December 2023 product roundup: freight rates, days off quay and new look tracking cards

We’re capping off an exciting year of releases including air freight tracking, Live Boards and Doc Manager with a few more additions to the Beacon platform.

Our latest releases include the addition of ocean container spot rate tracking, days off quay reporting, a new look for shipment cards and the introduction of single sign-on (SSO). Keep reading for a full rundown of what’s new, and a teaser of what’s to come in 2024. 

Plan better with ocean container spot rates

In partnership with Xeneta, we’ve brought the Xeneta Shipping Index by Compass (XSI® - C) directly into the planning section of your Beacon dashboard. XSI® - C allows you to track historical spot rates across major trade lanes. Equipped with this information you can make informed decisions about whether relying on contract rates or spot rates is best for your business.

Days off quay

Building on the existing ability to track days on quay and avoid demurrage costs, you can now also see exactly how many days a container has remained in your custody outside of the port. With improved visibility into days off quay, you can be alerted when containers are at risk of incurring detention charges and work with your road haul and warehouse partners to get them moving. 

New look shipment cards 

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Shipment cards have a new look and feel. You can now easily visualize the route your goods are taking, understand where they are and view live ETDs and ETAs at both port and warehouse. The chat and paper clip icons will show you when documents have been associated with a shipment or comments have been made via a Live Board. 

Single sign-on (SSO)

Beacon can now integrate with Microsoft Active Directory SSO to make it easier to provide and control access to your Beacon account. Get in touch for more details on our SSO capabilities. 

Coming soon: road freight tracking 

First came ocean, then came air, and early next year we’re introducing road freight visibility. Have road shipments you want to track? Get in touch at support@beacon.com to request beta access.