The BOOKIT module for ferry freight booking | Hogia

The majority of our customers have a great deal of RO-RO freight that they transport – some of our customers are purely freight, so the freight handling capabilities of BOOKIT are excellent.

Booking or via call centres

Freight in BOOKIT can either be booked as “guest” bookings or be tied to a freight customer account. The account can be a cash or credit account which means that you can choose if the booking should be paid upfront or be invoiced according to your invoice rules. The benefit with having an account is that the freight customers can create, amend and cancel their bookings online. The account also holds information like contact details, stored vehicles and regular drivers, invoicing rules, which contract price the customer belongs to etc. With an account it is also possible to assign protected space, ensuring that the freight customer is always entitled to space on specific sailing.

Automated or manual – ease of flow in the port

Depending on the operation, the drivers can check-in via ANPR (allowing for speed gates), by manually scanning a code at a kiosk, or be greeted by the freight check-in staff. Gates, or weigh bridges can be integrated, and for overnight crossings the drivers will then be printed their food vouchers, cabin keys etc so they can enjoy a meal and some sleep before continuing on their journey. BOOKIT also has a direct integration with Hogia’s Terminal Operating System which can handle automated gate-in/gate out, damage control, yard planning etc.

Standard applications

BOOKIT is a reservation system focused on ferry travel and freight operations. It handles the complete booking process from the capture of passenger, vehicle and freight details to follow-up activities such as invoicing and reporting. The system is suitable for many different kinds of ferry lines, thanks to its flexible route, capacity, price and yield management functionality. It is also possible to sell closely related products through BOOKIT, such as onboard services, accommodation and connecting travel tickets.

BOOKIT – additional tools and features for freight

As well as all the core functionality available in BOOKIT, there are modular tools and features which are particularly useful for freight operations. A few of these have been highlighted below.

EDI connections

BOOKIT freight users commonly exchange data with other booking systems, ports, etc. in the form of EDIs. For busy operators these can total many thousands per day.

Automatic fees and add-ons

Port fees, bunker adjustment fees, fees for length, dangerous goods, automatic cabin allocation, electrical plug-ins etc. etc. BOOKIT can be set up so that when a freight booking is created, any applicable add-ons can be automatically generated and charged for.

Agreement pricing

A freight customer can be charged according to freight tariffs, according to a freight pricing group, or for larger customers they may have their own individual contract prices. Charges can also be a combination of tariff and contract pricing. Contracts signed with freight customers can be tied to their account and held in BOOKIT for reference purposes. 

Terminal Operating Systems (TOS)

You should not need to buy several terminal operating systems just because of a diverse operation. With Hogia Terminal you can use the same system in all parts of your operation, be it RoRo, LoLo, car handling or break bulk.

Today we can offer an integration between BOOKIT and Hogia Terminal Systems, a terminal management system which will give you full control of what is happening and when. The system has been operational at RoRo terminals since 2001 and is now a proven, cutting edge solution for RoRo operations.

In 2006 a Canadian ferry operator, Marine Atlantic chose BOOKIT as their new reservation system. Marine Atlantic run 4 RO-PAX and RO-RO ferries on government contract services between Port aux Basques, NL, and North Sydney, NS, with a seasonal route from Argentia, NL. down to North Sydney.

A great deal of their operation is freight (both accompanied and drop trailer) so the extensive freight functionality in BOOKIT is key (plug-ins, hazardous goods, invoicing, fees etc.). In 2014 Marine Atlantic decided to improve the service they offered to their freight customers and improve the efficiency in their ports by investing in Hogia’s solution for port and terminal operations – Hogia Terminal Complete. This seamlessly integrated solution is one of the first of its kind in the marine industry, as real-time data is synchronised between the two systems.

Marine Atlantic benefits from a completely digitalised process, from creating customer accounts and making reservations in BOOKIT, to terminal operations in TOS (gate-in, yard, planning, picking up drop trailers, loading and unloading, gate-out), and finally invoicing in BOOKIT. This saves on time and administration, and also reduces the chance human error. The result is improved efficiency, higher performance, a reduction in operational costs, and due to the extreme ‘ease of use’, a happier workforce.

“This new workflow management function significantly enhances ability to manage our traffic at our ports; we can now track our drop trailer traffic in real-time, increasing efficiencies for our business and for our commercial customers. It was an exciting day for all of us as we ‘checked-in’ our first drop trailer!” Terry Anderson, Terminal Manager at Marine Atlantic.

“The Hogia Terminal system was identified as a solution which would allow us to both better manage our traffic within our ports while also providing us with a means to strengthen communication with our commercial customers. Over the past several months both teams (from Marine Atlantic and Hogia) have worked tirelessly to ensure the success of this project. I am very pleased with the teamwork and commitment demonstrated by all involved; it was a job well done.” Colin Tibbo, CIO at Marine Atlantic, February 2015.