If a ship in Brazil initiates a distress call, E-PORTS, an online B2B platform for the shipping industry based in Pudong New Area, Shanghai will immediately boot up its resources at more than 350 ports across the world to offer the fastest rescue option.

In recent years, a group of such online shipping service platforms have emerged in Pudong, promoting a digital and information revolution in the area's shipping industry.

"Our mission is to achieve whole-process service for vessels worldwide through advanced technology, including 5G and artificial intelligence," said Huang Qizhou, founder of E-PORTS. 

The platform offers an array of services, such as locations of gas stations near ports and price inquiries for shipping agents. For example, it usually takes about 30 hours to complete the procedures of calling at a port. E-PORTS shortens this process to just five hours. 

At present, 368 of more than 5,000 ports around the world have established a partnership with E-PORTS. The platform's revenue in the first half of this year increased 300 percent year-on-year.

Industry insiders said that enhancing the reliability of the cross-border logistics supply chain and lowering transaction costs are currently hot issues in the shipping industry.

In this regard, YunQuNa, another one-stop online service platform for international logistics in Pudong, introduced an array of solutions at the recently-concluded China International Fair for Trade in Services, and signed a cooperation agreement with global shipping giant Mediterranean Shipping Company.

Headquartered in Lujiazui area, YunQuNa has since its establishment been committed to streamlining cross-border logistics services and enhancing the transparency and reliability of cross-border shipping.

According to Yan Haitao, the company's marketing director, YunQuNa has set up branches in Mexico, Brazil, Thailand and South Africa, realizing door-to-door services for domestic and overseas clients.