Skip to content
Press release

Xeneta and Keelvar look to revolutionize freight procurement with real-time benchmarking and sourcing optimization

Real-time benchmarking and sourcing optimization

Oslo, Norway & Cork, Ireland – 5 July 2024

Xeneta, the premier provider of ocean and air freight rate benchmarking and market analytics, together with Keelvar, a leader in intelligent sourcing optimization and automation, have announced an integration that is set to transform supply chain procurement.

This collaboration will create a seamless connection between Xeneta’s freight rate database and Keelvar’s advanced sourcing optimization platform, ensuring procurement professionals can make data-driven decisions with unparalleled accuracy and efficiency.

Keelvar's Sourcing Optimizer automates bid feedback and pricing strategies, while Xeneta provides the world’s largest real-time database of ocean and air freight rates, with over 450 million rates and 160,000 ocean port-to-port pairs. This integration enables procurement organizations to:

  • Streamline the process of comparing freight rates across carriers
  • Gain real-time market insights for informed procurement decisions
  • Achieve significant cost reductions through optimized bid strategies

Thorsten Diephaus, VP Strategic Alliances at Xeneta, said: “This collaboration is set to transform the procurement process, enabling a seamless shift from traditional methods to a more dynamic, data-driven approach. 

"By integrating Xeneta’s powerful ocean and rate data with Keelvar's innovative automation solutions, we are enhancing our customers' ability to manage both spot requests and tender handling with unprecedented efficiency and accuracy. 

"This partnership empowers businesses to optimize their procurement strategies, achieve significant cost savings, and respond swiftly to market changes. Together, Xeneta and Keelvar are at the forefront of redefining supply chain management for the modern era.”

With this powerful integration, procurement organizations can achieve two key objectives that are often difficult to balance: negotiating optimal prices for all goods and efficiently managing the complex and time-consuming process of freight rate negotiations. By automating these negotiations, the integration enables significant cost savings and operational efficiency.

Furthermore, this solution adapts to unique client needs, automates key procurement activities, reduces manual tasks, and enables quicker, more strategic decision-making.

Speaking about the integration, Eric Kim, Senior Sourcing Manager at Microsoft, said the ability to have Keelvar pull Xeneta data directly into bids is “a powerful capability that opens the door to further enhancements.

"It not only improves the bidding process but also lays the groundwork for advanced features in the future. This includes the potential for automated spot buying when market conditions, as analyzed through Xeneta, are favorable,” Mr. Kim said.

Through the integration, customers will benefit from smooth workflows between Xeneta and Keelvar systems that can:

  • Automate the import of real-time freight rate benchmarks for more accurate cost comparisons
  • Enhance bid feedback processes with current market data, improving negotiation outcomes
  • Provide comprehensive visibility into freight rate trends and market conditions

Kasia Tati, Partnership Director at Keelvar, added: "It’s a milestone for Keelvar. It’s the first API integration with a best of breed partner.

“Through the integration of our advanced sourcing capabilities within their robust data environment, we’re setting a new standard for freight procurement efficiency.

“As we continue to enhance and refine this integration, we look forward to unlocking even more value for our clients and transforming the landscape of freight procurement technology.”

For more information on the integration between Keelvar and Xeneta, download a copy of the datasheet here.

Ends

 

About Xeneta

Xeneta is the leading ocean and air freight rate benchmarking and market analytics platform transforming the shipping and logistics industry. Xeneta’s powerful reporting and analytics provide liner-shipping stakeholders with the data they need to understand current and historical market behavior—reporting live on market average and low/high movements for both short- and long-term contracts. 

Xeneta’s data is comprised of more than 450 million contracted container and air freight rates and covers 160,000 global ocean trade routes and 58,000 airport-airport connections. Xeneta is a privately held company with headquarters in Oslo, Norway and regional offices in New York and Hamburg. To learn more, please visit www.xeneta.com. Contact Xeneta for more information.

 

About Keelvar

Keelvar is moving procurement forward with best-in-breed software for intelligent sourcing optimization and autonomous sourcing, designed for easy adoption, scalability, and productivity, Keelvar’s SaaS-based award-winning solutions transform the speed and quality of supplier negotiations. The company’s AI and machine learning-based products are delivering results for 100+ blue-chip global companies across logistics, direct materials, and indirect spends optimizing over $100bn in spend annually. Contact Keelvar for more information.

Say goodbye to freight rate uncertainty with real-time data

Every second, our platform processes 450M+ data points from the world's largest shipping companies for unmatched, real-time market intelligence.