-by-step procedures for accomplishing cargo operations
• Easy to understand air, ocean, and ground shipment consolidations
• Exchange shipping instructions (from freight to ocean to air and back)
• Give customers real-time updates of their cargo shipments and tracking with LiveTrack plug-in. (If tracking where your cargo is at all times seems too good to be true, you’re working with the wrong NVOCC software. This should be standard on your NVOCC app).
• Quick generation of the Bill of Lading and other required shipping documents.

Take it a Step Further—Third Party Software Integrations

Of course, no comprehensive app would be complete without the space to integrate intentional, helpful apps—third-party or not—that aim to further smooth out the management of your logistical chain. For example, Magaya Supply Chain allows you to integrate third-party software that makes accounting and daily operations easier than ever.

This includes functional plug-ins such as Ocean Carrier Interface INTTRA, which allows you to connect wit your ocean carriers and send electronic verification of gross mass (which, in the biz we call eVGM). Because verifying this gross mass of shipping containers is required by the International Maritime Organizations (IMO) Safety of Life at SEA (SOLAS) amendment, this app makes it easy to connect electronically with your ocean carriers to ensure everything is consistently legal and compliant.

At Magaya, we’re proud to create functional, intuitive, and logistical software that helps you not only automate your business operation but helps to dramatically improve every facet of it possible. We know that transporting your cargo from point A to point B is an integral part of what you do and how you do it, and further, we know that the ever-changing compliance standards for NVOCC can be confusing—which is why we’ve made it our goal to design an NVOCC software app that allows your life—and your business—to run smoother.

Our customers—leaders in fields of logistics, warehousing, wholesaling, freight running, 3PL, and more—are our priority, which means that as you and your business continue to evolve, so will we. At Magaya, our passion for automating and simplifying your complex supply chain logistics doesn’t fizzle—we’re proud to serve you every step of the way (cargo transport included), and further, we’re proud to provide advanced, evolving solutions that continue to help you and your company flourish.