CCL Logistics & Technology has launched a retooled tech platform designed to support the sea freight industry under former Google supply chain lead Tony Wringe, who joined the company last year as Chief Technology Officer (CTO).
Tony Wringe joined CCL from Google where he was Global Client Partner for global supply chain and logistics, advising companies like Danish shipping giant Maersk. Previous to Google, Wringe was a Director in Deloitte’s Financial Advisory M&A Technology team in Edinburgh, and prior to that led the Deloitte Technology Consulting programme delivery team for cloud and infrastructure transformation, including a multi-year, global digital transformation programme for A.P. Moller-Maersk,. This followed Wringe’s former career as an Intelligence and Security Operator with the British Army.
CTO Wringe said: “What we know, and what our customers were telling us, was that they faced a myriad of challenges around sea freight ordering and tracking due to the lack of standardisation across the sea freight industry. Global ports and shipping desperately need to modernise like the airlines did decades ago. Businesses of all sizes need to know exactly where their shipment is and when it’s going to be delivered, together with full end-to-end emissions data.”
“By knowing when the goods are going to arrive, and the ability to manage demurrage and detention costs, this massively improves planning and cost control. Some of the global carriers are only now trying to address these issues, and will likely spend hundreds of millions of dollars and take years to deliver technology solutions we are already bringing to our customers. Most importantly, we can put this technology in the hands of smaller organisations who might not otherwise be able to afford it.”
CCL’s new platform incorporates port to port GPS vessel tracking, provides accurate data in real time, and has carbon tracking built in. CCL’s CEO Callum Bastock said: “We think we’ve now got the best-of-class technology when you look across the entire industry. That’s testament to our team, how we’ve listened to our client base, and delivered a game-changing product.”
To date CCL has invested over £10m in its technology offering and now has over 40 people working in its Innovation Centre in Bellshill, with headcount numbers expected to grow over the next few years, supported by a £3 million R&D grant secured from Scottish Enterprise in 2019.
The company plans to build new product features, while continuing to invest in existing products including multi-modal tracking, warehouse productivity, customer delivery experience, and a supply chain CO2 emission calculator.
In August, the Scotland-headquartered logistics specialist reported a 23 percent uplift in revenue to £29.5 million in the year to 31st December, while growing headcount to 110.