The business arm of 2GO Group Inc., which is now part of the SM Group, aims to boost its supply chain efficiency to support the country’s commerce and trade as the local economy further reopens.
2GO Sea Solutions said its roll-on, roll-off passenger vessels guarantee same-day sailing schedules, while the company expanded its freight services in Visayas and Mindanao to ensure the flow of essential goods in the regions amid the pandemic.
“During the pandemic, we pivoted our operations to ensure reliable sailing schedules despite restrictions. By revamping our routes and schedules, we have instituted additional reliability and voyage frequency in our freight operations through day-definite departures.
We are now in a strong position to offer speed for faster lead times to allow our customers to improve supply chains, lower inventory costs, and increase market responsiveness,” said Dan Fernan, 2GO vice president and head of Sea Solutions.
Fast-moving consumer goods and essential supplies, such as food, pharmaceutical products and liquids are transported from Manila to Visayas and Mindanao four times a week via major freight hubs in Cebu, Iloilo, Bacolod and Cagayan de Oro, the company said.
The company said it is solidifying its foothold in the central and southern regions as it has expanded its port coverage to include Tagbilaran City in Bohol with weekly services, and with additional frequencies to Davao and General Santos which were doubled from twice a month to weekly calls via Iloilo.
“Our customers have access to the fastest less-container-load service in the market for chilled and frozen cargoes, and also to our newest solutions like 2GO CabinCargo and 2GO Connect,” Fernan said.
This year, two new vessels were introduced in the fleet, M.V. 2GO Maligaya and M.V. 2GO Masagana. The company now has nine vessels sailing to 16 ports of call.
In September, 2GO announced that it will spend P150 million to implement new technologies that are geared towards meeting future customer demands.
2GO COO Waldo C. Basilla said the investment in digital technologies and automation solutions will help the company adapt to the new normal. It will also help boost the group’s competitiveness in the long run. He said 2GO is investing in automated sorting machines to be deployed in its hubs, which now process over 140,000 parcels per day, as demand for e-commerce continues to increase.
The company also invested in innovative transport management systems, which modernized 2GO’s destination mapping and vehicle routing to increase efficiencies.