Windward: AI can increase visibility and create a more resilient supply chain

Overall, Mrs Singer highlighted that technology offers many benefits to shipping operations from autonomous data aggregation to integrating AI capabilities into existing TMS solutions, customer-facing portals, and business intelligence tools.

SAFETY4SEA:  The global economy is facing significant headwinds: the lingering effects of the pandemic on supply chains, climate change, and geopolitical instability. How do you see some of the challenges playing out and how should maritime stakeholders respond?

Irit Singer: There are valuable lessons to be learned from the events of recent years, mainly that the supply chain is vulnerable and sensitive to unforeseen circumstances.  The pandemic, coupled with geopolitical instability created a critical need for visibility in the supply chain and accelerated its digital transformation to a large extent, which is a huge step in the right direction. Since the massive delays we saw during the height of the pandemic, we have seen an improvement in ocean freight reliability, yet according to reports from February of 2023, over 40 percent of shipments are still delayed, meaning there is room for improvement both in terms of visibility as well as how stakeholders should operate and make decisions. Furthermore, we need to address increasing the resilience of the supply chain, and the best way to do this is by learning from the past to prepare for the future, something that properly trained AI and machine learning does extremely well and should be utilized by anyone in the maritime ecosystem looking to increase their operational efficiency.

S4S: Why does supply chain visibility matter for maritime stakeholders? What are the key actions to increase it?

I.S.: You can’t solve a problem you don’t fully understand, and that is why visibility is of vital importance. With the threat of a global recession on the horizon, savings, and efficiency are going to be the name of the game. In order to stay afloat, supply chain and logistics leaders need to achieve cost-efficient operations and better return on investment (ROI). For example, in our February Port Insights Report, you can see that the Ambarli Port in Turkey had a 52% increase in port congestion.  Anyone planning on using that port in the next month may want to consider the costs and benefits of shipping from a different port. Yet, visibility itself is just the beginning. Understanding the full picture of what is happening with shipments coupled with valuable insights (actionable visibility) is critical to make responsible decisions. Actionable visibility equips stakeholders with the information they need to respond effectively to constantly changing conditions, be it shifting weather, workforce shortages, or port backlogs. Actionable visibility is created through several key steps. The first step is getting a full picture of what is happening in real-time which can be achieved by combining and fusing all the relevant data sources into a single source of truth. The nature of the supply chain is that it is constantly in flux, making it next to impossible to manually track. Therefore, a key aspect of visibility is digital transformation & big data, which allows organizations to collect, update, and share information easily, and the more data available, the more visibility you have. The next step is implementing tools to help you understand the data. It is easy to get lost in the sea of data, so having the ability to filter through the information, minimize false positives, and get an accurate picture of what is happening with your shipment with minimum latency is essential to optimizing decision making processes. This is best done through the use of AI and predictive intelligence which can provide further insights that empower decision makers to take decisive actions backed by data. Lastly, all stakeholders both within and outside of the organization must have access to the same source of data to strengthen collaboration and the efficiency of the supply chain.

S4S: How will the supply chain visibility evolve in the coming years from your perspective? What is your advice to stay competitive amid these challenging times?

I.S.: Consumer demand will be a driving force of supply chain visibility in the coming years. People are used to convenience and speed in what is now called the Amazon effect. A few years ago people were used to waiting weeks to receive their deliveries and now they are used to having it delivered in days or even hours. This has a significant impact further up the supply chain. Importers, freight forwarders, and essentially anyone involved in maritime trade will need to digitize processes to stay competitive. At the same time, there will be an increase in the data available at our fingertips, and the challenge for stakeholders will evolve into how to utilize the data effectively in real time and not be overwhelmed. While this is a herculean task done manually, it is another area where AI can do most of the heavy lifting and enable businesses to scale.

S4S: How can supply chain visibility optimize shipment operations effectively? What is your advice to ship operators for enhanced efficiency?

I.S.: Actionable visibility is a necessity for those looking to improve their operational efficiency and create a more resilient supply chain. Shippers need to look at the historical performance of carriers, lanes, and ports when making decisions. This is an area where AI can do the heavy lifting for you, track your containers across different milestones, and give you recommendations in minutes that will decrease demurrage, detention, and dwelling fees, improve your overall efficiency, drive the business forward and proactively address future challenges. We also noticed that what is becoming increasingly important is the need for the same data and level of visibility for the various stakeholders across the organization. Implementing the same level of actionable visibility within different operating systems ranging from TMS, ERP, and BI tools or even customer facing portals is incredibly beneficial to the entire organization for enhanced efficiency.

S4S: According to data from your platform, have you identified any trends/ key areas with regards to supply chain visibility?

I.S.: While ocean freight reliability has been on the upswing, over 40 percent of shipments are still delayed. According to data from our platform, 28 percent of these delays are due to complications during transshipment, 21 percent are due to rollovers caused by carriers who regularly overbook their capacity, relying on delayed deliveries to their Point of Loading (POL), and 9 percent due to late departures. Understanding why your shipment is being delayed can help stakeholders across the industry make better decisions in real time and save time and money.

S4S: If you could change one thing in the shipping industry from your perspective, what would it be and why?

I.S.: Manual processes. A significant percentage of shippers still rely on outdated methods of reporting and manually chasing after data. The amount of time wasted on these manual processes is significant and is detrimental to increasing the overall resilience of the supply chain. When the ecosystem, as a whole, transitions to the digital realm, we will see a monumental increase in efficiency. Aside from data providing more visibility, technology can streamline and optimize all shipping operations, be it through autonomous data aggregation or by integrating AI capabilities into existing TMS solutions, customer-facing portals, and business intelligence tools. AI has the power to cut out a lot of the manual labor still being done in the shipping industry and empower businesses to make faster, smarter, data-driven decisions.

S4S: Do you have any new projects/ plans that you would like to share with industry stakeholders?

I.S.: We recently updated our Ocean Freight Visibility solution to include additional ETA Insights and reasons for delays. This new AI capability provides the cause of any shipment delayed by three or more days, a classic example of actionable visibility. This allows supply chain partners – including logistic service providers, freight forwarders, cargo owners, shippers, container ports, terminals, liners, and more – to take the next step and utilize the insights to make more well-informed, fact-based decisions, and provide accurate updates for both internal and external stakeholders.

S4S:  What is your message to industry stakeholders to prepare for a smarter and more digitalized future?

I.S.: 90% of world trade is transported via the seas. No matter the challenges that may arise in the coming years, be they disruptions, delays, and price jumps, the shipping industry is crucial and will continue to function at any cost. But to stay competitive, and to prepare for the future, digital transformation is a necessity. Implementing recent advancements in IoT devices and widespread adoption of AI-powered solutions will help us all cope with ever-increasing challenges facing the global supply chain.

The views presented are only those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of SAFETY4SEA and are for information sharing and discussion purposes only.