Customers demand risk-aware operational control over international shipment flows, with the ability to proactively identify, assess and respond to disruptions, exceptions and changing risk levels throughout the supply chain.
IQAX and TST combined global shipping data, Japan port intelligence and advanced technology into a unified platform. The goal goes beyond mere visibility, to allowing shippers to supervise the whole delivery process from route planning, status monitoring, risk alert, to overall management and generating actionable operational intelligence.
Customers gain a risk-aware-view of international shipment flows, enabling them to identify potential disruptions early, prioritize exceptions, and make faster, better-informed supply chain decisions. Automated alerts and decision support reduce manual intervention while improving operational control and agility.
In Japan, where nearly all trade is moved by sea, detailed timely shipping information is critical to keeping goods flowing efficiently and reliably. With nearly a century of experience in Japan’s maritime sector, TST Corporation has built deep expertise in vessel movement information and port operations. From its early days publishing vessel movement updates in Yokohama to operating port radio stations and AIS receiving infrastructure across Japan, TST has become one of the leading IT service providers for port, shipping and logistics industry.
Increasingly global and interconnected supply chains have led to growing demands from BCOs, freight forwarders and logistics providers for greater visibility and trusted decision support across international shipping networks. As customers demand ways to better manage shipment risks and improve supply chain coordination, extended its strong domestic vessel intelligence into a global operational intelligence and risk-monitoring capability across international shipping networks.
The cost of poor visibility can be substantial. For example, without the ability to monitor shipment milestones across multiple carriers and overseas ports, manufacturers importing raw materials into Japan often struggle to adjust inventory planning and coordinate inland transportation effectively. This can result in higher inventory carrying costs or disruptions to production schedules, while the time spent manually tracking and confirming shipment status with multiple carriers leads to supply chain inefficiencies and elevated operating expenses.
Logistics providers managing time-sensitive cargo face similar challenges. By leveraging vessel schedule change detection, shipment impact monitoring and alert-driven exception workflows, they can identify potential disruptions earlier, focus on critical issues and respond more effectively to customer needs. .
As global shipping data becomes increasingly fragmented across carriers, ports and logistics providers, businesses face growing challenges in identifying potential disruptions, assessing shipment impacts, and prioritizing the actions that matter most. The need is no longer just greater visibility, but the ability to monitor risk, surface critical exceptions, and support faster operational decisions.
IQAX provided TST with a connected operational intelligence platform combining high-quality shipping data, broad carrier coverage and advanced technology, enabling TST's end customers to monitor shipment risks, identify schedule and routing disruptions, prioritize critical exceptions, and make faster, better-informed supply chain decisions.
Since 2017, TST has partnered with IQAX to jointly operate a web-based container vessel schedule monitoring service in Japan, and has evolved to a unified solution enabling planning, pre-shipment monitoring, risk alerts, and operational decision support. By integrating IQAX’s global shipping data capabilities with TST’s Japan port vessel intelligence, the joint platform delivers comprehensive, risk monitoring across both port-level operations and wider shipping networks.
Immediate benefit for Japan’s BCO and Forwarders:
• Enhanced Overall Operational Control: Consolidates vessel and cargo information across global shipping networks, helping customers monitor risks, assess shipment impacts and act on critical exceptions more efficiently.
• Proactive Risk Management: Enables early identification of potential delays and disruptions, allowing faster intervention and more informed operational decisions to improve downstream cargo flow.
• Operational Efficiency: Helps teams focus on high-priority issues by surfacing potential disruptions and exceptions early, reducing manual checks and improving operational responsiveness.
• More concrete decision insights: Compare routes, prioritize exceptions, support carrier/service reviews, and inform customer updates, in order to provide more comprehensive insights to make more efficient decisions.
Today, with coverage across over 1000+ ports and 3000+ terminals, IQAX and TST Corporation continues to support Japanese and global customers with early risk detection, connected monitoring, and operational intelligence to drive more informed, agile supply chain decisions.
“Timely vessel movement insights are critical to enabling smarter operational decisions. We see IQAX as a trusted partner in enhancing our capabilities in risk monitoring, exception management, and coordination beyond port operations, enabling us to better support customers in navigating increasingly complex global supply chains.”
— Ayumu Hirosawa, Sales Manager, TST Corporation.
