Latin American Exporters Achieve Key Milestone

July 10, 2006

Companies Throughout Region Now Use INTTRA Portal to Process More Than 100,000 Container Orders a Month

Miami, Florida, July 5, 2006 – Latin American exporters continue their drive for world-class efficiency, and now, collectively, use INTTRA, the world’s largest e-commerce platform for the ocean industry, for more than 100,000 container orders a month, demonstrating accelerating
e-commerce adoption across the region.

Jim Freeman, INTTRA’s Managing Director, Latin America region, is witnessing widespread
e-commerce adoption in Brazil, Chile and Argentina with e-commerce gathering momentum in Uruguay, Mexico, Peru, Panama and Colombia.  Freeman says the region’s ocean carriers, Hamburg Süd, Aliança, MSC, CMA CGM, Hapag-Lloyd, Maersk Line, and Safmarine, “have been pivotal in helping their customers achieve this important ‘100k’ milestone.”

“This impressive milestone is one to be shared by the entire shipping community:  A lot of credit goes to the exporters and their carriers, particularly Hamburg Süd who early on saw the advantages that e-commerce could offer and quickly embraced them. Everyone understands that technology alone does not create success; there is a significant element of change management involved.” said Freeman.

Freeman cites Perdigao -- one of the largest food companies and exporters in Latin America – as an example of how readily Latin American companies are embracing e-commerce tools.  Based in Brazil, with offices in Europe, the Middle East and Far East, Perdigao exports poultry, and chilled and frozen foods worldwide.  In 2003, the company needed an e-commerce platform that would support their planned, global business expansion.

According to Anderson Souza, an export analyst for Perdigao, the company selected INTTRA because it provided one system and one central location to handle all ocean shipping needs, from making bookings to verifying the Bill of Lading.  Now, instead of going to different carrier Web sites or creating individual EDI connections to each of the carriers, Perdigao uses one Web site and established a single EDI connection to INTTRA, giving them access to more than 22 different ocean carriers.  Further, Mr. João Oneda, Logistic Manager says, “The most important thing for us is to increase the service level to our customers. An industry portal like INTTRA is a good example of how we bring our integrated Logistics Supply Chain vision into reality.”
Freeman lauds Perdigao and many other Latin American companies for “changing their processes to enjoy the benefits that e-commerce can offer them.  Perdigao is representative of many companies in Latin America that are embracing e-commerce and recognizing its benefits.”
From a carrier point of view, Mr. Rodrigo Urbina, Customer Service, Hamburg Süd Chile, says with INTTRA, “customers feel more secure and organized when they send their bookings through the Web site or desktop. They also receive their B/Ls electronically increasing customer satisfaction.” Thiago Lopes, Marketing Department Coordinator for MSC Mediterranean Shipping do Brasil, Ltda, Sao Paulo, Brazil says “We believe that INTTRA plays an important role in creating a favorable customer experience in the maritime market. The ability to get the proper information quickly and efficiently to the customer is a powerful key to provide quality in our services, to deliver value in our processes, and to share new opportunities with our customers and partners.”
  
Vinicius Dias, e-commerce support manager in Brazil for CMA CGM do Brasil Agência Marítima, Sao Paulo, says CMA CGM Group is a big backer of e-commerce. “INTTRA facilitates our work. Through INTTRA, the customer can request, amend and cancel the bookings whenever they want via the Internet.  They can utilize tools such as track and trace and schedules without calling the carrier to help them, and make reports, as well.  This allows carriers to dedicate ourselves to providing better service.”

Besides Perdigao, other Latin American shippers are also benefiting from INTTRA.  For example, Enrique Tellez Landart, Director General of Hoyer Global, Inc. in Mexico City, Mexico, says that INTTRA, “is one of the main tools of my job.  INTTRA cuts down the time of response needed for bookings requests, reports, track and trace of equipments in transit.  Also, I can access INTTRA as many times as I need without time limits.”

Whether the customer is a freight forwarder, shipper, customs broker or carrier, Freeman says INTTRA’s rapid growth in Latin America can be attributed to “excellent customer support, the simplicity of INTTRA’s tools, and the convenience of an industry portal with access to carriers through one connection.”

About INTTRA

INTTRA, founded in 2000 and headquartered in Parsippany, N.J., is a leading global provider of
e-commerce solutions to ocean carriers and their customers.  INTTRA professionals work with customers to streamline and standardize their shipping processes, applying their e-commerce knowledge of the shipping industry for customers in markets worldwide.

INTTRA’s e-commerce platform offers a comprehensive range of e-commerce tools, including: Tender, Sailing Schedules, Booking, Shipping Instructions, Bill of Lading, Track & Trace, and Reports.  Accessing the INTTRA platform is simple, using any combination of their channel solutions: INTTRA-Link (EDI-based, system-to-system connection), INTTRA-Desktop (off-line PC application), or INTTRA-Act (web-based application).

INTTRA’s carrier network includes, Aliança, ANL, CMA CGM, CSAV, CSAV NORASIA,  Deutsche Afrika-Linien, FESCO, Hamburg Süd, Hapag-Lloyd, "K" Line, Libra, Maersk Line, MCC Transport Pte Ltd., MISC, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A., NYK Line, Safmarine, Senator Lines and United Arab Shipping Company.  The INTTRA carrier network represents over 61% of the container capacity among the world’s top ocean carriers.

For further information visit www.inttra.com.  Or contact Andy Barrons, INTTRA Vice President of Marketing, at 973.263.5100 or email him at: andy.barrons@inttra.com