Note from EditorWelcome to this month’s Magaya Insider.
If you have been looking for an easy way to offer cargo insurance to your customers, the solution
is here. Now you can process cargo insurance for shipments right from your Magaya software.
See this month’s how-to article and start offering this valued-added service to your customers.
Keeping an eye on your business is crucial to running it well. NVOCC and freight forwarder
Independent Ocean Services (IOS) of Manhattan uses their Magaya Cargo System to get an
overview of their business so they can anticipate any potential situations with shipments. Read
how in this month’s case study.
In the WorksMagaya Cargo Insurance
A new feature in Magaya software gives you the option to offer cargo insurance to your
customers to cover their shipments. Purchasing the insurance certificate is done right from your
Magaya system, saving you time because all the shipment data is transferred to the insurance
screen. The cargo insurance is an open All Risk policy, underwritten by Navigators Insurance
Company, providing excellent rates and a revenue opportunity.
The Benefits of Using the Magaya Cargo Insurance Plug-In
• Submit insurance declarations and request special projects directly from your Magaya
system, eliminating redundant data entry
• Cost premiums and resale premiums are automatically calculated, and the charges are
automatically generated within your Magaya system
• A certificate is issued for each shipment and attached as a PDF
• Completely automated and available 24/7
• Create reports in the Magaya insurance portal for shipments by day, week, month, etc.
• In the portal see details of certificates issued for statistical reporting
This new feature is available now. See this month’s how-to article to learn more.
November 2010
In the Works
Magaya Cargo Insurance
How to
How to Use Magaya Cargo
Insurance
Case StudyIndependent OceanServices
Steps to Purchase Cargo Insurance for your Customers:
1. Process your shipment as usual.
2. In the Shipment screen, click the Cargo Insurance button to
buy the cargo insurance for the shipment. (Alternative: Click
the Actions button and select Cargo Insurance > Buy Cargo
Insurance.)
3. In the Insurance Certificate Request screen, some information
will be completed. Enter the following:
• Select the “Conditions of Insurance”: This is the type of
coverage you want.
• Select the “Assured”. This can be the consignee, the customer
who is buying the insurance policy, or other party.
• Select the “Shipment Type”.
• The field “Loss Payable to” is the party who will be paid if
damage occurs to the cargo.
• Select a surveyor. The system shows you options of surveyors
who will inspect claims.
• The Categories of Interest field is the commodities in the
shipment. Click the button with the three dots and select
the Commodity Type from the list. You can narrow the list to
display only approved commodities. If a commodity requires a
Special Project request, the list will display “Yes” in the Special
Projects column. See the section on applying for special
projects for more.
• The “Cargo Value” and “Freight Income” fields are filled in from
the shipment. Changes can be made if needed.
How To Page 1
Offer your Customers Cargo Insurance Right from your Magaya System
Would you like to offer cargo insurance to your customers
and process it right from your Magaya system? The Magaya
Cargo Insurance feature enables you to do just that. It has
two parts that work together: a cargo insurance screen in
your Magaya system and Magaya insurance portal, which is
linked to your Magaya system.
Magaya Cargo Insurance provides excellent rates and
reliable coverage with an open All Risk policy, offering more
coverage than the limited liability from carriers. This how-to
article explains how to purchase the cargo insurance in your
Magaya system for your customers’ shipments and how to
use the Magaya insurance portal.
Steps to Configure your Magaya System to Process Cargo Insurance Requests
1. Go to Maintenance > Configuration > Cargo Insurance
2. Check the box in the Configuration screen to enable cargo
insurance.
Make any changes to the default configuration as needed for
your business. For example, the Resale Markup can be a percent
or a flat rate; select the type and enter the amount.
Premiums are paid to Magaya Corporation Premium Account,
which is collecting the insurance premiums on behalf of the
insurance broker.
In the General settings section, you can set your system to allow
the certificate to be viewable internally in your company or
to allow customers to see it via Magaya LiveTrack. Additional
checkboxes apply to the Magaya users to allow or limit their
ability to void declarations, create special projects, and to force
the system to request their credentials before the user submits
a transaction. Save your settings.
How To Page 2
• The “Estimated Insurance” is calculated based on the freight
and the cost (calculated by adding value and freight, dividing
the total by 100, and multiplied by rate). This amount is used for
the next field, the “Sum Insured”.
• The “Sum Insured” is the total of the Cost, Insurance and Freight
(CIF) plus 10%.
• The Premium is your cost (is divided by 100 and multiplied by
the rate), and the Resale Premium (this includes your markup
amount) is the amount you will charge the customer (as set up
in the Configuration menu).
• The fields for “Commodity/Description of Goods” and for
“Marks and Numbers” are optional.
• Click Save & Next.
The next screen is a summary of the request. Verify data and make
any changes needed before sending.
The request for a certificate is sent from your system to the
insurance broker for review. A copy of the certificate is attached as
a PDF to the shipment in the Attachments tab. There is no charge
for the certificate. If any changes are needed, the insurance broker
or insurance company will contact you.
When the purchase is complete, the cargo insurance button icon
changes to show the lock closed with a checkmark.
Apply for a Special Project
If a commodity is not on the list of Approved Commodities,
request a Special Project for it:
1. Click the arrow on the side of the Cargo Insurance button and
select “Apply for Special Project”.
2. In the Special Project Request screen, fill in the following fields:
• The Assured is the customer whose cargo requires the
special project. This field can be left blank so the cargo can
be approved for any customer.
• The Interest field is used to describe the cargo. The Interest
Brief Name summarizes the cargo.
• Packing indicates the type of packaging such as a custom
crate.
• Select the Voyage From (origin) and Voyage To (destination)
• The Annual Turnover is the total value of all pieces of this
type of cargo that can be shipped in one year.
• Enter the sum to be insured for each shipment.
• Select the Conditions (the coverage) you want.
• Check the box when you read the terms.
3. Click Save & Next to go to the next screen. The next screen is
a summary of the request. Verify the data, and return to the
previous screen to make any changes needed.
4. Send the Special Project request.
An email notification will be sent to you with the status of the
request.
When you receive the special project approval, go to your Magaya
system to purchase cargo insurance and request a certificate. Fill in
the fields in the Insurance Certificate Request screen as explained
above.
Click on the Commodities of Interest button and select the
approved special project from the list. (If you need to filter the list,
click the checkbox to show only special projects.) The information
is filled into the field automatically.
Using the Magaya Insurance Portal
The Magaya insurance portal contains information such as the
latest updates on the status of your request, a list of approved
commodities, the cargo policy, and more. There is also a section
displaying your financial information such as your premiums and
monthly activity in easy-to-use charts and graphs. Hover your
mouse over the charts, lines, and graphs for current amounts.
To access the portal the first time, a Magaya user with
administrative rights must request an insurance certificate from
the Magaya system. This will automatically generate a user name
and password.
After the initial certificate is issued, other Magaya users can
access the web portal from their Magaya system. The user name
and password for the Magaya insurance portal is the same as
the user name and password for the Magaya system for each
Magaya user. Only the admin can change user rights.
How To Page 3
The Magaya insurance portal location is:
http://insurance.magaya.com.
The opening screen of the Magaya insurance portal is the
Dashboard that shows any messages such as if you have special
projects that are pending approval.
The menu on the left side of the screen contains all the features
in the portal.
Many of the functions in the menu
are also accessible from the
buttons on the top toolbar.
Navigate through the menu by
clicking on the plus sign to expand
entries in the menu. For example
to see the surveyors (inspectors),
expand “Contact Information” and
click Surveyors. You can sort the
list to view surveyors in a specific
country by typing the country
name in the Search field. The list
can be narrowed further by using
the pop-up menu available when
you hover your mouse over any
column header. Items in the list
can be grouped or ungrouped by
clicking the “Group By” option.
Uncheck the “Enable Group View”
to return to the list view.
Invoices for premiums are created automatically. Open
Declarations are certificates that have not been paid for yet.
Billing
The Shipment Charges tab will show all charges, including the
insurance charges: your cost of the insurance and the cost for
your customer. When the shipment is liquidated, the related
accounting transactions are created for this shipment.
You pay your premiums to the premium account designated in
your Magaya system’s Configuration screen.
Once a month, you will receive an invoice from Magaya with a list
of all the certificates you issued for all the shipments and credits
for any certificates voided.
Underwriter and Authorized Agent and Broker
The cargo insurance is underwritten by Navigators Insurance
Company, rated “A” (Excellent) by A.M. Best and “A” (Stable)
by Standard & Poor’s. The insurance certificates are issued by
insurance broker and authorized agent Gil, Garden, Avetrani
Insurance Group, which offers over 35 years experience in the
marine insurance industry.
Video Tutorials Online
View cargo insurance video tutorials on Magaya.com’s Training
page for a step-by-step demonstration. To activate the cargo
insurance in your Magaya software, please call Magaya
Corporation so you can start offering this valued-added service
to your customers and increase your revenue.
Concept Cargo, Miami, FL
Equipsa, Inc., Miami, FL
Faster Services Corp., Hialeah, FL
Fenix Freight, Miami, FL
Forbis Logistic Corp., Doral, FL
Magnabyte Latin America, Miami, FL
Rome International, Doral, FL
TAM Linhas Aereas, Miami, FL
Armada AVS Corp., Carson, CA
Allied International Shipping Inc.,
Jamaica, NY
DMS America JFK, Jamaica, NY
Williams Caribbean Shipping &
Delivery Services Inc., Brooklyn, NY
Aeromodal, The Woodlands, TX
Sciora Trading AG, Zug, Switzerland
Lozada Transport Service,Falls Church, Virginia
YS International, Mississauga, Ontario
InterAtlas Chemical Inc., St. Catharines, Ontario
AFX do Brasil, São Paulo,Brazil
Capital Chile, Santiago, Chile
In Central America, South America and the Caribbean:
In Europe:
In North America:
Magaya Corporation welcomes the following 19 new customers to the Magaya Community:
New Customers
Bird’s Eye View – The Value of Being PreparedAnticipating Events Keeps IOS Ahead of the Curve
NVOCC and freight forwarder Independent Ocean Services (IOS) uses their Magaya Cargo System to get an overview of their business so they can anticipate any potential situations with shipments. Their customers rely on IOS to ship their cargo anywhere in the world. From the middle of the Pacific Ocean or across a desert, IOS gets the cargo there.
,,,,We gain new customers by word of mouth and, as a result, our business grows like a snowball.
Senior Vice President Thierry Lamy
CASE STUDY:
Independent Ocean Services NVOCC and Freight Forwarder
ChallengesJust as the captain of a ship relies on his knowledge of the sea and
the latest technology such as GPS, electronic charts, and radar
to know what weather is ahead, what vessel traffic conditions to
expect, and other vital information, the founders of Independent
Ocean Services (IOS) Thierry Lamy and Bernard Lugez, use their
experience and Magaya software to anticipate events and get
an overview of their business so they can be prepared with any
needed alternatives and solutions for their clients.
In 2007, Mr. Lamy and Mr. Lugez opened their NVOCC and freight
forwarding business. While they work out of a small office in
Manhattan, they have customers all over the world. Drawing on
their experience working for shipping lines, they analyzed markets
and decided to focus on exports to Africa and Central Asia because
of the opportunities there.
At first, they used another software program but soon realized
it was not answering their needs. “We had a lot of duplication of
tasks,” Mr. Lamy said. “The previous software separated operations,
documentation, and finance. Invoicing was delayed while waiting
for other data to download.”
IOS needs instant communication and exchange of shipping
information among their three offices in Manhattan, Toronto, and
Montreal. With a staff of six, they ship 2,000 TEUs per year. The
majority of their shipments are sent via ocean containers, and 20%
of their business is shipping vehicles or machineries to Africa on
Roll On Roll Off (RORO) vessels.
West African countries they ship to include Nigeria, Ghana, and
Angola. They also ship cargo to countries in Central Asia such as
Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, and to the Middle East via Dubai.
To help their staff export all this cargo, they needed reliable
software. They researched other software programs and compared
features. “We were looking for an integrated software program.
Other programs charged extra if we wanted accounting or other
features, but Magaya has all the features we need.”
To process their exports and file the necessary Customs
documents, IOS uses the Automated Export System (AES) feature
that is integrated into Magaya Software. Mr. Lamy said before
using Magaya software, they entered the cargo description in the
booking and had to re-enter everything to send it to Customs. “It
was crazy,” he said.
SolutionIOS started using the Magaya Cargo System in April 2009. Mr. Lamy
said that he and his staff use the software from the beginning
of their operations process by creating a quote in the system,
and then converting the quotation into a booking. Next they
make a shipment from the same data which is also linked to the
accounting functions in the system and populates the invoices,
bills, and other accounting transactions automatically.
“When we liquidate the shipments, all the accounting transactions
are already in the system, carried over from previous related
transactions,” Mr. Lamy explained. “We enter the charges in the
beginning of the process, and they are processed all the way
through. It has a domino effect. At every step of the process,
efficiencies are achieved because everything is integrated in the
software. The beauty of Magaya is you can enter information in
one place and reuse it.”
At a GlanceIndependent Ocean Services (IOS) www.shipios.comIndustry NVOCC and freight forwarder Solution Magaya Cargo System
Independent Ocean Services (IOS)
Independent Ocean Services (IOS) is an NVOCC and freight forwarder based in Manhattan. They also have offices in Toronto and Montreal, Canada, and export to their major markets in Africa and countries in Central Asia, and Middle East.
Cargo ship in New York Harbor
Rates and Remote LocationsThe staff at IOS use the Rates features in their software for
containers, for RORO, and for break bulk cargo. “We have entered
Standard Client Rates in the system, with starting and ending
dates. When we have a special rate for a specific customer, we use
the Client Rates.”
They also update the rates as carriers give them new rates for
freight or surcharges. They update the ports they use most often
and other markets when they are needed.
In addition to shipping vehicles, they also handle special projects
of oversized cargo such as mining equipment. For example, they
shipped over 100 containers for a customer from Alabama to
Kazakhstan to deliver equipment for a new plant that was being
built there. They arranged the ocean shipping and the land
transport of the cargo. They also sent construction equipment
from Ohio to Tanzania.
“New customers hear about us by word of mouth. They know we
can ship to remote locations. We have shipped to Timbuktu, Mali,
in West Africa and to islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
We have reliable contacts with local knowledge who help us
arrange the destination processes. They let us know what the ports
can handle and other details that help us plan the best shipping
method. This helps us avoid having cargo stuck somewhere. As we
gain new customers by word of mouth, our business grows like a
snowball,” Mr. Lamy said.
Operations and Accounting ReportsIOS runs reports in their Magaya system drawing on all the data
that is in their Magaya database to see shipment status. They can
see what is going to arrive in the destination ports, and they look
ahead for the next four weeks.
“Customers want to know the status of their shipments. We use
the report to call our customers in advance of the delivery date to
remind them that their shipment is on its way.”
Mr. Lamy said they work with their customers to find the best
shipping option for them. “We keep them updated on the status
of the shipment. We don’t just have staff sending out emails like
robots. We prefer to educate our customers and give them advice
so they are assured their cargo is being handled properly.”
Other reports they process in their Magaya system include
accounting reports such as AP, AR, Profit & Loss, Profits by
Operations, and Balance Sheet.
“We rely 100% on Magaya for accounting,” Mr. Lamy said.
Custom Fields for Vehicles and MoreIOS added custom fields to documents to gather information
specific to their business. They also customized many of the
standard documents that are included in Magaya software such as
the Bill of Lading, the invoice, dock receipt, and others.
They created a custom document to handle the shipment of
vehicles. When vehicles are shipped, the carrier wants to know
if the vehicle has been drained of gas and if the battery is
disconnected. IOS created a “Drain and Disconnect Letter” for
this purpose. They used the custom fields to create this document
which draws from the data that is in their Magaya system,
including the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN).
“It’s very easy to customize fields and documents,” Mr. Lamy said.
“We do not have to spend hours and money programming. By
creating custom fields, we improved our processes.”
Future PlansIOS plans to open a warehouse in the New York area. Since most
of the cargo IOS ships to West Africa is used cars, they can attract
more customers and stuff the containers there and ship them.
“At first we did not know if Magaya was for us, but the more we
learned we realized that it is not just for warehousing companies,
but it can handle many other operations. The software is written in
a recent language, it’s very flexible, and everything is integrated.”
Since IOS does not have their own warehouse and they do not
process ground or air shipments, they do not use those functions
in the software, but Mr. Lamy said he is glad they are there because
it helps him plan the company’s expansion. “I do not need to buy
additional software when the time comes. The features are already
there and are integrated into the Magaya chain.”
Toronto Skyline
Independent Ocean Services (IOS)