Key Benefits to the Agency

At Quantum we have analysed and understood the difficulties that the marine carriers and other stakeholders face today.
Combining our know-how of the shipping industry and state-of-the-art technological capabilities, we have developed solutions that provide the best of both worlds i.e. the out-of-the-box flexibility and well-supported packaged solutions, with the benefits of Liner Shipping domain intelligence built in.

Apart from fulfilling all operational and financial requirements of a typical ERP system, Quantum’s enterprise solutions provide a host of value-adding features that enable proactive management controls, cost management, efficiency improvements and business opportunity analysis. Thus, unlike other applications that target bottom line improvements through cost reductions, Quantum’s system also helps companies to achieve top line growth. We believe that our systems will definitely provide our customers a distinctive and sustainable competitive advantage.

Our unique domain knowledge – a combination of vast experience in strategy and analysis, and a deep understanding of systems, processes and technological expertise – all give us a special niche in the market. Our ability to apply this knowledge to a recognised need category and the talent to generate innovative concepts sets us apart from other service-providers.

Quantum's business solutions are targeted at delivering definite performance improvements, while cutting down operating costs at the same time. Through our intimate knowledge of the shipping business, we know we can help shipping organisations make the difference. With each solution, we target tangible, measurable value to our clients. Our strategic goal is ensuring clients’ profitability and that is a commitment within each value proposition.

Our expertise and our entire focus is the Container Shipping Industry (CSI) and our services can potentially span the entire transportation chain, from the Global Liner Principal through the Agencies to the Forwarder and Logistics experts.

• Designed and developed by domain specialists
• Highest value for money
• Return on investment in 2nd year
• Process and structural efficiencies
• Exponential increase in management controls
• Supply chain integration
• Integrated architecture
• Advanced analytics and financials
• Multi-line, Multi-location, Multi-currency
• Rapid customisation and implementation
• Quantum as a partner – focused ONLY on container
  shipping

Designed and developed by Domain Specialists
After hundreds of hours of analysis of the inputs gained from Agencies in all continents, our Q-MIA was built around a unique and global business model, and focused towards specific needs. This depth of understanding can only come when domain experts interact.

We have not only built a functionally complete system in the Q-MIA, but we have also brought into play solutions for the many problems, frustrations, labour intensive tasks or other “pain-points”. These bring quantum benefits.

A significant differentiator between Quantum and any other claimant to making shipping software, is that we have experienced the pain, and had total immersion in the processes, at all levels – Line, Agency, task, functional and others. We understand shipping.

Highest value for money: Feature to Cost comparative
Quantum’s solutions deliver exceptional value to its owner. This is reflected all the way through the engagement, and nowhere more so than the features that are bundled into the Q-MIA. The Agency potentially acquires an Enterprise Solution for the price of a functional software.

In delivering a bundled solution, we are able to integrate and optimise the process and the organisation, and in so doing, significantly impact operational efficiencies and profitability.

Return on Investment in 2nd year guaranteed
The Q-MIA system allows the owner to target between 25% and 40% reduction in structural costs within the first year of operation and, along with this, provides quantifiable returns from Financials, in Commercial as well as efficiency aspects.

Usage of a bank standard ‘credit management’ system significantly improves cash flow, while the focus on yield and satisfied clients moves the revenues northwards. By eliminating errors and duplications, we make the organisation leaner and more efficient.

Being based in India, not only are we able to transfer many of our operating cost benefits to you in the set-up, we can even give you a special services agreement to have your dedicated engineer on call year-round for enhancement and changes.

The typical organisation could target a benefit of 3 times project cost within 5 years of operation. Essentially, we deliver more Bang for the Buck!

Process and Structural efficiencies
Acutely aware of repetitions, duplications and inefficiencies in the shipping business, the Q-MIA has been built with a great deal of awareness of the upstream processes and the feed to the terminal ones. Data moves along the fishbone and while visible anywhere within the system, automatically populates other processes upon confirmation.

This not only gives extreme reliability of data quality, it allows the structure to integrate and eliminate process hand-offs. This makes functional groups redundant and instead focuses attention to “Lean Processes” and the quickest possible customer interaction.

Quantum’s solutions assist in eliminating errors by allowing a single point of data entry without contamination along the way. This allows focused training and quality control from which there is an enterprise-wide benefit from efficiencies. These eliminations can lead to substantial cost reductions, claim dispersal, and above all, customer satisfaction.

Quantum focuses on taking a client on a route to Six Sigma and Lean Processes.

Exponential increase in Management Controls
One of the greatest assets of our solution is that it shifts management from a reactive report-based methodology to a proactive visibility-based philosophy. It allows the managers to actively steer events to plan and best results, rather than loss recovery after an event.

Real-time data management within the system brings the supervisor, the manager or the management to the very point of transaction. Selectivity lies in the hands of those that control, and the range is based on access rights, closely managed and administered.

The management has the ability to approve critical issues like credit, budgets, rate policies, customer interactions, but thereafter, see the progression at the end of a day or period. This forms uniformity in direction, transparency and accountability at all levels.

From results, vessel performance, revenue targets and client acquisition, to loss, reasons for problems, freight outstanding, aging per client or status of individual cheques, the management or manager have the entire organisation in their sights.

Quantum believes that benefits gained in the management being involved and giving their valuable input prior and during transaction is un-quantifiable.

Supply Chain Integration
Sea transport is an integral part of a much larger distribution industry By integrating information from sea transport into the supply chain, customers will be faced with more reliable yet flexible fulfilment options and will therefore be more likely to commit to more orders.

We at Quantum understand this trend. Our solutions facilitate real time supply chain integration across the customer and supplier of a shipping company. Our Q-MIA features enable companies to share information for improved efficiencies and optimisation in both directions.

Quantum’s Enterprise Solutions help shipping companies to become key supply chain players through effective information management.

Integrated Architecture
Most systems that exist in shipping organisations today are task-specific, and have either been custom-built to suit a specific need, or are generic in providing a basic solution.

These systems typically require file transfers from one to the other module, and often, do not integrate with Legacy systems, requiring re-keying in of data and errors.

They also often cause the user to recommence a process even though an upstream process included a majority of the active process, and this process could terminate without facilitating the other.

In Quantum’s Enterprise Solutions however, these points have been studied carefully to establish the data cascade, and we have ensured our fish-bone delivers data to all dependent processes. This gives security, efficiency and process dynamics.

Advanced Analytics and Financials
Fundamental to effective Business Management is recall and the analysis of data, both active and in a comparative mode, historic or in a progress mode. The Q-MIA does this admirably.

There are reports right across the application in ‘canned’ or ‘cubed’ formats, as well as flexible creation with Analytics. The Q-MIA supports Dashboards and advanced presentation formats that present a complete synopsis of the company.
The Q-MIA is customisable to all Liner Reporting, with Quantum able to tailor the formats, EDI linkages, interfaces etc. to the client’s or Line’s needs.

The Financial modules in our systems meet the international standards, and eliminate the need for a separate system. The Q-MIA Financial is robust and comprehensive. From structuring a company’s financial system to generating accounting and financial reports, it handles all. Managing receivables and payables across the enterprise, automatic calculations of revenue and costs, auto generation and approval of financial transactions and documentation, these financial modules deliver efficiencies and at the same time maintain confidentiality.

Multi-line, Multi-location, Multi-currency
Focused on the Liner industry of today, we recognise Agency consolidation as well as operations for multiple Principals in many countries. The Q-MIA is configurable to the entire scenario, yet maintaining complete confidentiality and segregation between clients.

Any other system today will call for separate servers and configuration, which substantially adds to your hardware cost. Within the Q-MIA, multi-tasking allows back-office to process a task-job order basis but without crossing each client, whose databases are accessed via separate log-ins.

The Q-MIA may in turn be customised for “Group Management”, which would allow data aggregation and management, yet allows the HQ visibility of the entire organisation and, at the same time, be able to drill down to the transaction.

Rapid Customisation and Implementation
With an in-depth knowledge of shipping processes and a team of experts in the fields of domain technology and change management, customisation of our solutions is a very rapid task and highly economical as well. The software industry in India has made a name for itself on fast-track development and we have the means to do just the same.

Rollout in any location is equally quick, with our format of on-site / off-shore working, which ensures that we come on site with a 99.5% fit. This is economical and extremely efficient.

Quantum as a Partner—focused ONLY on container shipping
We state this at the end, rather than at the beginning, but one of the most important points is that Quantum – as a specialised shipping solution provider will be your partner. This bond is about Quantum’s ethics and credibility statement.

The partnership that Quantum offers, is not only about a single dimension of technology, but in multi-faceted others, ranging from Six Sigma, Consulting, Business Process Outsourcing and Organisational Development.

With a relationship commenced on a technology contract, Quantum would be available, and would strive to assist the client in attaining their goals of profitability. Our product portfolio and learning experience would be at your disposal, as would be priorities on version upgrades.