Client
Our client has been a leader in global trade for over 150 years, using their local knowledge and expertise to make port calls and trade operations smooth and easy. They have offices in nearly 70 countries, with professionals who offer a range of services to different sectors and organizations worldwide. Their service is safe, transparent, and exceptional.
Our client uses real-time port data and advanced technology to provide valuable market and port intelligence. This helps their customers focus on their core business and make informed decisions.
Challenge
Before leaving port, a ship requires various services, which our client delivers through a combination of internal teams and authorized external providers.
Details for each service, such as the type and cost, are kept in a centralized hub so that invoices can be emailed to ship owners. However, ships typically require many different services in each port, requiring our client to manually gather and send multiple vendor invoices for payment.
The problem was made worse by the fact that several teams were involved in each request, causing difficulties in coordination and communication gaps. Moreover, the team had to manually check payment status with the payment team and fix any payment settlement issues before finishing tasks.
To address the need for improved processes and user experience, the client partnered with Hexaware to build a new application that would enable agents to create service tasks, generate invoices, and handle financial transactions easily.
Solution
The client chose the OutSystems development platform, which we used to create a new application to improve local operations, such as handling all services and costs that arise when a ship docks at a port.
Ship operators advance the money for the expenses to port agents. The client’s value proposition includes real-time clarity into how these expenditures are spent and quick settlement to ensure that accounts are closed as soon as possible. The goal was to have one global system for disbursement accounts and make it adaptable to fit country and port-specific requirements.
Port agents receive requests from ship owners and generate corresponding service requests. Using location and vessel configuration data, the system automatically generates the necessary services for these requests. Once services are added to the request, both internal and external teams issue invoices for the services provided to the vessel. As agents progress the request to the final disbursement stage, all invoices stored in the cloud for each service are seamlessly consolidated into the final disbursement document. The final invoice is then sent to the ship owners for payment via the finance system.
An inter-application communication system was created to enable teams to collaborate on receiving updates and following up with teams to conclude jobs. This functionality allows the reporting team to receive categorized reports based on query aging in real time. The key highlights for the solution are:
- The application enabled operational and financial port call management transparency.
- Integrated master data, finance, and invoicing systems for smoother transactions.
- Created a centralized back-office gateway for configuring and maintaining master data and finance systems integration settings.
- Automated the generation of expense statements & invoices to various clients.
- Automated the stitching of internal and external invoices and generated unified disbursement invoices.
- Created a system for inter-application communication to track work progress and customer request status.
- Enabled tracking of the final disbursement delivery invoices to customers and confirmed the final payment to close the jobs effectively.
Customized applications for ~70 countries and 2,500 foreign ports
Benefits
- With the new solution, agents could generate over 1000 port calls monthly.
- The agents could generate the invoices 50% faster than before, reducing operational expenses.
- As this was rolled out to 68 countries, customers could experience a 3X increase in service agility.
Summary
This case study delves into how our client, a longstanding leader in global trade facilitation, transformed their port call management using the OutSystems development platform. Their challenge involved manual processes and coordination complexities in managing service tasks, invoices, and financial transactions.
The solution involved developing a robust application on the OutSystems platform. This application streamlined operations by automating task creation, invoice generation, and inter-application communication. It seamlessly integrates with finance systems, enabling the creation of unified disbursement invoices and enhancing transparency in expenditure allocation and reconciliation.
The benefits were substantial. The new solution enabled agents to generate over 1000 port calls monthly and reduced invoice generation time by 50%, leading to notable cost savings and operational efficiencies. Overall, the OutSystems development platform’s customization capabilities and finance system integration revolutionized the client’s port call management, delivering a transparent, efficient, and cost-effective solution.
