July 2021 – Starting this month, five exporters of fresh fruits and vegetables from Latin America, which together handle 9,000 containers a year, will begin to use the first Export Management System on the market created for produce.
It is Cargo Produce, a technology startup based in Austin (Texas) that seeks to digitize the first mile of Produce (the one that starts at the origins until the container reaches the destination port).
Cargo Produce has developed a web platform where all the actors involved in the supply chain of its clients can be connected effectively, in an orderly manner and with all the documentation within a single tool. During this year, the company will promote the launch and commercial expansion to the export markets of LATAM and the U.S.
“There are many exporters who are not calm with the fact that the communication of everything that happens from the moment the container leaves the plant at origin until it reaches the destination port, relies on emails, Excel spreadsheets and WhatsApps,” said Joaquín Rodriguez Montero, CRO and co-founder of Cargo Produce.
“We are talking about tracking and controlling millions of dollars in inventory using basic tools for the level of challenges facing the industry.”
“Our technology allows us to collect and compare data that influences the container journey, such as port congestion, weather, etc., and thus obtain an updated ETA in real time. If the status changes, for example, due to the loss of connection in a transshipment port, we will know it immediately and the client will too. Most importantly, our level of granularity of information reaches down to our customers’ SKUs. It is useless to just know that a container will arrive a week later than planned; our clients need to know in a click that this container has boxes packed for their client X, of a certain caliber and for a specific promotion”, explained Rodriguez Montero.
The carbon footprint has become a key issue in international trade, that is why Cargo Produce offers its clients the automatic calculation of it through the platform together with the possibility of neutralizing it by retiring Carbon Credits from organizations such as Terra, Gold Standard, on their behalf in just 1 click.
“When selecting a software we understand that the coexistence with the current systems of companies is key and challenging.”
On this, the CRO of Cargo Produce, says its platform “coexists perfectly with the legacy systems of our clients, and that in 11 days it is ready to start operating, and best of all, without friction with the current IT structure that they possess”.
“Comparing data from different exporters and importers of fresh fruits and vegetables, we have noticed that the work effort required for the first mile represents 70% of the entire international supply chain. Certainly, any efficiency achieved here will have a positive impact on the sale of fruit in world markets (last mile)”.
To learn more about the platform, you can access www.cargoproduce.com and schedule a demo.
