Freightos Expands Reach With Virgin Atlantic Cargo Partnership

Freight industry booking platform Freightos has launched a partnership with Virgin Atlantic Cargo.

The collaboration, announced Monday (Feb. 5), combines Virgin’s “extensive” network with the digital reach of Freightos’ WebCargo offering, “providing more options for forwarders globally,” Freightos said in a news release.

The release illustrates just how extensive the Virgin cargo network is, with the company flying to 30 destinations on four continents. 

“We are delighted to have partnered with WebCargo as we continue to provide intuitive experiences for our customers, so they can move cargo their way,” said Virgin Atlantic Cargo Managing Director Phil Wardlaw. 

“As customer requirements and digital experiences evolve it’s important for us to work with a platform that has an optimized digital booking process and provides access to the largest number of forwarders with seamless access to our global network.”

And Manel Galindo, chief revenue officer at Freightos, noted that adding Virgin Atlantic Cargo’s capacity to WebCargo means that freight forwarders in more than 10,000 offices worldwide gain instant, digital access to Virgin’s network.

“Global reach is crucial in our current era of supply chain disruptions and Red Sea workarounds,” Galindo added. “We are proud to partner with Virgin Atlantic Cargo to expand trade between the people of the world.”

Last month, Freightos reported record transactions for the closing quarter of 2023, saying it recorded 286,900 transactions in the fourth quarter, marking the 16th consecutive quarter of record transactions on its platform.

That milestone brings the total number of real-time global freight-rate comparison, booking and shipment management transactions for the full year to upwards of 1 million, highlighting “the ongoing digitalization and platformification of the global freight industry,” the company said in a press release.

The company’s success comes during a tough time for the logistics sector, which has seen a number of recent layoffs as freight volumes drop.

“You need to basically hunker down and survive,” Larry Aschebrook, managing partner at venture capital fund manager G Squared told The Wall Street Journal last week.

That report pointed out that logistics startups rose to huge valuations during the pandemic as shipping rates hit record levels amid strong consumer spending. When that spending slowed, freight volumes dropped, and these companies began to struggle.

“These companies are all bloated because they are building in advance of demand,” said John Anderson, an operating partner at private equity firm Greenbriar Equity Group. “That’s fine as long as someone keeps funding you on that prayer and that hope.”