[EN-SEA] "INTTRA" Expands Asian Network, Pours VC Money Into Region

E-COMMERCE software systems provider INTTRA, now sold to and private equity firm by its one-time carrier owners, has announced its expansion in Asia, fuelled by fresh investment.

Private equity firm ABS Capital Partners has invested US$30 million and taken over most of the company its carrier owners, which has funded the expansion that will see the opening of a development centre in China and a new office in Japan.

Formed by carriers in 2000 to create efficiencies to enable shippers to book cargo electronically, INTTRA had been owned by a carriers' group until ABS bought a majority stake.

INTTRA also announced further expansion of its global development and service centre in Singapore.

Volume growth in container orders initiated on the platform across the region has averaged more than 80 per cent in the past two years, said a company statement.

To serve this continued increase INTTRA recently signed a long term agreement with Dextrys, a premier US-based China outsourcing firm delivering product engineering and application services, to establish an Offshore Development Centre in China providing additional product development, testing and engineering services to its customers.

"We are seeing a significant increase in new customers in the Asian market who are using INTTRA's e-commerce platform to increase efficiencies and reduce transaction costs.

Our Offshore Development Centre in China will help us to significantly expand our product development capabilities and technology presence in China," said INTTRA chief executive Ken Bloom, speaking in Hong Kong.

INTTRA now has more than 60 employees at its global development and service centre in Singapore where engineering and Quality Assurance teams are based, providing clients with 24/7 coverage in conjunction with colleagues in New Jersey.

Additionally, INTTRA has confirmed that it will be opening a new office in Tokyo to provide local support to customers in Japan.

"In the last 12 months in the China-Hong Kong region we have had a 46 per cent increase in our INTTRA Link (I-Link) product. There is a growing awareness within the industry of the value of using a single platform to manage and execute a range of ocean carrier transactions," Mr Bloom said.

INTTRA Link is an integration service that offers customers with a high volume of shipping transactions the option of using XML or EDI to link their systems with carriers.

INTTRA is provider of e-commerce software systems to the ocean freight industry and work with 30 carriers and their customers to standardise their shipping processes worldwide through a network of over 20,000 corporate locations.

More than 300,000 container orders are initiated on the INTTRA platform each week, representing more than 10 per cent of global ocean container trade.

Source : HKSG, 30.03.10.