WHAT CAN FORWARDERS LEARN FROM AIRBNB?

Byline: FLORIAN FRESE

Would you ever search for "accommodation in Barcelona" on Google or ask strangers on Facebook for a place to stay when you take your wife on a weekend trip to the beautiful city of Barcelona? Of course, you won't do that because how can you trust some one that you have never seen before? To make a long story short: this is why Airbnb exists! They make it easy to rent a private room, ensure a high level of trust, guarantee payments and show ratings, reviews and pictures of the flat you're about to rent. While people find it easy to book things like accommodation online, they still share their stock lists on LinkedIn or send random, cold emails to find new partners in container logistics.

FINDING PARTNERS IN CONTAINER LOGISTICS IS BROKEN

Traditionally, freight forwarders have needed to attend conferences to find new partners, ask people in their existing network "if they know anyone" or search on LinkedIn O and sometimes even send bulk emails to their mailing list with low chances of success. The old way of finding partners might work to an extent, but nowadays we have more options (thank you, Digitalization!) O because what do you do if none of your peers on LinkedIn know someone who could help you? Start from scratch with research on Google, reach out to potential partners and set up legal agreements, etc. Managing several different stakeholders involves sending hundreds of emails back and forth, is error-prone and risky. As freight forwarders we're not part of the only industry that has to digitize their services. Just look at the banking industry (SWIFT system) or Airbnb... but how did they do it?

WHY IS AIRBNB SO SUCCESSFUL?

As in most other industries, platforms like Airbnb have come up in the last 10 years and gained huge popularity (everybody knows AirBnB, right?). They make it easy for everyone to travel, not only because it is cheap but becausethey help us trust strangers. An offer on the platform usually includes nice images, has ratings and reviews by previous guests attached so you can learn from their experience. They also manage the entire payment handling and insurance process for you. If you see a great flat in Barcelona with heaps of good ratings and good pictures, you book it if it's available. As Airbnb matches supply and demand in the travel industry, think about the following example: When going to a new country for the first time, would you rather book a room at the Hilton or a stranger's private...

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