Hapag-Lloyd's seventh Quality Promise “Efficient Cargo Claims Handling”

On 11 August Hapag-Lloyd has launched its seventh Quality Promise “Efficient Cargo Claims Handling”. This promise aims at further strengthening the trustful relationship between Hapag-Lloyd and its customers, reinforcing the commitment to higher service quality and pursuing the overall objective to be the preferred carrier of choice.

Incidents leading to submitting cargo claims, be it damages or loss of cargo, can cause all kinds of inconvenience and cost valuable time. This latest Quality Promise aims precisely at tackling this issue: Hapag-Lloyd will significantly accelerate cargo claims handling by reducing the total amount of time between receiving a cargo claim and proposing a resolution. The goal is to become as transparent and concrete as possible. Going forward, in 85 percent of cases customers will receive a resolution proposal within 14 days – including acceptance, rejection or the start of settlement negotiations.

By focusing on resolving cargo claims within 14 days Hapag-Lloyd will be well below the industry average of 30 days, recognizing the customers urgency to have cargo claims solved as fast and efficiently as possible. New structures, systems and tools as well as improved internal processes will serve to facilitate closer collaboration and clear communication with the customer. A simplified and time-saving approach specifically in regards to paperwork, e-mails and phone calls for follow-ups will lessen the overall workload. Customers can rely on professional guidance from assigned experts when issuing a cargo claim and count on individual support where needed.

Working hand in hand
Customers can support this process by always providing a complete set of accurate cargo claims documents in one submission and responding to queries or settlement offers in a timely manner. The procedures are going to be further simplified in the future by implementing standard e-mail templates or online forms. Hapag-Lloyds global performance on our Quality Promises can be tracked via our Quality Promise Customer Dashboard, which also offers regular updates down to the individual customer level.