%201.svg){kind=small}
The Company
The customer is a privately run fresh produce exporter based in the Asia-Pacific region, with vertically integrated operations spanning orchards, packhouses, cold storage, logistics, and global sales.
The company exports high-value fruits such as apples, squash, and cherries to more than 50 customers across 30+ countries. With highly perishable cargo, speed, accuracy, and reliability across ocean freight movements are critical to preserving product quality and meeting customer SLAs.
To manage this complexity, the exporter uses Portcast's predictive visibility platform to align logistics, finance, and sales teams around accurate, real-time shipment intelligence.
The Challenges
Before adopting Portcast, the exporter faced several operational and financial challenges:
Limited Shipment Visibility
With little visibility into vessel movements, ETA accuracy was low, and confidence suffered. Teams were forced into reactive discussions, consuming valuable time and resources.
Payment and Cash Flow Misalignment
Customer payment terms were tied to arrival dates, but inaccurate ETAs meant invoices were issued too early or, at times, after the actual arrival. This created customer frustration, impacted cash flows, and added financial risk.
Unreliable Schedules and Port Congestion
Frequent port congestion and carrier schedule changes made planning difficult. During periods of global disruption, including COVID-related delays at major export gateways, uncertainty escalated, and customer confidence suffered.
The Solution
The exporter partnered with Portcast to regain control and introduce predictability across its supply chain.
API Integration for Real-Time ETAs
Portcast’s predictive ETA data was integrated directly into the company's logistics and finance systems. This replaced static schedules with live, data-driven ETAs and aligned invoicing and payment workflows with actual shipment progress.
Proactive Insights and Alerts
Automated email reports flagged container delays, allowing sales to update customers before issues escalated, prevent demurrage and detention costs, and strengthen customer relationships.
Workflow Alignment with Existing Systems
Portcast was embedded into the exporter's existing cloud-based operational tools and BI dashboards. Sales teams shared live tracking links with customers, while operations teams used performance dashboards for internal reviews and discussions with carriers.
Data-Backed Carrier Negotiations
Historical and real-time carrier performance data enabled the exporter to benchmark transit reliability, shift volumes where needed, and hold shipping lines accountable using objective data.
The Impact
The exporter saw clear improvements across finance, operations, and customer experience:
Financial Clarity and Cash Flow Confidence
Accurate arrival predictions aligned invoicing with reality, giving the finance team clear visibility into overdues and exposure across USD 100M+ in annual revenue. This improved confidence across internal teams, banking partners, and growers.
Greater Efficiency in Operations
With reliable data, internal disputes and customer frustrations around invoicing “just went away.” What used to take up two full meetings per week is now resolved in 5–10 minutes, freeing leaders to focus on growth.
Stronger Customer Trust
Early alerts allowed sales teams to communicate delays before customers were impacted. This reduced friction, avoided unnecessary demurrage charges, and reinforced customer confidence.
Greater Leverage with Carriers
With trusted performance benchmarks, the exporter could negotiate with shipping lines using evidence rather than assumptions, improving service accountability.
Testimonial
"Portcast helped us align ETAs with reality. Once that happened, the noise around payments disappeared. We finally had clarity on our exposure and could manage cash flow with confidence. What used to dominate hours of internal meetings each week has now become a non-issue. We can focus on the right discussions with customers and hold carriers accountable with data we trust.”
— General Manager, Operations
