You’re not alone! Before joining xChange, it was not interesting enough for most companies to offer SOC Containers to their customers or find partners for empty container repositioning. Why? Finding new partners is complicated, time-consuming, and risky – especially if you have to rely on Google, ask your friends, reaching out to companies you’ve never worked with. And when you have finally found a partner, you have to set up a contract, monitor pick up and drop off releases, track your containers, calculate per diems or add insurance …
As a consequence, especially freight forwarders did not offer SOC containers often/ proactively to their customers in the past. However, their customers altogether avoid demurrage & detention (up to $400 per container per day), get exactly the container they need where they want it, and without buying or (long-term) leasing equipment.
With xChange, the situation has finally changed! Finding and managing SOCs is easy now! You can now offer SOC containers to your customers, when it makes sense, with only a few clicks. Companies like Seaco Global and Kuehne+Nagel had the same questions before they started on the platform, but quadrupled their transaction volume within a few months. You just type in your locations, find trustworthy partners (reviewed, rated, and vetted) and manage the entire transaction (including tracking, payment handling, depot communication, etc.) with a few only clicks.
How much money can I make or save with xChange
Let’s talk money! In the end, it depends on the number of deals you make on the platform, the equipment situation in your locations, and how you leverage the platform to increase service offerings for your customers.
For surplus locations, you (as a container user – mostly forwarders or NVO) get pickup credits (oftentimes more than $100 per container) from the container owner, in deficit locations you have to pay a pickup charge to get the containers. In both cases, the amount of pickup credit or charges nearly equals the SOC charge that carriers ask for to take your containers on board.
For container owners, it’s even easier: You find a partner on xChange that moves your equipment from a buying (surplus) location to a selling (deficit) location to benefit from the price arbitrage between your locations. Depending on the locations, there is a pickup credit/ charge, but the main benefit is that you find someone within a few clicks who moves your boxes for free to where your customers are.
Speaking of customers, freight forwarders use xChange the create better offers for their customers. Their customers save on demurrage & detention charges (up to $400 per day, per container), get the containers they want within no time and can monitor the deal, track their units and trust that their partner is reliable from having checked the partner & performance reviews on xChange.
