Israeli firm Zim Integrated Shipping Services this week launched its Ship4wd subsidiary, in its goal to become the Uber or Airbnb of global shipping.

Ship4wd will offer a digital freight forwarding platform to deliver online, simple and reliable self-service end-to-end shipping.

Assaf Tiran, Zim vice president, said: “Similar to the way other ground-breaking platforms such as Airbnb in tourism and Uber in transportation have transformed their industries, we are aiming to enable everyone to be a self-shipper, by simplifying and streamlining the transfer of goods worldwide down to its essence, a few clicks shipping.”

Ship4wd will target US and Canadian small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) importing and exporting from China, Vietnam and Israel.

Relying on Zin’s experience and knowledge of the shipping industry, along with its track record in digital shipping, the digital freight forwarding subsidiary will provide small and medium businesses, as well as entrepreneurs worldwide, with a simple and direct offering for shipping cargo through a one-stop-shop digital platform.

The digital service is based on a one-stop-shop service covering all aspects of the complex international shipping process. It enables users without previous experience in cross-border shipping to manage their import and export business simply and efficiently, with live chat round-the-clock expert support throughout the process.

The platform will offer each user either the most economic or the fastest option according to their preferences. The offering consists of sea and air shipping services up to the final destination, including land and rail transport, with associated logistic services, all backed up by various professional vendors.

Headed by Carmit Hoshen-Glik, an entrepreneurial executive with experience in digital transportation and global freight forwarding, Ship4wd is located in Herzliya, one of Israel’s main innovative start-up hubs.

“We believe it’s time for international shipping to become simple, easy and trustworthy for SMBs,” said Hoshen-Glik. “Our promise of unremitting reliability and support from industry professionals will offer a much-needed solution for small businesses and entrepreneurs relying on relatively small shipments for their ongoing business.”

Eli Glickman, Zim CEO, added: “As a leader of the accelerating digitalisation trend within the shipping industry, we are leveraging our expertise to launch an independent digital multi-function freight forwarder, consistent with our strategy of developing growth engines adjacent to our core business. Ship4wd undertakes to manage the entire logistic chain end to end, harnessing our core assets as a leading global carrier with a unique customer-centric approach to provide the optimal digital solution for the SMB segment, backed up by a wide network of vendors including Zim.”

He said the global need for digital services via personal mobile phones and tablets was increasing, especially among small and medium businesses, and Ship4wd could be the answer.

“We are confident that with Ship4wd’s excellent team it can become a significant player in the multi-billion dollars freight forwarding industry as it will meet a much-needed demand for its services in the market,” he said.

Zim is a global, asset-light container liner shipping company. Founded in Israel in 1945, it is one of the oldest shipping liners, with over 76 years of experience, providing seaborne transportation and logistics services.